2000 Years Late: A Review of the Iliad

Unsplash/Constantinos Kollias

By Augustine Wasef

The Iliad begins awkwardly lacking the sense of ambition that permeates its equals. It ends just as uncomfortably with Funeral Games. But between those two syncopated notes is one of the most remarkable books in human history. Homer takes unparalleled pleasure in the prevailing rhythms of life and the deviations of those beats. Its lofty sense of moral ambiguity limits the focus of our blinding contemporary moral absolutes. 

The Iliad dictates a notion that heroes are a near mythical race that deserve such titles as “godlike” yet they also can be villainous and corrupt. In essence, the moral power of a character is derivative of their battlefield power which is in turn distilled from their cruelty. The book stubbornly refuses to create a messiah or even a true hero. If a hero existed, Achilles would be the most plausible candidate. But chapters are spent detailing his inappropriate superhuman rage and the Iliad magnifies the amount of battlefield suffering in an uncomfortable

way. For instance, Homer goes into great lengths to lure the reader into sympathizing with both sides. We are forced to love Hector and his family, but we also know, almost from the beginning, the end is coming for all of them.

If the Iliad’s scattered and disparate themes were to be condensed into a thought it would be the unmitigated cruelty of humanity. And yes, ancient readers would be desensitized to this brutality as a fact of life. Instead of merely documenting everyday cruelty, the Iliad is magnifying it to an agonizing resolution. To those who still want an epic of war and glory it is worth noting that the Iliad ends with a moment of tenderness. A funeral truce between Achilles whose close friend was killed by Hector, and Priam whose son (Hector) was killed by Achilles. Despite the sheer mutual hatred between the two, they decide to form a partial truce from mutual pity. The Iliad is foundational in Western Literature because it is a caricature, representing our best and worst, and is still serving as a mirror for humanity nearly 3000 years later.

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