Book 23: So Patroclus is dead. And now that Hector is also dead, it's time to burn Patroclus' body on a pyre. (Especially since his ghost appeared to Achilles asking to be buried so he can get inside the gates of Hades, before disappearing into the ground "gibbering and whining." Being a ghost appears to suck.) So they burn the body (along with some lambs and 12 captured Trojans, giving the whole thing a creepy human sacrifice vibe)
Then, as part of the funeral celebration, they hold some manly competitions? Horse-racing and wrestling and sprinting and boxing. I imagine it's all very oily and virile. There are some arguments over prizes and some instances of cheating. Also at one point we're told that first prize is a tripod (for burning things over a fire) and second prize is a woman skilled in all of the arts, and then told that first prize is worth 12 oxen and second prize is worth 4 oxen. So...slaves really don't count for much among the Greeks, it seems. Which is disturbing as well.
Book 24: Now it's time for King Priam to come before Achilles asking for mercy and to get back the body of his son Hector. (All of this happens after the gods arrange it.) The king's wife is against it, but he goes anyway and Achilles is moved by the King's plight. It's a weird scene because these two guys who have been part of this huge battle are sitting in a tent together talking about how so many people have died and how life is short and hard, but what are you going to do? Keep on trucking, seems to be the answer.
So Priam ransoms Hector's body, Achilles gives the Trojans 9 battle-less days to properly mourn Hector.
And...that's the end.
No really, that's the end. NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. If I had to write an essay about the Iliad I would give it this title:
WHERE IS THE DAMN WOODEN HORSE?
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I think the tripods are more for burning things to honor the gods, but it could be cooking too. I actually don't know. Maybe it's for herbal tea.
ReplyDeleteALSO, apparently if you want the story of the wooden horse you have to read the Aeneid. So...FORGET THAT. I'm reading The Odyssey, then Ulysses, and then...THEN, if I feel like backtracking to ancient Greece and the beginning of Ancient Rome, I might read the Aeneid.
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