This lesson provides an overview of book 18 of homers the iliad. With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author caroline alexander brings to life homers timeless epic of the trojan war. In ancient times, it referred to a description of any thing, person, or. Hephaestus forging the shield of achilles in art through the.
Inclass reading from jack schaefers classic western novel shane, both the ekphrasis describing the gun that shane uses analogous to achilles armor in its exquisite materials and workmanship and in its effects upon the user and from the instructions shane gives the young child narrator about. Ekphrastic poetry may be encountered as early as the days of homer whose iliad book 18 describes the shield of achilles, with how hephaestus made it as well as its completed shape. The death of patroclus is reported in brief words to achilles. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. Quite a few comments have been posted about the iliad. There he hammered out the earth, the heavens, the sea, the untiring sun, the moon at the full, along with. Agamemnon comes to the meeting, and achilles says the time has come to reconcile. Between description and narration niels koopman offers a thorough linguistic and narratological analysis of five canonical ancient greek ekphraseis from the archaic to the hellenistic period. Achilles watches the retreat from afar and worries about the fate of patroclus. Argued by many to have originated with homers description of achilles shield in book 18 of the iliad usually dated to eighth century bc, it has become considered as a method of dramatically describing visual material. The shield of achilles is the shield that achilles uses in his fight with hector, famously described in a passage in book 18, lines 478608 of homers iliad. Grief overcomes achilles as he falls to the ground weeping.
Ekphrasis was considered a mode of speaking capable of bringing absent things before the listeners inner eye by aiming at. Purchase a copy of this text not necessarily the same edition from. Ekphrasis at the forge and the forging of ekphrasis. Homers description of the making of the shield of achilles in book 18 of the iliad. It is an oddity of literary history that in giving voice so consummately in some ways to the groupconsciousness of an age quoting e. The intricately detailed imagery on the shield has inspired many different interpretations of its significance, with no definitive answer. Cc 303 meeting 9 notes meeting 9 iliad book 18 achilles. With regard to achilles shield, the utilization of ekphrasis lets homer poetically. Ekphrasis oxford research encyclopedia of literature. Here, while achilles and everyone else awaits the unfolding of his fate, the poet suspends the narrative to describe the decoration of the shield by hephaestus.
Ekphrasis in epic poetry usually described scenes and objects that were only imagined. The author of the iliad said to be a blind poet known as homer never actually saw the shield. In book 18, night falls for the first time since book 10. Ekphrasis pennys poetry pages wiki fandom powered by. The present chapter focuses on chapmans treatment of the episode of the shield of achilles in book 18 of the iliad. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Anger be now your song, immortal one, akhilleus anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the akhaians loss on bitter loss and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving so many dead mencarrion for dogs and birds. Hephaestus forging the shield of achilles in art through. Ekphrasis may be encountered as early as the days of aphthonius progymnasmata, his textbook of style, in virgils aeneid when he describes what aeneas sees engraved on the doors of carthages temple of juno, or homers going to great lengths in the iliad, book 18, describing the shield of achilles, exactly how hephaestus made it as well as its.
I strongly suspect that achilles shield is an early sung version of a memory. Agamemnon, seeing blood, thinks that his brother has been mortally wounded and begins a long speech of lament and revenge. Profesor izenberg introduced ekphrasis as the verbal depiction of a work of visual art and he spent a great deal of time discussing how achilles shield was one of the first artifacts in western literature that exhibited this concept. In order to make sure the trojans get a good thumping, athene gives extra power and courage to diomedes in the heat of the battle, diomedes is approached by two trojans, phegeus and idaios. Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. Expanding ekphrasis to the broader field of mnemotechny. The appreciation for the human civilization in the shield of achilles book 18 of homers iliad contains a detailed portrayal of the shield of achilles, made by hephaestus, the crippled blacksmith god, embedded with numerous animatic images of human activities.
Achilles, sitting by ships, realizes the achaeans are routed and fears the worst. In fact, homers description of achilles shield in book xviii of the iliad is considered the earliest and greatest example of ekphrasis. Homer begins his ekphrasis with the construction of the shield. Lowrelief sculpture embossed in metal on the surface of the shield is described in elaborate detail. I analyze chapmans frequent mistranslations and largely subtle intrusions as manifestations of his resistance to the ekphrastic tenor of the passage, and argue that this resistance stems from a rejection of the incidental. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Inclusive or global in its outlook, book 18 of the wad also known as the. Learn the iliad book 18 with free interactive flashcards.
It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. We are told that these guys are the sons of some guy called dares, who is a priest of the god hephaistos we met this god back in book 1 phegeus and idaios throw their spears at diomedes but both miss. He lets out a terrible cry and all the sea nymphs gather. In book 18 as the shield is being forged, it is described as a great and massage shield,blazoning wellwrought emblems all across its surface. Iliad book xviii cambridge greek and latin classics. The appreciation for the human civilization in the shield. Book xviii thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire.
In this book, achilles finds out about the death of his friend patroclus. The iliad, book xviii, the shield of achilles by homer poems. This break from battle also serves to emphasize the significance of achilles desire to exact revenge upon hector. This can be seen early on, in one of our first recorded ekphrastic texts. Agamemnon then tells the story of ruin, who was cast out of olympus for foiling zeus plans for. If lynne kellys thesis about the methods of memory used by indigenous peoples is correct, and i strongly believe it is, then the concept of ekphrasis as illustrated in the description of the shield of achilles in homers iliad. This description is considered an iconic example of ekphrasis. Ekphrasis iliad final notes ekphrasis art about art a.
Choose from 500 different sets of the iliad book 18 flashcards on quizlet. Thetis goes to the palace of vulcan to obtain new arms for her son. The iliad, book i, lines 116 anger be now your song, immortal one, akhilleus anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the akhaians loss on bitter loss and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, leaving so many dead mencarrion for dogs and birds. Ekphrasis pennys poetry pages wiki fandom powered by wikia. Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration the muse to sing of achilleus anger. Homers description of the shield is the first known example of ekphrasis in ancient. Meanwhile the fleet runner antilochus, who had been sent as messenger, reached achilles, and found him sitting by his tall ships and boding that which was indeed too surely true. Antilochus races to achilles camp to tell him of patroclus death. And, as told by homer, this ancient tale of a particular bronze age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages. Humor in the iliad is most often associated with the gods but does occasionally show up among the humans, most often in connection with nestor. He weeps and beats the ground with his fists and covers his face with dirt. Ekphrasis is a greek term whose etymological meaning is to speak out or to show in full. Tilyard popes version of homer quickly becomes a trigger for its own stylistic rejection, and for a movement variously back to the greek for those who could manage it, to the literal, or to chapman. The earliest and best known example of ekphrasis is the long description of the shield made by hephaistos and given to achilles by his mother thetis.
Debates on ekphrasis go back to classical antiquity and homers lines on hephaestos making achilles shield in book 18 of the epic the iliad 8th century bce. The eighteenth book of the iliad will be familiar to anyone interested in. The battle rages on between the trojan and achaean forces, and patroclus devises a scheme to free the achaean ships from the trojans. More than 2,000 years ago, epic poets used ekphrasis to help audiences visualize legendary battles. Lines 478608 of book 18 describe the battle shield of no less than the great, almost invincible. Both seek to create what is, in effect, a reverse ekphrasis in that they. Book xviii of a new complete english translation with hyper linked index. In book iv, however, agamemnons reaction to menelaos flesh wound is humorous. Agamemnon agrees, but notes that he is not to blame, indicating that zeus s daughter ate ruin had blinded his judgment when he chose to quarrel with achilles. The word ekphrasis, or ecphrasis, comes from the greek for the description of a work of art produced as a rhetorical exercise, often used in the adjectival form ekphrastic. Ekphrasis art about art a verbal description of the visual book 16 after death of patroclus, fate says that hector and achilles are next in that order o my rider lament and remorselessness of narrator, as he has no control over the events he retells gives the events meaning, shape, order, after the fact divine shaping of the events that occur poetic justice o. This lesson focuses on book 16 of the iliad by homer. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. The shield of achilles is described in book 18, lines 478608, of homers iliad.
By patrick smith, bainbridge state college, georgia writers have drawn on vivid descriptions of the visual arts to enhance their work since homer famously used lines to describe the chronicle emblazoned on achilless shield in book 18 of homers iliad more than 2,500 years ago. Homers description of achilles shield in book 18 of the iliad stands at the beginning of the ekphrastic tradition. He published this in 1722 as notae in duos libros, appended to the first two books of his theory. One particular kind of visual description is also the oldest type of writing about art in the west. Ekphrastic verse describes the visual appearance of a work of art. The iliad, book xviii, the shield of achilles by homer. Meanwhile the fleet runner antilochus, who had been. In two and a half lines of simple diction, antilochus tells achilles what has happened. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering this text. In accepting these lines as integral to the poem i follow e. Chryses, priest of apollo, comes to the greek camp to ransom his daughter, chryseis, held captive by agamemnon. When antilochus brings word to achilles of patrocluss death, achilles loses control of himself. Book 18, lines 478608 is far more useful than we may have previously known i strongly suspect that achilles shield is an early sung version of a memory.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. If lynne kellys thesis about the methods of memory used by indigenous peoples is correct, and i strongly believe it is, then the concept of ekphrasis as illustrated in the description of the shield of achilles in homers iliad book 18, lines 478608 is far more useful than we may have previously known. Homers description of the shield in lines 478608 of book 18 of the iliad are known to be one of the first known uses of ekphrasis, a vivid description of a work of art. Famous later examples are found in virgils aeneid, for instance the description of what aeneas sees engraved on the doors of carthages temple of juno, and catullus 64, which contains an extended ekphrasis of an. Iliad, book 18, lines 558707 in addition to the descriptions of a work of art, an ekphrastic poem usually includes an exploration of how the speaker is impacted by his or her experience with the work. The goal of this literary form is to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present. In the case of achilles shield, the use of ekphrasis allows homer to portray poetically not only the images. October 2005 the construction of the shield of achilles is one of the most fascinating sections of the iliad.