The Iliad Critical Review

Will Wiggins

Coach Catto

History: Iliad paper

1 October 2014

When studying human history one can not ignore the role that Homer and his book, the Iliad played. This epic poem tells the story of heroism, love, and most of all is an account of the history that occurred during the Trojan war. The book is composed of many different themes and several literary mechanics. This amazing account of war provokes emotion and makes the reader ask many questions. By analyzing this interesting text one can observe the different writing styles and aspects that make up this epic poem.

Homer had two main goals in writing the Iliad. His first goal in writing the Iliad was to entertain his audience. His second goal was to give an account of the ten year Trojan war and the life of the hero Achilles. Both of his goals were achieved. The Iliad has entertained people for hundreds of years and whether the Trojan war is actually history versus historical fiction the Trojan war will be remembered forever due to Homer's work. One of the main reasons that the Iliad was successful in completing it's goals is due to the book's convincing and comprehensive nature. The book makes the reader very convinced the events actually occurred and it goes into great detail of the story making it comprehensive. Homers amazing piece of work never would have been this successful without those different aspects.

Homer was a blind poet living in Ancient Greece. Due to his audience and heritage his writings in the Iliad appear to be slightly bias. He makes the Greeks look like triumphant heroes, when in actuality one could be sure that the Greeks were not always noble like the book makes them out to be. Even though Homer seems to be slightly bias towards