The Iliad Part III - Conclusion

Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilleus, son of Peleus, the fierce anger that caused the death of countless Achaians...

And so the epic poem begins. It constantly surprises and shocks you. Homer is always one step ahead of us.

Many more questions are raised by the last six books of The Iliad. Is Homer pro-war? Does Achilleus ever change? Does he ever control his wrath?

Even questions regarding humankind: Do we desire immortality? Can we find glory on the battlefield? What is important in life?

The last books really plunge into deeper waters. Patroklos is dead, and Achilleus regrets feuding with Agammenon. He realizes now what awful consequences his wrath has had on the Achaians in general and himself in particular. He chooses a short glorious life and plunges back into battle clad in immortal armor forged by Hephaistos himself.

One hopes that his rage will have been tempered by his loss of Patroklos; indeed, in Book Eighteen, he mournfully cries, "O how I wish that wrath would vanish from the hearts of gods and men! For it is a poisonous food that turns sweeter than honey in a man's stomach...." We are led to hope, and believe that he will control his wrath.

Our hopes are dashed. Far from controling his anger, Achilleus unleashes it farther than he has ever done; not even with his bitter feud over Briseis was he this wrathful. He goes on a rampage and butchers countless Trojans like a lion among sheep, according to Homer. He mauls Hektor and disgraces his corpse. He executes twelve Trojan youths in cold blood over the funeral pyre of Patroklos and mourns obsessively. He continues to release his anger against the body of Hektor, raging against the gods, Hektor, the Trojans, and perhaps most important of all, himself.

But - there is hope. For Priam, king of Ilion, comes to beg for the body of Hektor. He weeps before Achilleus and reminds him of his own father. And something new (or is it something old?) stirs in Achilleus: pity. He pities the old man who has lost his sons in war. He weeps for his own father, Peleus, who will never see him again. Priam's mourning cancels out Achilleus' rage. He becomes a gentlemen again, like he was before The Iliad began. In a way, he has been saved from himself.

With the return of Hektor, Achilleus is at peace with himself once again. The story of Troy is not over; the epic closes before the Wooden Horse, before the fall of Achilleus, before the brutal sack of Ilion. But it seem complete somehow. "Thus they buried Hektor, breaker of horses".

This might be a stretch, but horses are wild, strong, passionate creatures. Rage has similar qualities. Rage begins the book, a Horse-Tamer closes it. Is it possible we must all tame our inward rage, like unto a wild horse? Rage is, I think, the most powerful passion man has. Eros comes in close second but rage is the most transformative and destructive. We must tame our own rage, tame our own horse.

And so The Iliad closes. What an amazing poem. What a wonderful story.

Next up, The Odyssey.