Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
Don't get bogged down by the names! Surely skimming them is sufficient. I agree with you that the first book is a terrific hook. I like how it manages to introduce some of the overarching themes of the epic by focusing on a petty power squabble between two generals. I was bemused by the title, The Rage of Achilles in my edition; I have also seen it rendered as The Wrath of Achilles. "Hissy-fit" would seem more accurate to me. Achilles even goes crying to mom because the bigger boy took his toy away.
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There's a Greek cultural concept that you need to be aware of when reading the Iliad (and the Odyssey) since, without it, the whole thing won't make sense, and that's a concept called "kleos", which is often translated as "glory", but it's a lot more than that.
"Kleos" is the whole point of a Homeric warrior's existence. It could be translated as "street cred" in the modern vernacular; it's what other people think about you. The key thing about it is that it's a zero-sum game; there's only a certain amount of kleos around, and the only way to increase your kleos is to take it from someone else.
The reason that Achilles removes himself from battle in book 1 is that his kleos has been diminished by having his captive taken from him; he's been "disrespected", and that makes it impossible for him to carry on fighting alongside the people who have insulted him in that way. He is acting in the only way possible for him to act in that situation, other than by killing the man who's insulted him, and he can't do that because it would make the entire (fragile) Greek alliance fall apart.