Time for another "important thing to understand when reading the Iliad" post
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This time we'll talk about the "aristeia". They are a frequent occurence in the Iliad, so it's as well to know what they're about.
An "aristeia" is (literally) a warrior's "finest moment" - it's a "set piece" in which a hero goes into battle, and slaughters innumerable enemies. There are many of them in the Iliad - the first we'll come across is that of the Greek hero Diomedes, in book V. (Trojan heroes get them too!).
An aristeia has a rigid structure, which is thought to be another consequence of the way that oral poetry was composed "on the fly"; the performer simply had to "tick off" in his mind each of the set elements in turn, and fill in the details. The structure of an aristeia is:
1. The hero puts on his armour.
2. We get a description of the magnificent appearance of the hero and his armour.
3. He makes a speech, exhorting his followers to great deeds.
4. He goes into battle.
5. He gets wounded (or suffers some other setback).
6. He is aided by the gods in some way.
7. He goes back into battle with renewed vigour.
8. We get a poetic simile comparing him to some natural phenomenon.
9. A graphic "fight to the death" scene.
10. He taunts and then kills (or vice versa) his opponent.
See if you can spot each of these elements in the various aristeias we'll come across. They are always there, and always in the same order.
The most famous aristeia in the Iliad is that of Achilles in book XXI - that's really the dramatic high of the whole epic.