Introducing Homer's Iliad

This free course, Introducing Homer's Iliad, focuses on the epic poem telling the story of the Trojan War. It begins with the wider cycle of myths of which the Iliad was a part. It then looks at the story of the poem itself and its major theme of Achilles' anger, in particular in the first seven lines. It examines some of the characteristic features of the text: metre, word order and epithets. Finally, it explores Homer's use of simile. The course should prepare you for reading the Iliad on your own with greater ease and interest.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 The Troy story
• 1 The Troy story
• 1.1 The catalyst for the Trojan War
• 1.2 Sources for the Trojan War
• 2 Homer’s Iliad
• 2 Homer’s Iliad
• 3 Homer’s oral art I
• 3 Homer’s oral art I
• 3.1 Meter and word order
• 3.2 Epithets
• 3.3 Homeric music
• 4 Homer’s oral art II
• 4 Homer’s oral art II
• 4.1 Insightful similes
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements