Homeric Similes and Irony in the Iliad's Book 22

The Iliad's Oral Tradition and the Role of Similes

Because the Iliad was meant to be recited orally, it had to be relatively easy for Greek bards — the rhapsodes — to remember. Out of necessity, the rhapsodes who composed the Iliad used a number of mnemonic aids, such as epithets and stock descriptions. Furthermore, the numerous battle scenes are built on repetitive, formulaic phrasing that relies on common rhythms and narrative structures.

Considering the use of repetitive phrasing relative to its length, the Iliad could have been flat, perhaps even boring. However, Homer and the rhapsodes preceding him added color and variety to an otherwise repetitive description of battles through the use of similes. Some of these similes were quite elaborate: "They, as when the big waves on the sea wide-wandering wash across the walls of a ship underneath the leaning force of the wind, which particularly piles up the big waves, so the Trojans with huge clamour went over the rampart and drove their horses to fight alongside the grounded vessels, with leaf-headed spears, some at close quarters, others from their horses."

Homer's similes were so effective that they are now known as Homeric similes.

Whereas the monotony of the set-piece battles in the first portion of the story required these similes, the thrilling chase and duel in the book's climax requires no such aids. It is notable, then, to find even more similes in Book 22 than in most of the preceding books. The difference between the similes in Book 22 and those in earlier chapters is that the audience already knows how the story will end by the time Book 22 arrives. This knowledge opens up a new role for the Homeric simile: to convey irony. Precisely because they are introduced by the word "like," similes prove particularly useful for calling attention to things that are, in fact, "unlike."

The Role of Book 22 in the Iliad

Before one can understand the use of similes in Book 22, it is useful to place that book in its context. Book 22 differs from the preceding chapters of the Iliad because it revolves around a duel rather than a battle, with a highly intense chase scene beforehand. In the confrontation between the two heroes, it isolates for the audience the naked cruelty and savagery of war, which had hitherto been concealed within the violence and confusion of large-scale battle. Just as there was nothing to obscure the terror of Achilles' wrath toward Hector, there was nothing here to distract the audience from the horror of war — the same horror that had proved so compelling and entertaining just a few chapters earlier.

What the audience encounters within the climax of Book 22 is a sobering letdown from the busy bloodlust and bravado pervading the massive battles before it. Instead, the mood is dominated by more mundane emotions, with the heroes expressing both anger and despair, defiance and grace, haughtiness and shame. In this way, the audience is forced to confront the fragility and humanity of the two godlike warriors.

Homer sought to highlight the savagery of war in a battle so close to the city of Troy by contrasting images of warfare with images of quaint domestic life. Homer is particularly fond of the pastoral pastime of stargazing, contrasting it with Achilles' warpath: "…as he swept across the flat land in full shining, like that star which comes on in the autumn and whose conspicuous brightness far outshines the stars that are numbered in the night's darkening" (IL 22.27–28).

Irony through Contrast

He also contrasts the image of the brightest star with the image of Achilles' spear: "And as a star moves among stars in the night's darkening, Hesper, who is the fairest star who stands in the sky, such was the shining from the pointed spear Achilleus was shaking…" (IL 22.317–319).

With this contrast, Homer conveys a sense of dramatic irony in the final battle between the two heroes.

Conclusion

The Iliad is widely recognized as the oldest and perhaps the most influential work in the history of Western literature. Its impact cannot be overstated, as it has shaped our entire understanding of the literary tradition. Its influence is so great, in fact, that it is easy to forget that the Iliad was not originally literature at all, but a collection of orally recited poems that were often composed in the very act of recitation. That such wit and irony could be developed so spontaneously is perhaps the most impressive feature of the Iliad.