Immortal Shield

The Immortal shield
• Why is it called “Immortal” Shield?
• Why did he (Homer) give a detailed description of the shield?
• How does it answer the questions left unanswered at the end of the epic? o Why did it end with Hektor’s funeral?
• Structure of the Epic – “Spoilers”

The Shield and The Iliad (Parallelism) o Broad, thick, well-fashioned o Shining rim, triple ply o Silver shoulder strap o Five wielded layers o Pictured on it the Earth, heaven, sea, unwearied sun, moon, waxing stars o Two Cities, Noble scenes (Troy & Greece/ Ilion and?) o Weddings in one (This could be Helen and Menelaos’ wedding) o Before or After the Trojan war? o Wartime then, whether to sack the town or treat for half all the treasures stored in the citadel o Ares led the way and Pallas Athena (Trojan & Greek Side) o Likely place for ambush – river – Akhilleus’ killing spree o Two lookouts – Spies? Or the Gods? o Or this could be the part about the lying dream atack of the Greeks o Two lookouts killed the approaching sheeps(Trojans)  Sheeps (Akhaian army) led by their herdsmen (Agamemnon) besiegers heard the sound of the cattle stampede (Akhilleus and the myrmidons) Battle lines were drawn (Trojan war!)
 Start of the war? – When Paris took Helen from Menelaos
 Akhilleus and Agamemnon’s disagreement o Here then strife & uproar joined the fray & ghostly Fate that kept a man with wounds alive (those who are saved by the Gods: Hektor, Paris, Athena’s son..) and one unwounded (Akhilleus) & another dragged by the heels through battle din in death (Hektor) o o