This summer I have been reading many books, one of which is An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco. This book is a retelling of the Iliad, which is an epic poem about the Trojan War. However, Baricco retells it through the perspective of the heroes and mortals, without mentioning any roles that the gods themselves played. These are some of my thoughts about it. Enjoy!
The first words of the actual epic poem are "the wrath of Achilles". Achilles wrath comes from his immense anger. Achilles is angry with Agamemnon, because his concubine, Briseis, is taken away
from him. First, Achilles was in love with Briseis and desires her more than any of his other concubines. To have her taken away by Agamemnon is very insulting to him. Second, he views Agamemnon as an arrogant general, who can simply take what he wants, even if he does not deserve it. Just because he had to give his concubine up does not give him the right to take what was given to someone else, especially if he takes it away from the man who won the battle in the first place. Finally, Achilles feels that Agamemnon has dishonored him. If his honor can be ruined by a man who is not nearly as a great of a warrior as he is, then there is no glory for him in the war, where he can find warriors who are equal to him. Thus, he withdraws himself from the war, until his honor has been restored. Agamemnon is simply angry that Achilles will not take orders from him, as he is older, wiser, and wealthier. He is the leader of the Greek forces, and Achilles is simply just a general. Also, he believes that since he is the leader, he should have the right to take what he wants, even from his own men, who should be more than willing to do so (as a sign of loyalty).
One of the most hated characters in the epic story is Paris, the prince of Troy who steals the wife of the king of Sparta. Baricco omits Paris’ narrative in his book, largely due to Paris’ lack of heroism. First, he is responsible for starting the entire war in the first place. He stole a woman from a man, who is older, wiser, and has a higher social ranking than Paris himself. He violated the common law of Xenia, where guests should be fair to their hosts and vice-versa. Paris is also a mere boy who lacks courage. He steals Helen, when Menelaus is away (instead of confronting the King of Sparta). While hundreds of soldiers are dying for a war that they have no particular interest in, Paris is often found in his room, not in the battlefield where he should be. Therefore, Paris lacks character and heroism to be a central figure in Barrico’s An Iliad.
Baricco's book is unique because he has a list of different narrators who each tell different perspectives of different parts of the story. In my opinion, it is effective to tell the story through a variety of narrators. This allows the reader to gain a variety of points of views. First, it allows us to find out what the heroes were thinking before a major event. Was Patroclus scared before he went into battle? Did Hector ever give up on his men? Also, it provides insight into what the minor characters were thinking, such as Helen’s maid. Everyone hears the story about the great heroes such as Achilles, Hector, and Aeneas. But, no one hears it from the point of view of a simple Trojan maid, who sees the action occur in front of her. Finally, it connects to the ideas of personification of natural elements. The Greeks believed that the rivers, trees, and oceans where just as alive as humans are. It is interesting, for example, to hear what a river has to say about the war. It touches what the Greeks believed, and makes the aura of the story more appropriate in regards to the setting of time and common belief.
Obviously, the story of the Trojan War includes certain aspects about warfare, and how warfare is viewed by different people. In my opinion, the story of Trojan War does not condemn war. In fact, it celebrates it. It is about how the Greeks fought against an enemy that dishonored the very principles of Greek society. Although it took ten years, it shows how valiant and loyal the Greeks were to accomplishing their goal of avenging the wrong put upon them by the ignorant Trojans. The first few words of the epic describe the wrath of Achilles, and what better way to tell the story of their victory than to start with the bloodthirstiness of their greatest warrior of all time. This is just enough to show how important war was to the Greeks. After all, the basic plot of the epic is entirely about a war. The story even has the gods interfering with the battle, killing mortals, or fighting other gods as well.
Along the topic of warfare, the story gives the reader a sense of what happens during war. It hits on the ideas about glory and savagery, and how family plays into it. In An Iliad, Baricco portrays his characters to value military glory more than family. One example of this is Hector. He has a wife, Andromache, and a recently-born son, Astyanax. Even though he loves them very much, he still finds it his duty to die for Troy. He wants to gain the glory of defeating the Greeks, just to save his city. Patroclus is another example. He is willing to leave Achilles, his best friend (and possible lover), just to fight on the battlefield, take down Hector, and be the hero of the Greeks. Achilles is the only one that he truly cares about, and they are as close as family. So, when Patroclus goes into battle, he leaves Achilles behind. Finally, there is Achilles. His mother, Thetis, knows that if Achilles goes in battle, he will surely die. So, she pleads that Achilles not enter the war. When Achilles decides to go fight, he leaves his family with a broken-hearted mother. He chooses eternal glory over his mother’s worries.
As stated earlier, glory plays an important role in warfare. Many characters do things for glory, but those actions do not necessarily make them heroic. When it comes to heroism, the most heroic character in the Iliad is Prince Hector. He is willing to give up everything he has, spending time with his wife and son, and his life, just to protect the inhabitants of Troy. He is often in the front lines, along with his men, to defend their land from the Greeks. Unlike his brother Paris, he is dedicated to serving his city, his honor, and the future of the people. He even accepts his fate that he will be killed by Achilles, just if it gives his troops enough time to go seek refuge back into the city. He knows he will die, yet he goes on to do the very best he can. Even when he is about to die, he asks Achilles to give his body back to his father, for Priam’s sake, not his.
Of the many parts of this amazing story, one quote and scene stood out to me:
“He raised his spear and hurled it. The bronze tip entered near the eye, went through the
white teeth, cut the tongue cleanly at the base, and came out of the neck. I fell from the chariot -
I, a hero - and the bright shining armor thundered down upon me. The last thing I recall is the
swift, terrible horses as they swerved in panic. Then my strength abandoned me, and, with it, my
life.” (p. 35)
I like this except because it describes a first person narrative of someone who is being killed at that moment. In this case, it is Pandarus, a Trojan archer (who is responsible for ending the truce by shooting Menelaus with the intent of killing him). He is on a chariot shooting down Greek soldiers, with Aeneas driving the chariot. Suddenly, Diomedes approaches, and begins to kill many Trojans. Pandarus attempts to shoot him, and although he wounds him, the arrow has not killed him. In return, Diomedes throws his spear that goes through Pandarus’ head and kills him. As stated before, Pandarus describes his death in a first-person narrative. Usually, deaths are told in the third person, which makes this case a bit more interesting. Also, he describes the actual places where he was wounded and his fall to the ground with the weight of the armor, which adds detail and imagery to the scene. This excerpt provides a thematic view about the soul and its separation from the body after death. This was a key belief for the Greeks, and is especially present in An Iliad. Soldiers do not often pray for survival of a battle, but a glorious death and (more importantly) a pleasant afterlife. Pandarus’ death was one of the hundreds who were killed, and each prayed for a wonderful afterlife.
