Writen below are 10 selected profound quotations
from
Homer’s Iliad. The past is a guide to the future,
and it is by
looking back that we gain understanding.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus
that caused
the Greeks untold pain, consigning
many valiant souls to Hades
and leaving their
bodies the prey of dogs and birds, as the will of
Zeus was accomplished, beginning the day on
which
Agamemnon, son of Atreus, quarreled
with Achilles.
The Iliad, Book 1
THE GENERATIONS OF LEAVES
Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal
men.
Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the
earth, now the
living timber bursts with the new
buds and spring comes round
again. And so with
men: as one generation comes to life,
another dies
away.
The Iliad, Book 6
THE DAWN OF BATTLE
At dawn, the sky was ablaze with the light of the
rising sun, and
the warriors, adorned with their
gleaming armor, prepared for
the new day's battle
with a sense of destiny and dread.
The Iliad, Book 7
THE SILENCE OF TWILIGHT
As the night descended upon the battlefield, the
stillness was
broken only by the whispers of the
wind and the distant cries of
the wounded, echoing
the tragedy of war.
The Iliad, Book 12
THE DESOLATION OF THE BATTLEFIELD
The god of the sea with a mighty wave covered the
whole of the
battlefield, and the host of warriors
was swept away as if they
were leaves driven
before the wind.
The Iliad, Book 13
THE CLASH OF ARMS
When the two armies met in the field, it was as if a
great storm
had burst upon them, and the clash of
arms was deafening, like
the roar of the sea against
the rocks.
The Iliad, Book 15
THE LAMENT FOR PATROCLUS
Now the sun was set and darkness came on. The
battle,
meanwhile, had taken place in the fields of
the Trojans. The
Greeks mourned their loss. The
gods were pitying the fate of
those who had
perished, and the lamentations of mourning
echoed
through the camp as a tribute to their lost
comrades.
The Iliad, Book 18
THE HERO’S FATE
The hero’s fate was sealed, and his end was written
in the stars.
Yet he stood resolute in the face of
doom, his heart unwavering
as he prepared for the
final clash.
The Iliad, Book 22
THE GHOSTS OF THE FALLEN
In the quiet moments of twilight, the ghostly figures
of the fallen
heroes seemed to rise from the earth,
their presence a haunting
reminder of the price of
glory.
The Iliad, Book 24
THE MOURNING OF THE GREEKS
So the Greeks gathered to mourn their dead. The
wails and
lamentations of the mourners reached
the heavens as the dead
were prepared for their
final rest.
The Iliad, Book 24