"The Iliad": Chapter 15- Send in Mr. "Strongbow"

Hello. Interesting thing happened last night. Went out to a bar with some friends, and it turns out that one of my friends has no idea when to stop drinking. And he can't hold his liquor too well. Needless to say, I'm getting my car detailed in the morning. Lovely story right? But it was interesting for me. It was a first. And hopefully a last. In hindsight, I really wish I would have had the presence of mind to really tell him off in a manner similar to Homer's style. Maybe something like, "Thou fall drunkard, who has not the capacity in thy head to cut thyself off, remove thy fouled self from my vehicle. Until such time as you have not more putrid effluence to expel from your weakened form." I kind of like that. Hope you do as well.

I want to give some insight into today's title. Last night my friend drank a lot of "Strongbow" cider. And "Strongbow" is also an allusion to Apollo, who uses a bow. Now to the next chapter.

Big Daddy Zeus wakes up. And he's none too happy with Poseidon. He quickly removes his younger brother from the fight. Then sends Apollo to turn things around. Hektor's back baby! Trojans dominate, and there's a lot of talking and killing. There was also more talk of Patroklos' demise and Achilles' return to the fight. Thumbs up for Achilles. (Poor Patroklos)

Overall this was a very pleasant chapter. I especially love the dialogue between the gods. In books it's a lot harder to make a battle really interesting, but dialogue can be especially intriguing. That's my personal opinion. Homer does add some details of interest to the battles though. He speaks very specifically about where everyone gets hit. It's actually quite amazing to me.

Here I was thinking that everyone before the Renaissance was ignorant about internal anatomy, but Homer speaks pretty detailed about brains, tendons and even bladders. I certainly hope that this was all original and not just an addition by the translator. I prefer to think that ancient cultures were way smarter than our modern civilization gives them credit for. Cool fact. I just perused the contents of Vol. 2 of Aristotle. It's packed with anatomical information of animals. Can't wait to get to that. That's about all for now. Good day to you all.

P.S.: Never drive your car during a night of drinking if you can avoid it. You never know when you friend might get a weak stomach. He might look like he's just comforably passed out, but BEWARE! Bye.