The Illiad, a Story for All Ages

The first book I ever read was Leroux's translation of the Illiad. He presented the great work in the late 19th century. I was a boy, who was obsessed with great heroes in history some 75 years after he died. So, despite being only 9 or 10 years old, I wrestled with the book for two years, stopping and starting. Finally, I finished it, and I read it several more times consecutively afterward, because I wanted to know what all the fuss about Helen of Troy was over and I heard so much about Achilles by smart people talking about literature.

The Illiad was "written" some time between 1260 and 1240 BCE in Ancient Greece, allegedly by the blind traveling story teller Homer. The story told of how the fabled kingdom of Troy (modern Hisarlik) was sacked by the Achaean host, which was an alliance of armies from the Greek city states, pledged to allegedly recover the queen of Sparta, Helen, from Prince Paris, of Troy, who stole her while a guest of King Menelaus of Sparta. So, Agamemnon, Menelaus' brother, called upon the kingdoms of Greece to join their forces together, with him as general, to conquer Troy, whose king was the venerable Priam. It was also an opportunity for the great hero of Greece, Myrmidon Prince Achilles, to confront the great Trojan Prince Hector.

It is agreed, historically speaking that, in the Illiad, Achilles is the "good guy," and Agamemnon is the "bad guy," Hector is a "good guy" almost as strong as Achilles and his brother, Paris, was weak and smart. Menelaus was strong and dumb. Nestor and Priam were both wise. Odysseus was crafty. Patroclus was unlucky.

My favorite character was not any of the big names. In fact, my favorite character has but a few cameos. I admired Ajax the most. There were actually two Ajaxes in the story, Ajax the Greater, who was the son of Telamon, and "Ajax the Lesser," who was the son of Oilerus, ruler of Locris.

I would take either Ajax over the whining, bitching princes of Greece or the two self-absorbed princes of Troy. It was a simple war for Ajax the Greater and Lesser, respectively: Like workmen they woke up each morning, rallied their troops, and laid some paint on the Trojans -- no quarter given or asked. A young boy is impressed by the clear way this policy works. Of course, as a man, I see that policy as a terrible thing -- but this is now and then was then.

Nevertheless, it was the two Ajaxes who were in the fight day in and day out, while politics happened in the tents to the rear. And there is great virtue in that. Yet, while the Greek victory over the Trojans is given historically to Agamemnon and Achilles, I think it was actually the Ajaxes that did most of the work to achieve that victory. As in life, those who fight the fight are not always the ones who gain from its winning.

The story changes with time, at least for me. Where once the Illiad was the chronicle of a war filled with heroes and gods, great deeds and valor -- I see it now only as a great tragedy for the ones who had nothing to do with starting the conflict or profiting from it. Scores of common soldiers died for nothing, a great city was sacked and burned and the toll on families (both the Trojans and those of the Achaean host) was unspeakable. Greedy men fighting a dirty war for their own profit and power; there is a theme that has not been dimmed by time or yellowed by the ages.

If anything, the Illiad is proof that the more things change, the more they stay the same. There are always Agamemnons and Priams, Hectors and Helens. Today, instead of armor and fine frocks, the bad guys and gals wear designer suits and office wear. Their goals are the same as yesteryear, though.

If anything, I think there was more virtue with the Greeks of old, though. At least they were more honest about their intentions, and their vices were not hidden behind so much horse dump.