This material has been used for many years by Professor Tom Sienkewicz in his courses at Howard University and
at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. If you have any questions, you may contact him at toms@monm.edu.
ANALYSIS OF ILIAD XIV
This analysis is based upon A Study of the "Iliad" in Translation by Frank Lowry Clark. (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1927).
I. Nestor, alarmed by the uproar, comes out of his tent and witnesses the plight of the Greeks, I-26
II. War council of the Greek leaders, including (a) speech of Agamemnon advising the launching of the ships and flight by night; (b) speech of Odysseus in opposition; (c) speech of Diomedes urging the chieftains to join in the battle, wounded as they are, 27-132
III. Poseidon, assuming the form of an old man, encourages Agamemnon and leaves the field with a great shout, 133-52
IV. Hera arrays herself in all her finery preparatory to visiting Zeus, 153-86
V. The Seduction of Zeus by Hera 187-291
a.) Hera goes to Aphrodite and borrows her magic girdle, 187-223
b.) Hera goes to Lemnos to win the assistance of Hypnos, god of sleep, 224-79
c.) Hera and Hypnos go to mount Ida, 280-91
d.) The Hieros Gamos ("Sacred Marriage") of Zeus and Hera on the top of Mount Ida, 280-91
V. Hypnos goes to the ships and urges Poseidon to help the Greeks, 352-60
VI. Poseidon leads the Greeks against the Trojans, 361-87
VII. The general battle at the ships is renewed, Hector is wounded by Ajax and the tide of war
turns in favor of the Greeks at the close of this book, 388-522