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chariot, often referred to as racing across the heavens. The

thought of golden horses gliding straight and true, unwavering,

is most definitely an image depicting the eliteness of these

thoroughbreds.

Shortly after Agamemnon dons his armor. On this armor fit

for a king were “serpents of Cyanus” that appeared “like the

rainbows which were set in heaven.” Quite an interesting

description of something that is supposed to instill fear in ones

enemy. The snake, as a notoriously evil incarnation, resembling

a rainbow seems foreign. The secret lies in the rest of the

armor, that it is liberally covered in gold brings home the idea

of the splendor and decadence of this armor, as wonderful as

might be found on a god in heaven. The idea of a king possessing

the gall to flaunt this frivolous armor in a situation that calls

for something more practical, goes to show the ineptitude of the

king of the Acheans.

In Book Twelve we have Polypoetes and Leonteus, defending

the gate of the wall to the Greek ships from the invasion of the

Trojans. These two imposing characters “stood before the gates

like two high oak trees upon the mountains, that tower from their

wide-spreading roots, and year after year battle with wind and

rain.” This simile lends to the characters of the two,

Polypoetes and Leonteus, along with the resolve of the Greeks at

that time. The defenses are brought out to be as long-standing

and strong as one of natures most formidable creations, as any

Greek would know from the evidence of their existence in such an

inhospitable condition as the mountains.

Going back, Book Three starts with: “the Trojans advanced as

a flight of wild fowl or cranes that scream overhead when rain

and winter drive them over the flowing waters of Ocean.” The

cranes bring to mind large, pure, graceful characteristics,

qualities befitting an efficient army troop. The screaming of

the cranes would duly apply to the army, being that a scream

would be terrifying, dissuading the enemy. The choice of simile

here is important. Homer is letting the Trojan army achieve the

appearance of gracefulness, while the Greek army is consistently

portrayed as predatory animals.

In Book Four Ajax duels with Simoeisius. Ajax runs

Simoeisius through with a spear and “he fell as a poplar

that has grown straight and tall in a meadow by some stream and

is cut down by a wainwright with his gleaming axe.” The image of

a well grown tree with great nourishment from the stream and the

pastoral setting acquainted with Simoeisius is consistent with

Homer’s beautifying the Trojan tradition. Ajax is consistently

portrayed as a giant, and with his great spear it is no stretch

to align him with the strength of the lumberjack with his axe,

giving him an air of respect and reverence to him that extends

beyond his battlefield prowess.

Near the end of Book Five Diomedes is greeted by a rush from

Hector’s forces. His reaction is described as like that of “a

man crossing a wide plain, dismayed to find himself on the brink

of some great river rolling swiftly to the sea.” Up until this

point Diomedes had been a potent force for the Greeks. His

newfound humility brought upon by the unsurpassable “river” of

Hector’s troops. It is enough to convince us that Hector’s army

is menacing in this facet alone, but to imagine that mass of

fighting spirit would be enough to purge its enemies like the

rapids swallows an unexperienced kayaker is all the more

frightening.

At the end of Book Six we find Paris catching up to Hector,

to rejoin the battle. Paris takes off “as a horse, stabled and

fed, breaks loose and gallops gloriously over the plain to the

place where he is wont to bathe in the fair-flowing river- he

holds his head high, and his mane streams upon his shoulders as

he exults in his strength and flies like the wind to the haunts

and feeding ground of the mares- even so went forth Paris from

high Pergamus, gleaming like sunlight in his armor, and he

laughed aloud as he sped swiftly on his way.” Obviously Paris is

just as much a show off as Agamemnon, and definitely more vain.

This simile is packed with phrases that exalt strength, beauty

and gracefulness, but little reference to battle prowess, thus

presenting Paris as nothing more than a figure-head. The notable

laughing at the end is something that is singularly Trojan. Not

once is a Greek found laughing, more evidence that Homer has

glamorized the Trojan lifestyle.

The method I used for examining these examples is

exceptionally difficult. First, I examined the way the similes

were used and the effect they achieved, and at the same time, and

the same space, attempted to prove that Homer tried to bring the

Trojans a sense of honor they didn’t receive in battle. Homer’s

similes proved to have been generally bipolar, good or bad, and

he applied them liberally where needed. The goal of Homer’s

trade, as a poet, was to stir people, and the easier the better.

What better way than to appeal to ones already experienced

emotions? To make a person feel like their everyday actions

somehow partook in a greater story is what is accomplished by

using the similes that Homer

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