Episode Details

The Gore of Battle and the Sanctity of the Dead. Guest: Professor Emily Wilson. The Iliad features vivid and gory battle scenes that Wilson rendered by consulting with combat veterans to understand the visceral nature of death. Homeremphasizes the specific details of how each man dies, often juxtaposing the brutality of a spear through an eyeball with beautiful similes from the natural world. A major theme is the treatment of the dead; the poem views the corpse as the person, requiring those who loved the warrior to wash, wrap, and lament him. Entire books are dedicated to the struggle of reclaiming a fallen comrade's body, as desecrating a corpse is seen as the ultimate victory over an enemy. Stripping the armor from a victim serves as both an economic prize and a symbol of total dominance. While the gods like Poseidon and Hera intervene to support the Greeks, they also remain distinct from mortals by "bleeding" a substance called ichor. These divine and human elements culminate in the pivotal death of Patroclus, which shifts the direction of the entire war. 6