The Diomedes Dilemma and Pylaimenes Paradox: Book 5 Anonymous College

Homer’s Iliad tells the tale of how Achilleus, the all-powerful warrior of the Achaian army, turned the tides of the Trojan War following a dispute with Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae. While this story does not serve as a telling of the commencement or conclusion for this great war, much like its companion piece The Odyssey, it provides an in-depth view into the inner workings and aftermath of this iconic battle in Greek mythology. Similarly, although this tale has been attributed to the singular poet and author Homer, it is believed that many authors may have contributed to this work due to the “traditional culture of oral storytelling” (Martin 16) during Homer’s time. Professor Murray, who is quoted in Albert Lord’s article “Homer and Huso II: Narrative Inconsistencies in Homer and Oral Poetry,” suggests that the Homeric works were “the creation of whole generations of men, poets, and hearers, working through many ages.” As Martin states in his introduction to The Iliad of Homer, however, “More work remains to be done on all the sources that may have contributed to the masterwork of the Iliad.” Nonetheless, this may serve as an explanation for the inconsistencies found throughout the Iliad, such as in Book Five, and the...