Genre
Combination between fictional history and history
Setting and Context
The action described takes place in the distant past in various locations all over the world.
Narrator and Point of View
The actions are told from the perspective of a third-person objective point of view.
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood is a neutral one.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists are the Greeks and the antagonists are the Spartans.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is the book is between the universal power held by destiny and the need every person has to fight for what he or she wants and for the need to create one’s own path in life.
Climax
Because of the way in which the action is constructed, it is hard to distinguish one climactic moment. However, one such moment could be pointed out as being the end of the Trojan war.
Foreshadowing
The labyrinths through which the Egyptians have to go through in life are used to foreshadow the later challenges it is believed they will have to deal with in the afterlife.
Understatement
The assertion that war is a glorious cause is an understatement because later war is described as being extremely brutal and not worth fighting for.
Allusions
One of the most important allusions the reader finds in the first book is the idea that Paris was not motivated by his love for Helen when he decided to rape her but rather by the need to get revenge.
Imagery
We have an important imagery in the second book where the narrator describes a large group of children who were deprived of language. These children grew up to be
Paradox
One of the main paradoxes in the book is how even though the characters know they will suffer if they fall in love, they still decide to go forward with it.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Nakedness is used in the book as a general term to make reference to the idea of vulnerability.
Personification
We have a personification in the sentence “the ship was powerless in the face of the ruthless wind”.
