The Iliad

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Goddess, Sing the X of Y”

After thinking about characters’ development, arcs, and roles in The Iliad, students write their own retellings of one character’s story.

The Robert Fagles translation of The Iliad strikingly begins “Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’s son Achilles, / murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses” (Lines 1-2). Pick a character from The Iliad, whether they are a major figure like Achilles or a once-mentioned Trojan soldier. Then, choose from the following options. You can either:

• Imagine that they had a made a different choice (participating in the war, going to battle, fighting a particular person); or
• Tell a short version of the Trojan War from their perspective.

Imagine that you are Homer—or the many poets comprising Homer over time—and write this story like a poem. It should begin just as The Iliad does, except substituting a prominent quality and the name of your chosen character in the first line. For example, if you choose Hector, you might begin “Bravery—Goddess, sing the bravery of Priam’s son Hector.”

Take 20 minutes and write a stanza or two centered around your character.