Iliad 7-12 Study Questions

1. Briefly summarize each book. Do you notice any patterns?
2. How is Hector's characterization developed by the duel with Ajax?
3. Identify Helenus, Ajax, Phoenix, Meleager, Dolon, Rhesus, Machaon, and Sarpedon.
4. What gifts do Hector and Ajax exchange?
5. What is Zeus' authority based on in Book 8?
6. In Book 9, what is Agamemnon's response to the Greek losses?
7. How does Book 9 follow through on the action of Book 1?
8. In what ways is Book 9 the turning point of the poem?
9. How does each of the three speakers try to persuade Achilles?
10. Why does he refuse them?
11. How is Book 10 different from all the others? Who is the hero of this episode?
12. Which Greeks are wounded in Book 11? How does Achilles respond?
13. What role does Patroclus play in Book 11?
14. What is Polydamas' advice to Hector and what is Hector's response (Book 12)?