The Iliad

by Homer

he would send a murderous dream to Agamemnon.

This is like when in Paradise Lost, Eve had a dream.

its power can never die—and

This reminds me of GOT where the iron born the dead "never die."

like swarms of bees pouring out of a rocky hollow, burst on endless burst, bunched in clusters seething over the first spring blooms, dark hordes swirling into the air, this way, that way—

Some dude on the internet said there are 180 epic similies in The Iliad. This is one.

Our work drags on, unfinished as always, hopeless— the labor of war that brought us here to Troy.

Um King Agamemnon didn't you call these men to Troy?

like big waves at sea, the Icarian Sea when East and South Winds drive it on, blasting down in force from the clouds of Father Zeus, or when the West Wind shakes the deep standing grain with hurricane gusts that flatten down the stalks—

Simile

don’t let the sun go down

Don't let the sun go down on me......

Telamonian Ajax

This is more than I can bear, I tell you— to watch my son do battle with Menelaus loved by the War-god, right before my eyes. Zeus knows, no doubt, and every immortal too, which fighter is doomed to end all this in death.”

Priam can't watch his son be killed, but he had no qualms about other sons, brothers, and fathers being killed. What type of leadership is this?

Oh the torment—never-ending heartbreak!“

The other translation of this line is better, "I have griefs untold within my soul."

“Trust me, Atrides—count on me, your comrade,

If he was even a slight friend, he would say ,"Let's gather up our spoils, go back to the land of fair women, Achaia, and enjoy telling tales of our valor for the rest of our days."

but immense grief is his if comrades die in droves.

Because he seems so tore up about the men he has already lost?

And Telamonian Ajax struck Anthemion’s son, the hardy stripling Simoisius, still unwed ... His mother had borne him along the Simois’ banks when she trailed her parents down the slopes of Ida to tend their flocks, and so they called him Simoisius. But never would he repay his loving parents now for the gift of rearing—his life cut short so soon,

This is only a few lines but wow! How moving!

Even a fool learns something once it hits him.”

Welcome words,

I have no taste for food—what I really crave is slaughter and blood and the choking groans of men!“

Sounds like Achilles wants to be a CEO.

No other Achaean fighter could heft that shaft, only Achilles had the skill to wield it well:

Oh please. They said that about the horses, but we saw that wasn't true.

Try hard, do better this time—bring

This is quite possibly the least impressive pep talk of all time. Do better? Motivational speaker Achilles is not.

Even a fool learns something once it hits him.”

you can frighten me with words like a child,