The Iliad of Homer Quotes

“Essentially, he can be described by the Greek word sophron (though the word is not Homeric). This is untranslatable. It means, not necessarily that you have superior brains, but that you make maximum use of whatever brains you have got. Odysseus is the antithesis of Achilleus. Achilleus has a fine intelligence, but passion clouds it; Odysseus has strong passions, but his intelligence keeps them under control. Achilleus, Hektor, and Agamemnon, magnificent as they are, are flawed with uncertainty and can act on confused motives; Odysseus never. So those three are tragic heroes, but Odysseus, less magnificent but a complete man, is the hero of his own romantic comedy, the Return of Odysseus, or Odyssey.”
― Richmond Lattimore, The Iliad of Homer

“Simile, with its relatives, is as essential to Homer as formula. It has been more frequently noticed, but even more seriously misunderstood. Simile in Homer is not decoration; it is dynamic invention, and because of this no successor has been able to swing it in the same grand manner.”
― RIchmond Lattimore (Translation), The Iliad of Homer

“For as an essential characteristic of the formula is repeat, an essential of simile is uniqueness.”
― RIchmond Lattimore (Translation), The Iliad of Homer