The Iliad - Favourite Character

[Oxyster]

I recently began reading Homer's great work, The Iliad and was blown away by it's grandeur. The son of Tydeus, Diomedes, or Diomed, depending on which translation you go by is my favourite character. How he fights Pandarus, then goes after aphrodite, wounding her hand, then aftar Apollo before being batted back three times was amazing.

So I was just wondering, who is your favourite character from the Iliad and why, or just your favourite part of the story in general.

[mortalterror]

Ajax. He's the biggest, the baddest, the meanest, and the strongest. He holds off the entire Trojan army single-handed, from the wreck of a burning battleship.

[KCurtis]

I recently began reading Homer's great work, The Iliad and was blown away by it's grandeur. The son of Tydeus, Diomedes, or Diomed, depending on which translation you go by is my favourite character. How he fights Pandarus, then goes after aphrodite, wounding her hand, then aftar Apollo before being batted back three times was amazing.

So I was just wondering, who is your favourite character from the Iliad and why, or just your favourite part of the story in general.
Probably Agamemnon, although I haven't read the story in 15 years! If you are enjoying the Iliad, you have to read the Odyssey! It is my favorite of the two books.

[prendrelemick]

I like Diomedes too, a dashing young hero if ever there was one.

But Nestor is the most true to life character, he reminds me of my dad and his mates, when he starts going on and on about the old days.

[Darcy88]

I like Hector. At one point when Achilles is out of the action Hector goes on a ferocious tear. You know he's on the losing side so his predicament seems all the more tragic. He fights first Achilles and then Ajax one on one. Achilles is the greater warrior but Hector is the greater man.

[Oxyster]

True enough about Hector, I consider him far more respectable than most of the other heroes as he is fighting for his nation and it's survival, where as most of the greeks are either fighting for glory or the love of fighting in and of itself.

I am going to finish the illiad before I ge to work on the odyssey, plus I have the aenied which I just got in hardcover Everyman's library edition :)

[danofweaver]

Great topic; I loved the Odyssey but when I started the Iliad I found the descriptions of killing so graphic I had to put it down for a stronger time. Does it get less gruesome or should I just re read the Odyssey? In the Odyssey I like Eperitos though he was a little ruthless!