The Iliad Epic Similes Quotes

As a stallion full-fed at the manger, stalled too long,
breaking free of his tether gallops down the plain,
out for his favorite plunge in a river’s cool currents,
thundering in his pride – his head flung back, his mane
streaming over his shoulders, sure and sleek in his glory.
knees racing him on to the fields and stallion-haunts he loves –
so down from Pergamus heights came Paris, son of Priam,
glittering in his armor like the sun astride the skies,
exultant, laughing aloud, his fast feet sped him on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 6, lines 604-672. Paris, who has been scolded by his brother Hector for avoiding battle, now sets off for the battle lines. Here in this epic animal simile he is compared to a proud stallion, sure in his glory, breaking free of his tether and galloping on to the battlefield.

Both men bent on combat, on they fought like wind
when a god sends down some welcome blast to sailors
desperate for it, worked to death at the polished oars,
beating the heavy seas, their arms slack with the labor –
so welcome that brace of men appeared to the Trojans
desperate for their captains.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 7, lines 3-8. The Trojan troops welcome their leaders Hector and his brother Paris back to the fighting. An epic simile compares the soldiers’ relief to a welcome blast of wind sent to tired sailors, who have been laboring to death at their oars in heavy seas.

Wave on wave of them settling,
close ranks shuddering into a dense, bristling glitter
of shields and spears and helmets – quick as a ripple
the West Wind suddenly risen shudders down the sea
and the deep sea swell goes dark beneath its force –
so settling waves of Trojan ranks and Achaeans
rippled down the plain.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 7, lines 70-76. The Trojan and Achaean armies momentarily pause to listen to Hector address them. An extended simile likens them to waves on the sea, rippling and turning dark as the West Wind suddenly blows over them.

Ajax harnessed himself in burnished, gleaming bronze
and once he had strapped his legs and chest in armor,
out he marched like the giant god of battle wading
into the wars of men when Zeus drives them hard
to clash and soldier on with heart-devouring hate.
So giant Ajax marched, that bulwark of the Achaeans –
a grim smile curling below his dark shaggy brows,
under his legs’ power taking immense strides,
shaking his spear high, its long shadow trailing.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 7, lines 237-245. A fully armed Great Ajax moves out to face Hector in single combat. In an epic simile he is compared to a giant god of war, Ares, marching into a clash of warriors stirred up to fight by the god Zeus.

Hector far in the lead, bristling in all his force
like a hound that harries a wild boar or lion –
hot pursuit. snapping quick at his heels,
hindquarters and flanks but still on alert
for him to wheel and fight – so Hector harried
the long-haired Argives, killing the last stragglers,
man after lagging man and they, they fled in panic.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 8, lines 384-390. As the killing machine of Hector attacks and despatches the Achaeans, he is compared to a hound harrying a wild board or lion in this epic animal simile.

As crosswinds chop the sea where the fish swarm,
the North Wind and the West Wind blasting out of Thrace
in sudden, lightning attack, wave on blacker wave, cresting,
heaving a tangled mass of seaweed out along the surf –
so the Achaeans’ hearts were torn inside their chests.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 9, lines 4-8. After being routed by the Trojans, the Achaean army is completely demoralized and seized by panic. An epic simile describes crosswinds chopping the sea and heaving a mass of seaweed along the surf, likening this to the Greeks’ hearts being torn inside them.

Like a mother bird hurrying morsels back
to her unfledged young – whatever she can catch –
but it’s all starvation wages for herself.
So for me.
Many a sleepless night I’ve bivouacked in harness,
day after bloody day I’ve hacked my passage through,
fighting other soldiers to win their wives as prizes.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 9, lines 392-397. Achilles is complaining that he has not received enough recognition for his efforts in the war against the Trojans. In an epic simile he compares himself to the mother bird rushing back with morsels to her young, but starving herself.

So by the ships the other lords of Achaea’s armies
slept all night long, overcome by gentle sleep…
But not the great field marshal Agamemnon –
the sweet embrace of sleep could not hold him:
his mind kept churning, seething. Like Zeus’s bolts
when the lord of bright-hatred Hera flashes lightning,
threatening to loose torrential rain or pelting hail
or snow when a blizzard drifts on fields – or driving on,
somewhere on earth, the giant jaws of rending war –
so thick-and-fast the groans came from Atrides,
wrenching his chest, heaving up from his heart
and rocked his very spirit to the core.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 10, lines 1-12. While the other Greek commanders sleep soundly that night, Agamemnon does not. He feels grim about the military situation and is concerned about the fate of the Achaean army after their rout by the Trojans earlier that day. An epic simile compares the turmoil in his heart to Zeus flashing lightning and threatens to let loose a massive storm.

Like sheepdogs keeping watch on flocks in folds,
a nervous, bristling watch when the dogs get wind
of a wild beast rampaging down through mountain timber,
crashing toward the pens, and the cries break as he charges,
a din of men and dogs, and their sleep is broken, gone –
and so the welcome sleep was routed from their eyes,
guardsmen keeping the long hard watch that night.
Always turning toward the plain, tense to catch
some sign of the Trojans launching an attack.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 10, lines 215-223. A description of how the nervous and unsleeping Achaeans remain on watch all night, for fear of a Trojan attack. An extended Homeric simile compares them to nervous sheepdogs guarding flocks and getting wind that a wild beast is rampaging through the pens.

they sprang in pursuit
as a pair of rip-tooth hounds
bred for the hunt and flushing fawn or hare
through a woody glen keep closing for the kill,
nonstop and the prey goes screaming on ahead –
so Odysseus raider of cities and Diomedes
cut him off from his own lines.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 10, lines 420-426. Trojan spy Dolon is chased and cut off from his own lines by Odysseus and Diomedes, who are also on a spying mission. The Achaean duo are compared to predatory hounds chasing a fawn or hare, in an epic simile.

As a lion springs on flocks unguarded, shepherd gone,
pouncing on goats or sheep and claw-mad for the kill,
so Tydeus’ son went tearing into that Thracian camp
until he’d butchered twelve.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 10, lines 561-564. The horrors and triumphs of battle are vividly described here, as Diomedes goes on a rampage through the Thracian part of the Trojan camp and kills the sleeping soldiers. He is likened to a lion pouncing on goats or sheep – many of Homer’s epic similes compare warriors to predators.

Hector bore his round shield in the forefront, blazing out
like the Dog Star through the clouds, all withering fire,
then plunging back in the cloud-rack massed and dark –
so Hector ranged on, now flaring along me front,
now shouting his orders back toward the rear,
all of him armed in bronze aflash like lightning
flung by Father Zeus with his battle-shield of thunder.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 69-75. On the battlefield on the Trojan side, the troops mass around Hector. In a dramatic epic simile, the Trojan warrior is likened to a blazing star as if lit up by lightning from Zeus.

And the men like gangs of reapers slashing down
the reaping-rows and coming closer, closer across
the field of a warlord rich in wheat or barley –
swaths by the armfuls falling thick-and-fast –
so Achaeans and Trojans closed and slashed,
lunging into each other.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 76-81. The bitter clash between the Trojan and Achaean armies is described here in an epic simile, which compares them to gangs of reapers slashing and slicing down the rows of corn in a warlord’s field.

Think how a lion, mauling the soft weak young
of a running deer, clamped in his massive jaws,
cracks their backbones with a snap – she’s stormed in,
invading the lair to tear their tender hearts out
and the mother doe, even if she’s dose by,
what can she do to save her fawns? She’s helpless –
terrible trembling racks her body too – and suddenly
off she bounds through the glades and the thick woods,
drenched in sweat, leaping clear of the big eat’s pounce.
So not a single Trojan could save those two from death,
they fled themselves before the Argive charge.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 132-142. Comparing Agamemnon to a predatory lion mauling and tearing apart weak and young deer, this epic simile describes how the Achaean king brutally kills Isus and Antiphus, two of Trojan king Priam’s sons. The mother doe, like the Trojans, is unable to save her young deer from the lion. The Iliad is full of epic similes, especially ones like this involving predators and their prey.

Yet stragglers still stampeded down the plain
like cattle driven wild by a lion lunging
in pitch darkness down on the whole herd
but to one alone a sudden death comes flashing –
first he snaps its neck, clamped in his huge jaws,
then down in gulps he bolts its blood and guts.
So King Agamemnon coursed his quarry, always cutting
the straggler from the mass and they, they fled in terror,
squads amok, spilling out of their chariots facefirst
or slammed on their backs beneath Atrides’ hands –
storming and thrusting his spear and lunging on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 200-210. A rampaging Agamemnon continues to kill the fleeing Trojans. The Greek king is likened to a lion and the Trojans cattle in an epic simile which graphically describes him slaughtering his prey. As the lion is regarded as the king of the animals, this is an appropriate comparison.

Hector –
whipping the fight and fire in each man like a huntsman
crying on his hounds, their white fangs flashing,
harrying savage game, some wild boar or lion –
so at Achaea’s ranks he drove his fearless Trojans.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 338-342. Hector rallies the Trojan soldiers in a drive against the Achaean ranks. An epic simile compares him to a huntsman urging on the hounds in pursuit of savage game. He goes on to kill nearly a dozen Greek captains and the Achaean line begins to flee.

Then both went thrashing into the lines to make a slaughter
as two wild boars bristling, ramping back for the kill,
fling themselves on the yelping packs that hunt them –
back they whirled on attack and laid the Trojans low
while Achaeans just in flight from Hector’s onset
leapt at the chance to gather second wind.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 375-380. As the Greek army begins to retreat, Odysseus and Diomedes decide to make a stand. They heroically fling themselves at the Trojans like "two wild boars" going in for the kill, as described in an epic simile. Their action inspires the other Achaeans.

like hounds and lusty hunters closing, ringing
a wild boar till out of his thicket lair he crashes,
whetting his white tusks sharp in his bent, wrenching jaws
and they rush in to attack and under the barks and shouts
you can hear the gnash of tusks but the men stand firm –
terrible, murderous as he is – so the Trojans ringed
Odysseus dear to Zeus, rushing him straight on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 490-496. The Trojan soldiers attack Odysseus, who has become isolated from his men. In an extended simile, he is compared to a wild boar surrounded by hounds and hunters. He is also said to be dear to the father of the gods Zeus.

they found Odysseus
dear to Zeus but round him Trojans thronged
like tawny jackals up in the mountains swarming
round a horned stag just wounded – a hunter’s hit him
with one fast shaft from his bow and the stag’s escaped,
sprinting at top speed so long as his blood runs warm
and the spring in his knees still lasts…
But soon as the swift arrow saps his strength
the ravening carrion packs begin their feasting
off on a ridge in twilight woods until some god,
some power drives a lion down against them-claw-mad
and the panicked jackals scatter, the lion rends their prey.
So packed around Odysseus skilled and quick to maneuver
swarmed the brave bulk of Trojans – but still the hero
kept on lunging, spearing, keeping death at bay.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 556-570. Menelaus and Great Ajax find Odysseus surrounding by Trojans, but heroically managing to keep death at bay. In an epic simile comparing him to a wounded stag surrounded by jackals, Odysseus is depicted as a great warrior with steely resistance and determination. The fact that Zeus holds him dear also helps his cause.

Wild as a swollen river hurling down on the flats,
down from the hills in winter spate, bursting its banks
with rain from storming Zeus, and stands of good dry oak,
whole forests of pine it whorls into itself and sweeps along
till it heaves a crashing mass of driftwood out to sea –
so glorious Ajax swept the field, routing Trojans,
shattering teams and spearmen in his onslaught.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 580-586. As Great Ajax attacks and routs the Trojans, Homer in an epic simile conjures up an image of a river swollen by rain storms from Zeus, sweeping through a forest and dragging a mass of driftwood out to sea. The Greek warrior is compared to a force of nature as he heroically sends the enemy running.

Like a tawny lion when hounds and country field hands
drive him out of their steadings filled with cattle –
they’ll never let him tear the rich fat from the oxen,
all night long they stand guard but the lion craves meat,
he lunges in and in but his charges gain him nothing,
thick-and-fast from their hardy arms the javelins
rain down in his face, and waves of blazing torches –
these the big cat fears, balking for all his rage,
and at dawn he slinks away, his spirits dashed.
So Ajax slowly drew back from the Trojans,
spirits dashed, and much against his will.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 644-654. Hector and his men force Great Ajax to slowly retreat. The giant Greek warrior is depicted as a dispirited lion driven back by hounds and field hands in one of Homer’s powerful epic similes.

Like a stubborn ass some boys lead down a road…
stick after stick they’ve cracked across his back
but he’s too much for them now, he rambles into a field
to ravage standing crops. They keep beating his ribs,
splintering sticks – their struggle child’s play
till with one final shove they drive him off
but not before he’s had his fill of feed.
So with Telamon’s son Great Ajax then –
vaunting Trojans and all their far-flung allies
kept on stabbing his shield, full center, no letup.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 656-665. Great Ajax is compelled to retreat in the face of the onslaught by Hector and his men. The image of a stubborn ass being beaten by sticks by a bunch of boys is conjured up to describe this in an epic simile.

think of the hounds and huntsmen circling round
some lion or boar when the quarry wheels at bay,
rippling in strength as the men mass like a bastion
standing up to his charge and hurl their pelting spears
and the boar’s brave spirit never flinches, never bolts
and his own raw courage kills him – time and again
he wheels around, testing the huntsmen’s ranks
and where he lunges out the ranks of men give way.
So Hector lunged into battle, rallying cohorts now,
spurring them on to cross the gaping trench.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 50-59. A brave and heroic Hector attacks the Achaean wall. An epic simile likens Hector to a lion or boar, surrounded by hounds and huntsmen hurling spears at their quarry, and the animal repeatedly turns around and lunges at its attackers.

Both warriors planted there before the towering gates
rose like oaks that rear their crests on a mountain ridge,
standing up to the gales and driving rains, day in, day out,
their giant roots branching, gripping deep in the earth:
so these two, trusting all to their arms, their power,
stood up to Asius’ headlong charge and never shrank.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 155-160. The Achaean spearmen Polypoetes and Leonteus heroically defend the Achaean gate in the Greeks’ wall against the charge led by Trojan ally Asius. They are compared in an epic simile to two great oaks standing up to gales and driving rains.

the two burst forth to fight before the gates
like wild boars, a pair of them up on the hilltops
bracing to take some breakneck rout of men and dogs
and the two go slanting in on the charge, shattering timber
round about them, shearing off the trunks at the roots
and a grinding, screeching clatter of tusks goes up
till a hunter spears them, tears their lives out –
so the clatter screeched from the gleaming bronze
that cased their chests as blows piled on blows.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 169-177. Fighting for all they are worth, the Achaeans Polypoetes and Leonteus are likened to two wild boars in an extended Homeric simile, as they heroically make a stand against the Trojan charge at the Achaean gate.

Father Zeus –
so even you are an outright liar after all!
I never dreamed these heroic Argive ranks
could hold back our charge, our invincible arms.
Look, like wasps quick and pinched at the waist
or bees who build their hives on a rocky path,
they never give up their hollow house, they hold on,
keep the honey-hunters at bay, fight for their young.
So these men will never budge from the gates
though they’re only two defenders –
not till they kill us all or we kill them!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 12, lines 189-199. Asius curses Zeus for his failure to break through the Achaean defensive wall. An epic simile conjures up an image of bees or wasps who will never give up the fight for the defense of their house and young. So the heroic Achaeans will defend against the Trojan charge until they kill all or are killed themselves.
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