Simile Post- Alex Fultz

Book 3 begins with the Trojan ranks leaving the city gates to advance towards the Greeks. Paris, the Trojan who stole Helen from Menelaus, was with them. Menelaus was eager to exact his revenge on Paris and challenged him to a one on one duel. Upon seeing Menelaus, he quickly receded back into the protection of his fellow soldiers. Only after being made fun of by Hector did he finally decide to show his face to Menelaus. The following Homeric simile depicts the Trojan Army immediately after they left the gates of Troy.

Like cranes beating their metallic wings

In the stormy sky of winter's onset,

Unspeakable rain at their backs, their necks stretched 

Toward Oceanic streams and down 

To strafe the brown Pygmy race,

Bringing strife and bloodshed from the sky at dawn

Book 3, lines 5-10 of the Lombardo Translation

In this simile, the tenor are the Greek and Trojan armies advancing upon each other. The Trojan Army is bustling with barbaric energy and is moving extremely noisily. Lines 18 and 19 state that “No more could the soldiers see through the cloud of dust the armies tramped up as they moved through the plain.” This shows the aggressive and ferocious nature of the Trojan’s movement. They are moving toward the Greek army with the intent to spill blood. The vehicles of this simile are the cranes and the Pygmies. The flying cranes beating their metallic wings are being compared to the barbaric nature of the Trojan army, while the Pygmy race is comparable to the Greeks, who are awaiting the advancement of the Trojan Army and are preparing themselves for the bloodshed that is about to ensue. The parallels between the Greek and Trojan armies and the ferocious cranes and the awaiting Pygmies are rather evident. This simile appeals to both sight and sound. The imagery that Homer uses here helps you to picture the difference between the raging, screaming Trojans and the much quieter, waiting Greeks. It also shows a certain bias that the author has in describing the two armies, since the Trojan army has been described as almost savage and impulsive as is rushes toward the Greeks, who are calm and remain composed throughout this particular scene.