The Homeric Simile
Homer and Greek Epic
A Homeric simile is an elaborate comparison,
developed over several lines, between
something strange or unfamiliar to the audience
and something more familiar to them.
Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC SIMILE
The Homeric Simile
• the simile is one of the hallmarks of
Homer’s style
• a simile is an explicit comparison of two
things, using “like” or “as”
• e.g. my teacher drinks like a fish.
• This is an example of a simile you have
studied in the past.
Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)
The Homeric Simile
Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)
What do you notice about this simile example?
Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)
The Homeric Simile
Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)
• Two things are being compared here:
1. A dying soldier
2. ?
Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)
The Homeric Simile
Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)
• the flower and the dying hero bend over in a
like manner
• both have colorful tops: one has a flower
and the other a crested helmet
The Homeric Simile
Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)
• but the flower and the hero are more
different than alike:
• man vs. plant
• dying in battle vs. growing in the rain
• noisy dirty battlefield vs. serene rainfall
Practice Identifying
Identify the two things that Homer compares in each
extended simile.
“I drove my weight on it from above and
bored it home like a shipwright bores his
beam with a shipwright's drill that men
below, whipping the strap back and forth,
whirl and the drill keeps twisting, never
stopping --So we seized our stake with it
fiery tip and bored it round and round in
the giant's eye.”
Odysseus is comparing how he stabs the Cyclops
in the eye to…
“I drove my weight on it from above and bored it
home like a shipwright bores his beam with a
shipwright's drill that men below, whipping the strap
back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting,
never stopping --So we seized our stake with it fiery
tip and bored it round and round in the giant's eye.”
The way a shipwright (a person who works on/builds boats)
drills a hole in a beam on his ship.
Here’s another to practice
“…its crackling roots blazed and
hissed - as a blacksmith plunges a
glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath
and the metal screeches steam and
its temper hardens - that's the iron's
strength - so the eye of Cyclops
sizzled round that stake.”
Odysseus compares the sizzling sound of the
Cyclops' eye
“…its crackling roots blazed and hissed - as a blacksmith
plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the
metal screeches steam and its temper hardens - that's the
iron's strength - so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that
stake.”
to that of sticking fire-hot metal in cold water.
Now, let’s practice writing our own!
Look at the assignment card given to you.
Read it carefully as it tells you how to write
your own Homeric Simile with helpful hints!