Νερό: An Analysis of Water in Homer's Iliad

Greece, with her abundance of isles and sweeping shorelines, is a country whose history is inextricably intertwined with its surrounding bodies of water—frescoes depicting youths’ deep-sea catches adorned villa walls; grain was purchased using currency developed solely for seaborne trade. The Ancient Greeks’ affinity for water manifests in not only their day-to-day customs, but also in enduring texts such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. While both Homeric poems initially regard water as a simple instrument for plot development (whether it be a geographical obstacle or method of transport), it can be argued that water’s fluid nature behaves as a metaphor for the simultaneous commonality and strife between the Greek city-states and Trojans, all the while establishing a parallelism between water and the volatility of human emotion.

Amidst the jarring bloodshed of war, Homer jointly refers to the Greeks and Trojans as bodies of water—this outwardly-tranquil comparison can be juxtaposed against the violent mergence of the two ‘streams’ as they meet in battle. In Book IV of the Iliad, Homer describes the armies as they

"Slammed together shields and spears […]

Swollen winter torrents flow together

Where two valleys meet. The heavy water

From both streams joins in a gorge […]

Equally distinguishable the shrieking

Of these warriors laboring in union."

Through employing vivid imagery and symbolism of the “winter torrents,” Homer alludes to the fluid nature of the Greek and Trojan ranks as they rush into battle. Though opposite in direction and flow, the two streams eventually collide with equal momentum, with both armies’ warriors “labor[ing] in union” such that their battalions engage in combat “wave after wave.” By granting the soldiers an aqueous quality, Homer likens the resilience of the soldiers to the rhythmic and persistent ebb and flow of the ocean, perhaps attempting to recognize their determination and fortitude.

Water, given its ever-changing nature, is also directly reflective of the vast range and fluidity of human emotion—following Patroclus’ death in Book 21, Achilles’ rage (“leapt from the bank / Like a spirit from hell bent on slaughter”) and military prowess run parallel to descriptions of “river water [turning] crimson with blood. Oceanic symbolism such as “fish fleeing a dolphin’s huge maw / Likewise the Trojans beneath the river banks” also exhibits the collective fright of the Trojan army as they face Achilles on the battlefield—in this passage, enjambment is employed to mimic rapid torrents and to accelerate the meter of the poem, contrasting Achilles’ dexterity with the Trojans’ unease.

Further exhibitions of unity and division amongst the Greeks and Trojans are situated within the framework of an all-encompassing “epic totality”—in the third book of the Iliad, Homer places emphasis on the divide between the “Two armies, / The troops in divisions,” yet speaks of an “Oceanic stream” which both parties gaze towards. The notion of continuity and homogeneity is prevalent throughout—in antiquity, the Greeks believed the Ocean was a river circling the earth, creating an all-encompassing “cycle” which embodies the interconnectedness of the two warring factions amidst their strife.