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Ethos
Book 2
Explanation and Analysis—Bird Signs:
Throughout the Iliad, the mortals interpret the movement of birds as omens from Zeus. These omens—one of which appears in a flashback—serve to foreshadow the end of the narrative and the outcome of the war. Through the motif of bird signs, Homer emphasizes the mortal characters' powerlessness over their fates.
In Book 2, Odysseus looks back on one of the days before they set out towards Troy. He describes the Achaean forces "milling round" and making sacrifices, "when a great omen appeared." Odysseus develops the flashback in great detail: first, a snake slides up a tree and gulps up eight baby sparrows and their mother; then, the snake turns to stone. According to Odysseus, it was Zeus who "sent the serpent forth" and "turned him into a sign." He then goes on to quote Calchas's interpretation of the omen:
As the snake devoured the sparrow with her brood,
eight and the mother made the ninth, she’d borne them all,
so we will fight in Troy that many years and then,
then in the tenth we’ll take her broad streets.’
Related Themes:
Book 12
Explanation and Analysis—Bird Signs:
Throughout the Iliad, the mortals interpret the movement of birds as omens from Zeus. These omens—one of which appears in a flashback—serve to foreshadow the end of the narrative and the outcome of the war. Through the motif of bird signs, Homer emphasizes the mortal characters' powerlessness over their fates.
In Book 2, Odysseus looks back on one of the days before they set out towards Troy. He describes the Achaean forces "milling round" and making sacrifices, "when a great omen appeared." Odysseus develops the flashback in great detail: first, a snake slides up a tree and gulps up eight baby sparrows and their mother; then, the snake turns to stone. According to Odysseus, it was Zeus who "sent the serpent forth" and "turned him into a sign." He then goes on to quote Calchas's interpretation of the omen:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As the snake devoured the sparrow with her brood,
eight and the mother made the ninth, she’d borne them all,
so we will fight in Troy that many years and then,
then in the tenth we’ll take her broad streets.’
Related Themes:
