70 Chiron the wise centaur, half-man half-horse, who
taught the young Achilles.
83 Phoebus means shining in Greek; another name for
Apollo the sun god.
111 the Furies the powers that punish violations of divine
laws. It is not the destiny of horses, even if immortal
as here, to speak.
115 I know my Fates Achilles had earlier been given a
choice of two fates: a long undistinguished life if he
returned home or eternal fame and an early death if
he remained at Troy. In continuing to fight, Achilles is
bidding for glory in the certain knowledge of
imminent death. He died by an arrow shot by Paris
which pierced his heel.
from the twenty-first book of the IliadLines 1–43, 50–95, 103–52, and 231–447 in the complete
version. Pope remarks on the fertility of Homer’s imagination
and invention in contriving a battle of ‘an entirely new and
surprising kind...diversified with a vast variety of imagery
and description.... There is no book of the poem which has
more force of imagination...after the description of an
inundation there follows a very beautiful contrast in that of
the drought: the part of Achilles is admirably sustained’
(introductory note).
7 Saturnia Juno, daughter of Saturn, and wife of
Jupiter.
21 tamarisks graceful evergreen shrubs.
35 twelve chosen youths Pope notes the ‘ferocious and
vindictive spirit of his hero’ (line 35) even allowing
for the different customs of antiquity which, unlike
some of his contemporaries, he does not excuse or
sentimentalize.
42 Priam the old king of Troy; he had fifty sons.
50 His well-known face Pope comments: ‘Homer has
a wonderful art and judgement in contriving such
incidents as set the characteristic qualities of his