 First edition | |
| Author | David Malouf |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 2009 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 230 |
| ISBN | 0099539527 |
Ransom (2009) is a novel by Australian author David Malouf. It retells the story of the Iliad from books 22 to 24.
This story begins with Achilles mourning the death of Patroclus (who is described as his kinsman, cousin or lover in various books and films) during the Trojan War. Achilles, enraged at his friend's death, slays Hector, Patroclus' killer, and drags Hector's corpse behind a chariot around the walls of Troy and Patroclus' funeral pyre for the next ten days. This causes much dismay to the Trojans and his own men, as it is an unprecedented act of barbarism, and is made worse by the ancient belief held by both Greeks and Trojans that Hector's soul cannot pass into the afterlife unless it is given a proper burial, something that Achilles refuses to allow.
The narrative shifts from Achilles to Priam, Hector's father, and the King of Troy. Priam cannot stand the abuse of his beloved son's body, and (prompted by the messenger-goddess Iris in a dream) decides that he will approach Achilles without his royal decorations, mortal to mortal, and attempt to ransom Hector's body back with the better part of the Trojan treasury.
When Priam explains his plan to his family and advisors, it is met with resistance. After recruiting a common cart driver, Somax, from the market square, Priam and his driver set out for the Greek camp. With guidance from the god of travellers, Hermes, Priam eventually meets Achilles at his camp.
Priam appeals to Achilles's conscience, reminding him of his own father and son (here Malouf juxtaposes Priam's grief at the death of his son and Achilles' grief at Patroclus' death), in trying to persuade him to return Hector to Troy for a proper burial. Achilles (partly due to the nostalgia stirred up when he mistakes Priam for his own father, Peleus) agrees, and the exchange is made. The story ends with a flash forward to Priams' inglorious death at the hands of Achilles' son, Neoptolemus.
Years later, when Troy has fallen to the Greeks, an elderly Somax retells his story, highlighting the story as one of the major themes of the book.
There are several textual differences between the Iliad and Ransom. The character Somax, who drives the cart Priam rides en route to his negotiations with Achilles, is not mentioned in the original text. This leads to a drastically different interaction with Hermes in Ransom. [1] Priam and Achilles are covered in much more detail in Ransom, leading to further textual differences.
Ransom was shortlisted for the 2011 International Dublin Literary Award. [2] It received the 2009 John D. Criticos Prize for Greek literature. [3] The book received positive reviews from the New York Times Book Review, the Dallas Morning News, the New Yorker, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and the Wall Street Journal and many other publications [4]
In Greek mythology, Achilles or Achilleus was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. A central character in Homer's Iliad, he was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, king of Phthia and famous Argonaut. Achilles was raised in Phthia along with his childhood companion Patroclus and received his education by the centaur Chiron. In the Iliad, he is presented as the commander of the mythical tribe of the Myrmidons.
Ajax or Aias is a Greek mythological hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer. He plays an important role in the Trojan War, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War, being second only to Achilles among Greek heroes of the war. He is also referred to as "Telamonian Ajax", "Greater Ajax", or "Ajax the Great", which distinguishes him from Ajax, son of Oileus, also known as Ajax the Lesser.
In Greek mythology, Hector is a Trojan prince, and one of four sons to the King of Troy, he was a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's Iliad, where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors and the occasional Hero. However he is ultimately killed in single combat by the Greek Hero Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot.
In Greek mythology, Priam was the legendary and last king of Troy during the Trojan War. He was the son of Laomedon. His many children included notable characters such as Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War.
In Greek mythology, Patroclus was a hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's Iliad. He is widely known for being the childhood friend and close wartime companion of the hero Achilles. When the tide of the war turned against the Achaeans, Patroclus, disguised as Achilles and defying his orders to retreat in time, led the Myrmidons in battle against the Trojans and was eventually killed by the Trojan prince, Hector. Enraged by Patroclus' death, Achilles ended his refusal to fight, resulting in significant Greek victories.
Troy is a 2004 epic historical war film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by David Benioff. Produced by units in Malta, Mexico and Britain's Shepperton Studios, the film features an ensemble cast led by Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and Orlando Bloom. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad in its narration of the entire story of the decade-long Trojan War—condensed into little more than a couple of weeks, rather than just the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the ninth year. Achilles leads his Myrmidons along with the rest of the Greek army invading the historical city of Troy, defended by Hector's Trojan army. The end of the film is not taken from the Iliad, but rather from Quintus Smyrnaeus's Posthomerica, as the Iliad concludes with Hector's death and funeral.
Troilus is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War. The first surviving reference to him is in Homer's Iliad, composed in the late 8th century BCE.
In the Iliad, Asteropaios was a leader of the Trojan-allied Paeonians along with fellow warrior Pyraechmes.
The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a key element of the stories associated with the Trojan War. In the Iliad, Homer describes a deep and meaningful relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, where Achilles is tender toward Patroclus, but callous and arrogant toward others. Its exact nature—whether homosexual, a non-sexual deep friendship, or something else entirely—has been a subject of dispute in both the Classical period and modern times. Homer never explicitly casts the two as lovers, but they were depicted as lovers in the archaic and classical periods of Greek literature, particularly in the works of Aeschylus, Aeschines and Plato.
There are a wide range of ways in which people have represented the Trojan War in literature and the arts.
King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus.
The Posthomerica is an epic poem in Greek hexameter verse by Quintus of Smyrna. Probably written in the 3rd century AD, it tells the story of the Trojan War, between the death of Hector and the fall of Ilium. The poem is an abridgement of the epic poems Aethiopis and Iliou Persis by Arctinus of Miletus, and the Little Iliad by Lesches, all now-lost poems of the Epic Cycle.
In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's Iliad, Lycaon was a son of Priam and Laothoe, daughter of the Lelegian king Altes.
The Iliad is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks. In particular, it depicts a fierce quarrel between King Agamemnon and a celebrated warrior, Achilles. It is a central part of the Epic Cycle. The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature.
The Song of Achilles is a 2011 novel by American writer Madeline Miller. Set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is a retelling of the Trojan War as told from the perspective of Patroclus. The novel follows Patroclus' relationship with Achilles, from their initial meeting to their exploits during the Trojan War, with focus on their romantic relationship. In 2012, The Song of Achilles was awarded the Orange Prize for Fiction.
The Silence of the Girls is a 2018 novel by English novelist Pat Barker. It recounts the events of the Iliad chiefly from the point of view of Briseis.
Troilus and Cressida is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.