Many authors use the device of simile, but Homer fully embraces the concept, immersing many provocative and layered similes into even the most mundane battle scenes of the Iliad. This technique interrupts the ponderous pace of war and allows us to understand the often unstable emotions of the characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayA specific simile, found in book sixteen (lines 259-65), is set in a rather dramatic action: Patroclus, in the armor of Achilleus, awakens the Myrmidons as they head into battle. It is clear that the battalion is eager to fight ("With heart and fury" the Myrmidons "flow from their ships" (XVI, 268)), and Patroclus asks them to "remember your furious valor" (XVI, 270). Homer, however, offers the reader more than just nouns, as he translates the feeling of the Myrmidons into an elaborate visual simile. The basic premise of the comparison is to equate the fury of irritated wasps to the fury of battle-hungry Myrmidons. This similarity, however, is much deeper than this superficial association; as in many of Homer's similes, if studied more carefully, suspiciously familiar characters emerge. The wasps of the passage, as explicitly conveyed to the reader, are the Myrmidons, a faction of the Greek army. Discovering the identity of the "little boys" (XVI, 260) proves more difficult. Homer sets the stage for the character when he describes the boys as thoughtless, ignorant, and casually hedonistic. It is line 262, however, that regards the boys as expressions of Paris himself: "silly boys, they do something that hurts many people [emphasis added]." Thus parallels begin to quickly emerge in the reader's mind: Paris's provocation of the enemy, his infuriatingly contemptuous self-indulgence, and his complete ignorance of the terrible consequences of his action. It therefore follows that the man, presented as an innocent passerby who "stirs [the wasps] involuntarily" (XVI, 264) represents the Trojan army. Troy, unlike the Greek nations, is truly forced into war. Likewise, the man is left to face the painful outcome of the boys' game. The effect of this simile on the narrative is quite remarkable. Throughout the Iliad Homer relentlessly challenges the reader's allegiance to each army, and one is forced to wonder where justice lies in his perpetual play of sympathies. In the simile presented, Homer takes the surprising position of declaring both parties innocent and places all the blame on the shoulders of one man: Paris. Although readers now understand the Greeks' motivations (as hitting the staff effectively results in wife-stealing), their pity turns toward the blameless Trojans, an attitude that will deepen with Sarpedon's impending death, and then abruptly wanes , in typical Homeric style, with the death of Hector. This similarity can, however, be seen from another angle. The comparison with wasps, especially in a poem full of associations between men and lions, wild boars and wolves, is interesting. Myrmidons, as they are presented, are simple wasps. They are not a great asset to the Greek army. What is more important, as is clear from the simile, is their enthusiastic spirit: they are eager to fight and their desire to fight is contagious. The reader is soon presented with the lucid vision of the cloud of wasps "flowing" (XVI, 259) out of their nests, which so perfectly parallels the crowd of Myrmidons pouring from their tents. Thus Homer communicates the innate spirit of the war itself.