Paired, clustered, and recurrent similies in Homer’s Iliad

Abstract

This paper explores relationships among similes in Homer's Iliad. The first five points of the paper examine some of the possible relationships and associations that occur among similes that are paired or clustered in close proximity to each other in the poem; the sixth point discusses the relationship between two almost identical similes that occur in completely different books of the Iliad. The focus of the paper is to demonstrate that the paired, clustered, and recurrent similes treated here contain not only a point of comparison to the narrative itself but also a structural connection that links the similes together.