Death in the Iliad

Nothing better than humour and mythology combined--especially when that humour is respectful to the Theoi and our mythology. Today I would like to share the latest of 'Greek Myth Comix', an initiative by Laura Jenkinson in order to 'explaining Classics in stick-man form'. Together with contributing artist PS, she puts out comics, infographs, and other mythology related material.

Today's work is, indeed, an infographic, created in collaboration with Ian Johnston, who has published a very enjoyable translation of the Iliad. the subject? Death!

We all know a lot of people bite the dust in the Iliad. The story--which describes part of the Trojan war--introduces and follows some of the greatest heroes in Hellenic mythology. Together, they do  whole lot of killing and dying, and yes, if you turn that into an infographic, it's very enjoyable. Please head over to the Greek Myth Comix website to view the whole comic in much better quality. You can also buy this as a poster in the UK, or buy this as a poster in the US.

 

Some facts to get you interested? 201 Trojans bit the dust, where only 54 Hellenes died (well, named ones, anyway). Hektor had the most kills on the Trojan side, while Diomedes did best for the Hellenes. Rocks were very deadly. Interested yet?