![]() The aim of this short article is to review some of the most striking examples of precise anatomical descriptions contained in the Iliad, as well as the considerations on this subject provided by various authors over time. Several authors have focused on this aspect of the Iliad and some have gone as far as to conclude that Homer (or whoever composed the Iliad) likely had a medical background. Some of the anatomical descriptions appear surprisingly elaborate and precise for a text presumably composed around the eighth century BC. However, beyond dramatic effect, the detailed descriptions of wounds and injuries have attracted the attention and curiosity of generations of readers, especially those with a medical background. The descriptions of battles and duels in the Iliad confer an epic character to its narration. Kylix – Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin F2278 (c. Illustration on the interior of a Greek kylix, Achilles dressing the wounds of Patroclus. Anatomical descriptions in the Iliad December 29, 2020 ![]()
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