(Achilles Slays Hector by Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)
The number of individual speeches contained in Homer’s Iliad may astound people because of the sheer size of the number. In addition to the number being an impressive quantity of speeches, the sum also ended up interestingly being a number with biblical importance. According to Peter Jones, who edited, revised and introduced the 2014 Penguin Books publication of The Iliad, the great epic poem of Homer contains exactly 666 speeches. Cue the spooky music!
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Source:
- The Iliad by Homer, translated by E. V. Rieu and revised by Peter Jones. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.
