The Iliad is the quintessential epic. It is full with gods, goddesses,
             heroes, war, honor, and glory. However, for just a short while
             near the very conclusion, Homer avoids all of those epic qualities. The
             banquet scene in Book XXIV is the most touching, the most "human" scene in
             the entire poem. In the midst of the dreadful gulf of war and anger, there
             occurs an intimate moment between two men who ironically have much in common
             despite their monumental differences. For this brief moment in the poem, in a universe full of contradictions, Homer shows us the presence of human dignity amid destruction and death.
             Achilles and King Priam, the principal characters, have clashing personalities which engender dramatic emotional crises. After his son Hector is killed, King Priam, old and fragile, makes his way to the camp of the enemy's greatest warrior late at night. He bears what little treasures have not been exhausted by the ten-year old conflict, and plans to plead for the rightful return of his son's body. This is his final heroic endeavor. Perhaps,
             because he has just lost someone so dear to him, he is able to gather courage and take this enormous risk. Interestingly, when he does arrive at Achilles ' camp, Priam's fear suddenly subsides, and "the old man makes straight for the dwelling where Achilles beloved of Zeus was sitting." A decisive moment has arrived for both men. When Priam enters, Achilles knows that he must accept his own death with open arms while Priam is forced to sit at Achilles ' knees, and kiss the hands that have killed his beloved son, Hector.
             Homer seems to stop the action for a moment to let us feel the intensity of
             this extraordinary encounter. First, he shows us how Priam urges Achilles to think of his own father. Then, Homer makes us feel for Priam for the sad position he is in, a king "who must put (my) lips to the hands of the man who has killed (my) children." Despite an...