For our project, we we wanted to examine the language of grief and emotional response in Books 23 and 24 of Homer’s Iliad. Looking specifically at the character Achilles, but also at Patroclus, Hector, Agamemnon, Priam, and the pantheon of Gods, we analyzed their actions, categorizing them in accordance to whether or not the action was appropriate, who it was directed at, the type of emotion felt at that moment, who it was directed at, and what the relationship was between the person doing the action and the one receiving the action. We ended up choosing these identifiers because they reveal and probe into the nature of grief in the Iliad. Looking at if the grief was inappropriate or not gives readers insight into how different characters have a tendency to abuse grief or not. On top of that, we wanted to take a closer look at what emotion was being portrayed, regardless of whether it was via words or actions. We also wanted to ensure that the direction of the emotions were marked down as well, because often the characters' grief was at no one, or towards divine beings. Looking at the data we collected through this markup, we determined that grief, specifically the grief felt by Achilles, is the catalyst for a myriad of responses, and that there isn’t one specific way that these emotions are conveyed. By studying one of the oldest texts we have available, it becomes evident that humans have long struggled with the complexity of emotions that come with loss, specifically when it comes to violent, untimely death, and that our responses may not always make sense. For example, Achilles is both cruel and merciful, displaying the emotions of divine wrath when mutilating the body of Hector, but sparks a feeling of wonder in Priam when he returns the body of Hector to his father. Achilles grieves the death of his lover, Patroclus, displaying lament, but displays extreme anger over the loss as well. There is a duality that becomes apparent through our research, one that reveals the true intricacy that is the feeling of grief.

The above butterfly graph examines internal and external displays of emotion. Drawing data from all of the characters we tagged, we categorized emotions into five categories: wrath, anger, lament, fear, relief, and wonder. We then further categorized these portrayals of emotion into whether they were experieced internally or displayed externally. Perhaps unsurprisingly, feelins of lament were most commonly displayed externally, which reveals that grief of this type is incredibly difficult to keep hidden.