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Iliad/Exodus parallel?

November 14, 2006 at 1:53 am by mahud

I see a parallel between the opening chapters of the book of Exodus, and the intro to the Iliad, but I’ve never really discussed it with anyone before. Is there a connection do you think, or is it just coincidence, that both match up on a number of different points? I can’t help but think that either one is based on the other, or they both share a common root.

The Iliad begins when Chryses, Apollo’s priest, approaches King Agamemnon and asks that the king set his daughter free. King Agamemnon refuses and Apollo’s high priest calls upon his god, and Apollo, in his wrath, rains down a deadly plague upon the Achaeans.

In the book of Exodus. Moses (and his Brother: a priest) approaches Pharoah and asks him to to let his people (the daughter of Zion) go. Pharoah refuses, and the LORD God brings a multitude of plagues down upon the Egyptians.

In the end both Kings are forced to relent and hand over, in the case of Agamemnon, the girl Chryseis, and Pharoah, the Israelites. And then both stories go off in their own directions.

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  1. wayman29

    Comment on November 29, 2007 at 1:43 pm

    There also may be a theme to the text of Genesis in which Abraham/ Jacob both travel to egypt have worry about being killed for having beautiful wives by Egyptian rulers:

    http://www.ohrtorahstone.org.il/parsha/5768/lechlecha68.htm

    And Canaanite epic of Kirta who lays siege to a city to get a wife. This may also have some connections to the Iliad theme.

    Sorry to include the link but it dealt with the subject manner rather well. I enjoy this subject . Interesting parallels here. Nice job!

    wayman29’s last blog post..On Cross Cultural Comparisons Of Mythology and Literature.

  2. mahud

    Comment on November 30, 2007 at 5:36 pm

    Hi, wayman. Thanks for the sharing those parallels and the link. I enjoy this subject too :D

    I came across your site the other day and found it really interesting. I enjoyed reading the Dragon Slayers series.

    I read the article on the parallels between Abraham/Jacob/Moses. They are intriguing connections. I’m surprised that the author didn’t mention the parallel with Issac as well, who obeyed God by not traveling to Egypt, yet ended up claiming that his wife Rebekah was his sister, in pretty much the same scenario as his father:

    The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live…

    So Isaac stayed in Gerar. When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.” When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” (Genesis 26: 2, 6-10)

    I’m probably being a bit picky, but I believe it was Moses’ mother, rather than his sister Miriam (as the author claimed), who hid Moses among the reeds, while Miriam stood nearby and watched.

    Going slightly of the subject, I find the connection between Miriam ‘watching,’ and the magical amulet called the Hamsa Hand, which is a odd looking five fingered hand (looks like it has two thumbs to me), with an eye in the centre of the palm, also known as the hand of Miriam (In Islamic tradition is is called the Hand of Fatima)

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