The ILIAD play is about an hour long and is based on Dr. Stickel's 35 page ILIAD poem (see first page below). It tells the story of Homer's ILIAD of how the Trojan War came about, the ten year long was itself and how it ended. It differs from Homer's ILIAD in that is goes beyond the funeral rites for Hector. It also describes how Odysseus created the famous Trojan horse and how it was utilized to bring about the fall of the city. That latter section is based on Book II of Virgil's Aeneid.
Ten professional actors portray all the captivating characters of this greatest of epics including Achilles, greatest of the Greek warriors, King Menelaus and High King Agamemnon and the clever-crafty Odysseus. On the Trojan side the play depicts King Priam, Queen Hecuba, Cassandra, tortured with the gift of prophesy, Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors and the beautiful Helen of Troy, the cause of the most famous war of ancient times. The play also has the intervening gods and Zeus, king of the gods, Hera, queen of the gods, Athena, goddess of wisdom and defensive war and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who helped prince Paris of Troy abduct Helen from Sparta which caused the war. The play is a short introduction to Homer's great epic story which took him 16,000 lines of poetry to write.
The Iliad Play is based on the 35 page poem written by Dr. Stickel. The first page of his poem is presented below. His poem has been commended for its readability, the way it condenses the story and for a clear presentation of Homer's original story. Homer wrote his original poem in the form of poetry called dactylic hexameter verse. Dr. Stickel wrote his poem in simple rhyming couplets. He wrote the poem for children of all ages hence its simplicity. And yet he retained elements of Homer's style such as his use of epithets (such as swift-footed Achilles or man-killer Hector). Also, it should be noted. that Dr. Stickel wrote his poem in a simple linear fashion whereas Homer wrote his in the sophisticated "in medias res", which means "in the middle of the story" where flashbacks are used to refer to the beginning of the story. Also, Homer did not end the Iliad with the Trojan Horse and the Fall of the City of Troy, but rather with the Mourning of the Trojans of the Death of Hector.
To obtain a copy of THE ILIAD poem in its
entirety, click below to contact Dr. Stickel via
email. Write "Iliad Poem" in the subject line.