Taking the cultural context into mind, along with the general theme of this work, the shield is a part of the warriors armour arguably one of the most pivotal pieces. In Greek culture armour is a sign of honour and respect, thus being stripped of it translated to being stripped of your honour.

Delving into the details and specifics of the shields appearance serves a purpose as well. Each circle depicts a view on society and life, displaying the intersection of war and peace. There is a fantastic detail of beauty and craftsmanship on Achilles shield, which is ironic for its purpose in war. The new armour, is a representation of the past, present and future.

As for the shield itself, it’s obviously an allusion to the balance of life (we see, in perfect harmony, a city at war, a city at peace; there’s no one without the other). There’s a tragic irony in it belonging to Achilles, a man who is seemingly devoid of duality after the untimely death of his dear friend. He is presented to us as a man possessed by his emotion. He is someone whose whole world is battle, and so he brings the whole world (on a shield), which was given to him by divine power (something like a (re)birth – from standstill to action), into battle.

However, we as the audience also know Achilles as godlike, which means he isn’t fully a god, which, in turn, reminds us that he cannot be defined by one notion or element (he’s no Eris, who is discord itself and who’ll never not act in accordance, which is something we realize in full later on when he finally lets go of his rage; note also Achilles singing and playing the lyre in the 9th book). There is a humanity in him, and humanity is characterized by Homer as being undeniably tied to the world in all its abundance. The shield is a constant reminder that there could be something other than rage, and, in a sense, it’s a test of Achilles’ determination, because right before his eyes is something he must sacrifice to achieve his ultimate goal, glory. And glory cannot be achieved without this sacrifice (take, for example, the scene in the 6th book, in which Hector is faced with his picture-perfect family – something he knows he will lose once he steps back on the battlefield).

It’s also worth mentioning that the purpose of a shield is to keep one safe, and Achilles’ shield is a direct metaphor of something like appreciation for life, keeping a warrior safe from the terrors of war - and death, especially since Homer makes a point of not glamorizing it: if you’re dead in the Iliad, that’s it (the absolute maximum of your capabilities is to appear in a dream and ask to be properly buried, please). Homer doesn’t sing praises to Elysium, and even in the Odyssey, when Odyssey speaks with the dead (Achilles in their midst), they don’t seem especially enthusiastic about their position.

Beyond that, there seems to be a statement of sorts: everything eventually passes, but the world stays the same; yes, there’s this terrible war going on, and you're mad with grief, but look at the stars! The stars will remain even after you and your beloved glory are long forgotten.

Finally, I’d argue that the shield’s ornament prompts a visual of a “matryoshka” of sorts (I realize this is terribly Russian of me): as I was reading the description, I came to realize that I, a girl in a world, am reading a text in which there is a depiction of a world, in which there is a shield, on which there is a depiction of world, etc. Isn't that something? It reinforces the feeling of the scale of this epic - it is boundless.

• Fanya Krasilshchikova

We then look deeper into the symbolism of the shield and see that the shield itself is an extraordinary one created by the gods for an extraordinary warrior. The shield was created specifically for Achilles who is a descendant of the gods and as such, it is impenetrable, just as Achilles is invincible.

This representation of war and peace is an ongoing theme throughout the whole story, which is set on the background of the Trojan war.

I think it’s an important piece if it reflects a more bird’s eye view of the conflict. There’s certainly a reason that Homer has a divine smith, someone outside of the conflict, create the piece within the story. Toward the end he stops saying “he” and calls Hephaestus the “famous crippled smith,” and then the “crippled smith.” I think Homer sees himself in Hephaestus and is using him as a stand-in for himself, someone fashioning this story and his own depiction of the sides in the conflict. He’s a skilled craftsman, forging something beautiful. But even in his creation, he is hindered (crippled, but I’m using another term). Homer is not a god, he is merely a man with a vision. He can assemble a beautiful construction, but it can never be as truly whole and beautiful as the reality, even describing its motion, it’s static and incomplete.

And there’s also something to say about what that work of art will be used to do. A shield’s purpose is to be destroyed. Cut at. Bent and eventually broken, tossed aside as stray metal. Achilles wields himself with Hephaestus’ work and inevitably he will have to destroy it, if it’s to serve its purpose. It is designed by its creator for one purpose, and its user, in his use, will effectively abuse it. It is as inevitable as the will of Zeus, moving toward its end.

For these reasons above, I feel this piece is important to the Iliad and is far from an unnecessary digression. It forces us to pause what we read and truly consider how we’re connecting to the work as a whole, how Homer is connected to it, and how we’re connected to Homer.

It emphasizes the notion that storytelling, especially through poetry, is essential in preserving and immortalizing the heroic deeds recounted in the epic.

I imagine Achilles’ shield as the picture I shared . Golden round and ornamented with stallions .

The new shield reminds him of his power in the past , the reason he came back to fight . After the death of his close friend Patroclus and

in his quest for revenge , Achilles seeks to kill Hector in battle as a way of satisfying his own desire for justice and retribution. So the shield has a mix of joy and sorrowful image .

(Angela Kassis)