One of the most mesmerizing qualities of The Iliad are the many vivid similes and captivating asides on each page of this great epic. By way of example, below is one featuring the tragic Trojan warrior Hector:
As when a horse confined to a stall, fed on barley at the manger,
breaking his tether runs with pounding feet across the plain,
to immerse himself in the fair-flowing waters of his accustomed river,
triumphant, and he holds his head high, his mane
streaming about his shoulders …
so did Hector lightly move his feet and knees, urging on the horsemen, since he heeded the gods’ voice.
The Iliad, ch. 15, lines 264-272 (Caroline Alexander translation)
For a complete listing of Homeric similes, see here. (Bonus link: “Similes in the Iliad: The Horrors of War“.)
prior probability 