Clavis Libri

Term

Hecatomb

Solemn sacrifice offered to the gods, whose fat smoke rises to heaven. In the poem, it is what should be done when raising a great work: the Greeks' wall rises without hecatombs and, for that reason, against the will of the gods. The Trojans offer hecatombs in Book VIII, but the gods refuse the smoke, because they hate Ilion, Priam and the people of Priam.

Where It Appears