Much of the criticism of Homer's Iliad focuses on the events of the story: the meaning of the images, the symbols, the role of the Greek gods, the characters in the story . It seems that many critics have forgotten Homer's very important role as narrator of events. His narration undermines the story. It is the medium through which the story is told. Perhaps the ambiguity of not knowing exactly who Homer is, and the fact that it was an oral tale long before it was written in the form it is today, is the cause of the oversight of the narrative qualities of Homer's Iliad by many critics. the affair was, however, reported as a classic example of in medias res. "The term comes from Horace, which literally means "in the midst of things." It applies to the literary technique of opening a story in the middle of the action and then applying information about the beginning of the action through flashbacks and other devices for exposition ” (Holman 247). This term only partially describes the narrative of the Iliad, and critics rarely attempt to understand the use of in medias res. An in-depth description of the initial narrative act and the ideologies that determined it can be useful in interpreting the story. With the help of modern schools of criticism, it may be easier to describe his narrative act. There are many schools to choose from, as the number of them has increased dramatically in recent decades (Miller 67). I will borrow some narrative concepts from the formalists, who are more interested in the structure of the text rather than the meanings of the text. Then I will draw conclusions about ideologies: "...The ways in which... in the center of the card... a god who knows everyone's fate." Works Cited Booth, Wayne C. The Rhetoric of Fiction. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Eagleton, Terry. "Literature and the Rise of English" Literature in the Modern World, ed. Oxford University Press, NY, 1990. 21-27. The Iliad". The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Maynard Mack, general editor - 6th edition. WW Norton and Company, NY 1992. 98-208. Genette, Gerard. "Order in Narrative". Literature in the Modern World. Dennis Walder, ed. Oxford University Press, NY 1990. 142-151.Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon A Handbook for Literature MacMillan Publishing Company, NY 1992.Miller, J. Hillis Studio Lentricchia, Frank and Thomas McLaughlin, ed. by University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1990. 66-79.