Editing Digression (section)

=== 800–500 BCE ===
In 800-500 BCE, Homer relies upon digression in his composition of ''[[The Iliad]]'' in order to provide his audience with a break from the primary narrative, to offer background information, and, most importantly, to enhance the story's verisimilitude. Through these digressions Homer ensures his audience's devotion to the characters and interest in the plot.

For example, in Book Eleven, Homer employs a mini-digression when Agamemnon comes upon brothers Peisandros and Hippolokhos in battle. After they come to Agamemnon as suppliants, he remembers that their father was one who denied Menelaos’ emissaries and “held out for killing [them] then and there”.<ref>Homer. The Iliad. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2004.</ref> This short interlude from the action provides the audience with a critical fact about the beginning of the war and the nature of the opposing parties.