General Description
Almost 3000 years ago a Greek poet sung one of the greatest stories ever told and it remains the beginning of Western Literature. It took the singer over 15,000 lines of hexameter verse to tell the epic story of Greece vs. Troy. Romance, vengeance, politics, religion and a ten-year war, ostensibly because a woman left her husband for another man. Characters like Helen of Troy and the Greek hero Achilles have affected literature, art, and film down to the present day. With a cast of thousands, gods, heroes, and lots of blood on the battlefield, the Iliad is an astonishing panorama of pre-literate society in the eastern Mediterranean. Even Alexander the Great is said to have slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow while he was on campaign.
We now understand that the putative “author,” Homer, most likely began an illiterate singer who entertained Greek nobles with sections of his enormous creation. Only its oral beginnings can explain the method of composition, its use of repetition of scenes and long battle descriptions, the frequent formulas (“winged words”), and the poet’s use of epithets attached to individual characters.
We will read Robert Fagles’ translation of the Iliad as our core book, and consider a variety of themes as we proceed through the epic. We have suggested some topics for the weekly presenters, though of course you may find other interesting elements to explore including contemporary ramifications of the story.
WEEK 1 (August 29)
READING: Iliad Book I (pp. 77-98)
The Iliad Introduction by Bernard Knox (pp. 3-67)
https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/house-of-atreus.html
World of the Bronze Age (1200-700 BCE) in Eastern Mediterranean. Homer and Oral Poetry. Archaeological Evidence. Use of epithets. Transmission of oral poetry. The House of Atreus
WEEK 2 (Sept. 5)
READING: Iliad Books II-IV (pp. 99-163)
Why was Achilles mad at Agamemnon? How did they resolve their differences, and did it help the Greek side? How could Agamemnon assemble such a huge and diverse army, build hundreds of ships, and fight away from home for ten years? Who were the Trojans? Was the abduction of Helen the real reason for the war? Did Helen go willingly with Paris? Why? Why do Paris and Menelaus seem secondary to the plot. Why did attempts at peace fail?
WEEK 3. (Sept. 12)
READING: Iliad Books V-VI-VII (pp. 164-230)
Why did certain gods favor one side or the other? Who were the heroes and villains? Which gods were patrons of individual mortals? What happens when gods disagree and interfere on the battlefield? The importance of Guest-Friendship and Gift-Giving. The character of Hector.
WEEK 4. (Sept. 19)
READING: Iliad Books VIII-IX-X (pp. 231-295)
How and why does Zeus control the partisan gods? Why does Agamemnon want to go home? Background of the House of Atreus. Embassy to Achilles. What is the role of Odysseus on Book X? How does Odysseus later affect the outcome of the war?
WEEK 5. (Sept. 26)
READING: Iliad Books XI-XII-XIII (pp. 296-368)
Who is Nestor and why does he have influence? Importance of omens. Role of Poseidon. Why do gods favor one side of the other? “aristeia” of Idomeneus.
WEEK 6. (October 3)
READING: Iliad Books XIV-XV-XVI (pp. 369-441)
Hera seduces Zeus. Role of women and sexuality in the Iliad. Why does Patroclus wear Achilles’ Armor? Importance of the death of Patroclus.
WEEK 7. (October 10))
READING: Iliad Books XVII-XVIII-XIX (pp. 442-502)
Achilles mourns Patroklos. How did the Greeks regard homosexuality? In what sense were Achilles and Patroklos lovers? Why do Achilles and Agamemnon make peace with each other? What does Thetis advise her son Achilles to do? Horses prophesy Achilles’ death. Description of the Shield of Achilles.
WEEK 8. (October 17)
READING: Iliad Books XX-XXI-XXII (pp. 503-558)
Why did the gods fight among themselves? What did they do on the battlefield? Battle of Achilles and Hector. Death of Hector. Why does Achilles mistreat Hector’s body? How do Trojans react to Hector’s death?
WEEK 9. (October 24)
READING: Iliad Books XXIII-XXIV (pp. 559-614)
Vergil’s Aeneid Book II
Dream of Achilles. Why are dreams taken so seriously in ancient literature? Funeral games for Patroklos. Why does Achilles return Hector’s body? Who is the Hero of the Iliad? How does the war end? Are there winners?
WEEK 10. (October 31)
READING: Aeschylus Agamemnon
SUGGESTED Watching or Listening: Richard Strauss Elektra
How is the Iliad relevant today? Key characters: Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, Odysseus, Priam, Ajax, Diomedes, Nestor, etc..... Who are your favorites and why? The role of women in the story. Who said "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts?” Who used the phrase "The face that launched a thousand ships? Why does Agamemnon die? Who is Clytemnestra and why is she angry? What about the rest of his family? How does Homer pave the way for Greek tragedy? “Scraps from the banquet of Homer”
CORE BOOK: The Iliad translated by Robert Fagles, (Penguin, 1990)
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY – Here are some readable books in English:
A literary critical account of the epic poems.
A general introduction to the history and society of Bronze Age Greece.
Part I is a very readable survey of the characteristics of Homeric poetry. Part II contains commentaries of ten selected books of the Iliad.
A scholarly treatment of the arguments about the oral nature of the Homeric poems and their transmission. It is a shortened version of Kirk’s The Songs of Homer.
The six chapters were delivered as the “Sather Lectures” at UC Berkeley in 1957.
A guide for the general reader to Homer