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homer s iliad a discussion guide by david bruce this is a royalty-free discussion guide i will not make a dime from it even from the print edition i recommend that you read the translations by robert fagles and by ian johnston ian johnston of malaspina university-college nanaimo bc has an excellent translation available for a free download at http records.viu.ca johnstoi/homer/iliad_title.htm i also recommend elizabeth vandiver s course on the iliad which is available from the teaching company shameless commerce all of my books may be purchased and/or downloaded here http stores.lulu.com/bruceb

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dedicated with respect to jim phillips many thanks to ed venrick for the front cover many thanks to the austin public library denver public library douglas county libraries colorado high plains library district colorado jefferson county library cooperative alabama norman oklahoma public library ohio university alden library rapid city public library south dakota san francisco public library upper arlington ohio public library westerville ohio public library wilmington institute library delaware and other libraries that put my books on their shelves bibliographic data bruce david homer s iliad a discussion guide athens ohio the author 2009.

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homer s iliad a discussion guide by david bruce copyright 2009 by bruce d bruce all rights reserved no part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means graphics electronic or mechanical including photocopying recording taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author cover photograph photographer roman czupryniak agency dreamstime.com

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table of contents preface introduction to homer s iliad part 1 background material part 2 the gods book 1 the rage of achilles the quarrel by the ships book 2 the great gathering of armies agamemnon s dream and the catalogue of ships book 3 helen reviews the champions paris menelaus and helen book 4 the truce erupts in war the armies clash book 5 diomedes fights the gods diomedes goes to battle book 6 hector returns to troy hector and andromache book 7 ajax duels with hector hector and ajax book 8 the tide of battle turns the trojans have success book 9 the embassy to achilles peace offerings to achilles book 10 marauding through the night a night raid book 11 agamemnon s day of glory the achaeans face disaster book 12 the trojans storm the rampart the fight at the barricade book 13 battling for the ships the trojans attack the ships book 14 hera outflanks zeus zeus deceived book 15 the achaean armies at bay the battle at the ships book 16 patroclus fights and dies book 17 menelaus finest hour the fight over patroclus book 18 the shield of achilles the arms of achilles book 19 the champion arms for battle achilles and agamemnon book 20 olympian gods in arms achilles returns to battle book 21 achilles fights the river book 22 the death of hector book 23 funeral games for patroclus the funeral games for patroclus book 24 achilles and priam 1 3 3 15 20 35 54 78 96 112 137 153 169 198 213 232 249 263 276 295 313 331 348 366 378 397 429 448

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appendix a bibliography appendix b paper topics appendix c paper hints iliad paper #1 books 1-10 appendix d paper hints iliad paper #2 appendix e short reaction memos appendix f paul tillich 1886-1965 faith as ultimate concern about the author works by david bruce 477 479 480 486 494 499 502 503 the book titles are taken from the translations by robert fagles and ian johnston the fagles titles appear first occasionally both translators use the same title.

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1 preface the purpose of this book is educational i have read studied and taught homer s iliad and i wish to pass on what i have learned to other people who are interested in studying homer s iliad in particular i think that the readers of this introduction to homer s iliad will be bright high school seniors and college first-year students as well as intelligent adults who simply wish to study the iliad despite not being literature majors this book uses a question-and-answer format it poses then answers relevant questions about homer background information and the iliad this book goes through the iliad book by book i recommend that you read the relevant section of the iliad then read my comments then go back and re-read the relevant section of the iliad however do what works for you teachers may find this book useful as a discussion guide for the epic poem teachers can have students read books from the epic poem then teachers can ask students selected questions from this study guide it helps to know something about homer s odyssey virgil s aeneid greek and roman mythology and ovid s metamorphoses but this background reading is not strictly necessary you have to begin reading great literature somewhere and homer s iliad is a good place to start come on in the water s great and later you can go and read the odyssey the aeneid the divine comedy etc this book uses many short quotations from robert fagles translation and from samuel butler s translation of the iliad this use is consistent with fair use § 107 limitations on exclusive rights fair use release date 2004-04-30 notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106a the fair use of a copyrighted work including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section for purposes such as criticism comment news reporting teaching including multiple copies for classroom use scholarship or research is not an infringement of copyright in determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include 1 the purpose and character of the use including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes 2 the nature of the copyrighted work 3 the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole and 4 the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work the fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

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2 source of fair use information

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3 introduction to homer s iliad part 1 background material important terms iliad odyssey zeus hera athena thetis aphrodite artemis iphigeneia agamemnon menelaus achilles odysseus hector paris judgment of paris aeneus aeneid · why is it necessary to know background information about the trojan war when reading homer s iliad and odyssey homer is an epic poet who tells traditional stories that his audience is already very familiar with because of that homer does not need to explain who his characters are or even the major events of the trojan war such as how it started or how it will end homer is able to jump into the middle of the story in the iliad and start telling about an incident that occurred during the final year of the trojan war of course homer s contemporary audience is very different from his audience of today homer created and performed his epic poems hundreds of years before jesus of nazareth was born homer came from an oral tradition and he seems to have composed his poems either before writing was invented or perhaps when writing was coming into use possibly he saw the advantages of writing and he used the new technology of writing to create two very long very complex poems both of which i would personally put in a list of the top 10 books ever created anyone who reads homer today and in homer s time they would have probably heard homer or heard a bard perform homer s epic poems will most likely not have been brought up hearing these traditional stories the way that homer s contemporary audience would have chances are university students reading homer in a great books course at a university would have read about odysseus adventure with the cyclops and that s about it.

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4 that is why this introduction to homer s iliad will fill you in on the background necessary to understand and enjoy the iliad · what are the iliad and the odyssey the iliad and the odyssey are epic poems that have been created by homer here are two definitions of epic poem · a long narrative poem about the adventures of [a hero or the gods presenting an encyclopedic portrait of the culture in which it is composed source

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5 · what is the iliad about the iliad tells the story of the quarrel between achilles and agamemnon following the quarrel achilles the mightiest greek warrior withdraws from the fighting which allows the trojans to be triumphant in battle for a while the iliad tells about achilles anger and how he finally lets go of his anger · what is the odyssey about the odyssey is about a different greek hero in the trojan war odysseus whose roman name is ulysses following the 10 years that the trojan war lasted odysseus returns to his home island of ithaca where he is king it takes him 10 years to return home because of his adventures and mishaps much of that time he spends in captivity when he finally returns home he discovers that suitors are courting his wife penelope who has remained faithful to him and who wants nothing to do with the suitors who are rude and arrogant and who feast on odysseus cattle and drink his wine as they party all day in addition telemachus odysseus son has found it hard to grow up without a strong father-figure in his life the odyssey tells the story of how odysseus returns home to ithaca and reestablishes himself in his own palace · what is the aeneid about the aeneid is a roman epic poem by virgil that tells the story of aeneas a trojan prince who survived the fall of troy and led other survivors to italy his adventures parallel the adventures of odysseus on his return to ithaca in fact they visit many of the same places including the island of the cyclopes one of aeneas most notable characteristics is his pietas his respect for things for which respect is due including the gods his family and his destiny his destiny is to found the roman people which is different from founding rome which was founded long after his death aeneas journeyed to carthage where he had an affair with dido the carthaginian queen because of his destiny he left her and went to italy dido committed suicide and aeneas fought a war to establish himself in italy after killing turnus the leader of the armies facing him aeneas married the italian princess lavinia and they became important ancestors of the roman people · what is the basic story of the trojan war the basic story of the trojan war can be told very quickly paris prince of troy visits menelaus king of sparta and then paris runs off with menelaus wife helen who of course becomes known as helen of troy this is a major insult to menelaus and his family so he and his elder brother agamemnon lead an army against troy to get helen and reparations back the war drags on for 10 years and the greatest greek warrior is achilles while the greatest trojan warrior is hector paris eldest brother eventually hector is killed by achilles who is then killed by paris who is then killed by philoctetes finally odysseus comes up with the idea of the trojan horse which ends the trojan war that is a brief retelling of the trojan war but many many myths grew up around the war making it a richly detailed myth.

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6 · does homer allude to all of the details of the trojan war homer does not allude to all the details of the trojan war for example one myth states that achilles was invincible except for his heel supposedly his mother the goddess thetis knew that achilles was fated to die in the trojan war therefore to protect him she dipped him into a pool of water that was supposed to make him invulnerable to do that she held him by his heel because she was holding him by his heel the water did not touch it and so that part of achilles body remained vulnerable homer never alludes to this myth in fact this myth plays no role whatsoever in homer s epic poems achilles is not invulnerable if he were he could fight in battle naked as long as he wore an iron boot over his vulnerable heel in homer achilles is vulnerable to weapons and he knows it at one point he would like to join the fighting but he cannot because he has no armor no one who reads the iliad should think that achilles is invulnerable except for his heel myth changes and develops over time and it is possible that homer had no knowledge of this myth because it had not been created yet or it is possible that homer knew of this myth but ignored it because he had his own points to make in his epic poem another myth that may or may not be alluded to is the judgment of paris it may be alluded to in a couple of places in the iliad but scholars disagree about this · who is achilles and what is unusual about his mother thetis achilles of course is the foremost warrior of the greeks during the trojan war his mother thetis is unusual in that she is a goddess the greeks religion was different from modern religions in that they were polytheistic believing in many gods rather than monotheistic believing in one god in addition the gods and human beings could mate achilles is unusual in that he had an immortal goddess as his mother and a mortal man peleus as his father achilles of course is unusual in many ways another way in which he is unusual is that he and thetis have long talks together often the gods either ignore their mortal offspring or choose not to reveal themselves to them for example aeneas goddess mother is aphrodite roman name venus although aphrodite does save aeneas life or help him on occasion the two do not have long talks together the way that achilles and thetis do · which prophecy about achilles was given to his mother thetis the prophecy about thetis male offspring was that he would be a greater man than his father this is something that would make most human fathers happy one exception would be pap in mark twain s adventures of huckleberry finn pap does not want huck his son to learn to read or write or to get an education or to live better than pap does

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7 · who is zeus and what does he decide to do as a result of this prophecy zeus is a horny god who sleeps with many goddesses and many human beings normally he would lust after thetis but once he hears the prophecy he does not want to sleep with thetis for one thing the gods are potent and when they mate they have children zeus overthrew his own father and zeus does not want to give birth to a greater man than he is because his son will overthrow him therefore zeus wants to get thetis married off to someone else in this case a marriage to a human being for thetis would suit zeus just fine a human son may be greater than his father but is still not going to be as great as a god and so zeus will be safe if thetis gives birth to a human son · who is peleus peleus is the human man who marries thetis and who fathers achilles at the time of the iliad peleus is an old man and thetis has not lived with him for a long time · why is eris goddess of discord not invited to the wedding feast of peleus and thetis obviously you do not want discord at a wedding and therefore eris goddess of discord is not invited to the wedding feast of peleus and thetis even though eris is not invited to the wedding feast she shows up anyway · eris goddess of discord throws an apple on a table at the wedding feast what is inscribed on the apple inscribed on the apple is the phrase for the fairest written in greek of course because greek is a language that indicates masculine and feminine in certain words and since fairest has a feminine ending the apple is really inscribed for the fairest female · hera athena and aphrodite each claim the apple who are they three goddesses claim the apple meaning that each of the three goddesses thinks that she is the fairest or most beautiful hera hera is the wife of zeus and she is a jealous wife zeus has many affairs with both immortal goddesses and mortal women and hera is jealous because of these affairs zeus would like to keep on her good side athena athena is the goddess of wisdom she becomes the patron goddess of athens athena especially likes odysseus as we will see especially in the odyssey athena is a favorite of zeus her father zeus would like to keep on her good side.

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8 aphrodite aphrodite is the goddess of sexual passion she can make zeus fall in love against his will zeus would like to keep on her good side roman gods and goddesses the greek gods and goddesses have roman equivalents the greek name is followed by the roman name zeus jupiter hera juno athena minerva aphrodite venus artemis diana · why doesn t zeus want to judge the goddesses beauty contest zeus is not a fool he knows that if he judges the goddesses beauty contest he will make two enemies the two goddesses whom zeus does not choose as the fairest will hate him and likely make trouble for him please note that the greek gods and goddesses are not omnibenevolent frequently they are quarrelsome and petty by the way athens ohio lawyer thomas hodson once judged a beauty contest featuring 25 cute child contestants he was running in an election to choose the municipal court judge and he thought that judging the contest would be a good way to win votes very quickly he decided never to judge a children s beauty contest again he figured out that he had won two votes the votes of the parents of the child who won the contest unfortunately he also figured out that he had lost 48 votes the votes of the parents of the children who lost · who is paris and what is the judgment of paris paris is a prince of troy and zeus allows him to judge the three goddesses beauty contest paris is not as intelligent as zeus or he would try to find a way out of judging the beauty contest · each of the goddesses offers paris a bribe if he will choose her what are the bribes hera hera offers paris political power several cities he can rule athena athena offers paris prowess in battle paris can become a mighty and feared warrior.

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9 aphrodite aphrodite offers paris the most beautiful woman in the world to be his wife · which goddess does paris choose as most of you know paris chose aphrodite who offered him the most beautiful woman in the world to be his wife this is not what a homeric warrior would normally choose a person such as achilles would choose to be an even greater warrior if that is possible a person such as agamemnon is likely to choose more cities to rule when paris chooses the most beautiful woman in the world to be his wife we are not meant to think that he made a good decision paris is not a likable character · does the judgment of paris appear in the iliad maybe maybe not a couple of passages in the iliad may contain a veiled reference to the judgment of paris · does myth develop over time myth does develop over time possibly the myth of the judgment of paris was invented after homer had created the iliad and the odyssey · as a result of aphrodite s bribe paris abducts helen why aphrodite promised paris the most beautiful woman to be his wife as it happens that woman is helen therefore paris abducts helen with aphrodite s good wishes did helen go with paris willingly the answer to this question is ambiguous and ancient authorities varied in how they answered this question · to whom is helen already married helen is already married to menelaus the king of sparta paris visits menelaus and when he leaves he carries off both a lot of menelaus treasure and menelaus wife helen obviously this is not the way that one ought to treat one s host · who are agamemnon and menelaus agamemnon and menelaus are the sons of atreus they are brothers and agamemnon the king of mycenae is the older brother and the brother who rules a greater land as seen by the number

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10 of ships the two kings bring to the trojan war menelaus brings 60 ships fagles 2.678-679 agamemnon brings 100 ships fagles 2.667-672 · who is responsible for leading the expedition to recover helen agamemnon is the older brother so he is the leader of the greek troops in the trojan war · why do the winds blow against the greek ships when the greek ships are gathered together and are ready to set sail against troy a wind blows in the wrong direction for them to sail the goddess artemis roman name diana is angry at the greeks because she knows that the result of the trojan war will be lots of death not just of warriors but also of women and children this is true of all wars and it is a lesson that human beings forget after each war and relearn in the next war · why does artemis demand a human sacrifice artemis knows that agamemnon s warriors will cause much death of children so she makes him sacrifice one of his daughters so that he will suffer what he will make other parents suffer · who does agamemnon sacrifice agamemnon sacrifices his daughter iphigeneia this is a religious sacrifice of the life of a human life to appease the goddess artemis · did homer know about this sacrifice very possibly he did in book 1 of the iliad agamemnon tells the prophet calchas that he always brings bad news to agamemnon calchas is the prophet who told agamemnon that he had to sacrifice his daughter in order to get winds that would sail the ships to troy · what do menelaus and agamemnon do after the sacrifice of iphigenia agamemnon and menelaus set sail with all the greek ships for troy they land then they engage in warfare · who are achilles and hector achilles is the foremost greek warrior while hector is the foremost trojan warrior both warriors are deserving of great respect · does homer assume that achilles is invulnerable absolutely not achilles needs armor to go out on the battlefield and fight.

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