Homer’s Iliad

1. Homer’s Iliad AN INTRODUCTION

2. Homer

3. epics Greek: epos, epe =words Iliad and Odyssey establish norms for the presentation of the heroes and their relation with the gods, and for the omniscience of the inspired epic narrator.

4. Epics • opens in media res • The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world, or the universe. • begins with an invocation to a muse • starts with a statement of the theme • the use of epithets. • includes long lists. • features long and formal speeches. • shows divine intervention on human affairs.

5. Summary of Book One A quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon ensues over the return of Chryseis to her father. Athena dissuades Achilles from rash action, but he swears he will not fight again. He calls his mother Thetis from the depths of the sea and asks her to obtain from Zeus some gratification of his resentment. Thetis agrees to do so when the gods shall have returned from their twelve day banquet among the Ethiopians. Meanwhile Odysseus has returned Chryseis to her father, who placates the god towards the Greeks. Thetis lays her request before Zeus, who nods assent. His intentions are kept secret from all, including Hera, despite her bitter complaints.

6. background • Homer's tale begins nine years after the Greek arrival at Troy. Nine years previous, the Greek fleet had gathered at Aulis from the area's various city states to depart together in order to reclaim Helen from Paris for her husband Menelaus. Paris was given the love of Helen by Aphrodite in return for presenting her with the golden apple. Paris, having taken Helen from the house of her husband, returned to his father's city, Troy.

10. Important gods in book I • Apollo: son of Zeus and Leto, brother of Artemis. He is the champion of the Trojans. An archer and patron of the arts of music and poetry. He brings the plague on the Greeks when Agamemnon would not return Chryseis to the Trojans. • Athena: daughter of Zeus, patron of the Greeks (Achaeans), especially of Odysseus. She tries to make peace between Achilles and Agamemnon in Book 1. • Thetis: a sea-goddess, who is the mother of Achilles after sex with the mortal Peleus. She wants Zeus to aid the Trojans as a way to get even with Agamemnon for hurting her son, Achilles. • Zeus: the king of the gods. Brother and husband of Hera. See fuller note on page 683. • Hera: goddess, wife and sister of Zeus. Defender of the Achaeans/Greeks. • Hephaestus: god of fire, the blacksmith, son of Hera. He will make armor for Achilles later in The Iliad.

11. Theme: Achilles' wrath • (P.1: R1-R8) • The Text begins with an invocation to the muse opening with the broad spectacle of war and narrowing to a specific conflict:

12. The Rage of Achilles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

13. The Iliad begins with these lines: • The first word of Homer's Iliad is the ancient Greek word menis, fury, rage, or wrath. This word announces the major theme of the Iliad: the wrath of Achilles.

14. An invocation to the Muse or Muses • P.1: R9-R16 • Calliope (Beautiful Voice) – epic poetry. Euterpe (Delight) – music.Erato (eros (love) Lovely One) – love poetry. Thalia (thallein (to bloom), Festivity) – comedy. Clio (kleos(glory) – history. Urania (ouranos (sky) Heavenly One) – astronomy Terpsichore (Delight of dancing/choruses) – dance. Melpomene (melpein (to sing)) – tragedyPolyhymnia (poly (many) and hymnos (hymn) – sacred poetry. (considered also as inventor of the lyre)

15. Nine Muses

16. Apollo and Muses

17. HOMER INVOKING THE MUSE

18. Muses • a sisterhood of goddesses or spirits, • their number set at nine by Classical times, • ho embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces through remembered and improvised song and stage, writing, traditional music, and dance. • They were water nymphs

19. Who’s daughters? • the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. • Or springing from Uranus and Gaia • Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia

20. Chryses attempting to ransom his daughter Chryseis from Agamemnon • P.1: R15- P.2: L8

21. Agamenon refuses to return the daughter • P.2 L9-24

22. Chryses is turning to Apollo • P.2: R1 -R4 • —Smintheus an epithet taken from sminthos, the Phrygian name for a mouse, was applied to Apollo for having put an end to a plague of mice which had harassed that territory. • Strabo, however, says, that when the Teucri were migrating from Crete, they were told by an oracle to settle in that place, where they should not be attacked by the original inhabitants of the land, and that, having halted for the night, a number of field-mice came and gnawed away the leathern straps of their baggage, and thongs of their armor. In fulfillment of the oracle, they settled on the spot, and raised a temple to Sminthean Apollo

23. Apollo • Zeus’ son and Leto’s • Latona's son: i.e. Apollo. • Twins: Apollo and Artemis • Silverbrow • Protector of Chryse • Lord of Holy Cilla • Master of Tenedos • Sminthian • God of Plague

24. The Greeks • The Danaans • Achaeans • Argives

25. Cilla • P.2 R8 • Cilla, a town of Troas near Thebe, so called from Cillus, a sister of Hippodamia, slain by OEnomaus.

26. Bent was his bow (p.2 R17) • —"The Apollo of Homer, it must be borne in mind, is a different character from the deity of the same name in the later classical pantheon. Throughout both poems, all deaths from unforeseen or invisible causes, the ravages of pestilence, the fate of the young child or promising adult, cut off in the germ of infancy or flower of youth, of the old man dropping peacefully into the grave, or of the reckless sinner suddenly checked in his career of crime, are ascribed to the arrows of Apollo or Diana.

27. Apollo sends a plague on the Greeks • P.2: R15- P.3: L8 • It has frequently been observed, that most pestilences begin with animals, and that Homer had this fact in mind.

28. Achilles calls for an assembly • P.3: L9-L22 • —Convened to council. The public assembly in the heroic times is well characterized by Grote, vol. ii. p 92. "It is an assembly for talk. Communication and discussion to a certain extent by the chiefs in person, of the people as listeners and sympathizers—often for eloquence, and sometimes for quarrel—but here its ostensible purposes end."

29. The seer Chalcas dares not t to tell the truth • P.3 L23-P.3 R14 • Chalcas the wise, the Grecian priest and guide, seer. Prophet • Calchas • son of Thestor, was a Argive seer, with a gift for interpreting the flight of birds that he received of Apollo: "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp"

30. Achilles’ encourage Chalcas to tell the truth • P.3: R15-P.3: R24 • Achilles = Pelides • Achilles was the son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons.

31. Chalcas points out “Agamemnon” . . . • P.3 R25 – P.4 L9

32. Agamemnon's Defense • P.4 L10 –P.4 R13

33. Achilles blames Agamemnon • P.4 R14 –P.4 R25

34. Agamemnon's rejoinder • P.5 L1-P.5 R2

35. Achilles argues angrily • P.5 R3-p.6 L11

36. Agamemnon argues with Achilles • P.6 L12-P.6R13

37. Achilles’ anger is building up . . . • P.6 R14-P.7L7

38. Athena presenting the fury of Achilles • P.7 L8-P.7 R10

39. Achilles’ vow to withdraw from the war • P. 7 R11 to P.8