Homer, Iliad, and Odyssey

1. Homer, Iliad, and Odyssey HOMER Eighth century BCE

2. Review: Minoan and Mycenaen

3. Review: From Dark Age to Archaic Period

4. Classical Period to Alexander

7. Greek literature begins with. . . • Greek literature begins with two masterpieces, the Iliad and Odyssey, • which cannot be accurately dated (the conjectural dates range over three centuries) • and which are attributed to the poet Homer, about whom nothing is known except his name.

9. The blind bard Demodocus • The Greeks believed that he was blind, perhaps because the bard Demodocus in the Odyssey was blind and seven different cities put forward claims to be his birthplace.

10. Cithara/ Lyre

11. APOTHEOSIS OF HOMER By Ingres

12. Homer: Oral Tradition • It was a blurred memory • (Homer does not remember the writing, for example, or the detailed bureaucratic accounting recorded on the tablets) • and this is easy to understand: • some time in the last century of the millennium the great palaces were destroyed by fire. Alice Y. Chang

13. Mycenaean wealth the Dark Age • With them disappeared not only the arts and skills that had created Mycenaean wealth but even the system of writing. • For the next few hundred years the Greeks were illiterate and so no written evidence survives for what, in view of our ignorance about so many aspects of it, we call the Dark Age of Greece. Alice Y. Chang

14. Alice Y. Chang

15. Dolphin fresco • A detail of the restored Dolphin fresco on the wall of the Queen’s Room in the Minoan palace at Knossos. • The rosette pattern below the dolphins is typically Minoan and the whole fresco probably dates from the last phase of the New palace, around 1450-1400 BCE. Alice Y. Chang

16. the Trojan War and Mycenaean Age • The stories told in the Homeric poems are set in the age of the Trojan War, which archeologists (those, that is, who believe that it happened at all) date to the twelfth century B.C. • Though the poems do preserve some faded memories of the Mycenaean Age, as we have them they probably are the creation of later centuries, the tenth to the eighth B.C., the so-called Dark Age that succeeded the collapse (or destruction) of Mycenaean civilization. Alice Y. Chang

17. Iliad and the Ionian landscape • The Iliad contains several accurate descriptions of natural features of the Ionian landscape, but his grasp of the geography of mainland, especially western, Greece is unsure.

18. About to the age of writing… • The two great epics that have made his name supreme among poets may have been fixed in something like their present form before the art of writing was in general use in Greece; • it is certain that they were intended not for reading but for oral recitation. • The earliest stages of their composition date from around the beginnings of Greek literacy—the late eighth century B.C. • The poems exhibit the unmistakable characteristics of oral composition.

19. the immense poetic reserve • Of course he could and did invent new phrases and scenes as he recited—but his base was the immense poetic reserve created by many generations of singers who lived before him. • When he told again for his hearers the old story of Achilles and his wrath, he was recreating a traditional story that had been recited, with variations, additions, and improvements, by a long line of predecessors.

20. Magnificently ordered • The Iliad and Odyssey as we have them, however, are unlike most of the oral literature we know from other times and places. • The poetic organization of each of these two epics, the subtle interrelationship of the parts, which creates their structural and emotional unity, suggests that they owe their present form to the shaping hand of a single poet, the architect who selected from the enormous wealth of the oral tradition and fused what he took with original material to create, perhaps with the aid of the new medium of writing, the two magnificently ordered poems known as the Iliad and Odyssey.

21. The Iliad Sing, goddess, the rage of Achilles the son of Peleus,the destructive rage that sent countless ills on the Achaeans...

22. Iliad • 伊里亞德是古希臘詩人荷馬的敘事史詩。是重要的古希臘文學作品，與《奧德賽》同為西方的經典之一。 • 根據有荷馬史詩人物圖像的花瓶生產時期、其他引用此詩的希臘詩歌撰寫日子推斷，本史詩應大約完成於公元前750或725年。 • 《伊里亞德》這個書名，是「伊利昂城下的故事」的意思。

23. 敘述了特洛伊戰爭第十年（也是最後一年） • 《伊里亞德》中幾個星期的活動。史詩以阿基里斯和阿伽門農的爭吵開始，以赫克托耳的葬禮結束，故事的背景和最終的結局都沒有直接敘述。 • 伊里亞德和奧德賽都只是更宏大的敘事詩傳統的一部份，此外還有許多不同長度不同作者的敘事詩作，只不過只有一些片斷流傳下來。

24. 第一卷：紛爭、宣言及盟誓第二卷：閱軍及誓師第三卷：決鬥第四卷：引發戰爭的一箭 第五卷：跟神明一同戰鬥的英雄第六卷：城市和荒野之間第七卷：戰鬥和城牆 第八卷：由宙斯挑起的戰爭 依照希臘文版本，本史詩共有二十四卷。以非詩歌形式翻譯的文本一般都不會依照原卷數來分章節。以下是每卷題目一覽： 卷數

25. 第十卷：戰營中的一夜──一個任務第十一卷：希臘人的的強大和受傷第十二卷：開啟城牆第十三卷：攻船戰第十四卷：神之山的哄騙第十五卷：風暴之神第十六卷：形勢逆轉 第十七卷：爭奪死去戰士的裝備第十八卷：不死神的盾第十九卷：復仇者第二十卷：力量的差異第二十一卷：人河之爭第二十二卷：特洛伊前的失落第二十三卷：摯友之死第二十四卷：傷痛中所得的神寵

26. 風格 • 由於當時的文字系統未發展成熟，而且相信荷馬是向不識字的平民表演，所以詩中用了不少吟唱技巧。例如，他用了許多重覆的字句，而經過後人的潤飾，漸漸形成「荷馬式風格」。一些經典場景和動作也會以相似的文字來描述，但是在非希臘文的譯本，譯者為了避免單調而會選用不同的字詞來形容那些場景，沒保留這一吟唱詩的特色。

27. Agamemnon — King of Mycenae; leader of the Greeks. Achilles — King of the Myrmidons. Odysseus— King of Ithaca; the wiliest Greek commander, and hero of the Odyssey. Menelaus— King of Sparta; husband of Helen. Aias (Ajax the Greater) — son of Telamon, with Diomedes, he is second to Achilles in martial prowess. Aias (Ajax the Lesser) — son of Oileus, often partner of Ajax the Greater. Diomedes— son of Tydeus, King of Argos. The Achaeans—the Hellenes (Greeks), Danaans, and Argives

28. Priam — the aged King of Troy. Hector — son of King Priam; the foremost Trojan warrior. Paris — Helen’s lover-abductor. Agenor — a Trojan warrior who attempts to fight Achilles (Book XXI). Dolon—a spy upon the Greek camp (Book X). Antenor — King Priam’s advisor, who argues for returning Helen to end the war; Paris refuses. Aeneas — son of Anchises and Aphrodite. Deiphobus — brother of Hector and Paris. Polydorus — son of Priam and Laothoe. The Trojan men

29. The Trojan women Hecuba— Priam’s wife; mother of Hector, Cassandra, Paris, and others. • Helen— Menelaus’s wife; espoused first to Paris, then to Deiphobus. • Andromache— Hector’s wife; mother of Astyanax • Cassandra— Priam’s daughter; courted by Apollo, who bestows the gift of prophecy to her; upon her rejection, he curses her, and her warnings of Trojan doom go unheeded.

30. Cassandra • In Greek mythology, Cassandra, "she who entangles men"; also known as Alexandra) was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions.

31. Painting by Evelyn De Morgan.

32. Ajax taking Cassandra, tondo of a red-figure kylix by the , ca.440-430 BC, Louvre

33. Cassandra 'syndrome • The Cassandra metaphor (variously labelled the Cassandra 'syndrome', 'complex', 'phenomenon', 'predicament', 'dilemma', or 'curse'), is a term applied in situations in which valid warnings or concerns are dismissed or disbelieved.

34. Nostos— homecoming • occurs seven times in the poem (II.155, II.251, IX.413, IX.434, IX.622, X.509, XVI.82); • thematically, the concept of homecoming is much explored in Ancient Greek literature, especially in the post-war homeward fortunes experienced by Atreidae, Agamemnon, and Odysseus (see the Odyssey), thus, nostos is impossible without sacking Troy — King Agamemnon’s motive for winning, at any cost.

35. Richmond Lattimore translates: • For my mother Thetis the goddess of silver feet tells meI carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either,if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans,my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting;but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers,the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long lifeleft for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly.

36. timê –respect, honor • the concept denoting the respectability an honorable man accrues with accomplishment (cultural, political, martial), per his station in life. • In Book I, the Greek troubles begin with King Agamemnon’s dishonorable, unkinglybehavior — first, by threatening the priest Chryses (1.11), then, by aggravating them in disrespecting Achilles, by confiscating Bryseis from him (1.171). • The warrior’s consequentrancor against the dishonorable king ruins the Greek military cause.

37. Kleos— glory, fame • is the concept of glory earned in heroic battle; • for most of the Greek invaders of Troy, notably Odysseus, kleos is earned in a victorious nostos (homecoming), yet not for Achilles, he must choose one reward, either nostos or kleos. • In Book IX (IX.410–16), he poignantly tells Agamemnon’s envoys—Odysseus, Phoenix, Ajax— begging his reinstatement to battle about having to choose between two fates (9.411). • Fame imperishable

38. The Wrath of Achilles • His personal rage and wounded soldier’s vanity propel the story — the Greeks’ faltering in battle, the slayings of Patroclus and Hector, and the fall of Troy. In Book I, the Wrath of Achilles first emerges in the Achilles-convoked meeting, between the Greek kings and Calchas, the Seer. King Agamemnon dishonours Chryses, the Trojan Apollonian priest, by refusing with a threat the restitution of his daughter, Chryseis — despite the proffered ransom of “gifts beyond count”; [12] the insulted priest prays his god’s help — and a nine-day rain of arrows falls upon the Greeks.

39. Zeus’s divine intervention • After that, only Athena stays Achilles' wrath. • He vows to never again to obey orders from Agamemnon. • Furious, Achilles cries to his mother, Thetis, who persuades Zeus’s divine intervention — favouring the Trojans—until Achilles' rights are restored.

40. Hector kills Patroclus. • Meanwhile, Hector leads the Trojans to almost pushing the Greeks back to the sea (Book XII); • later, Agamemnon contemplates defeat and retreat to Greece (Book XIV). • Again, the Wrath of Achilles turns the war’s tide in seeking vengeance when Hector kills Patroclus. • Aggrieved, Achilles tears his hair and dirties his face; Thetis comforts her mourning son …

41. Moirae Fate, destiny • propels most of the events of the Iliad. • Once set, gods and men abide it, neither truly able nor willing to contest it. • How fate is set is unknown, but it is told by the Fates and Seers such as Calchas. Men and their gods continually speak of heroic acceptance and cowardly avoidance of one’s slated fate.

42. Aeneas survives the Trojan War • Divinely-aided,Aeneas escapes the wrath of Achilles and survives the Trojan War. • Whether or not the gods can alter fate, they do abide it, despite its countering their human allegiances, thus, the mysterious origin of fate is a power beyond the gods.

43. the Three Fates • Fate implies the primeval, tripartite division of the world that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades effected in deposing their father, Cronus, for its dominion. • Zeus took the Air and the Sky, Poseidon the Waters, and Hades the Underworld, the land of the dead — yet, they share dominion of the Earth. • Despite the earthly powers of the Olympic gods, only the Three Fates set the destiny of Man.

45. The Moirae, as depicted in a 16th century tapestry

46. the three Moirae • Clotho ("spinner") spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. • Lachesis ("allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. • Atropos ("inexorable" or "inevitable", literally "unturning.” sometimes called Aisa) was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each person's death; Her Roman equivalent was Morta ('Death').

47. Classical images illustrating the Iliad. Repertory of outstanding painted vases, wall paintings and other ancient iconography of the War of Troy. http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/achilles/iliad/iliad.html

48. Trojans and Greeks, illustration from the Vergilius Romanus

49. Book One and Book Two • Book 1: After nine years of the Trojan War, King Agamemnon seizes Briseis, Achilles’s war-concubine, for having relinquished Chryseis; dishonoured, Achilles wrathfully withdraws; the gods argue the War’s outcome. • Book 2: Testing Greek resolve, Agamemnon feigns a homeward order; Odysseus encourages the Greeks to pursue the fight; see the “Catalogue of Ships” and the “Catalogue of Trojans and Allies”.

50. war • Of the two poems the Iliad is perhaps the earlier. • Its subject is war; • its characters are men in battle and women whose fate depends on the outcome.