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LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
E
ARLY
GREECE:
FOLKLORE, LEGEND, AND GREEK MYTHOLOGY
GREEK MYTHS AND LEGENDS FORM THE RICHEST, MOST FERTILE SECULAR COLLECTION OF
STORIES IN WESTERN CULTURE. DESPITE THEIR DIVERSITY, THEY TEND TO SHARE A COMMON
OUTLOOK ON LIFE. THE GREEKS CHERISHED LIFE AND BELIEVED IN LIVING IT TO THE FULLEST
DEGREE SINCE DEATH WAS AN INEVITABLE FACT. THOUGH THERE WERE GROUPS OF BELIEVERS
REFERRED TO AS THE MYSTERY CULTS WHICH ACCEPTED THE IDEA OF A RESURRECTION
AFTER DEATH, THEY REPRESENTED A MINORITY OF THE GREEKS. TO HOMER AND TO THE
MAJORITY OF GREEKS, THERE WAS NO RESURRECTION; DEATH WAS A DISMAL STATE. LIFE,
HOWEVER, IN THIS MAJORITY VIEW, WAS DANGEROUS, THRILLING, AND GLORIOUS. JUST AS THE
ORDINARY PERSON WAS BOUND TO PERISH, SO WERE THE GREAT ROYAL DYNASTIES AND THE
MIGHTIEST HEROES. BUT THIS IDEA DID NOT SADDEN THE GREEKS AS IT HAD THE
BABYLONIANS AND THEIR HERO GILGAMESH. THE GREEKS RESPONDED TO LIFE WITH
ENTHUSIASM. THEY FELT THE ONLY ANSWER TO DEATH THAT WAS WORTHY OF A MAN WAS TO
DEVELOP AN IMPERISHABLE REPUTATION BY MAGNIFICENT DEEDS. THE GREEKS PURSUED
FAME WITH ASTONISHING ENERGY IN THE FIVE CENTURIES FROM HOMER, THEIR EARLIEST AND
GREATEST LITERARY FIGURE, TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT, THEIR LATEST AND GREATEST
MILITARY FIGURE. HOMER IS HIGHLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ERA CALLED THE HEROIC AGE
WHEREAS ALEXANDER IS EMBLEMATIC OF THE LATE CLASSICAL PERIOD. THE ANCIENT
GREEKS WERE A TOUGH, RESTLESS, AMBITIOUS, HARD-LIVING, IMAGINATIVE RACE. BUT THEIR
LUST FOR REPUTATION ALSO MADE THEM TOUCHY ABOUT THEIR HONOR, FOR THEY COULD
ALSO BE FEISTY AND VENGEFUL. THEIR STORIES SHOW ALL THESE TRAITS IN ABUNDANCE.
THE OLYMPIAN GODS MIRRORED THESE GREEK QUALITIES FAITHFULLY, BEING QUARRELSOME,
UNFORGIVING DEITIES WHO ENJOYED WARRING, BANQUETING, AND FORNICATING. THE GODS
WERE ALWAYS DEPICTED IN HUMAN FORM WITH BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL BODIES. THUS THEY WERE
NOT ONLY HUMANLY INTELLIGIBLE BUT EXTREMELY PLEASING TO THE EYE AS WELL. THE
GREEKS GREATLY ADMIRED STRENGTH, BEAUTY, AND INTELLIGENCE AND, SINCE THE GODS
THEMSELVES WERE GLORIFIED HUMAN BEINGS, GREEK CULTURE ASSUMED THAT HUMAN BEINGS
WERE THE PRIMARY INTEREST OF THE GODS. THIS BELIEF WAS BEST SUMMARIZED BY THE
GREEK PHILOSOPHER, PROTAGORAS, WHO SUMMED UP THE ENTIRE GREEK VALUE SYSTEM
WHETHER IN ART, LITERATURE, POLITICS, OR SOCIETY WITH THE PHRASE: “MAN IS THE MEASURE
OF ALL THINGS”.
FEW CULTURES HAVE PRODUCED SUCH A WEALTH OF HEROES. THIS WAS THE NATURAL RESULT
OF THE GREEK URGE FOR FAME. THE HEROES TEND TO BE ADVENTURERS AND FIGHTERS BOLD, EXPERIENCED, FIERCE, STRONG, AND OFTEN CLEVER. THEIR FEATS WERE FAR ABOVE
THOSE OF ORDINARY HUMANS. HOWEVER, THEY ALSO HAD SERIOUS FAILINGS THAT SOMETIMES
RUINED THEM: FLAWS SUCH AS OVERWEENING PRIDE, RASHNESS, AND CRUELTY. THESE AROSE
FROM THE VERY SOURCE OF THEIR SUCCESSES - AMBITION. WITH GREEK HEROES, AMBITION
WAS INTENSE, OCCASIONALLY ASPIRING TO GODLIKE STATUS. AS MODELS OF HUMAN
EXCELLENCE, THEY PROVIDED STANDARDS FOR GREEK YOUTHS TO EMULATE.
PAGE 1
THE LEGENDS OF TRAGIC DYNASTIES SHOW A SIMILAR AMBIVALENCE. DESPITE THEIR WORLDLY
POWER, THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF CRETE, MYCENAE, THEBES, AND ATHENS WERE AFFLICTED
WITH THEIR OWN PARTICULAR FAULTS THAT RENDERED THEM VULNERABLE TO DISASTER:
PRIDE OF POWER, RUTHLESSNESS IN GETTING REVENGE, STUBBORNNESS IN PURSUING SOME
GOAL, AND SEXUAL CONFLICT. NO RACE HAS UNDERSTOOD QUITE AS CLEARLY AS THE
GREEKS HOW CHARACTER IS DESTINY, OR HOW OUR VERY ACHIEVEMENTS CAN STEM FROM
THE SAME SOURCE AS OUR FAULTS.
IN THE TALE OF THE TROJAN WAR, THE HEROIC AND TRAGIC ELEMENTS ARE BLENDED. THIS IS
PERHAPS THE FINEST LEGEND OF GREEK CULTURE. THE CHIEF HEROES OF THIS STORY,
ACHILLES AND HECTOR, WERE DOOMED TO PREMATURE AND VIOLENT DEATH, BUT THERE WAS
A MEASURE OF GRANDEUR IN THEIR CODE OF HONOR AND IN THEIR DEFIANCE OF FATE. MOST
OF THE SURVIVORS, TOO, WERE DOOMED OR SUFFERED A LONG ORDEAL. IT WAS A WAR WHICH
NO ONE COULD WIN.
IN THE END, THE ANCIENT GREEKS ACHIEVED THE PERMANENT FAME THEY SOUGHT SO AVIDLY.
AND THEIR MYTHOLOGY HAS BEEN A MAINSTAY OF WESTERN ART AND LITERATURE FOR WELL
OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS.
PAINTED CUPOLA IN A ROYAL TOMB:
HOMAGE TO THE PRINCELY COUPLE. FRESCO. H. OF FRIEZE 55CM. C. 300 B.C. KAZANLAK
PAGE 2
LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
THE TROJAN WAR - THE BACKGROUND;
THE PRELIMINARIES
[OR, AS THE TROJAN WAR TURNS]
NOTE WELL:
ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION IS BACKGROUND MATERIAL SO THAT YOU
UNDERSTAND WHY THE TROJAN WAR HAPPENED. IT ALSO INTRODUCES MANY INDIVIDUALS WHO
ARE KEY CHARACTERS IN THE ILIAD. NONE OF THIS INFORMATION IS TECHNICALLY PART OF
THE PLOT OF THE EPIC, THE ILIAD, BUT IT IS INFORMATION THAT YOU MUST KNOW AND THAT YOU
MUST UNDERSTAND!
⇒ I GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE TESTED ON THIS BACKGROUND INFORMATION!
⇒ IF A NAME IS PRINTED IN BOLD-FACE TYPE, YOU MUST KNOW THAT INDIVIDUAL AND THAT
INDIVIDUAL’S ROLE IN THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
K
ING PRIAM RULED IN THE WEALTHY, FORTIFIED CITY OF TROY. HE WAS NOT ONLY
PROS-PEROUS, BUT HE HAD FIFTY OR MORE CHILDREN, AND IT SEEMED AS IF GOOD
FORTUNE WOULD BLESS HIM AND HIS CHILDREN FOR A LONG TIME TO COME. HOWEVER,
HIS PREGNANT WIFE, HECUBA, HAD A NIGHTMARE IN WHICH SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A
DEADLY FIREBRAND [A FIREBRAND IS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO STIRS UP UNREST AND STRIFE;
CONTROVERSY]. THE SEERS INTERPRETED THIS TO MEAN THAT HER UNBORN CHILD WOULD
DESTROY TROY AND ITS INHABITANTS.
WHEN THE INFANT WAS BORN, IT WAS EXPOSED ON MOUNT IDA, BUT A SHE - BEAR NURSED
THE CHILD AND IT SURVIVED, GROWING UP AS A SHEPHERD CALLED PARIS.
AS AN
ADOLESCENT, PARIS TOOK THE NYMPH OENONE AS A LOVER.
SOME YEARS LATER, AT THE WEDDING OF PELEUS AND THETIS, THE GODS WERE ENJOYING
THEMSELVES WHEN ERIS, OR STRIFE, THREW A GOLDEN APPLE INTO THEIR MIDST WITH THE
WORDS, “FOR THE FAIREST,” ATTACHED. HERA, ATHENA, AND APHRODITE ALL CLAIMED THE
APPLE AND ASKED ZEUS TO JUDGE BETWEEN THEM, BUT HE WISELY REFUSED, DIRECTING THE
THREE GODDESSES TO A SHEPHERD ON MOUNT IDA WHO COULD DECIDE WHICH OF THE THREE
WAS THE LOVELIEST. THE GODDESSES APPROACHED PARIS AND EACH OFFERED HIM A
BRIBE FOR SELECTING HER. HERA PROMISED TO MAKE PARIS A KING WHO WOULD RULE ASIA
AND HAVE GREAT WEALTH. ATHENA OFFERED TO GIVE HIM WISDOM AND AN INVINCIBLE VALOR
IN WARFARE. BUT APHRODITE WON THE APPLE BY PROMISING PARIS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
WOMAN IN THE WORLD - THE SPECTACULAR HELEN. HIS CHOICE WAS IMPRUDENT TO SAY THE
LEAST, SINCE HE MADE IMPLACABLE ENEMIES OF HERA AND ATHENA, BOTH OF WHOM VOWED
TO DESTROY HIM AND TROY.
ON LEARNING THAT HE WOULD POSSESS HELEN, PARIS LEFT HIS FLOCK AND WENT TO TROY TO
ESTABLISH HIMSELF AS A TRUE PRINCE, THE LEGITIMATE SON OF PRIAM AND HECUBA. HE NOW
HAD NO FURTHER USE FOR OENONE SO HE ABANDONED HER. NEXT HE SAILED FOR SPARTA,
WHERE HE SEDUCED HELEN DURING HER HUSBAND’S ABSENCE AND TOOK HER BACK TO
TROY WITH HIM.
PAGE 3
MEANWHILE PARIS’ SISTER CASSANDRA, WAS FACING CONFLICT ON A VERY PERSONAL
LEVEL. IN AN ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE HER, APOLLO HAD PROMISED CASSANDRA THAT SHE
WOULD HAVE THE GIFT OF PROPHECY IF SHE WOULD SLEEP WITH HIM. CASSANDRA, HOWEVER,
HAD TAKEN A VOW OF CHASTITY AND RESISTED HIS GIFTS AND HIS ADVANCES. IN ANGER,
APOLLO TURNED HIS GIFT INTO A CURSE: NO ONE WOULD BELIEVE CASSANDRA NO MATTER
WHAT SHE SAID. WHEN PARIS RETURNED WITH HELEN AND STOOD BEFORE PRIAM TO GET HIS
FATHER’S ACCEPTANCE, CASSANDRA CAME INTO THE ROOM, VISUALIZED ALL THE EVIL THAT
WOULD OCCUR BECAUSE OF PARIS AND HIS LUST, GAVE SHRIEKS OF DESPAIR, AND RAILED
AT HER IMMORAL BROTHER. THINKING CASSANDRA MAD, PRIAM HAD HIS DAUGHTER
LOCKED IN A PALACE CELL.
WHEN MENELAUS RETURNED TO SPARTA AND FOUND HIS WIFE HELEN GONE, HE SUMMONED
THE GREEK LEADERS TO GO WITH HIM TO CONQUER TROY AND RECOVER HELEN. THESE
LEADERS WERE PLEDGED TO AID MENELAUS, FOR JUST AS EACH HAD COURTED HELEN, EACH
HAD ALSO TAKEN AN OATH TO AVENGE ANY DISHONOR THAT FELL UPON HER HUSBAND
BECAUSE OF HER. THUS PARIS PRECIPITATED THE TROJAN WAR, WHICH WOULD FULFILL THE
PROPHETIC DREAM HIS MOTHER HAD OF GIVING BIRTH TO A FIREBRAND THAT WOULD
DESTROY TROY.
THE GREEK CHIEFTAINS ASSEMBLED AT AULIS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF AGAMEMNON, THE
BROTHER OF MENELAUS. MOST OF THE WARRIORS WERE GLAD TO GO, EAGER TO BURN AND
SACK TROY. BUT TWO HEROES WERE RELUCTANT.
AN ORACLE TOLD ODYSSEUS THAT HE WOULD BE GONE FROM HOME FOR TWENTY YEARS IF HE
WENT, SO HE FEIGNED MADNESS WHEN THE GREEK LEADERS CAME FOR HIM. PALAMEDES
EXPOSED THE RUSE, AND ODYSSEUS HAD TO GO.
SINCE TROY COULD NOT BE TAKEN WITHOUT THE HELP OF ACHILLES, THE GREEKS WENT TO
SCYROS TO FETCH HIM. ACHILLES WAS PRACTICALLY INVULNERABLE AS A FIGHTER, BECAUSE
HIS MOTHER, THE NYMPH THETIS, HAD DIPPED HIM IN THE RIVER STYX AT BIRTH, RENDERING
HIM IMMORTAL EVERYWHERE BUT IN HIS HEEL, BY WHICH SHE HAD HELD HIM. TUTORED BY
CHIRON, A WISE CENTAUR, HE BECAME AN INCREDIBLY SWIFT AND FEARSOME WARRIOR.
KNOWING HE WOULD HAVE A SHORT BUT GLORIOUS LIFE IF HE WENT TO TROY, THETIS
DISGUISED HER VALIANT SON IN WOMEN’S CLOTHING AT THE SCYRIAN COURT. HOWEVER,
ODYSSEUS DISCOVERED ACHILLES BY A TRICK, AND HE TOO, CONSENTED TO GO.
AT FIRST THE GREEKS SAILED TO MYSIA, AND BELIEVING IT TO BE TROY, THEY MADE WAR.
THE MYSIAN KING, TELEPHUS, WAS WOUNDED IN THE BATTLE BY ACHILLES. LEARNING OF
THEIR ERROR, THE GREEKS SAILED BACK TO AULIS. SINCE AN ORACLE SAID THAT TROY
COULD NOT BE TAKEN WITHOUT TELEPHUS’ ADVICE, ACHILLES WAS OBLIGED TO HEAL HIS
VICTIM. A RENEGADE TROJAN PROPHET, CALCHAS, HAD SIDED WITH THE GREEKS, AND
WHEN UNFAVORABLE WINDS PREVENTED THE GREEKS FROM SAILING, CALCHAS DECLARED
THAT THE GODDESS ARTEMIS WANTED THE SACRIFICE OF A VIRGIN. AGAMEMNON’S
DAUGHTER, IPHIGENIA, WAS CHOSEN AND SENT FOR UNDER THE PRETEXT THAT SHE WOULD
MARRY ACHILLES. WHEN SHE DISCOVERED WHY SHE WAS REALLY SUMMONED, SHE WILLINGLY
ALLOWED HERSELF TO BE SACRIFICED FOR THE GREEK CAUSE. SOME SAY, THOUGH, THAT
ARTEMIS PUT A DEER IN HER PLACE AND CARRIED HER OFF TO THE LAND OF THE TAURIANS.
IN ANY CASE, THE GREEK EXPEDITION WAS ABLE TO REACH TROY.
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LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
THE COURSE
OF THE
WAR
NOTE WELL: THE ILIAD USES THE STORY OF THE TROJAN WAR AS ITS BACKDROP. THE STORY
OF THE ILIAD ACTUALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE TENTH YEAR OF THAT WAR BUT THE PLOT OF
THE ILIAD IS REALLY A STUDY OF INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH
EACH OTHER. THE INFORMATION THAT FOLLOWS IS A VERY BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT HAD
HAPPENED IN THE FIRST NINE YEARS OF THE FIGHTING. AGAIN, NONE OF THIS IS TECHNICALLY
PART OF THE PLOT OF THE ILIAD. AGAIN, IT FUNCTIONS AS BACKGROUND SO THAT YOU
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ILIAD ONCE YOU ACTUALLY GET TO THE BEGINNING OF ITS PLOT.
⇒ I GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE TESTED ON THIS BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
A
N ORACLE HAD SAID THAT THE FIRST TO LEAP ASHORE ON TROJAN TERRITORY WOULD
BE THE FIRST TO DIE. PROTESILAUS TOOK THIS BURDEN ON HIMSELF AND WAS
GREATLY HONORED FOR IT AFTER BEING SLAIN IN A SKIRMISH WITH HECTOR, THE
TROJAN PRINCE. A MIGHTY WARRIOR, HECTOR WAS THE MAINSTAY OF TROY IN THE
TEN YEARS OF FIGHTING THAT FOLLOWED. YET HECTOR BORE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT BOTH
HE AND HIS CITY WERE DOOMED. IF HIS BROTHER TROILUS HAD LIVED TO BE TWENTY,
TROY MIGHT HAVE BEEN SPARED, BUT ACHILLES SLEW THE BOY WHEN HE WAS IN HIS TEENS.
TROY HAD ONE OTHER DEFENDER OF NOTE, AENEAS, AN ALLY FROM A NEIGHBORING LAND.
THE GREEK ARMY, HOWEVER, WAS FULL OF HEROES. IN ADDITION TO AGAMEMNON,
MENELAUS, NESTOR, ODYSSEUS, AND ACHILLES, THERE WERE DIOMEDES AND THE TWO
AJAXES.
AFTER NINE YEARS OF FIGHTING, THE GREEKS HAD MANAGED TO LAY WASTE MANY
KINGDOMS ALLIED TO TROY IN ASIA MINOR, BUT THEY HAD NOT MADE MUCH HEADWAY
AGAINST TROY ITSELF. THERE WAS FRICTION IN THE GREEK CAMP. ODYSSEUS STILL BORE A
GRUDGE AGAINST PALAMEDES, THE MAN WHO HAD RUTHLESSLY SHOWN HIS MADNESS TO BE A
HOAX. WHEN PALAMEDES DENOUNCED ODYSSEUS FOR AN UNSUCCESSFUL FORAGING
EXPEDITION, ODYSSEUS FRAMED PALAMEDES, MAKING HIM APPEAR A TRAITOR. PALAMEDES
WAS STONED TO DEATH AS A RESULT.
PAGE 5
⇒ THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
OF
THE ILIAD
ACCORDING TO TRADITION, THE ILIAD WAS COMPOSED IN 750 B. C., BUT ITS STORY TAKES
TH
PLACE 500 YEARS EARLIER, IN THE 10
YEAR OF THE TROJAN WAR. TROY WAS A MAJOR
TH
TH
CITY & TRADING HUB. HOWEVER, NEITHER IN THE 13 NOR IN THE 18 CENTURY B.C. WAS
GREECE A SINGLE NATION.
THE ACHAEAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE WAS A LOOSE GROUP OF INDEPENDENT TRIBAL LORDS
OR KINGS WHO COMMANDED THEIR OWN FIGHTING MEN. KINGS DID NOT OWE OTHER KINGS
UNCONDITIONAL ALLEGIANCE. IF THEY DID NOT SUPPORT ANOTHER KING’S POLICIES, THEY
WERE FREE TO DO WHAT YOU WILL SEE ACHILLES DO- TAKE HIS MEN AND SHIPS AND LEAVE!
GREEK CITY STATES
PAGE 6
LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
⇒ THE CULTURAL CONTEXT
OF
THE ILIAD
AS A PRODUCT OF A LONG AND RICH ORAL TRADITION, THE ILIAD WAS A SOURCE OF CULTURE
FOR THE ANCIENT GREEKS. THEY REVERED THE POEM AS AN EXPRESSION OF CENTRAL
TRUTHS ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE SCHEME OF THE UNIVERSE. THE
STORY IN THE ILIAD, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW, GREW FROM PARIS’ ABDUCTION OF HELEN AND
THE RESULTING WAR WITH TROY, WAS FIRMLY PLANTED IN GREEK CULTURE. SIMILARLY, THE
VALUES OF WARFARE DEPICTED IN THE POEM - THE NOBILITY AND GLORY OF THE SLAYERS
AND THE HUMANITY AND THE PATHOS OF THE SLAIN - WERE ALSO GROUNDED IN THE GREEK
CONSCIOUSNESS.
A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE GREEK CODE OF ETHICS WAS HONOR. IT WAS UNDERSTOOD
THAT WARRIORS FOUGHT FOR HONOR AND TO ENSURE A REPUTATION THAT WOULD OUTLIVE
THEM. HONOR WAS EXPRESSED TANGIBLY BY THE PRIZES DISTRIBUTED TO A WARRIOR
ACCORDING TO HIS RANK AND VALOR. A WARRIOR’S SHARE OF BOOTY WAS THUS A VISIBLE
SYMBOL OF HIS MERIT, WHICH IS WHY ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON FEEL SO SHAMED WHEN
THEY MUST FORFEIT THEIR PRIZES IN THE ILIAD. (AND, YES, PRIZES DID INCLUDE CONQUERED
PEOPLE!) ULTIMATELY, A HERO’S HONOR DEPENDED ON HOW THE WORLD SAW HIM, NOT ON
HOW HE SAW HIMSELF.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THE ILIAD WITH SENSITIVITY TO HOMERIC VALUES AND TO AVOID
IMPOSING THE VALUES OF ANY OTHER TIME AND CULTURE ON THE EPIC. TO FULLY UNDERSTAND
AND APPRECIATE THE HOMERIC ATTITUDE TOWARD WAR AND DEATH, WE MUST READ
THROUGH OBJECTIVE LENSES.
HEAD OF APHRODITE OF KNIDOS MARBLE. HEIGHT 35 CM
AFTER PRAXITELES, C. 340 B.C. LOUVRE MUSEUM, PARIS
PAGE 7
APHRODITE ('VENUS DE MILO') MARBLE.
ND
H. 2.02 METERS END 2 C B.C. LOUVRE
⇒ THE LITERARY CONTEXT
OF
THE ILIAD
THE ILIAD AS WE KNOW IT IS THE END PRODUCT OF AN ORAL POETIC TRADITION OF HEROIC
NARRATIVE. SINCE POETRY COMPOSED IN THE ORAL TRADITION WAS INTENDED TO BE HEARD,
NOT READ, THE SINGER OF THE POEM HAD TO FULFILL THE TRADITIONAL EXPECTATIONS OF HIS
AUDIENCE. AS HOMER SANG THE ILIAD, HIS LANGUAGE, STYLE, THEMES, AND PORTRAYAL OF
GODS AND HUMANS IS BOTH FORMULAIC ACCORDING
ACCORDING TO HIS VISION OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.
TO
CONVENTION
THE DEFINITION
OF
AND
ORIGINAL
EPIC:
THIS
IS THE DEFINITION
KNOWN, UNDERSTOOD,
AND USED BY
HUMANITIES STUDENTS!
THE EPIC IS A LONG NARRATIVE POEM
PRESENTED IN AN ELEVATED STYLE, RELATING
THE HEROIC DEEDS OF NOBLE OR SEMI-DIVINE
PERSONAGES. TRADITIONAL OR FOLK EPICS
ORIGINATED IN TRADITIONAL LEGENDS DATING
BACK TO A REMOTE PAST AND HANDED DOWN
ORALLY BY GENERATIONS OF SINGERS. AT
SOME POINT, AN INDIVIDUAL PUT ALL THE
PIECES TOGETHER IN WRITTEN FORM. LITERARY
EPICS DEVELOPED LATER AND WERE MODELED
ON THE ORIGINAL ORAL EPICS.
THESE ARE THE SEVEN DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF AN EPIC:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
SUCH
THE CHARACTERS ARE OF NOBLE BIRTH, OR THEY ARE SUPERNATURAL BEINGS FROM
THE PAST. IF FOR ANY REASON A PERSON OF LOWER ESTATE IS INTRODUCED, THE
PERSON’S NAME IS NEVER MENTIONED.
THE ACTION IS ON AN IMMENSE SCALE AND INVOLVES THE FATE OF A WHOLE PEOPLE
OR EVEN THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE. GODS OR SEMI DIVINE CREATURES COME TO THE
AID OF ONE SIDE OR ANOTHER.
THE AUTHOR USUALLY ANNOUNCES THE THEME AT THE OPENING OF THE EPIC AND
CALLS UPON THE MUSES TO HELP HIM IN HIS NARRATION.
THE POEM USUALLY BEGINS AT A CRITICAL POINT IN THE ACTION.
THE STYLE IS NOBLE AND MAJESTIC; THE CHARACTERS OFTEN SPEAK CEREMONIOUSLY
IN LONG SET SPEECHES.
LITERARY INVENTORIES - LISTINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF CHARACTERS OR OBJECTS
- OFTEN FORM PART OF THE DESCRIPTIVE PASSAGES.
CHARACTERISTICS HAD BECOME SO PREDICTABLE THAT A KIND OF ANTI-EPIC DEVELOPED THAT
BECAME KNOWN AS A MOCK EPIC. THE MOCK EPIC USES ALL THE EPIC ELEMENTS IN WRONG OR BIZARRE
WAYS SO THAT THEY APPEAR RIDICULOUS TO THE AUDIENCE. FEATURES OF THE MOCK-EPIC ARE VERY
COMMON IN CONTEMPORARY COMEDY . (ENGLISH LITERATURE)
PAGE 8
LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
THE ILIAD:
KEY CHARACTERS WITH MINIMAL IDENTIFICATION
THE IMMORTALS . . .
∗
APHRODITE (AF-ROW-DI-TEE) GODDESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY. PROTECTS HELEN AND
PARIS AND FAVORS THE TROJANS. WINS THE TITLE: ‘FAIREST OF THEM ALL’
∗
APOLLO (AH-PAHL-O) THE ARCHER GOD; A GOD OF LIGHT AND OF HEALING. APOLLO
NOT ONLY HEALS, HE VISITS PESTILENCE ON MEN. HE FAVORS AND PROTECTS THE
TROJANS.
∗
ARES (AIR-EASE) GOD OF WAR; FAVORS THE TROJANS.
∗
ATHENA (AH-THEE-NAH) DAUGHTER OF ZEUS (SHE HAD NO MOTHER). SHE EMERGED OUT
OF ZEUS’ HEAD FULLY ARMED AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH VICTORY IN WAR AND CLEVER
THINKING AND SPEAKING. SHE PROTECTS THE GREEKS. SHE FELT SHE DESERVED THE
TITLE ‘FAIREST OF THEM ALL’.
∗
HADES (HAY-D’EASE) GOD OF THE DEAD; RULER OF THE UNDERWORLD.
∗
HERA (HAIR-UH) SISTER AND WIFE OF ZEUS; FAVORS THE GREEKS. SHE ALSO FELT SHE
DESERVED THE TITLE ‘FAIREST OF THEM ALL’.
∗
HERMES (HER-MEAS) MESSENGER GOD.
∗
OENONE (OH-KNOW-KNEE) NYMPH WHO IS PARIS’ FIRST LOVE.
∗
THETIS (THE-TIS) SEA GODDESS; WIFE OF THE MORTAL PELEUS AND MOTHER OF
ACHILLES. AT HER
WEDDING, THE UNINVITED STRIFE, TOSSED IN THE APPLE WITH THE NOTE: ‘TO THE FAIREST’
∗
ZEUS THE MOST POWERFUL OF THE GODS, KNOWN AS FATHER OF MEN AND GODS.
PAGE 9
THE ILIAD:
KEY CHARACTERS WITH MINIMAL IDENTIFICATION
THE GREEKS . . .
♦
ACHILLES (AH-KILL-EASE) SON OF PELEUS, A MORTAL KING AND THE SEA-GODDESS,
THETIS. THE BEST WARRIOR AMONG THE ACHAEANS (THE GREEKS); LEADER OF THE
MYRMIDONS (A GROUP FROM PHTHIA, THE AREA RULED BY PELEUS, ACHILLES’ FATHER).
♦
AGAMEMNON (AGH-EH-MEM-NON) KING OF MYCENAE; SON OF ATREUS. HUSBAND OF
CLYTEMNESTRA; BROTHER OF MENELAUS. LEADER OF THE GREEK EXPEDITIONARY
FORCE.
♦
AJAX THE STRONGEST WARRIOR ON THE GREEK SIDE AFTER ACHILLES.
♦
CLYTEMNESTRA (KLEYE-TAH-MESTRA) WIFE OF AGAMEMNON, SISTER OF HELEN.
♦
HELEN WIFE OF MENELAUS, THE KING OF SPARTA. HELEN IS THE PRIZE OFFERED TO
PARIS BY APHRODITE. IN FOLKLORE, SHE HAS BECOME KNOWN AS HELEN OF TROY.
♦
IPHIGENIA (E-FEE-EN-YA) DAUGHTER OF AGAMEMNON
♦
MENELAUS (MEN-AH-LAY-US) KING OF SPARTA AND THE SURROUNDING AREA. SON OF
ATREUS, BROTHER OF AGAMEMNON, HUSBAND OF HELEN.
♦
NESTOR KING OF PYLOS, A WISE, OLD COUNSELOR; BELONGS TO AN OLDER GENERATION.
♦
ODYSSEUS (OH-DIS-E-US) KING OF ITHAKA. THE SMOOTHEST TALKER AND WILIEST
THINKER AMONG THE GREEKS; A FAVORITE OF THE GODDESS ATHENA. (MAIN
CHARACTER IN THE ODYSSEY.)
♦
PATROCLUS (PEH-TROW-KLOS) A COMPANION TO AND TRUSTED LOYAL FOLLOWER OF
ACHILLES.
♦
PELEUS (PEL-E-US) FATHER OF ACHILLES; HUSBAND OF THE GODDESS THETIS. IT IS AT
THE WEDDING OF PELEUS AND THETIS THAT STRIFE THROWS IN THE APPLE MARKED TO THE
FAIREST.
PAGE 10
LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
THE ILIAD:
KEY CHARACTERS WITH MINIMAL IDENTIFICATION
THE TROJANS . . .
◊
ANDROMACHE (AN-DRAHM-AH-KEY) WIFE OF HECTOR.
◊
ASTYANAX (AH-STEH-NEY-AX) INFANT SON OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE.
◊
BRISEIS (BRE-SEE-IS) A TROJAN CAPTIVE GIRL, NAMED AFTER HER FATHER BRISEUS
(BRE-SUS). SHE IS TAKEN AS A PRIZE OF WAR BY ACHILLES.
◊
CHRYSEIS (KRE-SEE-IS) THE DAUGHTER OF CHRYSES (KRE-SEES), PRIEST OF APOLLO.
A CAPTIVE GIRL TAKEN BY AGAMEMNON AS A PRIZE OF WAR.
◊
HECTOR SON OF KING PRIAM; LEADER OF THE TROJANS AND THEIR GREATEST FIGHTER.
◊
HECUBA THE WIFE OF PRIAM; MOTHER TO PARIS. HER DREAM FORETOLD TROY’S
DESTRUCTION.
◊
PARIS SON OF KING PRIAM AND QUEEN HECUBA. THOUGH HE WAS PROMISED HELEN AS
HIS PRIZE FOR SELECTING APHRODITE AS THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL, HE MUST STILL
SEDUCE HELEN AND ABDUCT HER FROM TROY. HIS SEDUCTION/ABDUCTION OF HELEN
PRECIPITATES THE TROJAN WAR.
◊
PRIAM (PRI-AHM) KING OF TROY; HUSBAND OF HECUBA, FATHER OF HECTOR AND
PARIS AND A MULTITUDE OF OTHER CHILDREN.
PAGE 11
HOMERIC GEOGRAPHY: THE AEGEAN AND ASIA MINOR
THIS MAP MAY HELP YOU BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ILIAD.
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LITERATURE, CULTURE, AND THE HUMANITIES
GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL
HOMER'S THE ILIAD: BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DROUIN
HOMER - “THE POET” THE ANCIENT GREEKS ASCRIBED THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY, THEIR
TWO OLDEST, MONUMENTAL EPIC POEMS TO HOMER, WHOM THEY CALLED SIMPLY ‘THE POET’.
NOTHING CERTAIN IS KNOWN ABOUT HOMER’S LIFE. HIS NAME, WHICH MEANS ‘HOSTAGE,’ GIVES
NO CLUE TO HIS ORIGINS, SINCE SMALL WARS AND RAIDS BETWEEN NEIGHBORING TOWNS WERE
FREQUENT IN ANCIENT GREECE, AND PRISONERS WERE ROUTINELY HELD FOR RANSOM OR
SOLD INTO SLAVERY. HOMER IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE ‘IONIAN BARD’ OR POET;
MORE THAN LIKELY HE CAME FROM IONIA IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN, WHERE EASTERN
AND WESTERN CULTURES MET AND NEW INTELLECTUAL CURRENTS WERE BORN. IN SUPPORT OF
THAT THEORY, THE ILIAD CONTAINS SEVERAL ACCURATE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE IONIAN
LANDSCAPE AND ITS NATURAL FEATURES, WHEREAS HOMER’S GRASP OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF
MAINLAND GREECE SEEMS LESS AUTHORITATIVE.
THE LEGEND THAT HOMER WAS A BLIND BARD MAY HAVE SOME BASIS IN FACT; IF HE
LIVED TO BE AN OLD MAN, HE MAY SIMPLY HAVE BECOME BLIND. HOWEVER, THE IDEA OF
HOMER’S BLINDNESS MAY HAVE ARISEN BECAUSE OF ITS SYMBOLIC IMPLICATIONS. THE
GREEKS CONTRASTED INNER VISION WITH PHYSICAL VISION, THE IDEA SEEMED TO BE THAT IF
YOU LACKED PHYSICAL SIGHT YOU WERE COMPENSATED WITH AN INNER SIGHT OR
UNDERSTANDING OF THINGS AND ISSUES.
ALTHOUGH HOMER’S DATES ARE UNCERTAIN, THE ILIAD WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY
COMPOSED LATE IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY B.C. HISTORICALLY, HOWEVER, BOTH EPICS TAKE
PLACE IN A LONG-PAST HEROIC AGE KNOWN AS THE LATE BRONZE AGE. WHAT EQUIPPED
HOMER TO DEPICT AN ERA FIVE HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE HIS TIME? HOMER DID NOT CREATE
THE PLOT OR CHARACTERS OF THE TIME ASCRIBED TO HIM; RATHER, HE INHERITED THE
STORIES OF THOSE EPICS. GENERATIONS OF GREEKS HAD PRESERVED ORALLY THE SUBJECT
MATTER OF HOMER’S EPICS - THE STORY OF THE TROJAN WAR AND THE HEROIC MYTHOLOGY
THAT PERVADES BOTH POEMS. AS A RESULT, HOMER IS THE ULTIMATE SPOKESMAN OF A
LONG AND RICH TRADITION OF ORAL POETRY, DEVELOPED OVER CENTURIES.
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION, POETS TRANSMITTED TALES OF THE “GLORIOUS
FEATS OF MEN.” MANY OF THE STORIES WERE ABOUT THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN THE WAR AGAINST
TROY. A BARD MIGHT CHOOSE TO SING OF THE EXPLOITS OF A PARTICULAR WAR HERO,
ABOUT HIS HOMECOMING, AND ABOUT HIS ANCESTORS OR HIS DESCENDANTS. IN THE WORLD
OF HOMER’S AUDIENCE, THE LANDED WARRIOR ARISTOCRACY CLAIMED DESCENT FROM THE
HEROES OF LEGEND AND ULTIMATELY FROM THE GODS. FOR SUCH A SOCIETY, THE LEGENDS
ABOUT HEROES FORMED A TRIBAL AND NATIONAL HISTORY.
IN FACT, THE ILIAD WAS CONSIDERED HISTORY; CHILDREN IN THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C.
MEMORIZED LARGE SECTIONS OF THE POEM AND PRACTICED THE ETHICAL CODES THAT
HOMER PRESENTS. EVEN FIFTH CENTURY ATHENIANS CLAIMED THE HOMERIC GODS AND
HEROES AS FOUNDERS OR CHAMPIONS OF ATHENS AND ITS PEOPLE. THE FACT THAT
HOMER’S EPICS WERE THE FIRST POEMS TO BE WRITTEN DOWN PARTIALLY EXPLAINS THEIR
TREMENDOUS INFLUENCE ON LATER GENERATIONS OF GREEKS. GREEK LYRIC POETS,
DRAMATISTS, AND PHILOSOPHERS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES HOMER’S HEIRS, DRAWING ON
HIS WORK EITHER TO IMITATE IT OR TO ARGUE WITH IT. AS GREEK CULTURE SPREAD THROUGH
THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND WEST TO ITALY, HOMER’S EPICS FORMED A COMMON
TEXT FOR A LARGE PART OF THE WESTERN WORLD.
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