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
5
(No Transcript)
6
(No Transcript)
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.

8
(No Transcript)
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.

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.

14
(No Transcript)
15
Dolphin fresco

• A detail of the restored Dolphin fresco on the
  wall of the Queens 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.

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.

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 literacythe
  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 recitedbut 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

• ?????????????????????????????,??????????????
• ????????????????????????????????????,????????????7
  50?725??
• ????????,???????????????

23
???????????(??????)

• ??????????????????????????????,??????????,??????
  ?????????????
• ????????????????????????,???????????????????,?????
  ?????????

24
??

• ???????,??????????????????????????????????????????
  ???

• ??????????????????????????????????
• ???????????????????????????????
• ???????????

25

• ?????????--????????????????????????????????
  ???????????????????????????

• ??????????????????????????????????????????
  ???????????????????????????????????????

26
??

• ??????????????,????????????????,???????????????,??
  ????????,????????,????????????????????????????????
  ,??????????,????????????????????????,????????????

27
The Achaeansthe Hellenes (Greeks), Danaans, and
Argives

• 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.

• 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.

28
The Trojan men

• Priam the aged King of Troy.
• Hector son of King Priam the foremost Trojan
  warrior.
• Paris Helens lover-abductor.
• Agenor a Trojan warrior who attempts to fight
  Achilles (Book XXI).
• Dolona spy upon the Greek camp (Book X).
• Antenor King Priams 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.

29
The Trojan women

• Hecuba Priams wife mother of Hector,
  Cassandra, Paris, and others.
• Helen Menelauss wife espoused first to Paris,
  then to Deiphobus.
• Andromache Hectors wife mother of Astyanax
• Cassandra Priams 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 Agamemnons 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 everlastingbut 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
  Agamemnons dishonorable, unkingly behavior
  first, by threatening the priest Chryses (1.11),
  then, by aggravating them in disrespecting
  Achilles, by confiscating Bryseis from him
  (1.171).
• The warriors consequent rancor 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.41016), he poignantly tells
  Agamemnons envoysOdysseus, 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 soldiers 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 gods
  help and a nine-day rain of arrows falls upon
  the Greeks.

39
Zeuss 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 Zeuss divine intervention
  favouring the Trojansuntil 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 wars 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 ones 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.

44
(No Transcript)
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/ilia
  d/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, Achilless
  war-concubine, for having relinquished Chryseis
  dishonoured, Achilles wrathfully withdraws the
  gods argue the Wars 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.

51
the Achaeans v.s. the Trojans

• The war is fought by the Achaeans against the
  Trojans for the recovery of Helen, the wife of
  the Achaean chieftain Menelaus
• the combatants are heroes who in their chariots
  engage in individual duels before the supporting
  lines of infantry and archers.
• The comparison of Patroclus to an angler
  emphasizes another aspect of battle, its
  excitement.

52
(No Transcript)
53
angler

• ? noun  a fisherman who uses a hook and line?
  noun  a scheming person someone who schemes to
  gain an advantage? noun  fishes having large
  mouths with a wormlike filament attached for
  luring prey

54
(No Transcript)
55
Hector

• The great champion of the Trojans, Hector, fights
  bravely, but reluctantly.
• War, for him, is a necessary evil, and he thinks
  nostalgically of the peaceful past, though he has
  little hope of peace to come.

56
Achilles slays Hector
57
(No Transcript)
58
Hector and Achilles

• We see Hector, as we do not see Achilles, against
  the background of the patterns of civilized
  lifethe rich city with its temples and palaces,
  the continuity of the family.
• The duel between these two men is the inevitable
  crisis of the poem, and just as inevitable is
  Hectors defeat and death.

59
(No Transcript)
60
Hectors death

• At the climactic moment of Hectors death, as
  everywhere in the poem, Homers firm control of
  his material preserves the balance in which our
  contrary emotions are held
• pity for Hector does not entirely rob us of
  sympathy for Achilles.

61
The Funeral of Hector
62
War and Peace

• This tragic action is the center of the poem, but
  it is surrounded by scenes that remind us that
  the organized destruction of war, though an
  integral part of human life, is still only a part
  of it.
• The yearning for peace and its creative
  possibilities is never far below the surface.

63
The Shield of Achilles
64

• These two poles of the human conditionwar and
  peace, with their corresponding aspects of human
  nature, the destructive and the creativeare
  implicit in every situation and statement of the
  poem, and they are put before us, in symbolic
  form, in the shield that the god Hephaestus makes
  for Achilles, with its scenes of human life in
  both peace and war.
• Whether these two sides of life can ever be
  integrated, or even reconciled, is a question
  that the Iliad raises but cannot answer.

65
Hephaestus

• a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan.
• He was the god of technology, blacksmiths,
  craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals,
  metallurgy, fire and volcanoes.
• Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque
  appearance in Greek eyes.
• He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he
  was worshipped in the manufacturing and
  industrial centers of Greece, particularly in
  Athens. The center of his cult was in Lemnos.

66
(No Transcript)
67
(No Transcript)
68
(No Transcript)
69
(No Transcript)
70
(No Transcript)
71
(No Transcript)
72
(No Transcript)
73
(No Transcript)
74
(No Transcript)
75
(No Transcript)
76
Mentor

• Mentor  was an old friend of Odysseus. To him
  Odysseus entrusted his household when he joined
  the coalition that sailed against Troy.
• Athena, assuming several times the shape of
  Mentor , became the guide of Odysseus' son
  Telemachus, giving him prudent counsel. Since
  then, wise and trusted advisers have been called
  "mentors".

77
Telemachus and Mentor
78
(No Transcript)
79
http//classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html

• The Iliad By Homer Written 800 B.C.E
  Translated by Samuel Butler