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On History and Political Thought in Homer's Iliad, with a Focus on Books

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On History and Political Thought in Homer's Iliad, with a Focus on Books Defining Politics: On History and Political Thought in Homer’s Iliad, With a Focus on Books 1-9 by Andrew M. Gross A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto © Copyright by Andrew M. Gross 2017 Defining Politics: On History and Political Thought in Homer’s Iliad, With a Focus on Books 1-9 Andrew M. Gross Doctor of Philosophy Department of Political Science University of Toronto 2017 ii Abstract The Iliad is a work of great literary complexity that contains profound insights and a wide- ranging account of the human condition. Some of the most important recent scholarly work on the poem has also emphasized the political dimension of Homer’s account. In this dissertation, I aim to contribute to our understanding of the Iliad as a work of political thought. Focusing on books 1 through 9 of the Iliad, I will try to show how we can discover in it a consistent chronological or historical account, even though at many points that history is not presented in a linear way, in the poem itself. Through various references we are able to discern an historical account of the entire cosmic order. Homer focuses on the newly established Olympian gods and, therewith, their need to enforce the crucial separation between themselves and human beings: that is, between their own status as immortals, and our condition as mortals. Homer’s history of the Trojan War, in turn, conveys crucial lessons about politics and the human condition. The dissertation traces the history of the war as it emerged from a private struggle and developed into a public war. That historical narrative arc allows Homer’s readers to compare regimes that exhibit varying kinds and degrees of political phenomena. The dissertation shows that, as the Iliad’s history of the Trojan War unfolds it clarifies how politics stands in relation to the other spheres of human existence – that Homer’s poem provides us with a fundamental account of politics, of justice, of the promise and limits of human virtue, and of how the political and other aspects of existence serve to define one another. Further, the sphere of politics is shown to illuminate other, sometimes more pressing or more important, spheres of human existence - not least, those of family and friendship. Through considering these elements of Homer’s poem, the dissertation brings to sight a number of vital discoveries about politics and the human situation. iii Acknowledgments My deep thanks go to a number of people who helped me in completing this project, among whom the following are those I would especially like to mention. I am most grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Ryan K. Balot, for his steadfast support and instruction right from the start and all the way to the completion of the dissertation project. His encouragement and intellectual guidance have been invaluable to me. My other committee members, Prof. Ronald Beiner and Prof. Clifford Orwin, and the external reader, Prof. Edward G. Andrew, also provided me with strong encouragement and guidance throughout my time as a doctoral student at the University of Toronto. The external examiner, Prof. Mark J. Lutz, who teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was very helpful during the final stage of the project. Although all of the committee members and other readers provided me with important comments on the dissertation, only I am responsible for any errors that remain in the work at present. During the dissertation proposal stage, a Bloom Fellowship, awarded by the University of Toronto’s Political Science Department, afforded me an academic year to focus on research and writing. I have received love and support from my sister, Lucinda Castro Val, as well as my father, John Gross. My mother, Suzanne Lynch, and step-father, Jim Lynch, also gave me their love and support, including generous financial help during the last phase of the project. Finally, I am very grateful to Merom Kalie, my colleague in graduate school, and a true friend. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v 1 Introduction and Literature Review ............................................................................................1 1.1 Argument of the Dissertation ...............................................................................................1 1.2 Secondary Literature on Homer’s Iliad ...............................................................................2 1.2.1 The Iliad as a Literary and Cultural Poem – The Question of Unity .......................3 1.2.2 Political approaches to the Iliad .............................................................................19 1.3 Plan of the Dissertation ......................................................................................................48 2 The Immortals, Mortal Limits and Alternatives .......................................................................57 2.1 Establishing the Olympian Order: The Immortals Realize that they are Immortal ..........57 2.2 Changes to the Human Situation Under the Olympian Order – and the Desire for Immortal, Thwarted ...........................................................................................................73 2.3 The Gods and Human Alternatives ....................................................................................78 3 The Trojan War as a Private Conflict .......................................................................................82 3.1 The Duel Between Menelaus and Paris .............................................................................82 3.2 Helen of Sparta and Troy - Her Error, Her Awareness of its Public Consequences, and Her Struggle with Aphrodite ..............................................................................................96 3.3 The Trojan War and the Emergence of a Public Conflict - From a Conflict between Individuals to a Conflict Between Alliances ...................................................................101 3.4 Trojan Culpability; Troy as a Private or Sub-Political Regime: From Paris’s Crimes to Troy’s Destruction .......................................................................................................103 3.4.1 Troy’s Culpability and a Protracted War .............................................................104 3.4.2 King Priam’s Culpability and Troy as a Regime Based on Private Ties .............107 3.4.3 The Trojans Use their Wealth for Provisions, Ransom Payments, and Allies ....119 v 3.5 Hector: The Great Exception Among the Trojans, who also Fails to Understand the Trojan Regime and the Trojan War .................................................................................127 3.6 Questions Raised by the Trojans and their Allies ............................................................137 4 The Politics of the Achaean Alliance ......................................................................................139 4.1 The Warrior Ethic as a Public Ethic; The Warrior Ethic as a Glorious Trap: Sarpedon’s Statement.......................................................................................................140 4.2 The Origins of the Achaean Alliance ...............................................................................144 4.3 The Defending Trojans and the Achaeans on the Attack ................................................148 4.4 An Ally Joins the Achaean Expedition: Peleus’s Instructions to Achilles .....................151 4.5 The Achaean Alliance as a Public Community ...............................................................151 4.5.1 Safeguarding the Common Good: Achilles Saves the Achaeans from Apollo’s Attack (1.8-117) ...................................................................................................153 4.5.2 Virtue, Honor, and Justice: The Clash between Achilles and Agamemnon (1.101-305)...........................................................................................................163 4.6 Achilles and Agamemnon Before and After their Conflict in Book 1 ............................169 4.6.1 Achilles’ Character and Ten Years of the Trojan War ........................................170 4.6.2 Agamemnon’s Character and Ten Years of the Trojan War ...............................172 4.7 The Common People and the Achaean Alliance .............................................................180 4.8 Achilles’ Hopes and Disappointments; Discoveries about Politics, and a Return to the Private Realm ...................................................................................................................185 5 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................193 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................197 vi 1 Introduction and Literature Review 1.1 Argument of the Dissertation Homer’s Iliad tells of a war between the Achaeans and the Trojans, begun after Paris and Helen left Sparta for Troy. It is structured by the story of Achilles as well as the plan of Zeus (24.25- 30; 1.1-7).1 The Iliad is a work of great literary complexity that contains profound insights
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