Homer – the Iliad
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HOMER – THE ILIAD Homer is the author of both The Iliad and The Odyssey. He lived in Ionia – which is now modern day Turkey – between the years of 900-700 BC. Both of the above epics provided the framework for Greek education and thought. Homer was a blind bard, one who is a professional story teller, an oral historian. Epos or epic means story. An epic is a particular type of story; it involves one with a hero in the midst of a battle. The subject of the poem is the Trojan War which happened approximately in 1200 BC. This was 400 years before the poem was told by Homer. This story would have been read aloud by Homer and other bards that came after him. It was passed down generation to generation by memory. One can only imagine how valuable memory was during that time period – there were no hard drives or memory sticks. On a tangential note, one could see how this poem influenced a culture; to be educated was to memorize a particular set of poems or stories which could be cross-referenced with other people’s memory of those particular stories. The information would be public and not private. The Iliad is one of the greatest stories ever told – a war between two peoples; the Greeks from the West and the Trojans from the East. The purpose of this story is to praise Achilles. The two worlds are brought into focus; the world of the divine order and the human order. The hero of the story is to bring greater order and harmony between these two orders. The story is heroic because of the burden that Achilles has to bear. Since this story was told orally, the context of the story would have been known by the listeners. Homer was relying on the listener to fill in the beginning of the epic. When reading the Iliad one wonders why there is a war in the first place between the Trojans and the Greeks. According to tradition, on the human scale, the story begins with Paris, the son of Priam, the King of Troy, visiting Menelaus. When Paris visits Menalaus, he abducts Helen, the wife of Menelaus. Paris brings her within the walls of Ilium (Troy) and keeps her there as his wife. In response to both the violation of marriage and rules of hospitality, Agamemnon (Menelaus’ brother) gathered the Greek City States and traveled over the Aegean Sea to declare war with the Trojans. On the divine scale, the Trojan War began when Paris (Alexandros) chose Aphrodite as the fairest of the three goddesses. The choice was between Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. As a reward, Aphrodite gave Helen as a gift to Paris. Thus Athene and Hera bore a grudge against Paris. The gods take sides during the war either with the Greeks or the Trojans. Hera, Athene and Poseidon support the Greeks. Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, and Artemis support the Trojans. Zeus is the principle of unity in this story since he supports both sides.1 1 To read more about the Judgement of Paris: Apollodorus et al., Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae : Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology (Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2007). 2 I: THE QUARREL 1. “The Wrath of Achilles is my theme, that fatal wrath which, in fulfillment of the will of Zeus, brought the Achaeans so much suffering and sent the gallant souls of many noblemen to Hades, leaving their bodies as carrion for the dogs and passing birds (23).”2 a. This epic begins more than 9 years into the Trojan War. This is important to note since the book only accounts for 50 days of the war. It is also important to note that the epic starts with going into the 10th year of the war – which for a Greek means complete. b. Homer invokes, according to tradition, the muse of epic poetry, Calliope, to help him recall the angry parting that took place between Agamemnon and Achilles. Her parents were Zeus and Mnemosyne.3 The latter being the goddess of memory and remembrance. She represented the memorization required to pass on the oral tradition of epics. This is important since this epic, the Iliad, is handed down to us through the oral tradition of the bards. i. It is interesting to note that Homer is calling upon the Muse, Calliope, to help him tell the epic. He is appealing to something outside of himself for assistance and thus sees his limitations. As Christians we understand this to be grace, a gift from above. How beautiful is the one who calls upon the name of the Lord for assistance. As human beings we are limited in our capacities for speech and thought, we require assistance to know and love God – e.g. the Supernatural Virtues. c. “Fulfillment of the will of Zeus” 2 Homer, The Iliad, trans. E.V. Rieu (Penguin Books, 1950). This is the translation of Homer’s Iliad I will be using throughout the notes. Any page references from the Iliad will be referring to this work. 3 Hesiod, M. L. West, and Hesiod, Theogony ; and, Works and Days, World's Classics (Oxford Oxfordshire ; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988). 3 i. The fulfillment of someone else’s will other than our own is a foreign concept found in our society. Autonomy, which means literally self-law, is the touted virtue found in our society. Anything or any will exterior to our own is considered a barrier to fulfilling our own dreams and purposes that we have created for ourselves. Strictly speaking autonomy is a virtue if it is seen in the context of living according to one’s conscience that has been developed by the natural and divine law. The divine law being informed by God’s nature and thus will. How are we to become instruments to fulfill our Lord’s will? 2. “Chryses had come to the Achaean ships to recover his captured daughter.” a. Chryses is a priest of Apollo, who brought both Agamemnon and the Menelaus, a ransom for releasing his daughter, Chryseis. Agamemnon responds by disrespecting Chryses. This violated the rule of hospitality and respect for the priest of Apollo. “Old man, he said, do not let me catch you loitering by the hollow ships today, nor coming back again, or you may find the god’s staff and chaplet a very poor defense (23) .” This disrespect towards Apollo, the god, started the feud in Olympus. After Chryses appeals to Apollo for justice, Apollo responds to the Greeks with his sharp arrows for 9 days. It was not until the 10th day that Achilles appeals to Agamemnon, “He (Apollo) may be offended at some broken vow or some failure in our rites (24).” Calchas, a seer, told the truth about why Apollo was angry with the Greeks. He referenced Agamemnon disrespecting Chryses as the primary reason. 3. “In the same way as Apollo is robbing me of Chryseis, whom I propose to send off in my ship with my own crew, I am going to pay a visit to your hut and take away the beautiful Briseis, your prize Achilles, to let you know that I am more powerful than you, and to teach others not to bandy words with me and openly defy their king (28).” a. Achilles was about to respond to Agamemnon with violence when Athene “seized him by the golden locks.” Achilles responded with obedience to Athene and Hera since a man must obey no matter how angry he is (29). “The man who listens to the gods is listened to by them.” i. This act of obedience by Achilles is praiseworthy since Achilles does not act upon his passion for vengeance. He checks it with the command from Athene. How are we listening to God in the midst of anger? Are we allowing the anger to overtake us and our actions? Or are we patiently waiting for God to bring justice to our situation? 4. “Withdrawing from his men, Achilles wept…stretching out his arms, he poured out prayers to his Mother (32).” a. Thetis, Achilles mother, came to console her son. This is a beautiful scene, where the mother hears the cry of her child and hastens to console him. How beautiful it is for us when we can cry out to our mother Mary and she hastens to console us. How beautiful it is for our Mother Mary to wipe our tears from our eyes and hold us within her bosom. O’ Mary, consoler of the afflicted, comfort us in suffering and in sorrow, in trials and tribulations. 4 II: THE FORCES ARE DISPLAYED 1. “He (Zeus) was wondering how he could vindicate Achilles and have the Achaeans slaughtered at the ships. He decided the best way would to be to send King Agamemnon a False Dream (40).” a. “Rumor, the messenger of Zeus, spread through them like fire, driving them on till all were gathered together (42).” b. Achilles appealed to his mother, Thetis, who then appealed to Zeus to vindicate Achilles and restore his honor. This restoration was to come through the slaughtering of the Greeks, the ones that Achilles is fighting for. c. Agamemnon after hearing this false dream tested his men by telling them that Zeus told him that they are to retreat back to Argos on the ships. He tested them to see if they would retreat or not. The Greeks were in the process of heading back to the black hollow ships when Odysseus, who was moved by Athene, spurred the men back to fight the war.