Monday, 9/16 - The Ill-iad

The Achilles Tendon

• P&P

• Discuss Bks 4-6 and quotes  

• "Hweat!" No, wrong language and epic . . . that's Beowulf. "Rage!" That's more like it ; )

HW: Read the next two books of Homer's Iliad (Bks 7 & 8) and finish J9 for Wednesday. I'll give you class time on Tuesday to do some work. "Thank you, Mr. Reno!" "You're welcome, my little warriors and warring weavers."

J9 – Heroes (97-114) – “The Rage of Achilles, Books 1-8”

1. In what ways does Homer use Achilles to “trace out the consequences of extreme heroism”?
2. Although sideline characters in the Iliad, women’s role is crucial. How?
3. Explain how Achilles and Paris thematically occupy opposite end of the “heroic spectrum.”
4. Paris and Menelaus symbolize the clash of what opposites (there are several)?
5. The Greeks and Trojans almost establish a truce. Why does peace not prevail?
6. How do Paris and Achilles spatially occupy extreme positions in the Iliad (and where does Hector fall on that heroic continuum and why)?
7. What ancient practices does the scene between Diomedes and Glaucus highlight? What theme might it reinforce?
8. Comment on how the special division of the epic is also a gender division.
9. How, through Paris and Achilles, does Homer show that the two ends of the heroic spectrum curve around to meet?
10. How is Hector a true hero?
11. How is Hector more than a hero?
12. What does Homer achieve with his beautiful description of the “descent of darkness” (Heroes 112)?