Notes on The Iliad Important Names Acheans Achilles

Notes on “The Iliad”

Important Names • • • • Acheans Achilles Myrmidon Patroclous Helen of Troy Menelaus Agamemnon Priam Briseus Chryseis Nestor Hades Dionysus/Apollo Zeus Hephaestus Odysseus

Notes • • • Ilium 15, 693 lines Epic Poem Homer Influence War… or love?

Myths NOT in story: • • Achilles heel & river styx Trojan Horse Attack Helen’s suitors Agamemnon Sacrifice

Truths • • • City of Troy Homer reports history Part myth, part history Heroes were REAL to the Greeks Achilles/Patroclous burial site Ancestry

Epic Poem • • Extraordinary hero charged with quest Quest has obstacles Supernatural element Hero resurrects himself at low point • Epic: Long, narrative poem detailing the adventure or journey of a hero.

Epic Hero • • • Male Unusual birth Event leads to quest Supernatural help Proves himself Rewarded upon death

Epic Conventions • • Invocation Question Simile Epithet Confrontation In media res Combat

Epic Journey • • • Journey is key element in epic cycle 1. questor 2. place to go 3. reason to go 4. challenges/trials 5. real reason

Overall “Themes” • • Fate vs free will Love & hate Pride Pursuit of glory Glory vs. horror Grief & revenge Male-male bonds

Homosexuality • • • Paiderastia “boy love” Erastes/Eromenos Masculinity Culture of Ancient Greece

Women in Ancient Greece • • Patriarchy Married young to older men There to bear children Lived with husband’s mother Confined to home Sparta: women were more equal Athens: women were locked away

Sex in Ancient Greece Sexual orientation & Gender vs. Social Status Active vs. Passive Masculine vs. Feminine Training of young men included homosexual bonding • Pederastic roles in “Iliad” • •

Marriage • • • Ceremony Age Outlawing of homosexuality Mutual Consent Changes in laws and trends Differs between cultures still today

Military Training in Ancient Greece • Athens: Goal to produce citizens trained in arts and to prepare for both peace and war. • Homeschooled until age 6 • 6 -14 attend school; read aloud and memorize • Used tablets and rulers • Learned Homer & the Lyre • Other subjects discretion of teacher (always male) • High school for 4 years • Went to military school for 2 years (18 -20); then graduated • Girls didn’t attend school but could study at home

Contd. • Sparta: Purpose of education was to produce a disciplined marching army! • Discipline, self-denial, simplicity • Required to have “perfect” bodies. Babies that didn’t pass the test were killed are sent to be a slave (helot). • Boys sent off to military school at age 6 or 7. Slept in barracks with other boys. • Taught to read and write, but warfare was most important. • Training was brutal; they marched without shoes, went without food, etc.

Sparta, contd. • At age 18 -20, boys had to pass a test (fitness, leadership, skill); if they didn’t pass, they’d became perioikas (middle class with no citizenship). • If pass, they became a full citizen and Spartan soldier. • Not allowed to touch money. • Lived in barracks with their “brotherhood” (even if married). • Could “retire” at age 60 and go to live with their families. • Girls were also educated and sent to live with their “sisterhood”. If she passed a physical fitness test at 18, she’d be assigned a husband. If not, she’d become perioikas. • Spartan women had freedom to leave the home.

War, contd. • While the varying city-states of Greece were often fighting each other, they’d often form LEAGUES– alliances. • There were many wars, but the 4 main ones were: • Trojan War, Persian, Peloponnesian, and Alexander’s Campaigns.

Text Discussion • We will discuss the text in class. These notes will only be in lecture/discussion form and will not appear online.