Western Literature Week Three－Iliad

A. Before Formal Class

a. There are some references that foreigners would use them to choose their name.

   (1) mythology (2) the Bible (3) all the kings and queens

b. The pages that we will discuss in class:
   (1) xix-xxiv (2) 3-5 (3) 181-188 (4) 189-290-- Iliad (5) 290-581-- Odyssey
c. There are many owners of city-states. For example:
   (1) Agamemnon- Mycenae (2) Menelaus- Sparta (3) Odysseus-- Ithaca

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B. Discussing the Movie- Helen of Troy (v)(v)(film)

a. Cassandra said in the movie: "If he lives, Troy will burn."

* Why would Cassandra own the capability of precognition?

-- Because Apollo, the god of precognition, loved her. Apollo regards himself as a perfect bachelor who knows everything. He loved many women but the truth is he loves him self the most.

*Why would Apollo love Cassandra?

-- Apollo used to offend Cupid, the primal god of love, so Cupid shot him with his golden arrow and let him fall in love with Cassandra. Cassandra always wanted the capability of precognition, therefore, Apollo gave her. However, they broke up at last, she told him that he is too perfect, so she must leave him to fulfill him. Due to this failed relationship, Apollo was so angry that he placed the curse on her by kissing her once. The content of the curse is that no one would believe in Cassandra's prophetic words.

Apollo  Cassandra

Cupid (He has three arrows, golden one, silver one, and an antidote.)

b. Helen and the Trojan War (v)

* There were many suitors gathering in front of Helen's gate. However, no matter who got Helen, it would put Helen's father into dilemma. He was afraid of facing war, especially the war was risen due to her daughter. Therefore, he let all the suitors make a promise that is "if Helen encountered any problem in the future, they have to help her." That is the reason why Helen launched a thousand ship and all the Greek city-states fought for her together after she was taken by Paris. 

c. Achilles and the Trojan War(v)

* The rage of Achilles-- After Greek won a war, they got lots of women as trophies. Briseis was Achilles' award but Agamemnon took away, so Achilles refused to attend the war and stayed in his camp all the time.

* Achilles' armor-- Achilles has a really strong and undefeated armor. It is a gift from Hephaestus, the god of the smith, when Achilles' parents, Peleus and Thetis, got married. This armor includes helmet, shield, and armor.

* The death of Patroclus, Achilles' boyfriend-- One day, Patroclus wore the armor and went out the camp when Achilles was sleeping. Hector saw the armor and he thought that was Achilles instinctively so he shot Patroclus to death. Achilles was really grieved.

 Achilles and Patroclus

* Hector's death-- After Patroclus died and his armor was broken, Achilles told her mom, Thetis, the whole thing and asked her to get a pair of new armor with tears. Therefore, Thetis ordered a new one from Hephaestus. Then, Achilles wore the new armor to challenge Hector and kill him. He totally ignored that his mom warned him not to kill Hector and he dragged Hector's dead body around the city behind a chariot.

* Reconcile with Achilles-- Hermes and Iris, the messangers of immortals, told Hector's father, Priam, that he can lead few army to reconcile with Achilles and get Hector's body back. Due to the death of their beloved men, they hugged and shed tears together in Achilles' camp in the end.  

 Achilles and Priam

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C. Other Stories

a. Apollo sent the plague to Greek army because of Chryseis.

* Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of the Achaean army, takes Chryseis as his prize. Achilles, one of the Achaeans’ most valuable warriors, claims Briseis. Chryseis’s father, a man named Chryses who serves as a priest of the god Apollo, begs Agamemnon to return his daughter and offers to pay an enormous ransom. When Agamemnon refuses, Chryses prays to Apollo for help. Apollo sends a plague upon the Greek camp, causing the death of many soldiers. (excerpted from Sparknotes)

 Chryseis was captured

b. Agamemnon's ambition-- Artemis, the god of child the birth, is Apollo's twins. She asked Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter for the wind. Agamemnon ends up doing this.

c. Hephaestus, the god of smith, married Aphrodite, the golden goddess of love, because he tricked his father who was stuck on an iron chair. However, their marriage wasn't that good as he imagined- Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, the god of war.

* Why would roosters crow everyday?

One night, when Aphrodite and Ares slept together, she ordered a retinue to tell her the time if the dawn comes. Unfortunately, the retinue forgot all this, so the dawn came and the couple was seen by Apollo. Because they felt very awkward and embarrassed, Aphrodite punished the retinue and made him crow every morning.

 Hephaestus caught Aphrodite and Ares

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D. Other Issues to discuss
a. Is homosexual nature or nurture? -- Achilles and Patroclus
 As a rule, the post-classical tradition shows Achilles as heterosexual and having an exemplary asexual friendship with Patroclus. Medieval Christian writers deliberately suppressed the homoerotic nuances of the figure.
b. We are not sure about the existence of Homer. -- Oral Epic Poetry
c. Without literature, without humanity, there is nothing to write about or read about of English.
d. Conflict(s)

e. Nine Planets-- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

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E. Vocabulary
a. myth-- something you can't figure out
    mythology-- study of the myth
b. crisis-- It comes from the name Chryseis.
c. Denouement-- "De" contains the meaning of down or "far away". eg. decline, depreciate, departure