Homer’s Iliad

The Greeks at Troy

n Agamemnon: king of Mycenae, leader of the Greek army

n Menelaus: his brother, Helen’s husband, king of Sparta

n Achilles: of Phthia, greatest warrior n Odysseus: of Ithaca, great strategist n Ajax: of Salamis, strongest warrior n Calchas: seer

The Trojans

n Priam: king of Troy n Hecabe/Hecuba: his queen n Paris: youngest son, abductor of

Helen n Hector: greatest warrior n Andromache: his wife n Cassandra: doomed prophetess;

loved by Apollo

The Iliad: Heroic Wrath

Code: The Distribution of Booty n  The warrior’s standing in the group is affirmed

by the distribution of booty according to a strict order

n  Material evidence of a warrior’s kleos is the external validation of the hero’s worth among his peers

n  Refusal to accept ransom from a suppliant father is abnormal. The spurning of a priest of Apollo is an offense against the god.

n  “Losing face” is a public humiliation and a grievous attack on the hero’s kleos

The Wrath of Achilles n Homer’s Iliad : the anger and

transformation of a tragic hero n the women: Chryseis and Briseis n the conflict with the king over booty n who is the “best of the Achaeans”? n Achilles’ withdrawal from the conflict n the death of heroes

Hector and Andromache

The Embassy to Achilles

n Odysseus n Phoenix n Ajax n Achilles’ refusal

to act for the common interest

The Death of Patroclus

n appearances: Achilles’ armor

n the battle with Hector

n the rescue of the body

n the death of a friend

New Armor from the Gods

The Death of Hector

Ransom of Hector’s Body

κλέος ἄφθιτον: “undying glory”

n Achilles’ choice: glory or long life n the limitations of the heroic code:

who is my friend? who is my enemy?

n the tragic type: powerful, inflexible, self-destructive