The Iliad AND THE ODYSSEY Marshall High School Mr. Cline Western Civilization I: Ancient Foundations Unit Three BA
Greek Epics vs. Sumerian Epics As we learned in the Epic of Gilgamesh lecture, epic is the oldest surviving form of literature. By the time the Greeks had gotten their alphabet sorted out, people had been writing epics for over 2000 years. Perhaps the first things written in Greek were two epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Though the Greeks attributed these stories to the blind poet Homer, we're not even sure there ever was a Homer. It is likely the tales were centuries old before they were ever written down. They are mythologized tales of the bronze age, of Mycenae and Trojans.
Greek Epics vs. Sumerian Epics These epics probably began being told during the dark age that followed the Bronze Age collapse around 1200 B.C., when literacy had all but disappeared. They were transmitted via an oral tradition, told and retold, with parts added and parts forgotten until, finally, someone was able to write them down. Even in the written version, The Iliad and Odyssey retain signs of the oral tradition that forged them. The very fact that they are poems tells us that people were meant to recite these massive poems from memory. Unlike the Epic of Gilgamesh, which took up all of 12 tablets and totaled no more than 3,000 lines, The Odyssey is four times longer, with over 12,000 lines, while The Iliad is five times as long, containing 15,000 lines of verse.
Greek Epics vs. Sumerian Epics To aid in memory, the bards who recited these tales created formulaic stock phrases like 'He fell thunderously and his armor clattered upon him' and stock epithets for characters like 'brave Achilles' and 'clever Odysseus.' Even with these aids, it is hard to imagine someone memorizing a poem that would take days to recite in full. The fact that a people committed so long and nuanced a story to memory is a wonder in and of itself. So let us take a look at the first of these two epics: The Iliad. The Concept of Xenia Despite its incredible length, The Iliad is really just about two things. First, the Greek concept of Xenia, or hospitality to strangers.
The Concept of Xenia And second, the Wrath of Achilles. The Trojan War is simply the setting for these concepts to play themselves out. The concept of Xenia is an unfamiliar one to modern audiences. It is essentially a divine law, governed by Zeus himself, that says you must offer hospitality to traveling strangers. This seems strange and dangerous to us. Yet in the ancient world, especially the Bronze Age world, and especially in the rugged mountains of Greece, it was not lone strangers who were dangerous, but the whole world. This was a time and place where laws extended no further than the sight of a city.
The Concept of Xenia Wild animals and bandits roamed the wilderness. And travelers had no guarantee of a bed to sleep in or a hot meal. There was no Motel 6 to 'leave the light on for them.' Shelter had to be found when and where it was available. Hence the incredible importance of Xenia in this age. Without the guarantee of hospitality along the way, no one would travel at all. The benefits of Xenia are not limited to the guest; the host gains as much as the guest from a visit: news of the outside world, a break in the monotony of daily life, and a friend abroad. That these guest- friendships meant something is evident from an exchange between two combatants on opposite sides of the Trojan War.
The Concept of Xenia Diomedes and Glaucus, upon reciting their lineages, realize that Glaucus' grandfather had once hosted Diomedes' grandfather as a guest. Based upon that ancient, generations-old friendship, the two agree not to fight each other. Glaucus even goes so far as to exchange his golden armor for Diomedes' bronze armor in token of that friendship. Yet though Xenia brought this Trojan and this Greek together, the same law of Xenia had started the Greek invasion in the first place.
Paris and Helen Paris, a prince of Troy, had claimed guest right, through Xenia, at the house of Menelaus, brother to Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae. Little did Menelaus know that his guest was planning to rob him, not of jewels or treasure, but of his wife. Menelaus' wife was none other than Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris had been promised Helen by the goddess Aphrodite, to sway his vote in a divine beauty pageant. (Don't believe me? Look up the myth of the golden apple.) Paris had come to the house of Menelaus to claim his prize. By running away with Helen, Paris had done more than violate the sanctity of Menelaus' marriage, he had abused the sacred bond between host and guest.
Paris and Helen Had Paris simply kidnapped Helen while she was out for a stroll, there likely would never have been a Trojan War. It was the fact that he committed this offence while a guest in Menelaus' house that demanded retribution. That is essentially how the Trojan War started. Yet The Iliad itself does not start with the story of Paris' violation of Xenia. The Wrath of Achilles begins with the Wrath of Achilles. Indeed, 'wrath of Achilles' are the first words of the epic. So what is Achilles so angry about? Achilles is angry because he has to die. We all have trouble dealing with our own mortality, but we at least can take comfort in the fact that everybody dies. Achilles has no such comfort.
The Wrath of Achilles Achilles has the goddess Thetis for a mother. As an immortal, Thetis will never grow old or die, but her son will. This upsets her, so she does everything she can to make her child immortal. When he was born, Thetis dipped the infant Achilles in the waters of her father, making him invulnerable everywhere but the heel where she held him. This invincibility, combined with his divine speed and strength, make Achilles the greatest warrior on the field. Yet despite all of her protection, Achilles remains mortal. And as a mortal, the closest thing to immortality Achilles can hope for is to earn eternal honor and fame.
The Wrath of Achilles This harkens back to the Sumerian epic, in which Gilgamesh, distraught at losing the plant of youth, takes comfort in the fact that his legacy will live on in the city of Uruk. In short, with an immortal for a mother, Achilles is fixated on his own mortality. Yet honor is the only form of immortality available to mortal men. That is why he has come to Troy, to win honor and glory on the battlefield. Agamemnon and Achilles Yet the leader of this expedition, Agamemnon, king of the great city of Mycenae, dishonors Achilles. As King of the Myrmidons, Achilles had claimed the Princess Briseis as a prize of war from an earlier battle. Agamemnon takes Briseis away from Achilles.
Agamemnon and Achilles Despite being a prisoner, Briseis is very upset at parting with Achilles, suggesting that the two really loved each other. Enraged by this affront to his dignity, Achilles refuses to fight. What good is dying for glory if his honor can be insulted by a man who is clearly his inferior? In his rage, Achilles cries to his mommy. Thetis is likewise upset at the mistreatment her baby must endure at the hands of his inferior. She complains to Zeus himself, who owes her a favor. Though Zeus is angry at the Trojans for violating Xenia, he agrees to let the Trojans defeat the Greeks, so long as Achilles refuses to fight, so that Agamemnon will have to appreciate Achilles and beg him to fight for them.
Agamemnon and Achilles To obtain eternal fame, Achilles must rescue the Greeks from the brink of destruction and lead them to victory. Zeus is true to his word. To ensure the destruction and slaughter of the Greeks, he sends Agamemnon a false dream, prophesying the easy destruction of the Trojans at the hands of the Greeks. This is a big break from the Sumerian tradition in the Epic of Gilgamesh, in which dreams are always true, if correctly interpreted. Emboldened by his dream, Agamemnon begins a disastrous assault on Troy, that ends up with the Trojans fighting the Greeks all the way back to their boats. Fearing defeat, Agamemnon sends an envoy with a peace offering to Achilles, but Achilles rejects the apology.
The Death of Patroclus Desperate to turn the tide, Achilles' comrade (and lover), Patroclus dons Achilles armor and leads the Myrmidons in the hope that the Trojans will think him Achilles and take flight. Though the Trojans are not fooled, Patroclus' killing spree still drives the Trojans back to their own walls. In the end, Patroclus is killed by Hector, who takes Achilles' fine armor as a trophy. Achilles does not take Patroclus' death well. He is beset with grief and selfloathing, knowing that his own hateful pride had brought about his lover's death. The Greeks call a cease fire for both sides to care for their dead, which the Trojans accept.
The Death of Patroclus After a series of funeral games, and appeals from his compatriots and Agamemnon, Achilles finally agrees to return to the battlefield, not to repay the insult done Menelaus, but to avenge Patroclus. Yet just when he decides to fight, he finds himself without any armor or weapons. Time to cry to mommy again. This time Thetis outdoes herself. She gets Hephaistos, the god of the forge, to make Achilles the most beautiful set of armor he has ever seen. The shield alone takes more than a hundred lines to describe. Before she departs, Achilles' mother tells him that if he continues to fight, he will die on the shores of Troy, but achieve eternal glory. If he refrains from fighting, he will live a long life but one of obscurity.
The Death of Patroclus Hector Vs. Achilles Given the choice between a long life of no note, and a short one of eternal glory, Achilles chooses to fight. He does not fear death. He fears being forgotten. Decked out with his marvelous armor, and happy to die for glory, Achilles goes on a rampage. He kills off the greatest Trojans and their allies one by one, including a several demigods and a river, until, at last, he is confronted by Hector. Yet seeing Achilles unbridled rage, Hector is terrified and flees to the walls of Troy. Apollo distracts Achilles by assuming Hector's form, and leads Achilles on a merry chase.
Hector Vs. Achilles Decked out with his marvelous armor, and happy to die for glory, Achilles goes on a rampage. He kills off the greatest Trojans and their allies one by one, including a several demigods and a river, until, at last, he is confronted by Hector. Yet seeing Achilles unbridled rage, Hector is terrified and flees to the walls of Troy. Apollo distracts Achilles by assuming Hector's form, and leads Achilles on a merry chase. But Hector does not hide inside the walls of Troy. Despite calls from his friends and family, he decides to stay outside and confront Achilles.
Hector Vs. Achilles Yet he loses his nerve when Achilles, now madder than hell at having been fooled by Apollo, comes bearing down on him. Hector flees. Achilles chases Hector around the walls of Troy, until Athena, disguised as Hector's brother, convinces Hector to turn and fight Achilles with his brother at his side. Of course, as soon as Achilles arrives, Athena vanishes, and Hector knows he is alone and he's going to die. Yet he faces his death bravely. After a fierce duel, Hector falls.
Hector Vs. Achilles To add insult to injury, Achilles then drags the dead Hector around behind his chariot, and refuses to relinquish the tattered body to Hector's father Priam. It takes the combined efforts of gods and men to make Achilles relent. The Iliad ends with the funeral of Hector. The Themes of the Iliad Throughout The Illiad, the Trojans are portrayed as just as valiant, just as noble, just as good as the Greeks. The king of Troy, Priam, is wise and fair. His son Hector was just as terrifying to the Greeks as Achilles was to the Trojans.
The Themes of the Iliad The funeral service highlights the nobility and greatness of Hector and the Trojans. This ending reflects a basic Greek sentiment: there is no honor in defeating a dishonorable enemy. In fact, the only rotten apple among the Trojans is Paris, who is more of a lover than a fighter, and spends much of his time whining about the unfairness of Aphrodite for promising him a woman with such dangerous strings attached to her. The Death of Achilles Yet the story of Achilles does not end with The Illiad. With Hector dead, the fate of Troy was all but decided. Yet Achilles would not get to see it fall. As Thetis promised, Achilles did not survive Hector long.
The Death of Achilles Yet to his death, Achilles remained unbeaten in single combat. It was not an honorable duel that ended the life of Achilles. Instead it was an arrow, fired by the cowardly Paris and guided by Apollo that brought the great hero down by striking his one vulnerable spot, his heel. After a fierce battle over Achilles' body, his corpse was brought to his camp, cremated, and placed in the same urn as Patroclus, while the Greeks held competitions for his magnificent armor. Thus died the great warrior Achilles. It is fitting that an epic dedicated to Achilles' struggle against mortality does not depict his death and tawdry funeral. Instead, The Iliad ends with Achilles triumphant, honored and gloriously alive.
The Death of Achilles In The Iliad, Achilles achieved the immortality he so fervently desired. And in his wrath, he made the people of Troy pay the penalty for their prince's violation of Xenia. How s this for eternal fame, he died thousands of years ago and Brad Pitt still gets to play him in the movie!