The Iliad
 Agenda: Information about
 Text
 Homer
 Mythological
Background
Important Names, Dates and
Terminology
 8th century BCE
 1184 BCE
 Homer
 Description
 The
Homeric Question
 Epic
 Oral Tradition
Important Themes, Motifs and
Narratological Elements
 CHOICE and PERSUASION
 THE HEROIC CODE
 LEADERSHIP
 TRIANGULAR RELATIONSHIPS
 SIMILES
 THE GODS
Do NOT Reduce the Iliad to either:
 PRIDE
Or
 FATE
Characteristics of Homeric Text:
 Beginning in medias res
 Cinematic presentation of events and of
warfare
 Look for sense imagery in the text
 Use of SIMILES
 Use of PARALLELISM when discussing
events, characters and gods
Homeric Cycle
 Series of texts about Troy
 Some tell the same stories as the
Homeric epics
 Many tell entirely different stories
 What still exists contains only a part
of the entire story of the Trojan War
Mythological Stories You Need to
Know
 Helen and the Suitors
 Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
 Hecuba’s Dream of the Burning
City
 Judgment of Paris
 Assembling the Suitors
 Sacrifice of Iphigenia
Helen and the Suitors
 Helen: daughter of Tyndareus
 Clytemnestra: daughter of Tyndareus; twin
of Helen; (later) wife of Agamenon
 Penelope: niece to Tyndareus
Suitors
 Agamemnon: king of Argos; son of Atreus;
brother of Menelaus
 Menelaus: brother of Agamemnon
 Odysseus: king of Ithaka; (later) husband of
Penelope
 Ajax: son of Telemon; great warrior
Hecuba’s Dream of the Burning City
Priam = Hecuba
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SONS:
DAUGHTERS
Hektor (m. Andromache)
Cassandra
Paris (m. Helen)
Polyxena
Deiphobus
Creusa
Polydorus
47 other daughters
46 more sons
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
 Thetis: water nymph, daughter of
Nereus
 Peleus: mortal man, son of Aeacus,
King of Aegina
 Thetis and Peleus are the parents
of Achilles
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis (cont.)
OLYMPIAN GODS
 Aphrodite: goddess of love
 Apollo: god of healing, music, prophecy
 Ares: god of war
 Artemis: goddess of the hunt
 Athena: goddess of wisdom, strategy
 Demeter: goddess of the Harvest
 Hephaistos: god of fire and metal craft; son of Hera and Zeus;
crippled because he was thrown by Zeus
 Hera: wife of Zeus
 Hermes: messenger god
 Poseidon: god of the sea
 Zeus: king of the gods; (very unfaithful) husband to Hera
Wedding of Peleus and Thetis (cont.)
 ERIS: Goddess of Discord, not invited to the
wedding of Peleus and Thetis
 Golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest”
Assembling the Suitors
Agamemnon
Menelaus
Odysseus
Ajax
Achilles – the most difficult to
find
Gaining a Strong Wind
Agamemnon = Clytemnestra
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Iphigeneia
Electra
Orestes
Key Aspects of the Epic’s Opening
 Emphasis on the 1st word
 Invocation of the Muse
Questions
 What events are set into motion in the
opening 2 pages?
 Who is who?
 What are the key words?
 Are any of the themes mentioned earlier
present in this segment of text?
For Next Class
 You are instructed to wrote a response
to something you find difficult in the text.
 Pick a passage of no more than 20 lines
that you find important and/or difficult
and write about it. We will use these
student-chosen passages as the basis
for discussion next class.