Homer and Greek Epic

INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

• The Iliad, Books 10-22

• The Mythological History of Troy
• The Homeric Simile
• The Iliad, Books 10-22: Overview and
Analysis
• Grammar 3: Pronouns, Prepositions
and Conjunctions
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• the early history of the Trojans is unclear in
Greek myth
• we hear of some early but obscure founding
fathers, e.g. Tros, Dardanus
• the story comes into focus only in Priam’s
lifetime (the Trojan War)
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• Priam is married to Hecuba with whom he
has 19(!) children
• plus 81 other children by concubines
• Priam’s “100 sons and daughters” is
proverbial in Greek myth
• among his children by Hecuba is Paris who
is also called Alexander
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• Paris as a baby was abandoned because an
oracle predicted he would bring about the
fall of Troy
• this sort of population control is called
“exposure,” a common practice in antiquity
• without birth control, it was the only option
available to many who could not keep a
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• by leaving the child in the wild without
killing it, its blood was seen not to taint the
hands of those who exposed it
• after all, the gods could save it if they wished
to
• and in myth, they often do -- with tragic
consequences like Priam’s
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• the rest of the story of Paris’ early life was
told by the Greek tragedian Euripides in his
play Alexander (now lost)
• but a synopsis of the tragedy has recently
beenChapter
found 4.III.A
• see
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• another child of Priam and Hecuba is
Cassandra, the mad prophetess
• Apollo loved her and, in exchange for her
favors, he promised her the gift of foresight
• she agreed
• but after he had shown her the future, she
refused him
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• he could not now take away her foresight
since she had already seen the future
• so Apollo took from Cassandra the ability
to be persuade others that what she says is
really going to happen
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Mythological History of

Troy
• as a result, she pleads with her fellow
Trojans not to fight the Greeks because she
knows Troy will lose the Trojan War and be
destroyed
• but no one believes her
• thus she goes mad
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Homeric Simile

• the simile is one of the hallmarks of
Homer’s style
• a simile is an explicit comparison of two
things, using “like” or “as”
• e.g. my teacher drinks like a fish and,
because of that, he looks like Ramses II,
like Ramses II does now!
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Homeric Simile

Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)

• the flower and the dying hero bend over in a

like manner
• both have colorful tops: one has a flower
and the other a crested helmet
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Homeric Simile

Fallen on one side, as on the stalk
a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring,
beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down.
Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion)

• but the flower and the hero are more

different than alike:
• man vs. plant
• dying in battle vs. growing in the rain
• noisy dirty battlefield vs. serene rainfall
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

The Homeric Simile

• this sort of union of opposites is called
oxymoron
• literally in Greek, “sharp-blunt”
• e.g. a bittersweet love
a deafening silence
a sophomore (“smart fool”)
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 10-15

• Books 10-15 are often called the “battle
books”
• a seemingly endless sequence of death and
mutilation
• the Greeks are better fighters but Zeus
keeps supporting the Trojans
• so things go nowhere but to Hades
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• in a famous passage from Book 14 known as
the Dios Apate (“the Seduction of Zeus”),
Hera decides to matters in hand
• if she cannot stop her husband from his
foolish Trojan-loving ways, at least she can
distract him briefly
• this will allow her supporters and agents to
work behind Zeus’ back
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• among her supporters is the god Sleep who
reluctantly agrees to help her turn the tide of
battle in the Greeks’ favor
• but to turn Zeus’ eye from battle will take
some powerful force of attraction
• and that can only mean one thing: sex!
• because, . . . what do men do after sex?
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• but this cannot be sex with some nymph or
mortal woman!
• it has to be a legal and legitimate liaison!
• after all, Hera is the goddess of marriage and
cannot condone “fooling around”
• her only choice, then, is to seduce her own
husband!
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• this means she needs professional help
• Hera goes to Aphrodite for assistance and
advice
• that is, some sort of “marital aid”
• Aphrodite lets Hera borrow her “girdle”
• wearing this garment makes any female
irresistably attractive to males
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• Hera puts on Aphrodite’s girdle and sets out
• she drives her chariot to Mt. Ida near Troy
where Zeus is sitting on the hillside watching
the war below
• she parks the chariot out of sight and
approaches him deferentially
• like a good, obedient wife
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

Hera swept on to Gargaron, Ida’s crest,
and there Zeus, lord of cloud, saw her arrive.
He gazed at her, and as he gazed desire
veiled his mind like mist, as in those days
when they had first slipped from their parents’ eyes
to bed, to mingle by the hour in love.
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

He stood before her now and said:
“What brings you
down from Olympos to this place?
The chariot you ride is not in sight.”
The Lady Hera answered him in guile:
“I go my way to the bourne of Earth, to see
Okeanos, from whom the gods arose,
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

and Mother Tethys. In their distant hall
they nourished me and cared for me in childhood.
Now I must see them and compose their strife.
They live apart from one another’s bed,
estranged so long, since anger came between them.
As for my team, it stands at Ida’s base
ready to take me over earth and sea.
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

On your account I came to see you first,
so that you will not rage at me for going
in secret where Okeanos runs deep.”
The lord of cloud replied:
“But you may go there
later, Hera. Come, lie down. We two
must give ourselves to love-making.
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

Desire
for girl or goddess in so wild a flood
never came over me! Not for Ixion’s bride
who bore me that peerless man Peirithoos;
or Danae with her delicious legs,
illustrious Perseus’ mother; or Europa,
daughter of Phoinix, world-renowned,
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

who bore me
Minos and magnificent Rhadamanthys;
Semele and Alkmene, Theban ladies --
one bore the rugged hero Herakles,
the other Dionysus, joy of men --
or Demeter, the queen, in blond braids;
or splendid Leto; or yourself!
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

No lust
as sweet as this for you has ever taken me!”
To this the Lady Hera in her guile
replied:
“Most formidable son of Kronos,
how impetuous! Would you lie down here
on Ida’s crest for all the world to see?
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

Suppose one of the gods who never die
perceived us here asleep and took the story
to all the rest? I could not bear to walk
directly from this love-bed to your hall,
it would be so embarrassing.
But if you must,
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

if this is what you wish, and near your heart,
there is my own bedchamber. Your dear son,
Hephaistos, built it, and he fitted well
the solid door and doorjamb. We should go
to lie down there, since bed is now your pleasure.”
But the lord marshall of stormcloud said:
“No fear
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

this act will be observed by god or man,
I shall enshroud us in such golden cloud.
Not even Helios could glimpse us through it,
and his hot ray is finest at discerning.”
At this he took his wife in his embrace,
and under them earth flowered delicate grass
and clover wet with dew; then crocuses . . .
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Dios Apate (Book 14.263-348)

• note that, when Zeus is trying to say how
attractive Hera is, he recites a long list of his
infidelities and illegitimate progeny
• Hera cannot be too pleased to hear that
• in her response, then, she counters by
mentioning Hephaestus, one of Zeus’ few
legitimate children
• but her list cannot be nearly as long as his
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 10-15

• when Zeus wakes up and realizes what Hera
has done, he goes ballistic
• he is determined to advance the Trojan
cause all the more
• because of this, the Greeks become more
desperate than ever
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 10-15

• that desperation sparks the next
development in the story: the death of
Achilles’ companion Patroclus
• so in the end, the Dios Apate turns out to be
an important turning point in the epic
• just not in the way that Hera had originally
envisioned it
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Book 16

• the theme of Book 16 is the death of his
Achilles’ closest friend Patroclus at the
hands of Hector
• at the beginning of Book 16, Patroclus begs
Achilles to return to the fighting
• but Achilles is still angry at Agamemnon and
absolutely refuses to fight
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Book 16

• so Patroclus asks if he can borrow Achilles’
armor and wear it so that it looks like
Achilles has returned to the battlefield
• the helmet will hide Patroclus’ face
• by doing this, he hopes to frighten the
Trojans away from the ships and save the
nostos of many of the Greek warriors
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Book 16

• Achilles agrees to the deception but warns
Patroclus not to venture too far from the
Greek camp
• but once he enters the fray, Patroclus does,
in fact, become carried away with his success
• he pushes the Trojans not only back from
the Greek ships but all the way to their walls
• it is an act of hubris (excessive behavior)
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Book 16

• to defend the city, Apollo knocks Achilles’
helmet off Patroclus’ head
• when Hector sees that it’s not Achilles but
Patroclus, he moves in for the kill
• no match for the Trojan, Patroclus falls and, as
he dies, predicts Hector’s own death at
Achilles’ hands (Book 22)
• Hector strips Achilles’ armor off Patroclus
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Analysis of The Iliad, Book 16

• there are several exquisite similes:
– Patroclus is like “a small girlchild” running after
her mother and crying constantly
– the Myrmidons act like wolves, “carnivorous
and fierce and tireless”
– the fighting around Sarpedon’s corpse looks like
“flies around a milk pail”
• try to find the oxymoron in each!
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Analysis of The Iliad, Book 16

• note also the story of the death of the
Lycian hero Sarpedon
• Sarpedon is a great warrior and a favored
(illegitimate) son of Zeus
• when Zeus ponders briefly saving his son,
Hera forces him to allow Sarpedon to die
• Hera says that, if he saves Sarpedon, the
other gods will try to save their favorites too
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Analysis of The Iliad, Book 16

• this is her revenge for his listing all his
illegitimate children in the Dios Apate!
• Zeus agrees but weeps “tears of blood”!
• Patroclus kills Sarpedon in battle
• Sleep and Death carry off his corpse
• thus, after the Dios Apate, Zeus and Sleep
are now working together again
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 17-21

• the news of Patroclus’ death shocks Achilles
back into action
• he makes up with Agamemnon
• but he cannot return to the fighting
immediately
• he has no armor
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 17-21

• the ever-protective Thetis asks Hephaestus
to forge new armor for her son
• on the Shield of Achilles, Hephaestus
inscribes all sorts of different images
• it is a picture of the world as Homer knew
it
• it is also another way for Homer to
recapitulate the story
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Bks 17-21

• Achilles returns to the battlefield and kills
many Trojans
• the river Scamander begins to choke with all
the corpses clogging it
• it rises up against Achilles who must fight
the river itself
• the gods break up the fight when
Hephaestus “dries up” the river with fire
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Overview of The Iliad, Book 22

• Achilles confronts and kills Hector as the
Trojan hero’s family in shock and grief
watches from the walls of the city
• in particular, his wife Andromache who
faints when she sees her beloved husband
die just as she had feared (Book 6)
• with Hector’s death, the epic comes to its
climax, but not its conclusion
 Homer and Greek Epic
INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

Analysis of The Iliad, Book 22

Things to watch for in Book 22
• Hector’s very human fear of Achilles: he is
not a one-dimensional “tough guy”
• the simile comparing Achilles chasing
Hector to a dream (22.199-201)
• Athena disguising herself as Hector’s
brother: here she is the goddess of
“irrationality”