SEPTEMBER 11/12/13: THE ILIAD: FATEFUL CHOICES/THE PRICE OF GLORY
READINGS (Monday class, Sept. 11): the Iliad, books 6, 9, and 10, pp. 153-67, 198-233
(Consult the Cast of Characters and the Outline of the Plot ; Read the Commentaries on Book Nine)
READINGS (Wednesday class, Sept. 13): the Iliad, books 16, 18-19, pp. 330-53, 375-403
(Consult the Cast of Characters and the Outline of the Plot ; Read the Commentaries on Books Sixteen, Eighteen, and Nineteen)
READINGS (Tuesday night class, Sept. 12): the Iliad, books 9-10, 16, 18-19, pp. 198-233,  330-53, 375-403
(Consult the Cast of Characters and the Outline of the Plot ; Read the Commentaries on Books Nine, and Sixteen, Eighteen, and Nineteen
Summary: Hektor's return to battle in book 6 is followed by more fateful choices in books 9 and 16. Book 9 is a crucial turning point: Achilleus refuses to return to the fighting despite Agamemnon’s offer of gifts, and his anger proves to be more intractable than his fellow warriors - and the audience - may have expected. As Achilleus asserts that his life is too high a price for glory, Homer sets the stage for the exploration of the deeper conflict that fuels Achilleus’ rage in the later books of the Iliad.
Book 10 describes a night expedition by Odysseus and Diomedes, sent to spy on the Trojans and learn their plans. They meet a Trojan spy, Dolon, interrogate him, and brutally slay him. Then, they kill the Thracian king, Rhesos, and several of his men, while they are sleeping, and they seize their horses as plunder. The bloody episode hardly advances the plot, but it does provide a darker view of honor, glory, and the winning of spoils, the issues that were central to Achilleus' decisions in book 9.
In book 16, Achilleus’ friend, Patroklos, persuades Achilleus to let him fight in his place. Leading the Myrmidons, he beats back the Trojans and kills Sarpedon , the son of Zeus, as the most powerful of the gods tearfully chooses to allow his mortal son to die. Patroklos, however, fails to heed Achilleus’ warnings and is himself killed by Hektor with the help of Apollo and a minor Trojan warrior. Zeus' reflections on the death of his son, Sarpedon, highlight the tremendous gap between mortals and immortals, and the death of Patroklos anticipates that of Achilleus and reminds us of his mortality. Together, their choices - and their consequences - raise questions that will be highlighted in the final books of the poem: the responsibilities of mortals and immortals for events; the meaning of fate; the implications of mortality; and the deeper conflict that fuels Achilleus’ rage.
Following the death of Patroklos, the shadow of Achilleus’ own death hangs heavily over the poem. While the hero appears to accept the inevitability of his fate and put aside his quarrel with Agamemnon, his anger - now directed against Hektor and the Trojans - is only intensified. Book nineteen closes with a bizarre and dramatic episode: Achilleus' immortal horses acquit themselves of blame for Patroklos' death and prophesy the hero's own death. This sums up the conflict that drives Achilleus' anger, as the goddess' son, fed and armored by the gods, faces up to his own mortality.
 
STUDY QUESTIONS: READING CLOSELY AND UNDERSTANDING THE PLOT IN BOOK 9
-How does Diomedes try to prevent Agamemnon from reacting angrily to his strong speech (32-49)?  Why doesn't Agamemnon respond with anger?
-How does Nestor 's first speech (53-78) help bring Agamemnon around to making an offer of compensation to Achilleus?  He begins by addressing Diomedes, but ends by speaking to Agamemnon.  Where does the shift take place?  What is "diplomatic" about this speech?  Why does he ask Agamemnon to hold a feast?  What is "diplomatic" about the way he tells Agamemnon in his second speech (96-113) that Achilleus must be reconciled?
-Look closely at Agamemnon's offer of compensation to Achilleus (115-61).  How and why does he make this offer?  What are its most important parts?
-In addition to repeating Agamemnon's offer, what arguments does Odysseus use to try to persuade Achilleus to return to the battlefield?
-What arguments does Phoinix use to persuade Achilleus?  How does Phoinix use his relationship to Achilleus in his appeal?  What is the story of MELEAGROS (524-99) and what is its point?
-Why does Achilleus refuse each speaker's offer?  What is the point of his remarks about his "two sorts of destiny" (400-16)?  Compare his responses to each speaker.  Does he change his plans?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: INTERPRETING AND APPRECIATING THE ILIAD
1. BOOK NINE
-Compare the assembly at the beginning of book 9 to the one in book 1.
-Do you think Achilleus should accept Agamemnon's offer?  Given the values and beliefs of these men, do you think he is expected to accept it?  Can you find specific evidence to support your answer?  What is likely to upset Achilleus in this offer?  What are Achilleus' alternatives?
-Hasn't Achilleus received the honor he asked for from Zeus (1.412, 503-10)?  Hasn't he been offered the gifts Athene (1.213-14) promised?  Why is he still angry?
-Do you think that Phoinix 's story of Meleagros should persuade Achilleus to accept the gifts?
-How do Achilleus’ plans change after each speech?  How are those changes linked to his changing views about the importance of honor? NOTE: for the warriors' understanding of honor, look at Sarpedon 's speech to Glaukos (12.310-28)
-Is Achilleus’ final decision determined by his “two fates”?  How have Achilleus’ quarrel and his anger changed as a result of book nine?
2. BOOK TEN
-Like book nine, book ten opens with a simile describing Agamemnon (10. 5-10). What are the points of comparison - and contrast - that the simile suggests?
-Compare the relationship of Agamemnon and Menelaos with that of Hektor and Paris.
-Nestor proposes the spying expedition, and sets out a series of goals for the spies (10.206-210). Odysseus repeats some of Nestor's questions in his interrogation of DOLON (10. 406-411). Are these questions answered? Is the spying mission successfully accomplished?
-Agamemon urges Diomedes to pick the best companion for the spying expedition (10. 237-239), not necessarily the kingliest man.  Why does Agamemnon say this? What unintended meanings can you derive from his comments?
-Compare Dolon's expedition with that of Diomedes and Odysseus.
-How does the poet remind us of Achilleus and the larger plot of the Iliad in book ten?
-Some commentators have suggested that book ten doesn't really belong in the Iliad, and could be a later insertion. Do you agree?  Why or why not?
3. BOOK SIXTEEN
-Consider Achilleus' response to Patroklos (16.49-100).  Why won't he return to battle?  What is he seeking?  Why does he let Patroklos fight?  Why does he tell Patroklos to come back after driving the Trojans away from the ships?
-Why does Zeus permit his son, Sarpedon, to die (16.433-61)?  What does this episode tell you about Zeus' role as the most powerful god?  How does this episode relate to the story of Achilleus?
-Who is responsible for the death of Patroklos?  Why is his death such a complicated affair?
-What are the different ways in which Homer links Patroklos' death to Achilleus' death?
4. BOOKS EIGHTEEN AND NINETEEN
-How is the death of Patroklos linked with Achilleus' death at the beginning of book 18?
-Compare Thetis' lament for Achilleus with Zeus' response to the death of Sarpedon.
-How is the audience - and Achilleus - reminded of the inevitability of Achilleus’ death in these books?
-Why does Hektor reject the advice of POULYDAMAS (18.254-309)?
-How are the scenes on the shield of Achilleus similar to or different from the world of the Iliad?
-Does Achilleus put aside his anger in book 19?
-Does Agamemnon accept responsibility for the quarrel?  What is the point of the story about DELUSION (19.86-136)?
-What is Odysseus trying to tell Achilleus in lines 19.225-33?  Why is it so difficult for Achilleus to understand this? 
-What is the importance of Achilleus' conversation with his horses (19.405-24)?

 
Iliad: plot summary
Iliad: commentary on book 9
Iliad: commentary on books 16-22
NEXT CLASS: SEPTEMBER 18/19/20
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Monday/Wednesday)
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Tuesday night class)
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