Some Iliad Follow-ups
Here are a few of the questions that came up during my reading group’s last call. Any good ones I missed?
· Are there any lost books that were part of the Iliad cycle?
· Is there an anti-monarchical message embedded in the portrayals of the kings and their families?
· Did the ancients see the gods as behaving as horribly as most of us would see them today?
· In ancient Greek theology, how powerful are the gods? Is fate stronger than they are? Why the did the gods need to protect destiny from the Greeks overreaching it?
· Was all the gore partly included for entertainment? For realism? For an anti-war message? How was it perceived by contemporary audiences?
· Were there two or more authors?
· How was the Iliad performed? How would changes of scene have been handled?
· What’s up with the horses crying amid the slaughter?
And if you’re ready to sign up to read the Odyssey, here’s the link:
http://odyssey2012.eventbrite.com/
Finally, Andre Stipanovic shared this story from the New York Times about the location of Odysseus’ home:
The story is another fine example of a non-academic’s contribution to classical studies.