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  • The Iliad, Book IX

    Wed. April 10 After the Greek losses in battle, Agamemnon sends an embassy to Achilles, seeking reconcilliation. He expresses his remorse (through his emissaries though, not in person) and offers many gifts, following the rules of honor, including armor, land, and slaves, in recompense for the wrong Achilles has suffered.…

  • The Iliad, Book VIII

    Tues. April 2 Hector drives the Greeks back to their ships and threatens to destroy them. Athena and Hera try to persuade Zeus to allow them to enter the battle on the side of the Greeks and shorten the war, thus saving many lives since it has has already been…

  • The Iliad, Book VII

    Mon. March 25 The duel of Hector and Ajax.  Hector confronts Ajax, who has been wreacking havoc on the Trojans. “What art shall calm the furious sons of war?” –  Apollo to Athena. The gods are looking to intervene in the mayhem they created, but “sons of war” also suggests…

  • The Iliad, Book VI

    Wed. March 20 During a lull in the fighting, Glaucus (a Trojan) and Ajax (a Greek) begin to converse and discover they have a common ancestor. Such a connection must be honored. Although they cannot change the war or their own circumstances, they vow not to kill each other at…

  • The Iliad, Books IV & V

    Wed. March 13 The influence of the gods is further shown in their coucil on Mt. Olympus, as they debate and connive, just as humans would, to break the truce between the Greeks and Trojans. Men are shown to be pawns for the sport of the immortals. Athena persuades Pandarus…

  • The Iliad, Books II & III

    A note on translations: The first time I read the Iliad many years ago, it was the Great Books prose traslation (a set inherited from my parents, for which I am always grateful) but the style can be rather stilted and British, like the King James Bible (thee and thou,…

  • The Iliad, Book I

    Wed. Feb 28 The poem famoulsly begins in medias res, in the middle of things, but really near the end of things, since it is the tenth year of the war. This makes artistic sense, to get to the heart of the matter – “Sing, O Muse, of  the wrath…

  • The Trojan War

    Back to ancient texts, with The Iliad.  Archaeology provides little evidence that the Trojan War actually ever took place; it seems to be purely Homer’s literary invention, composed hundreds of years afer the purported events of a heroic Mycenaean age (c.1200 BCE).  Modern excavations at Hissarlik (Troy level VIIa) reveal…

  • The Prince of Myrgalen and the Lady of the Nine Isles

    Lately I have been reading (sometimes re-reading) ancient texts, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, which I commented on in the previous post. I realize there may not be any audience for these musings, but I have to read what interests me. However, sometimes I pick up something more current,…

  • The Epic of Gilgamesh

    To begin at the beginning . . . The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest known recorded poems, arguably the first example of literature in human history. Written as early as 2700 BCE in Mesopotamia, even today it is incredibly fresh and relevant in its attempt to understand…