Tag Archives: #iliad

In my previous post, I mentioned that the Iliad is not a good guys vs. bad guys narrative. Why is this important to recognize? I would say that doing so allows us to consider that the Olympians, in the Homeric world, neither represent nor model moral truth in an absolute sense. Rather, the central conceptContinue reading “Reciprocity in Homer”

The Iliad is saturated with allusions and references that we may overlook because we focus on parts of the poem that feel familiar and that fit with the popular narrative about what it means. One example from the first sentence that I wonder about is “the will of Zeus was accomplished.” Why would Zeus wantContinue reading “Zeus and the Trojan war heroes”

These pages from Gareth Hinds’ impactful graphic novelization of the Iliad depict Hephaestus’ workshop as he forges new armor for Achilles. The gods can be a malevolent presence in the Iliad, feeding conflict and animosity, saving favorites at the expense of many lives, tricking heroes into making bad decisions. Further, the gods’ divided loyalties causeContinue reading “The gods in Homer”

Much more ancient literature has been lost to time than saved, such that what we know about the ancient world is tantalizingly provisional. It’s conjecture and reasoning and following trails that often lead to more questions, rather than fewer. Myths that are referenced obliquely in archaic texts might disappear from written sources for centuries, onlyContinue reading “The Judgment of Paris”

In archaic Greek epic tradition, the Trojan war’s origins lie with Eris, the goddess of discord. For self-evident reasons, Eris was left off the guest list for the wedding of Thetis, a sea nymph, and Peleus, a mortal king. But she managed to make mischief anyway, by tossing an apple among the guests bearing theContinue reading “Eris and the Origins of the Trojan War”