Back to the Main Page
My
Original Assumptions
Sections From my
Reading Journal
I didn't really have time to think about the Iliad over the summer, mostly because I was busy reading the Odyssey, but also because I knew that we would read it in English class, which is always different then reading something on my own. I thought I knew the basic plot because I read the Aeneid last year and I figured it would be similar to the Odyssey in a lot of ways. I also thought that I would like it better than the Odyssey because it is about fighting and I figured warrior in battle could never whine as much as Odysseus does.
Sections From my Reading Journal:
Book I: "My first impressions: I can tell already that the Iliad is going to be even better than the Odyssey...I was surprised by Achilles audacity in accusing Agamemnon of being greedy - I thought that all the main characters always praised each other...Our first discussion (in class) was about the nature of the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon...I think Achilles is right, but someone brought up a good point about Agamemnon having to assert his authority."
Book II: "I see the gods very differently than the rest of the class does, mostly because I've read a lot of mythology, but also because I'm used to reading fantasy - I'm not offended by polytheism, in fact I think it makes a lot of sense (that's the Tolkien fan inside me speaking)...I was laughing out loud when Odysseus beat Thersites!...I wish we could have talked about the armies gearing up and getting ready! It's so interesting to look at what Homer praises about each of the fighters - I think it shows a lot about the values of the time."
Book III: "Would a truce between the armies symbolically be a truce among the three goddesses? Is that why Aphrodite can't let Paris and Menelaus fight it out?...I don't understand why people say that women have a huge role in the Iliad: so far both Briseis and Helen have been catalysts to major events, but only as material possessions equated with honor - they might as well have been puppy dogs."
Book IV: "I think Agamemnon sort of redeemed himself in this book. I haven't seen him this involved yet: he was really working his mad motivational skills!...In class we talked about...the status quo on Olympus - how Zeus has to balance the wills of the other gods against his own in order to prevent chaos."
Book VIII: "I loved the part about Teucer - a classic archery technique (I'm often the one holding the shield in reenactment) and it was described so vividly and accurately - even the part about the rock, how would a poet know something like that?...We talked about how [Hector and Achilles] are fighting for different things: Achilles for his honor, Hector for his family/city. But in both cases it's the only thing they have."
Book IX: "Big question: why does Achilles refuse Agamemnon's offer? Two reasons why I don't understand his decision: 1. he asked Thetis to ask Zeus to make the Argives lose so that they ask him to help and 2. the whole thing was about losing Briseis - he got her back and more, so what's wrong?...Jake and Alex said something that made sense: it's about earning honor back i.e. he can't just be given Briseis back, he has to earn it...sort of? We decided that if he accepted the gifts then he would accept that Agamemnon won - he has to fight because he wants to!"
Book XI: "I still like Achilles better but Agamemnon is starting to look kind of cool too. We talked about animal imagery (this is probably the only thing Vergil does better...like the snake and fire in Book II...I'm still 'ooh'-ing and 'aah'-ing about that)."
Book XII: "How is it that the Argives have a better wall and ten times as many troops but it's the Trojans who end up breaking though the Argives' fortifications and the Argives have to use trickery to get inside Troy? What does that say about the fighting strength of the Argives?"
Book XIII: "I really want to kick Zeus!...He commanded all the gods not to interfere and then he turned his back! What was he expecting? And if Poseidon had not intervened, the Greeks would all have died anyway."
Book XVII: "Other than 'this would be really fun to re-enact,' not that much popped up at me...probably the biggest, scariest thing we talked about was that what, other than Patroclus' death, could have brought Achilles back into the war? Did Achilles know that he would die? I really hope not...that would totally ruin Achilles' character for me!"
Book XVIII: "Yay! Achilles is back! *swoon* And he's soooo messed up by Patroclus' death that I'm pretty sure he didn't know it would happen. More cool Achilles moments: his war cry kills 12 men!...Hephaestus is the Leonardo da Vinci of the gods - he even has robots!...Not only is Achilles back, he's armed with the coolest armor ever!