"The Iliad," by Homer

Our next meeting on Homer's "The Iliad" will be held on Monday, July 28th at 7 p.m. in the Village Meeting Room. Here are some of the questions we'll discuss (page citations are from the Great Books Reading and Discussion Program, Third Series, Vol. 2.):

Interpretive questions

After giving up Chryseis to placate Chryses, Apollo’s priest, why does Agamemnon humiliate Akhilleus by making him give up his woman Briseis (Book 1) ?

What does Paris's statement (p. 112), "My own gifts are from pale-gold Aphrodítê -- do not taunt me for them. Glorious things the gods bestow are not to be despised," say about his attitude about the war?

Is Helen the victim of a male-dominated culture or is she truly the woman whose vanity "launched a thousand ships." Does she have moments when she becomes less a "sex symbol" and more a human being capable of introspection and even guilt? (pp. 116-117, 124-126, 143-144, 246)?

Why does the duel between Hektor and Aías in Book 7 not end with the death of one of the combatants but rather with an exchange of gifts (p. 160)?

Why (p.186, Book 11), does Zeus command "Strife to the beachhead" and resolve "to crowd great warriors into the undergloom."?

How and why does Hektor's attitude upon killing Patróklos (Book 16) differ from that of Akhilleus upon killing Hektor (Book 22)?

Evaluative questions

It seems obvious that the rationale for the war becomes something other than restoring Helen to Meneláos (pp. 118-24, 164), but what would that be?

What outcome do the lesser gods desire for the war? What about Zeus? Do they achieve their ends? What side does Homer favor?

Is "The Iliad" pro-war, anti-war, or neither?

What are the core values "The Iliad" espouses for humankind (or does it only espouse them for the warrior class?)