reading Qss
Name:
HIST 201 Reading guide for: Iliad, selections from books 16, 22-24, due by 4:00 pm on 10/1
Note: There is some graphic violence in these passages, please be prepared in advance.
What does Hera say is an appropriate fate for Zeus’ son Sarpedon and what should happen to him after his death?
What sorts of animals are the heroes often compared to in battle scenes?
What sequence of events helped Hector kill Patroklos and how would you describe Hector’s attitude after he kills Patroklos?
Book 22
What do Priam and Hekabe say will happen to Troy if Hector doesn’t come inside the walls?
Why won’t Hector go inside the walls?
What god or goddess helps Hector as he runs from Achilles and what god or goddess betrays Hector? How does this god or goddess betray Hector and what is especially cruel about their betrayal? (hint: review Hector’s trip into Troy in book 6)
What does Hector beg Achilles to do as he is dying? Does Achilles grant his request?
How would you describe Hekabe’s, Priam’s, and Andromache’s reactions to Hector’s death? Do they react with solemn dignity or is their grief pretty extreme?
Book 23
At the beginning of book 23 what do all the Achaeans do around the corpse of Patroklos?
Who gathers wood for Patroklos’ funeral pyre? How big is the pyre?
What (and who) is put on the pyre in addition to Patroklos?
What does Achilles do all night while the pyre burns and how do they put out the last of the fire in the morning?
How will Patroklos’ bones be stored? What sort of monument will he and Achilles have?
Book 24
How does Achilles treat Priam and why?
What was once the extent of Priam’s kingdom according to Achilles?
How many days did the Trojans spend gathering wood for Hector’s funeral pyre?
What form will Hector’s monument take?
What is the last scene in the Iliad?
Reading guide for: Finley, M.I., J.L. Caskey, G.S. Kirk, and D.L. Page. 1964. “The Trojan War,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 84, 1-20. (pages 9-20 optional)
Finley wrote this in response to what we read by Blegen last week. What does Finley think of Blegen’s conclusions regarding the historicity of the Trojan War?
According to Finley, do most scholars think the entire Iliad and Odyssey are true? Which aspects of these poems does he say most agree are fiction?
According to Finley, how reliable are oral poems that recount known historical events and what implications does this have for how we should view the Iliad?
As described by Finley, does it sound like it is easy to figure out who may have been fighting whom in western Asia Minor in the Late Bronze Age using Hittite documents? Why or why not?
According to Finley, what do most scholars now (or in 1964) agree wasn’t the cause of a Trojan War (if there was one) and what other causes have been suggested instead?
What point does Finley make about “heroic ages?”