For Wednesday: The Rage of Achilles

Homer’s The Illiad, Book I (pp.129-144); you can also read the Introduction to Homer (pp.121-129) if you wish, though we’ll cover some of this in class on Wednesday.

Answer TWO of the following…

1. The poem opens with a famous address to the Muse of poetry: “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage…”  Based on Book I, how is this a poem about “rage” and/or the consequences of anger?  How do both men and gods play into this theme?

2. In general, how does the poem characterize the gods of Olympus (Apollo, Thetis, Zeus, Hera, Athena, etc.)?  What are their interactions with the world of men and among themselves?  Why might this be surprising when we consider the Judeo-Christian conception of God? 

3. From Book I, what makes Achilles ‘heroic’, especially considering he more or less refuses to fight in the Trojan war?  How do the values and ideals of Greek society shine through his character, and why, based on this, might he also be favored of the Gods (or some of them, anyway)?

4. Coming off The Wife of Bath’s Prologue & Tale, how are women portrayed in this story?  What role do they plain in Greek society, and how, in some respect, does this echo in Olympus as well?