For Tuesday: Hamilton, Mythology, "The Trojan War" & "The Fall of Troy" (pp.253-290)

NOTE: If you missed class on Thursday, it's your responsibility to make up the Reading Exam #2 with me--so please reach out. Otherwise, you'll lose 5 pts on your final grade. 

For next week, we're going back briefly to Hamilton's Mythology to read about The Trojan War and its aftermath. This will serve as an introduction to starting Homer's The Odyssey on Thursday. I'll also introduce this work a little bit on Tuesday as well, so it doesn't take you completely by surprise. 

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Before reaching Troy, Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek armies, has to sacrifice his eldest daughter to appease the goddess Artemis. To most fathers then and now, this would be unthinkable and impossible to obey. And yet, Agamemnon goes through with it and the Greeks reach Troy. How might Sappho (or one of her poems) explain why a father would be able to kill his daughter merely for the sake of a war? 

Q2: From what you read in "The Trojan War" chapter, would you consider Achilles a hero in the traditional sense? What makes him heroic--or not? And why is the entire story really about him, even though he's not the commander of the Greeks or even the most important soldier? Why, for instance, isn't it more about Agamemnon, Paris or Hector? 

Q3: Odysseus, the hero of The Odyssey, is the most clever of all the Greeks, and it is he who comes up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. What makes this such a clever trick, and why do the Trojans agree to take it inside the city gates? Wouldn't they distrust any gift from the opposing army?

Q4: The story of the Trojan War seems to rehearse an age-old argument about fate vs. free will. Do you think anyone acts of their own free will in this story, or is it all the work of the gods? For example, does Helen choose to run away with Paris, or is she forced to? Does Achilles choose to give Hector's body back to his father, or do the gods demand it? Does Ajax kill himself out of shame, or is this again the hand of the gods? How should we read this story since the gods are so involved from the beginning to the end?