ILIADDISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND STUDY GUIDE


SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

How would you begin to characterize your initial encounter with the Iliad?

Is there one or two episodes that you would highlight as of particular interest?   Why did you pick these scenes and how would you frame them against the backdrop of the epic as a whole?

Draw a character sketch of one individual -- mortal or immortal -- who is of particular interest to you.  Where do they appear in the Iliad and how can their own words, actions and interactions be used to explore themes within the Iliad? (The Mortals:  Achilles, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Diomedes, Nestor, Odysseus, Greater Ajax, Hector, Paris, Priam, Helen, Andromache, Aeneas;  The Immortals:  Zeus, Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, Apollo, Poseidon, Ares)

There are a series of interesting relationships within the Iliad.  Explore one of those relationships.  Look for those places in which the individuals interact but also analyze the nature of the relationship, including the similarities and differences between the figures as they are portrayed in the epic.  To what extent can you use the relationship as an entry point into the discussion of broad themes?  Some possible pairings are listed below, though you certainly are not limited to these couplings.  You may also prefer to look in at a relationship between three individuals rather than just two.

Some Possible Pairings

Achilles and Patroclus

Achilles and Hector

Achilles and Agamemnon

Achilles and Briseis

Achilles and Priam

Achilles and Aeneas

Achilles and Thetis

Achilles and Xanthus

Hector and Andromache

Hector and Paris

Hector and Patroclus

Hector and Apollo

Paris and Helen

Patroclus and Briseis

Briseis and Helen

Briseis and Andromache

Agamemnon and Priam

Agamemnon and Apollo/Artemis

Zeus and Hera/Athena

Apollo and Poseidon

What most surprised you about the Iliad?  Is there anything that stands out as particularly unexpected and that collided with any assumptions that you may have had beforehand?

"Rage -- Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles."  To what extent does the opening line provide an entry point into the epic as a whole?  Why is Achilles angry?  Is it just because Agamemnon had dishonoured him?

What is the Iliad about?  Does it have a core theme?

What role do the gods play in the Iliad?  How would you describe the relationship between the gods and humans?  How do the gods act towards humans and what do they seem to want from them?  To what extent are humans playthings of the gods?

How would you describe the relationships amongst the gods?

How are women portrayed in the Iliad?  How would you characterize the relationship between men and women in the Iliad?

How would you compare and contrast the Iliad to the tragedies of Euripides?  How would you compare Homer's epic to Herodotus' Histories?

How would you characterize the relationship between the Greeks and the Trojans as portrayed by the Iliad?  What does the Iliad have to say about war?  Why do the warriors fight?  Why don't the Trojans just give back Helen and why don't the Greeks just go home?

How important is the Iliad as an historical source?  What would you focus upon in using it for those purposes?


SOME EXTRA SOURCES

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