KEY TERMS/CAST OF CHARACTERS
GREEK WARRIORS (called Achaians,
Danaans or Argives, and sometimes referred to individually by their
titles or by their fathers’ names, as I have indicated in parentheses)
Achilleus (son of Peleus, leader of
the Myrmidons)
Agamemnon (son of
Atreus)
Menelaos (son of Atreus)
Aias (Telamonian
Aias)
Nestor (aged king of Pylos)
Aias (son of
Oileus)
Odysseus (son of Laertes)
Diomedes (son of
Tydeus)
Patroklos (son of Menoitios)
OTHER GREEK CHARACTERS
Phoinix (aged tutor of
Achilleus)
Kalchas (seer of the Greeks)
Helen (wife of Menelaos, eloped with
Paris, the Trojan)
TROJANS AND THEIR ALLIES
Aineias (son of
Anchises)
Paris /Alexandros (son of Priam)
Andromache (wife of
Hektor)
Priam (king of Troy)
Hekabe (queen of
Troy)
Sarpedon (mortal son of Zeus, ally of
Trojans)
Hektor (son of Priam)
Spellings of Greek names vary in different translations (Achilleus/Achilles, Aias/Ajax) because there are different ways of transliterating them into the Roman alphabet which we use today. At the end of our text of the Iliad, there is a glossary of ALL names of persons and places. Most are minor characters, but you should be familiar with the characters listed above, capitalized in the outline or discussed in class.
STUDY QUESTIONS: HOW THE PLOT DEVELOPS IN BOOKS 1
AND 2
-Why does Apollo send a plague on the
Greek camp? Who calls the Greek assembly? Why?
-How is Agamemnon identified as the
cause of Apollo's anger?
-Is Agamemnon willing to send Chryseis back to her father? What
does Agamemnon want in return for
Chryseis ? How does his position change?
-Why do Achilleus and Agamemnon quarrel? Find short quotations
that sum up the reasons for each man's anger. Identify the key
points in the quarrel where each man “raises the stakes”.
-Why doesn't Achilleus kill Agamemnon (1.188-222)?
-How does Nestor try to settle the
dispute (1.247-84)?
-What does Achilleus ask Thetis , his
divine mother, to do? Why?
-Why does Zeus grant Thetis' request
(1.393-412, 495-527)?
-How does Zeus begin to fulfill his promise to Thetis?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: INTERPRETING AND
APPRECIATING THE ILIAD (BKS 1-3, 6)
1. THE COMPETITION FOR HONOR: QUARRELING MEN AND MEDDLING GODS
-What do you think could resolve the conflict between Achilleus and
Agamemnon? Can you find points where they might have
compromised? Why does it prove so difficult to resolve?
-Who bears responsibility for the quarrel? Why?
-What is "honor" for the Greek warriors? How is it
won? How is it measured? Why does Achilleus link honor
with his short life (1.352-55)?
-What is the basis for the power and authority of the Greek warriors
(e.g., Achilleus, Agamemnon, Nestor and Odysseus)? What does the
treatment of Thersites (2.211-77) tell you about their world?
-Do these warriors follow any rules? What responsibilities to
others do they recognize?
-How are the goddesses and gods like and unlike the women and men in
the Iliad? Consider, for example, Chryses' prayer to Apollo
(1.36-42) or Thetis' appeal to Zeus on behalf of Achilleus.
-How much do the gods and goddesses control or influence
men and women and shape the plot?
2. HOMER'S POETRY AND THE RICHNESS OF THE ORAL TRADITION
-Achilleus summarizes the story for his mother, Thetis (1.364-92), even
though he says she already knows it. Find other examples of how
Homer repeats passages or summarizes parts of the story.
-Find examples of references to other legends in the Iliad. How
are they used?
-Do you remember our discussion of the difference between the plot of
the Iliad and the story of the Trojan War? What's book 3 got to
do with it?
-How does Homer remind us of Achilleus' anger, while Achilleus is
absent?
-Why does Homer mention the Muses three times (2. 484-93, 594-600,
761-62) in the Catalog of the Ships?
-How does Homer link together different SIMILES to
describe the marshalling of the Greek warriors (2.455-83)?