The Homeric Hymns: A Short Report

The Homeric Hymns: A Short Report

The Homeric Hymns are neither Homeric nor hymns in the way I expected. A look at the meaning of each term should provide a sufficient summary of their origin and content. First we will analyze the term hymn. Though these are not the uniformly organized religious songs that someone from …

Date: 09 October 2024

Living in Eternity

Living in Eternity

Now we must leave behind what has been said explicitly about life's brevity by the lyric poets. The terrain traversed was existentially difficult, though likely not unfamiliar to the reader. It would be unfair to leave such a morbid impression of the Greeks. We might be mistaken that they were …

Date: 02 October 2024

What of a Moment?

What of a Moment?

In this way the focus moves from outlasting existence with immortal acts and words, to the poets who embrace the passing moment. This seems like a rather quaint notion. Yet, while it does produce profound pieces, it also gives us some of the most childishly hedonistic poems of the anthology. …

Date: 25 September 2024

Deeds that Outlast the Doer

Deeds that Outlast the Doer

While words may preserve memory, this still leaves the issue of what actions warrant remembrance. It is not just any ordinary life that inspires the bards to song. Here the lyric poets seem to provide two answers: valiance in war and victory in the arena. Simonides argues that eternal reverence …

Date: 18 September 2024

Immortal Words

Immortal Words

The first resolution to life's brevity that we will explore from the poets is, unsurprisingly, the immortal power of words. We will look at two similar excerpts and then discuss the continuity of their contents. The first is Theognis discussing his preservation of the name of Kyrnos in poems. The …

Date: 11 September 2024

Odysseus in Paradise

Odysseus in Paradise

Yet, is youth truly priceless? Greek myth suggests not. Again we can consult Homer to help along our understanding, this time the Odyssey. After being shipwrecked on an isolated island, Odysseus attracts the eye of the beautiful and powerful nymph Calypso. She takes him in as her "husband" in a …

Date: 04 September 2024

The Death of Youth

The Death of Youth

The passage of time takes on new significance with death being set squarely as an ending and not a gateway into an afterlife. Notably old age becomes a signpost of the end. Anacreon reflects, rather personally, on this in his Fragment 395. He comments on his gray temples, white hair, …

Date: 28 August 2024

The Brevity of Life

The Brevity of Life

"Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to life, another dies away." (The Iliad, Book …

Date: 21 August 2024

The Trouble with Reviewing an Anthology

The Trouble with Reviewing an Anthology

Writing a cohesive report on an anthology is difficult. While these collections typically feature a group of works linked either by a common tongue, culture, or era, the fact remains that each author is an entity unto themselves. Therefore, a commentary runs the risk of either saying too much or …

Date: 14 August 2024

A Father and a Son

A Father and a Son

Anger is the mover of things in war. It is the anger of Menelaus at the theft of his bride Helen, the spite of Hera and Athena at Aphrodite, and, of course, the “rage of Achilles” that is sung in the song of the Iliad. It is the latter ire …

Date: 07 August 2024

The Death of Hector

The Death of Hector

It is only in his final chapter that Hector's constancy of character begins to falter. This occurs when Achilles is approaching Troy and ready to engage Hector in battle. After having already ignored his parents' pleas to return to the safety of the city, Hector reconsiders his position and debates …

Date: 31 July 2024

Resolution?

Resolution?

Before Achilles can go out to meet Hector in battle he must rouse the other Achaean troops. This preempts a meeting and reconciliation with Agamemnon. Achilles is in no mood for words. He briefly calls for an end to the feud and for a mobilization of the troops. Agamemnon, however, …

Date: 24 July 2024

Rage Redirected

Rage Redirected

Before Hector meets his fate in front of the walls of Troy he will first attract the ire of Achilles. This is when Patroclus, Achilles’ closest friend, becomes the centerpiece of the action. After a glimpse of the battle convinces him to take up arms, Patroclus asks Achilles if he …

Date: 17 July 2024

Hector: Loved by the Immortals

Hector: Loved by the Immortals

While Paris is the shame of the Trojans, his brother, Hector, embodies all that is noble. In fact, Hector's admirability shines even when juxtaposed with the prime movers on the Achaean side, Achilles and Agamemnon. The Greeks are soaked in selfish pride, valuing their own grudges above the lives of …

Date: 10 July 2024

Collateral Damage

Collateral Damage

It is rare that a feud confines its impact to the participants. Countless works of literature, from Romeo and Juliet to A Tale of Two Cities, are built on this fact. The Iliad is not an exception. Homer's initial description of the rage of Achilles, a rage directed towards Agamemnon, …

Date: 03 July 2024

Balancing the Scales

Balancing the Scales

Coming from a Christian perspective the most relatable image of a deity is Zeus. Less fickle than the other gods, Zeus actively balances the scales of most outcomes. He never clearly takes a side in the war nor does he consistently back any particular god. Yet, oddly like the Old …

Date: 26 June 2024

Strife in the Heavens

Strife in the Heavens

This early feud sets off a chain of events that reels the main members of the pantheon into the conflict. Thereby a recurrent theme is established: the gods as participants in human drama. I struggle with the inconsistencies and oddities of the Greek deities. Growing up immersed in a Christian …

Date: 19 June 2024

The Quarrel

The Quarrel

Even a story as foundational as the Iliad assumes some knowledge of the reader (or should I say listener?). Figures like Achilles and Agamemnon were comparable to Napoleon or Churchill. They required little introduction. As such, they received none. We are thrust into the story “when the two first broke …

Date: 12 June 2024

Where the West was Born

Where the West was Born

The term "foundational" is overused. It too often assigns significance to works that have, for good reason, been forgotten. However, in the case of the Iliad it could not be more appropriate. Western culture has two equal origins: the Hebrews and the Greeks. While the Torah resides at the base …

Date: 05 June 2024