Came from an Oral Tradition: use of noun-epithet combos, same metre, stock scenes as mnemonic devices, inconsistencies in plot and context, amalgamation of different dialects, comparison w/ contemporary oral traditions

Writing: poem is too long and well organized to be only the result of the oral tradition

symbol of humanity: 

-when Achilles is under the effect of a divine rage (menis), he is fed by the food of the gods

-when he gives up his rage, he eats regular food once more

-Achilles' comment that he would eat Hector's corpse  shows that his rage lowered him to the level of a beast

-Odysseus' calling for a meal to rest and celebrate the return of Achilles to the army in Book 19

-story of Niobe to emphasize the need to move on from lamentation in Book 24

-food as a way of bonding btwn mortals ex. Achilles and Priam in Book 24

Explain how the heroic code functions, using examples from the Iliad.

-an ethical system by which individuals engage in violent competition in order to obtain status and honor in the eyes of their peers (their time)

-this status is often represented by the prizes warriors win in battle

-the glory obtained serves to produce a posthumous existence, a kind of limitied immortality, described well by the "choice of Achilles", to die old w/ out fame or die in battle and gain fame

-this is the choice of all warriors 

How does the Iliad question warfare, even if it glorifies it?

-criticism through showing the effect of warfare on family and peacetime activities

ex.

-Hector's family in Book 6

-Suggesting alternative more peaceful ethical systems, such as the gift giving btwn Diomedes and Glaukos

-Achilles and Hector often question it and are constrained by it

Explain, using examples, how exchange is a fundamental mode of interaction in the Iliad.

Maintain Relationships:

Philia- 'helping friends and harming enemies' ex. Thetis and Zeus, Thetis and Achilles

Xenia- Diomedes and Glaukos exchange armor to continue bond est by their grandfathers

Solve Disputes:

-ransoming a person or corpse is considered a civilized exchange in which the person is lives/given proper funeral rites and the person ransoming receives compensation, frowned upon when rejected

ex. Agamemon refusing to ransom Chryseis, Achilles ultimately deciding to ransom Hector's body

Using examples/support, explain the extent to which we can view the Iliad as historically accurate.

To a Limited Extent:

-compare historical accounts w/ those in the Iliad; none exist

-scholars have compared archaeological records w/ accounts in the Iliad; few examples exist 

ex. Boar's tusk helmet- assumed that because the Iliad described such a helmet the Iliad must have occurred in the Mycenaean era; argument is only valid if it existed only in the Mycenaean era

Schliemann- discovered the site of Troy shows that the place existed but not what occurred there

Finley- studied social history of the Homeric epics, looked for consistent social behaviour in the epics such as gift giving and concluded that the Iliad was written during the Dark Age, more likely because the creation of oral poetry occurred in the Dark Age, does not speak to the historicity of the narration and characters

Discuss how the festival of the new fire on Lemnos was explained by means of mythology.

Festival:

-all fires were extinguished 

-men and women separated

-w/ no fire, society effectively ground to a halt (no cooking, working, even limits in religious behaviour)

-after some time, fire is brought from off the island and society renews itself

Myth:

-explained by Myth that the women of Lemnos killed their husbands due to them being sexually rejected (due to the smell Aphrodite afflicted them w/), thereby threatening the end of human occupation of the island

-Jason and the Argonauts come later and live w/ the women, thereby repopulating the island and renewing civilization, like the return of fire

In psychoanalytic theory, how are myths like dreams.

-both employ condensation (combining elements) and displacement (replacing something w/ something else)

-both had fantastic elements (monsters, descent to the underworld, etc.)

-both had wish fulfilment (Myth of Oedipus/Oedipus complex: male child's desire for ones mother and destruction of ones father)

-both were expressions of taboo topics and emotions

Explain how structuralism works when applied to the interpretation of mythology.

Levi-Strauss:

-breaks down myth into its component parts

-then looks for deep structure w/ in these parts

-ignores narrative pattern

-this structure was said to be the result of the brain's structure, in particular its use of binary opposites

-myth often presented an opposition that could be reconciled by an intermediary term, thereby allowing the brain to understand and accept the binary opposites even if they are not logically compatible 

(ex. House of Oedipus-

Autochthony vs. bio birth turned into undervaluing vs. overvaluing the bloodline) 

Discuss the theme of sophrosune in Euripides' Hippolytus.

sophrosune- to know one's proper social position

slave--> be obedient

wife--> be loyal, keep good rep.

adult male citizen-->show self-restraint

Characters:

Phaedra-->despite her desire for Hippolytus, she remains chaste to maintain her good reputation

Hippolytus-->fixated on his own chastity, attempted to be godlike in his own purity like Artemis, in his absolute rejection of women he neglected his duty as a male to marry and reproduce, all for the sake of a feminine form of sophrosune

-we have the notion that there must be self-restraint even in the pursuit of self-restraint 

In Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica, discuss the distinct nature of Jason's heroism.

-not trad powerful hero like Heracles

-often makes use of social bonds such as xenia and philia to get tasks done

-use of social bonds shows his over-reliance on language rather than deed

-a hero must be powerful in word and deed

-use of deceptive language was supposedly characteristic of women, he does this w/ Medea

-human in his expression of doubt

How does the character of Medea usurp the role of the hero in Euripides' Medea?

Jason does not properly fill the role of the hero: neglects his oath (act of betrayal and impiety), does not care for his reputation, relies on deceptive language rather than physical prowess, which does not fit w/ the bill of a masculine hero

Medea herself is masculine and heroic in her characterization: acted as her own kurios, so she is on the level of a male already, magical powers elevate her to a more powerful position, deeply concerned about her reputation, not wanting to allow anyone to laugh at her, pursues ethical beliefs (harm enemies) relentlessly