Week 7
READ:
BOOK I (Rage of Achilles),
BOOK VI (Hector's Book),
Book IX (Embassy to Achilles).
REQUIRED READING
RECOMMENDED READING
Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind,
W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (June 16, 2014),
ISBN 0393239985
Principal Characters in The Iliad
Greeks (Achaeans, Argives, Danaans).
Agamemnon: commander of the Greek forces, king of Mycenae, son of Atreus [Atreides].
Menelaus: king of Lacedaemon (Sparta), brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen.
Helen: wife of Menelaus, daughter of Zeus and Leda, sister of Clytemnestra.
Clytemnestra: wife of Agamemnon.
Achilles: leader of the Myrmidons, king of Phthia (in Thessaly), son of Peleus and Thetis.
Patroclus: son of Menoetius, Achilles' companion.
Nestor: elderly king of Pylos.
Odysseus: king of Ithaca.
Ajax: son of Telamon, from Salamis.
Diomedes: king of Argos, son of Tydeus.
Calchas: chief seer of the Greeks.
Gods Allied with the Greeks
Hera: sister and consort of Zeus, goddess of marriage, particularly associated with Argos and Mycenae.
Athena: daughter of Zeus; goddess of wisdom, culture, craftsmanship (especially domestic crafts); a martial goddess as well [Pallas Athena].
Poseidon: brother of Zeus; god of sea, horsemanship, earthquakes.
The Trojans
Priam: elderly king of Troy.
Hecuba: wife of Priam.
Hector: leader of the Trojan forces, favorite son of Priam and Hecuba.
Paris (Alexander): brother of Hector, abductor of Helen.
Sarpedon: king of Lycia, son of Zeus and Laodameia.
Aeneas: son of Anchises and Aphrodite.
Gods Allied with the Trojans
Aphrodite: daughter of Zeus and Dione, goddess of sexual desire, protectress of Helen [Cyprian].
Apollo: son of Zeus and Leto; brother of Artemis; god of culture, poetry, music, healing, archery.
Ares: son of Zeus and Hera, god of war and violence.
Other Gods
Zeus: ruler of the gods; god of sky, weather, the thunderbolt.
Hades: ruler of the nether world, brother of Zeus [Hades is used to signify the god's realm (i.e. hell) as well as the god himself].
Hephaestus: son of Hera, lame god of blacksmiths.
Iris: messenger of the gods, goddess of the rainbow.
Hermes: another messenger-god; patron of travelers, thieves, and charlatans; conductor of dead souls on journey to Hades.
NEXT WEEK: Thanksgiving Week, November 22-26
Classes will not be held the week of November 22-26, Thanksgiving vacation.
Students have stated they prefer having the week off; many are traveling for the holidays.