Lecture 3 What Does Homer Teach Why should we take it seriously He is a good STORY teller Values behind the stories Values put into the stories other ppl tell stories about some of the same ppl but diff values are expressed Imp of physical attractiveness in Homer Even if not necessarily attractive mannerisms bearing should be kingly The 2 most beautiful people in Homer Paris Helen Phys beauty as indication of moral worth Is it problematic then that the most beautiful ppl are Paris Helen Paris Looks the part of a good Homeric epic hero struts onto battlefield gorgeous etc Then he sees Menelaus his cowardess is evident Priam has 50 sons Hector is 1 Paris is in the high 40s as far as preference is concerned Paris has Aphrodite on his side she wisks him away to safety of his bedroom Helen Scene on the wall expository perspective Gives Homer the opp to deal w of how Trojans felt about Helen vice versa Figure of Helen is deeply ambiguous Sparta abduction or elopement figure depicts relief w Eros in background Paris grabbing her arm To what extent was Helen a willing participant Yet she still blames herself Troy again to what extent was she willing unwilling tries to stand up to Aphrodite Scene in bedroom at end of book un willingness Helen as dutiful wife vs Helen who holds herself culpable for war Rel bet Paris Helen Aphrodite Divine pwr is clearly manifested in this rel dynamic Shows that Helen is beautiful but not stupid Tries to go against Aphrodite until she is threatened Being forced to obey goddess doesn t lower her dignity She is able to maintain her dignity in spite of being subdued Divine force to which she yields is a force of necessity She has to obey What happens when divinity looks acts human The prob of gods in human form anthropomorphism They are so much more pwrf Doesn t seem to make them morally superior Idea that you can bargain w gods Anthropomorphic Gods Gods who are approachable can be appeased appealed to Gods who lack moral authority Norms Exceptions In terms of phys beauty Paris Helen are exceptions Achilles Sarpedon son of Zeus still Fated to die at Patroclus hands Give enemy glory or gain some for self Validation is in the struggle How do you keep dignity in the face of a superior power The Embassy to Achilles Trojans are winning have pretty much backed the Greeks against the ocean lots of Greeks dying Ag sends embassy lots of goodies to Achilles incl Bryseis to ask him to fight AMBASSADORS Odysseus Repeats what Agamemnon told him verbatim Indication that he is the mouthpiece of Agamemnon Gives him official status as the King s mouthpiece official ambassador Achilles Response Hell no I m not taking any of this stuff I m leaving tomorrow not helping you Phoenix An elder was Achilles tutor long personal rel Tells a story about time Achilles father gave him a 2nd chance Tells story of Meleager better to help now while reward is being offered than to deny reward and wind up helping later anyways and not getting anything Achilles Response tells Phoenix to stay night in his camp the next morning they would decide what to do Ajax Second greatest fighter 2nd to Achilles Speech is terse embodiment of soldier mentality Appeal on basis of camaraderie Achilles Response You guys aren t desperate enough yet I ll help when you realize that you re all going to die I m the only one who can save you You aren t nearly sorry enough yet makes it clear that he knows the cost If he goes home now loses Kleos but lives long life If he stays kills Hector he signs his own death warrant In bk 16 Achilles equivocates his need to help by sending Patroclus Phoenix tells Achilles that bargaining MUST work b c it s all that keeps society together Achilles thinks he understands Doesn t realize what the costs of his actions will be