Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part A

My notes are on part A of the Iliad unit.

· It’s unclear how Helen felt about being carried off

· The Greeks needed supplies so they started sacking other cities. Poor other cities :(.

· I could write about how Agamemnon took the priest’s daughter, and the priest tried to ransom her back.

· I could tell the story from the point of view of the scepter that Achilles broke

· They are so proud, vindictive, and vengeful.

· I could write a story about the drama that happens on Mount Olympus between Zeus and Hera

· Wow, Zeus is scary and violent.

· Hephaestus is cool, though.

· I could write about Queen Hecuba (mother of Paris and Hector), and about how she feels about her son’s choice and the bad feelings between her children.

· Or from Andromache’s point of view (wife of Hector). He’s super cool and honorable thus far, unlike the others.

· Awww he loves and respects his wife. That’s good. I could write their love story.

· Wow, he loves his son too, but they don’t think he’ll ever come back home. This is kind of heartbreaking.

· Ajax, Phoenix, and Ulysses went to talk to Achilles.

· Am I allowed to write poetry? What if I wrote the petition to bring Achilles back as a poem?

· Patroclus pretends to be Achilles, to defend the ships.

· I could write about Hector and his men, when they ran before Patroclus as he pretended to be slain, and then Sarpēdon’s friend accused him of abandoning his allies.

· I could just invent some random warrior on one of the sides who watches as the battles happen, and feels jubilation and terror and despair at various times. Maybe he has a wife at home, too.

· I could switch up which gods want what. They’re so fickle and weird.

· Apollo effectively killed Patroclus, but Hector dealt the final blow.

· Patroclus and Hector talk as Patroclus dies, and Patroclus predicts Hector’s death at the hands of Achilles.

(Embassy to Achilles, Flaxman)

Bibliography: Homer's Iliad retold by A. J. Church; found here.