Ancient Greece Declassified 03 Dying For Immortality in Homer's Iliad w/ Andrew Ford
11 snips
Oct 20, 2016 AI Snips
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Episode notes
Focus on Achilles' Rage
- The Iliad focuses on the rage of Achilles during a few weeks of the Trojan War, not the entire war itself.
- Homer zooms in on how one man's anger affects many lives and the course of events.
Iliad as Distant Heroic Memory
- Homer's audience saw the Iliad as a tale of a distant heroic age, similar to modern myths like King Arthur.
- The poem preserves memories and values from a far past, rather than a contemporary history.
Oral Performance As Magical Experience
- Homeric epics were oral performances with magical elements, not just literary texts.
- Invoking the muse signaled the audience would be transported to the heroic world through the bard's song.