Greek Literature in Translation (CLAS 101) — Journal 7

11:10am to 12:30pm. Mackey Building. 14th Class-

Review for Midterm. Map of event, identifying quotations. Book 1 and the Quarrel.

What do I know I know?

• Events,
• Plot of each book,
• overall story of the Iliad.

What do I know I don’t know?

• I do not know all the names. I am terrible at remembering specific names for things, though I know the characters and the events and ideas, I cannot recall many names.
• I do not know all the titles for characters, or their father’s names.
• I do not know many of the monologues or character quotes. They are all similar and less revealing than the narrator’s descriptions. I think I may have trouble if the quotes for the Midterm are actual quotes from the characters.

What do I not know I don’t know?

• I don’t know. Pretty much everything else. A couple hours a week for 6 weeks isn’t much time to learn the in depth aspects of the Iliad, especially when focusing mostly on plot events and characters.

3/1/19 Midterm Study-

Reread Books 1–11 of the Iliad. It is interesting how it flows together a lot more now that i have gone through more than just one to three books at a time. The main characters have become much more distinguished from the less notable ones.

I have highlighted the most important quotes, and am familiar with the overall plot details of each of these books now. However, as I read through, I am worried that I will not be able to distinguish the quotes from each other in the Midterm. They all seem to carry a similar tone and many are so unidentifiable out of context, and the quantity of them is too many to memorize them all.

3/3/19 Midterm Study.

Reread books 12–18 of the Iliad. This is too much material to know. This is the kind of academic study that I am not good at: memorizing details. I am very good at seeing a greater picture and piecing details together. In my previous literature classes, I mostly wrote about themes and criticisms of text, analyzed works as a whole in sections. To memorize individual quotes, not even narration quotes that reveal context clues, but specifically dialogue in an expansive work, is not what I am good at.

Perhaps if this was one of my degree courses instead of an introductory elective, I would reasonably be able to spend the time focusing on this midterm in order to be so familiar with the text that I might recognize a 10 line character quote from a 15,700 line work. Unfortunately, I have five other midterms to worry about in first three days of next week. It is a good thing this is only 15% of my grade.

3/4/19 Midterm Study

Reread books 19–24 of the Iliad. Rereading this entire work, I definitely can appreciate it more. It is very drawn out, and it is not efficient at all (many details seem unnecessary). I am a fan of saying more with less. The epic cycle is not like this.

Reflecting over the last six weeks, I do not think the Classics would be my first choice of academic study in literature, but it is definitely something I would study further, as this importance of this early work is evident.

3/5/19 Midterm

Review notes and reread most important quotes. Can I predict which one’s will be on the final?

• Achilles’ angry speech at Agamemnon in the beginning.
• Achilles’ praying to his mother.
• Any one of Nestor’s speeches.
• Agamemnon’s panic when Menelaus is hit with arrow.
• One of the challenges to a duel.
• A quote from the night mission
• The delegation to Achilles
• The conversations between Helen and Paris.
• The pleading of Andromache
• The sealing of Patroclus’ fate
• Hera’s aristeia
• The final conversation between Patroclus and Hector
• Achilles’ grief
• The final lament of Hector
• Priam’s pleading to Achilles.

I do not have very high hopes for this midterm. I wish I could have taken this class in a semester in which I could focus on it more.

After the Midterm-

I did not do great. I thought I knew all six quotes and therefore wrote about the first four. As I have processed it further and checked in the text, I realize I was mistaken for two of them.

What I initially thought was Briseis mourning for Patroclus was actually Helen mourning Hector. Admittedly, these are similar quotes, as both relationships are somewhat similar. I really should have not hurried so much and double checked. The detail about 20 years should have made it clear. It is weird to think about the timeline. How old is Achilles? And Helen? If the wedding of Thetis and Peleus was only like 20 years ago, and the war has been waged for 9 years, did Achilles start as a warrior as a child? Is he young while everyone else is in their 40s or older?

I also mistook the apology of Agamemnon for a line of Hector. I cannot find the quote from Hector that I thought it was, but I thought for sure it was one I saw when I reread all the books. I should have known this as well, as Agamemnon’s apology is distinctly unapologetic. I did pretty much as well as I expected on this midterm, unfortunately.

7:30 to 8:24. 3/7/19 Prep for Class.

Questions to prepare and write about in your weekly journal:

What does Athena do to “mentor” Telemachus, son of Odysseus? What does Telemachus do to demonstrate his readiness to take over his father’s kingdom? How similar is Telemachus’ maturation to the maturation you yourself are expected to go through today?

1. Athena advises Telemachus to not give up hope and to possibly kill the suitors. Sort of like a mentor giving direction, as he is unsure as to what he needs to do. It definitely is all for the benefit of Odysseus though. Telemachus is like an extension of Odysseus’ character here.
2. Telemachus demonstrates his readiness when he takes responsibility of the estate and handles the suitors. Sort of takes the role of the head of the house. Considering his youth, this is a relatively big step. His interaction with the old servant woman is interesting. I think this is the servant who recognized Odysseus when he finally returns.
3. I do not see many similarities to my own development and Telemachus’, both in character and situation. The only similarity would probably be the process of maturation itself and our similar age. Given the differences in setting and context, any similarities identified would be a stretch. Looking at the quotes describing him and the things he says, I would not say he is very typical. It is interesting how he is characterized though, much as one would expect from the Epic Cycle. Quite a noble figure for a mortal, favored by the gods and such.

Odyssey

Book 1-

• In media res. Invocation of the muse as usual. Beginning ten years after the end of the war (big time jump). Odysseus has still not returned to his home of Ithaca, is being held captive by Calypso. Penelope has a ton of Suitors but is remaining loyal, while Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, is now grown to be a young man.
• Poseidon is ticked at Odysseus about blinding the Cyclops
• The gods sit on Olympus and discuss Aigisthos. He killed Agamemnon when he returned home because he had been having an affair with his wife. In turn, Orestes the son killed him. Aigisthos had been warned about this.
• Athena wants them to pay attention to Odysseus, who she favors. Zeus refuses to save him from Calypso yet
• Athena goes to Ithica disguised as Mentes, goes to the house of Odysseus. Telemachus is a great host. The suitors are rude. They think Odysseus is dead.
• Athena recommends that he goes to Pylos to see nestor and Sparta to see Menelaos.
• A bard Phemios sings about the Trojan war which upsets Penelope. Telemachus disagrees. Says it is Zeus’ fault for his father’s death.

Anitous, a suitor, doesn’t want to leave. Wants to be king of Ithica. Eurymachos wants to know what the visitor said about Odysseus.

• Eurykleia the servant serves Telemachus as he goes to bed.

Zeus in the beginning of the first book: “Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given.”

This seems to contradict everything I have read so far in the Epic Cycle. The gods are nearly always to blame for the events of the Epic Cycle. It strange tha Zeus, one of the most influential gods with his many escapades wth mortals, is truly to blame for many of the sufferings. Poseidon is a huge evil in the Odyssey, preventing Odysseus from returning home. I wonder if the original audience saw this contradiction as well or they too thought that the gods were blameless.

I do not recall the beginning of the Odyssey starting at this point when I previously read it. I thought that Calypso did not capture Odysseus until much later. Instead, it jumps right into the middle of Odysseus’ captivity, skipping over Polythemeus, the island of Hypnos, and several other events if I recall correctly.

It is beneficial to know what will come of the characters, especially in order to see the overall structure. Telemachus eventually marries Calypso and becomes immortal, with Penelope marrying Odysseus’ and Calypso’s son (who kills Odysseus) and also becoming immortal. Seems like a great contrast to how things are now, with Calypso being rather antagonistic and Telemachus and Penelope seeming rather separated from the divine world in Ithica, other than the visit by Athena.