Journal Entry #2

Jacqueline Jones
Sep 6, 2018 · 9 min read

Hour 0–2

In class on Thursday we were discussing book 5 in the Iliad. We went over a lot of the words and vernacular used in this book to describe the events that happened. Personally, this part helps tremendously because it gives you a better understanding of the book and just how important it is to understanding the meaning of their language. One of the words we learned was “Aristos” which means best. This is used a lot throughout the book so it was very helpful to get an understanding of the word. Another form of that word that we used was aristocracy. This word means to be dominant or ruled by the best. It is used to describe different warrior classes through the book. For example, since Achilles is one of the stronger warriors he would be considered a higher class. Another thing about our class discussion that caught my attention was the different pieces of tragedy that are used throughout the book. These main tragedies are: a parent losing a child, brother losing a brother, and a sister losing a parent or a brother. This was very interesting to me to learn after reading so many of the books so far. This caught my attention because while I was reading the books before I never really noticed how these tragedies are almost in every single book. You can tell that the Greeks really focused on these tragedies and used them as a way bring out emotion in their readers.

Book 6 has so far been my favorite read. This book shows a lot of different sides to some characters that shocked me when I was reading the book. When Menelaos almost spared Adrestos life I saw that he kind of had mercy for some of the Trojans. Almost that he felt pity for them since they were over powering them so much. However, I also so how much of an influence Agamemnon has over his brother. If Agamemnon never saw their encounter and started calling Menelaos out for showing Adrestos mercy, I think Menelaos would have let him live. I think another reason Agamemnon was so set on killing all the Trojans was because Nestor also told them to show no mercy. We have seen before how much of an impact Nestors word has on Agamemnon.

Another point in the book that caught my attention was the encounter between Hector and his wife, Andromache. This made me see a more ‘mortal’ side of Hector. I felt this way because a lot of people can relate to his situation. For example, people who are in the military have to deal with this all the time. Being separated from your family because ‘duty calls’. People who serve in the military have no choice when it comes to leaving their family behind, and Hector made it seem like he had no choice either. In this part of the story I felt bad for Andromache because she is explaining to Hector that he is all she has left in the world. She feels so lost and alone because Achilles has killed most of her family, so this is a very difficult time for her and all she wants is for her husband to be with her and their son. In this scene I saw how in Greek literature living up to your fate is so important to them. Although Andromache tells Hector she predicts he will die in war he does not care because he wants to live up to his ‘kleos’ or in other words live up to his glory. I also saw some new emotions from Hector that make him seem more humanized and not just a warrior killing anyone that comes within reach. When he encounters his child, who is frightened by him at first, we see a tender side as he takes off him helmet so his son can recognize him. This relates to what I was saying in my last journal, how a lot of these stories and situations in the book can be related to real situations that happen in the world today.

I also saw a softer side of Paris when he retreats from battle because he is so upset. In this part it showed me that Paris lets his emotions get the best of him. If it was not for Hector and Helen telling him he must go back and fight in the war I think he would not have gone back. To me this shows he is weak.

Book 7 it was very interesting to me how the Gods can interfere with the battles going on in the world below them. What I mean by that is not only in this book but the Gods can either help the warriors or create challenges for them that will hinder their availability to fight in the war. It was interesting to me when Athene and Apollo decide to just end the war for the night and what they say goes. After the war is ended and they decide to have a one on one battle between Hector and anyone else that wants to step up and fight him. At this point it was kind of funny to see how the Achaians were scared of Hector. When Menelaos tried to step up and fight him, I once again saw how Agamemnon has a powerful influence over his warriors. Once he tells Menelaos he is not string enough to defeat him he backs down. In this scene I felt that although Agamemnon has an influence over them Nestor ultimately has the most power over them. I say this because after Nestor told his story and told them that Peleus would be ashamed of them, they all started to volunteer to go against Hector. However after they did a lottery to see who would fight Hector, Ajax won.

In book 8 Zeus tells the rest of the Gods they cannot interfere with the war anymore. I was excited to see this because most of the time the Gods are helping the wars below them making it not far for some people. So it was interesting to see how the war turned out after Zeus prohibit them from participating. However Zeus being a mighty god he does not follow his own rules and shoots lightening down on the Achaians. This reminded me that Gods do not care about their actions and will basically do whatever they want. I thought what Odysseus did by running away when Nestor needed help was a sign of betrayal and weakness. He was only lookin after himself in that moment even though Nestor has always looked out for them. I was kind of annoyed that Zeus would not let Diomedes fight Hector. After he killed his chariot it was almost like Zeus was scared to see what would happen so he stopped it before anything bad happened. Zeus is the only god that can break his rules and I sensed that the other Gods were also scared of him because when Hera cried for help to Poseidon he denied her because he did not want to go head to head with Zeus, which makes sense.

Journal questions: Tuesday, September 4

1. Personally to have a martial partnership it takes a lot of agreements and understandings between two people. This involves accepting a lot of flaws from your spouse that you may not like. For me to have a good martial relationship I would need communication to be a key factor in the relationship. Communicating helps solve a lot of problems that can be going on in a relationship. I do not think Hector and Andromache meet this standard. We see kind of a disagreement when Hector wants to continue on with war and she begs him not to go. Although she is begging him not to leave he still say me must go because he has to “accept his fate” no matter what happens to him. To me this is a very selfish act, for him to leave his wife and child to die in battle. His own child was afraid of him at first sight of his dad. That should have made him feel something for the pain his family is going through, but it was not enough for him to stay. This is where I see a difference in opinions between him and his wife. He believes he must battle to live up to his fate but his wife does not think it is worth it. In this part of the story we do see that he takes pity on his wife after watching her cry for him. He try’s to reassure her by saying nothing bad is going to happen to him, but she still didn’t believe him. Another sign that I thought was wrong of Hector was to leave her alone after Achilles has killed off most of her family. She pleads to him how she has no one left but he still believes following his fate is more important. You can tell throughout this encounter they do not have an understanding between each other. Hector does not understand the pain his wife is going through because she believe he will die and Andromache can’t see that Hector still believe he must live up to his fate and if it his fate is dying then he will die.

2. Hector is a dedicated warrior when it comes to the other warriors in the epic so far. He shows a lot of dedication for this war and the things he knows he needs to do. For example, although his wife is bawling he was still dedicated to going back and continuing the war. Unlike Paris, who withdrew from the battle because he was too sorrowful to continue on. He also had to be begged to come back and fight by Helen and Hector. This shows a weaker side of Paris and almost humanizes him and his emotions. I can relate to his emotions because sometimes I also have to be dragged out of bed by my friends when I don’t feel like doing anything.

Book 9 was also a very good read for him. The best part was listening to Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoinix try and persuade Achilles to come back to war. It was interesting to see all the different approaches they took to try and get him back. The speech that made me personally feel the most emotion was Phoinix. He told Achilles that he was sent to him when he was just a kid and did not even know what a war was. He was trying to show him that he has been with him through it all.

Journal Questions: Thursday, September 6

1. If i were to try and change someone’s mind I would try and arouse a questionable feeling in them. What I mean by that is I would get them to try and question whether their decision is better than mine. I would do this by stating why my opinion/idea is “better” in a way that can benefit them more, and give them reasons as to why their idea is not the right one for them.

2. The first feeling Odysseus try’s to arouse in Achilles is when he starts talking about his father, Peleus. He reminds him of something his father told him when he was younger and that was that Athene and Hera will give him strength no matter what. I feel like he is trying to make Achilles almost feel guilty by this, because after this statement he tells him that he had forgotten what his father had told him. He tells him that he still has a chance to release the anger from his heart. The emotion I see coming from this is trying to use his father to bring out old emotions Achilles might feel. After Odysseus try’s to shower him in gifts and realizes that may not be enough he ask for Achilles to take pity on the Achaians. Next, after Achilles has spoke, Phoinix then try’s to make him feel bad by talking to him in a storm burst of tears. He was stated,” how then shall I, dear child, be left in this place behind you alone?” He then goes on to tell the story about how Peleus sent him to Achilles when he was a child. This is another act of trying to make Achilles feel pity for Phoinix. Lastly, Aias doesn’t give in to trying to make Achilles feel bad. To me he uses the “reverse psychology” technique. He says how nothing is going to be accomplished and hey should just go back and tell the rest of the Danaans that he is not going to be returning.

3. Odysseus reminds Achilles of all the gifts Agamemnon will give him if he returns to battle which are: seven unfired tripods, ten talents’ weight of gold, twenty shining cauldrons, and twelve horses. He also tells him that Agamemnon will give him seven women of Lesbos. He also offers him rewards if they win the battle. For example, he tells him after the war he can load his ship with all the gold and bronze he pleases, he may chose twenty of the Trojan women.