Now I surely cease my anger; it is not fitting that I be wrathful, unrelenting forever.* So Achilles says, angry no more, after spending nineteen books dooming his friends because of his wrath. Few things are as dangerous on the Earth as an angry man. Achilles’ anger made men he liked a “feast for dogs and vultures.” Zeus “willed” it, but Achilles need not have been duped into being the fulfillment of this particular will of God. That’s not good. In fact,... Read more
He is so unbelievably shallow, he could only be played by Orlando Bloom: Paris of Troy. He wears leopard skin and as a result slanders this noble beast for the rest of literary time. Helen was so beautiful her face launched a thousand ships, while Paris was so superficial he let Troy burn rather than lose a prize. Iliad is full of passages where Paris lacks any redeeming qualities. He could end the war by doing his duty and dying, but instead... Read more
There was a time when the entire church was one woman and the child in her womb. She had given consent, heard God and obeyed. This was a small beginning and the woman and her seed were inevitable Christmas against which the Roman Emperor was a mere footnote to date the birth of the Christ. God deals with us in small beginnings lest we be overwhelmed and lost in His great glory and grandeur. We are small creatures, though in... Read more
Thus they tended the funeral of Hector, breaker of horses.* Iliad ends not as at began. The first line of the great poem, foundational to so much of Western thought, is about Achilles, the great Greek warrior, and his rage. The final line is about Hector, the dead defender of the losers of the Trojan War. Hector is the wall of Troy and he is frequently described by his shining helmet. He is fighter, a husband, and a father, the... Read more
The missing voice destroyed even the victor. The war lasted year after year, long past most caring about the original cause. A culture that prized honor had been dishonored and one of the most sacred relationships in the society had been disfigured, but nearly ten years later nobody was going to win. If Troy fell, as the will of Zeus decreed, the Greeks would be too exhausted and too long gone from home to have won much. Even the great wealth... Read more
Hats used to make the man until, we are told, John F. Kennedy stopped wearing them. Kennedy was a bit before Homer compiled Iliad, so Homer kept thinking hats were an outer sign of an inner reality. Hector, hero of Troy and a better man than any of the victors, kept his helmet on when he faced Helen. Her face may have launched a thousand relationships, but Hector was safe. The hero loved his wife, loved his city, and kept... Read more
Listen to the old men and women, even if they tend to natter. So the wise poet Homer teaches us, even if an old person makes it hard to listen. The most prominent old man of Iliad is Nestor and if you ever read the poem aloud, and you should, then you will know the dread when you realize aged Nestor is about to speak. When Nestor speaks you can be nearly sure of two things: He will tell you men... Read more
I asked for guest voices and today I am pleased to introduce a voice that with grace will become a regular: Jill Bergen. Jill Elizabeth Bergen is a writer and educator with nearly twenty years of experience in classical education. She is a member of the Torrey Honors Institute and holds an MA in Education with an emphasis in Philosophy of Education. She and her husband, Bradley, reside in Southern California. Ms. Bergen writes on the not-so-happy ending: A friend... Read more
I asked for new voices and got some outstanding writers! Today we hear from the erudite James R. Harrington. James R. Harrington earned his M.A. in Ancient History at California State University Fulleron and is a member of the Torrey Honors Institute. James has been a classical educator in a variety of settings over the past thirteen years. He lives in Houston with his wife, Sharon, and their daughter. Harrington began with a series on shields in classical literature and now... Read more
Captain Kirk famously went to planet, meeting green women and logical puzzles, but the men in red shirts from the Enterprise that went with him? They did not thrive or survive. Often they did not make it to the second commercial break.* The named characters in old television were almost certain to survive, unless the actor playing them died between seasons, so if death was to happen, then the unnamed character had to die. If three characters beamed down, the one... Read more
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