Short on time, so this'll be brief.
Book 11: Odysseus is hanging out in Hades, talking to the dead as they drink the blood he sacrificed. He hears that he'll make it home, but he'll go through more trials first. He sees old friends like Achilles and Ajax (and his friend who fell off the roof of the boat a little bit earlier) and then the dead are just SO PUSHY with their gibbering that he goes away after looking at Tantalus, who wants to eat and drink so much, but every time he reaches for the grapes around him they retreat. Hades: Not a great place for a vacation.
In the middle of this story Odysseus tries to beg of and go to sleep, but his hosts cry MORE, MORE and he continues.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
Epic Summer: The Odyssey, post 4
Book 9: Odysseus' story begins with some pillaging, but that gets old when the people they're pillaging turn on them, so they hit to road (ocean) and end up in the land of the lotus-eaters. Some of the men go on shore and eat some lotus and forget about home, so Odysseus goes to get them, ties them up, and puts them under benches on the ship. Given what happens to his men during the rest of this voyage, I bet his men would have rather stayed with the lotus eaters. Then they go meet the Cyclops in his cave. You know the drill. The Cyclops bashes out brains and eats some of the men. Odysseus gets him drunk, tells him his name is "No man." Then when the giant falls asleep the men put out his eye with a burning-hot stick. (Twisting it around real good, according to the story.) When the Cyclops cries for help the other giants ask who did it, and he says "No man" and they laugh and go away, thus proving that Cyclopeans are EASILY undone by wordplay. Then Odysseus and his men climb under some sheep and escape the cave in the morning, taunting the giant when they're safely afloat in the sea.
Book 10: Now the surviving members sail to Aeolia and the ruler there (Aeolus) gives them a bag of wind. They get to within a few miles of Ithaca (HOME!) when the soldiers get greedy, thinking there's gold in the bag, then open it only to be blown back by all the wind to Aeolia, where Aeolus says "Okay, obviously the gods hate you, so I'm not helping anymore. Peace out."
Then they go to another cannibal country where a king and mountainous queen eat the men until they flee to the ships, but even when there the giants are throwing rocks at them. Every ship is sunk except for the one carrying Odysseus. (Again, why couldn't he have left those guys with the lotus eaters?)
Now they sail to the island of Circe, where she turns some of the men into pigs. Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, gets them turned back into men (younger, hotter men at that) and they all live a life of luxury with Circe for a year until them men point out to Odysseus that maybe they should go home. Circe tells them that to get home they have to sail to Hades first and talk to some dead guy, who must be really bored because he's the only dead guy who still has any sense of his old self in Hades. When they get on the way, a young guy who was drunk from the night before is startled awake and falls off a roof, breaking his neck. He goes to Hades a little quicker than the rest of them.
Book 10: Now the surviving members sail to Aeolia and the ruler there (Aeolus) gives them a bag of wind. They get to within a few miles of Ithaca (HOME!) when the soldiers get greedy, thinking there's gold in the bag, then open it only to be blown back by all the wind to Aeolia, where Aeolus says "Okay, obviously the gods hate you, so I'm not helping anymore. Peace out."
Then they go to another cannibal country where a king and mountainous queen eat the men until they flee to the ships, but even when there the giants are throwing rocks at them. Every ship is sunk except for the one carrying Odysseus. (Again, why couldn't he have left those guys with the lotus eaters?)
Now they sail to the island of Circe, where she turns some of the men into pigs. Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, gets them turned back into men (younger, hotter men at that) and they all live a life of luxury with Circe for a year until them men point out to Odysseus that maybe they should go home. Circe tells them that to get home they have to sail to Hades first and talk to some dead guy, who must be really bored because he's the only dead guy who still has any sense of his old self in Hades. When they get on the way, a young guy who was drunk from the night before is startled awake and falls off a roof, breaking his neck. He goes to Hades a little quicker than the rest of them.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Epic Summer: The Odyssey, post 3
Book 6: Athena gives Princess Nausicaa a dream that she should go do laundry. (What a crappy dream.) Nausicaa wakes up, looks around, and decides laundry is probably the best idea. So she goes, but while she's washing clothes a naked Odysseus (covered with a skimpy tree branch. rawr.) comes and asks for help. She leads him into the city after giving him some clothes. He also takes a bath after which Athena makes him mega-hot with her god powers.
Book 7: Odysseus makes it to the palace and everybody's having a pretty okay time talking to the stranger who won't say what his name is, but verifies he's not a god. The Queen recognizes the clothes he's wearing and is all "So what's up with you wearing those clothes that I made myself?" and Odysseus tells the story of his flight from Calypso and meeting with Nausicaa. Then the King apparently offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the nameless stranger. (I don't remember that last part, but Sparknotes says it happened.) Also Odysseus cries while someone tells the story of how he argued with Achilles at Troy.
Book 8: I got some information about the Wooden Horse! I dunno if Sparknotes was confused earlier, or if they just double up on the story, but they definitely mentioned the Wooden Horse in this book. And that's all that I remember.
Not really. There were also some games. The young men taunted Odysseus. saying he should compete even though he's an old man, and he showed them good. Nobody messes with Odysseus.
And then we got the song about the wooden horse. Odysseus cries again. The King is finally all "WHAT IS UP WITH YOU CRYING WHEN WE SING ABOUT THE TROJAN WAR?" And the next chapter should be Odysseus' answer to that I believe.
Book 7: Odysseus makes it to the palace and everybody's having a pretty okay time talking to the stranger who won't say what his name is, but verifies he's not a god. The Queen recognizes the clothes he's wearing and is all "So what's up with you wearing those clothes that I made myself?" and Odysseus tells the story of his flight from Calypso and meeting with Nausicaa. Then the King apparently offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the nameless stranger. (I don't remember that last part, but Sparknotes says it happened.) Also Odysseus cries while someone tells the story of how he argued with Achilles at Troy.
Book 8: I got some information about the Wooden Horse! I dunno if Sparknotes was confused earlier, or if they just double up on the story, but they definitely mentioned the Wooden Horse in this book. And that's all that I remember.
Not really. There were also some games. The young men taunted Odysseus. saying he should compete even though he's an old man, and he showed them good. Nobody messes with Odysseus.
And then we got the song about the wooden horse. Odysseus cries again. The King is finally all "WHAT IS UP WITH YOU CRYING WHEN WE SING ABOUT THE TROJAN WAR?" And the next chapter should be Odysseus' answer to that I believe.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Epic Summer: The Odyssey, post 2
Ok, so I took a couple of weeks off of walking in the mornings for reasons related to sloth and moral turpitude.
But we're back!
Though I was kind of fuzzy.
Book 4: What I remember from this book is mainly Telemachus and his buddy showing up at Menelaus and Helen's house, where they're having a party. Menelaus relates his journey from Troy, and laments the unknown fate of Odysseus. Telemachus cries about it.
Sparknotes tells me that Menelaus mentioned the Wooden Horse! But apparently I wasn't paying attention at that point, because I do not remember it. I'm pretty bummed about it. I could go back and listen to book for again, but instead I'll not do that.
I do remember a fun story where he has to wrestle with Poseidon (who is a shifty shape-shifter) after catching him asleep among a bunch of seals. (And the strong scent of the briny deep.)
Back at Odysseus' house, the suitors discover Telemachus is gone and plan to kill him on his way back into town. Penelope is against the idea, and laments, but Athena (in disguise) comes to her and tells her to calm down because a god is on her son's side.
Book 5: Now we're on Olympus and Athena is bringing the case of the kidnapped Odysseus before the gods once more. They eventually agree that Calypso is kind of an asshole, so they tell her to give up Odysseus. She whines about it, but complies, even giving the hero a raft and some wine. He sets off, but just when he's about to reach land Poseidon (who hates Odysseus...I forget why...maybe I should go back and read what I wrote in the previous entry) sees him and sends a GIANT WAVE to crash the boat. Odysseus is forced to swim for his life. A river actually lets him swim upstream, which is nice of it. And so he reaches land.
___________________________________
I'm happy we're finally dealing with Odysseus, because Telemachus is nice and all but the story is the Odyssey not the Telemachinery.
But we're back!
Though I was kind of fuzzy.
Book 4: What I remember from this book is mainly Telemachus and his buddy showing up at Menelaus and Helen's house, where they're having a party. Menelaus relates his journey from Troy, and laments the unknown fate of Odysseus. Telemachus cries about it.
Sparknotes tells me that Menelaus mentioned the Wooden Horse! But apparently I wasn't paying attention at that point, because I do not remember it. I'm pretty bummed about it. I could go back and listen to book for again, but instead I'll not do that.
I do remember a fun story where he has to wrestle with Poseidon (who is a shifty shape-shifter) after catching him asleep among a bunch of seals. (And the strong scent of the briny deep.)
Back at Odysseus' house, the suitors discover Telemachus is gone and plan to kill him on his way back into town. Penelope is against the idea, and laments, but Athena (in disguise) comes to her and tells her to calm down because a god is on her son's side.
Book 5: Now we're on Olympus and Athena is bringing the case of the kidnapped Odysseus before the gods once more. They eventually agree that Calypso is kind of an asshole, so they tell her to give up Odysseus. She whines about it, but complies, even giving the hero a raft and some wine. He sets off, but just when he's about to reach land Poseidon (who hates Odysseus...I forget why...maybe I should go back and read what I wrote in the previous entry) sees him and sends a GIANT WAVE to crash the boat. Odysseus is forced to swim for his life. A river actually lets him swim upstream, which is nice of it. And so he reaches land.
___________________________________
I'm happy we're finally dealing with Odysseus, because Telemachus is nice and all but the story is the Odyssey not the Telemachinery.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Epic Summer: The Odyssey, post 1
And so begins The Odyssey.
Book 1: It turns out that on his way back from Troy (the war there having ended...even though it didn't end during the Iliad...but whatever) Odysseus was waylaid by the nymph Calypso on an island. Back home his son Telemachus has become a man, but doesn't know his father. What he DOES know is that a bunch of jerks are trying to woo his mother and eating all their goats. ALL OF THEIR GOATS. Athena takes the form of a family friend and comes to tell Telemachus that his father is not dead, and to encourage him to take a journey to find out the truth. Telemachus, tired of the jerks, calls a council of the suitors and elders of the city and asks the jerks to cut the crap.
Book 2: But the elders are also jerks, it turns out. They blame Penelope, who pretended to weave a burial shroud for Laertes for three years (unraveling it each night so she'd never finish). Of course, really this means that the city is full of dummies who think it takes three years to weave a shroud. (On the subject of Penelope, she's probably a little miffed at Telemachus, who's getting kind of mouthy now that he has a god behind him.) So Athena arranges a ship for Telemachus and he goes on a journey to Pylos (to find Nestor) and to Sparta (to find Menelaus) and ask for rumors about his father's fate.
Book 3: By the way, the friend Athena is impersonating is called Mentor. I wonder if that's where the word comes from, or if it's just an EXTREME lack of subtlety.
By now they're in Pylos asking Nestor for help. (But first there's a scene in which they have a feast to honor Poseidon. Athena takes a cup and prays to Poseidon, which must be kinda neat for him. I mean, how many gods get prayed to by other gods?) Nestor doesn't know what happened to Odysseus, because he left with Menelaus and Odysseus stayed behind with Agamemnon. Agamemnon, by the way, is TOTES DEAD because while he was gone his wife married this other guy, and the other guy decided to murder Agamemnon when he came back home. Fortunately, Agamemnon's son avenged him. Nestor hopes Telemachus can avenge Odysseus too. "Thanks?" says Telemachus.
Then Nestor sends his son with Telemachus on the journey to Sparta. Athena stays behind.
Book 1: It turns out that on his way back from Troy (the war there having ended...even though it didn't end during the Iliad...but whatever) Odysseus was waylaid by the nymph Calypso on an island. Back home his son Telemachus has become a man, but doesn't know his father. What he DOES know is that a bunch of jerks are trying to woo his mother and eating all their goats. ALL OF THEIR GOATS. Athena takes the form of a family friend and comes to tell Telemachus that his father is not dead, and to encourage him to take a journey to find out the truth. Telemachus, tired of the jerks, calls a council of the suitors and elders of the city and asks the jerks to cut the crap.
Book 2: But the elders are also jerks, it turns out. They blame Penelope, who pretended to weave a burial shroud for Laertes for three years (unraveling it each night so she'd never finish). Of course, really this means that the city is full of dummies who think it takes three years to weave a shroud. (On the subject of Penelope, she's probably a little miffed at Telemachus, who's getting kind of mouthy now that he has a god behind him.) So Athena arranges a ship for Telemachus and he goes on a journey to Pylos (to find Nestor) and to Sparta (to find Menelaus) and ask for rumors about his father's fate.
Book 3: By the way, the friend Athena is impersonating is called Mentor. I wonder if that's where the word comes from, or if it's just an EXTREME lack of subtlety.
By now they're in Pylos asking Nestor for help. (But first there's a scene in which they have a feast to honor Poseidon. Athena takes a cup and prays to Poseidon, which must be kinda neat for him. I mean, how many gods get prayed to by other gods?) Nestor doesn't know what happened to Odysseus, because he left with Menelaus and Odysseus stayed behind with Agamemnon. Agamemnon, by the way, is TOTES DEAD because while he was gone his wife married this other guy, and the other guy decided to murder Agamemnon when he came back home. Fortunately, Agamemnon's son avenged him. Nestor hopes Telemachus can avenge Odysseus too. "Thanks?" says Telemachus.
Then Nestor sends his son with Telemachus on the journey to Sparta. Athena stays behind.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 11
Book 23: So Patroclus is dead. And now that Hector is also dead, it's time to burn Patroclus' body on a pyre. (Especially since his ghost appeared to Achilles asking to be buried so he can get inside the gates of Hades, before disappearing into the ground "gibbering and whining." Being a ghost appears to suck.) So they burn the body (along with some lambs and 12 captured Trojans, giving the whole thing a creepy human sacrifice vibe)
Then, as part of the funeral celebration, they hold some manly competitions? Horse-racing and wrestling and sprinting and boxing. I imagine it's all very oily and virile. There are some arguments over prizes and some instances of cheating. Also at one point we're told that first prize is a tripod (for burning things over a fire) and second prize is a woman skilled in all of the arts, and then told that first prize is worth 12 oxen and second prize is worth 4 oxen. So...slaves really don't count for much among the Greeks, it seems. Which is disturbing as well.
Book 24: Now it's time for King Priam to come before Achilles asking for mercy and to get back the body of his son Hector. (All of this happens after the gods arrange it.) The king's wife is against it, but he goes anyway and Achilles is moved by the King's plight. It's a weird scene because these two guys who have been part of this huge battle are sitting in a tent together talking about how so many people have died and how life is short and hard, but what are you going to do? Keep on trucking, seems to be the answer.
So Priam ransoms Hector's body, Achilles gives the Trojans 9 battle-less days to properly mourn Hector.
And...that's the end.
No really, that's the end. NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. If I had to write an essay about the Iliad I would give it this title:
WHERE IS THE DAMN WOODEN HORSE?
Then, as part of the funeral celebration, they hold some manly competitions? Horse-racing and wrestling and sprinting and boxing. I imagine it's all very oily and virile. There are some arguments over prizes and some instances of cheating. Also at one point we're told that first prize is a tripod (for burning things over a fire) and second prize is a woman skilled in all of the arts, and then told that first prize is worth 12 oxen and second prize is worth 4 oxen. So...slaves really don't count for much among the Greeks, it seems. Which is disturbing as well.
Book 24: Now it's time for King Priam to come before Achilles asking for mercy and to get back the body of his son Hector. (All of this happens after the gods arrange it.) The king's wife is against it, but he goes anyway and Achilles is moved by the King's plight. It's a weird scene because these two guys who have been part of this huge battle are sitting in a tent together talking about how so many people have died and how life is short and hard, but what are you going to do? Keep on trucking, seems to be the answer.
So Priam ransoms Hector's body, Achilles gives the Trojans 9 battle-less days to properly mourn Hector.
And...that's the end.
No really, that's the end. NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. If I had to write an essay about the Iliad I would give it this title:
WHERE IS THE DAMN WOODEN HORSE?
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 10
Book 20: Not sure what happened here, but either I skipped this book or just didn't write about it the other day when I listened to it, because I definitely didn't hear it this morning. Brief recap from Sparknotes: Zeus tells the gods they can now intervene in the fight if they want, but they all sit down on mountains to watch and see what happens. Achilles fights Aeneas until Poseidon saves him (whisking him away). Then Achilles fights Hector, but not to the death...THIS TIME.
Upon reading the re-cap I definitely remember hearing about the gods choosing seats on the best mountains around Ilium, so I guess I did listen to it and forgot to write about it.
Book 21: Achilles is now on a mission to kill ALL the Trojans. He kills a lot of them in a river, which makes the river (who is a person sometimes?) really mad and he attacks Achilles, but then Hephaestus sets fire to the river and boils it until he stops bothering Achilles.
Back in Godville, Athena lays the smack down on Ares and Aphrodite when they get in a fight about the mortals. Hera does the same for Artemis, who's trying to get Apollo to fight for the humans some more. Poor Artemis. I kind of like her, even though that emotion comes fully from her characterization in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books.
By the end of this book all the Trojans have gotten back into the walls of Troy so Achilles can't smite them any more.
Book 22: There's a lot of bird imagery here. People are compared to black hunting eagles (the strongest bird) and the mountain falcon (the swiftest bird.) So that's something.
When I said ALL of the Trojans were in the wall at the end of the last book, I meant all but Hector, who is still itching for a fight. But then he realizes Achilles is SUPER MAD and runs away from him for a while until Athena tricks him into turning to fight (when she pretends to be his buddy who's going to help him) and then Achilles stabs him.
When Achilles is about to kill him, Hector begs that his body be given to his parents and wife with the phrase: "By your life and knees." Which I kind of like. Or maybe I misheard it.
Either way, Achilles doesn't want any part of that and instead drags him through the dust, intending to feed his body to dogs and vultures. Also the rest of the Achaeans stab him with THEIR spears so he's really super dead.
Upon reading the re-cap I definitely remember hearing about the gods choosing seats on the best mountains around Ilium, so I guess I did listen to it and forgot to write about it.
Book 21: Achilles is now on a mission to kill ALL the Trojans. He kills a lot of them in a river, which makes the river (who is a person sometimes?) really mad and he attacks Achilles, but then Hephaestus sets fire to the river and boils it until he stops bothering Achilles.
Back in Godville, Athena lays the smack down on Ares and Aphrodite when they get in a fight about the mortals. Hera does the same for Artemis, who's trying to get Apollo to fight for the humans some more. Poor Artemis. I kind of like her, even though that emotion comes fully from her characterization in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books.
By the end of this book all the Trojans have gotten back into the walls of Troy so Achilles can't smite them any more.
Book 22: There's a lot of bird imagery here. People are compared to black hunting eagles (the strongest bird) and the mountain falcon (the swiftest bird.) So that's something.
When I said ALL of the Trojans were in the wall at the end of the last book, I meant all but Hector, who is still itching for a fight. But then he realizes Achilles is SUPER MAD and runs away from him for a while until Athena tricks him into turning to fight (when she pretends to be his buddy who's going to help him) and then Achilles stabs him.
When Achilles is about to kill him, Hector begs that his body be given to his parents and wife with the phrase: "By your life and knees." Which I kind of like. Or maybe I misheard it.
Either way, Achilles doesn't want any part of that and instead drags him through the dust, intending to feed his body to dogs and vultures. Also the rest of the Achaeans stab him with THEIR spears so he's really super dead.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 9
Looks like I forgot to post yesterday, but I did listen to two more books.
Brief recaps:
Book 18: Achilles is pretty bummed at the death of his friend, and vows to avenge his death even though it means he will die in battle in turn. First, he makes sure to get Patroclus' body back from the Trojans so they can't feed it to dogs. Because he lent Patroclus his armor, he must find some new armor and his mother Thetis goes to Hephaestus in order to get some new armor made. Armor of the gods, woot.
Book 19: Time to go to war! But first, let's eat! Achilles is against the idea of eating, but Odysseus points out that the men need to eat or fighting in battle will be REALLY hard. Achilles still won't eat (though he agrees that the men can) so Zeus fills his stomach with nectar and ambrosia.
Brief recaps:
Book 18: Achilles is pretty bummed at the death of his friend, and vows to avenge his death even though it means he will die in battle in turn. First, he makes sure to get Patroclus' body back from the Trojans so they can't feed it to dogs. Because he lent Patroclus his armor, he must find some new armor and his mother Thetis goes to Hephaestus in order to get some new armor made. Armor of the gods, woot.
Book 19: Time to go to war! But first, let's eat! Achilles is against the idea of eating, but Odysseus points out that the men need to eat or fighting in battle will be REALLY hard. Achilles still won't eat (though he agrees that the men can) so Zeus fills his stomach with nectar and ambrosia.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 8
Let's talk about metaphors. Homer likes to use image-based ones (oral tradition thing, I assume) but what I really like is how he belabors them. For instance, when the Greeks are bearing away the body of Patroclus, the Trojans "flew after them like hounds attacking a wounded boar at the lieu of a band of young huntsmen."
These days we might leave it at that, letting the reader imagine what that means, but Homer goes on to explain what he means: "For a while the hounds fly at him as though they would tear him in pieces. But now and again he turns on them in a fury, scaring and scattering them in all directions. Even so did the Trojans for a while charge in a body, striking with sword and with spears pointed at both the ends, but when the two Ajaxes faced them and stood at bay they were turned pale."
I guess this also has to do with what we think of as "good storytelling" or "good literature" these days. The rule is generally "Show don't tell." But I think that sometimes comes at the expense of enjoyment. Explication can be beneficial!
I recently saw a quote from Donna Tartt that said "The first duty of the novelist is to entertain. It is a moral duty. People who read your books are sick, sad, traveling, in the hospital waiting room while someone is dying. Books are written by the alone for the alone."
The question is how to do that. Hmmmmm.
Book 16: Here's the part of the story I know best. Patroclus goes to Achilles and berates him a little for letting his anger stand in the way of helping their friends. Then he asks if he can take Achilles armor and the Myrmidons (Myrmidons?) and go fight, to which Achilles says "Sure, just don't get carried away in the heat of battle and try to kill Hector or sack Troy, because that's MY JOB!" (Patroclus doesn't say "Well, then go DO IT, jerkwad." But he probably thinks it.)
Patroclus goes into battle and the Greeks see this Achilles-looking guy and get all excited, and the battle turns in favor of the Greeks. Patroclus is a mad-man, killing 27 Trojans at a time, crushing their brains, stabbing their shoulders, all sorts of death raining down. He even kills Sarpedon, a son of Zeus it seems. But then he gets a little battle crazed? And tries to take Troy and kill Hector? So Apollo smacks him in the head, dazing him, and Hector stabs him in the gut. Bye-bye Patroclus.
Book 17: Now Hector gloats a lot and takes Achilles' armor, and everyone starts fighting over Patroclus' body. This chapter is filled with the back and forth, the gods get involved a little (Apollo and Athena, each to their chosen side) and the Trojans fight their way back towards the Greek ships.
That's all I got for ya there.
These days we might leave it at that, letting the reader imagine what that means, but Homer goes on to explain what he means: "For a while the hounds fly at him as though they would tear him in pieces. But now and again he turns on them in a fury, scaring and scattering them in all directions. Even so did the Trojans for a while charge in a body, striking with sword and with spears pointed at both the ends, but when the two Ajaxes faced them and stood at bay they were turned pale."
I guess this also has to do with what we think of as "good storytelling" or "good literature" these days. The rule is generally "Show don't tell." But I think that sometimes comes at the expense of enjoyment. Explication can be beneficial!
I recently saw a quote from Donna Tartt that said "The first duty of the novelist is to entertain. It is a moral duty. People who read your books are sick, sad, traveling, in the hospital waiting room while someone is dying. Books are written by the alone for the alone."
The question is how to do that. Hmmmmm.
Book 16: Here's the part of the story I know best. Patroclus goes to Achilles and berates him a little for letting his anger stand in the way of helping their friends. Then he asks if he can take Achilles armor and the Myrmidons (Myrmidons?) and go fight, to which Achilles says "Sure, just don't get carried away in the heat of battle and try to kill Hector or sack Troy, because that's MY JOB!" (Patroclus doesn't say "Well, then go DO IT, jerkwad." But he probably thinks it.)
Patroclus goes into battle and the Greeks see this Achilles-looking guy and get all excited, and the battle turns in favor of the Greeks. Patroclus is a mad-man, killing 27 Trojans at a time, crushing their brains, stabbing their shoulders, all sorts of death raining down. He even kills Sarpedon, a son of Zeus it seems. But then he gets a little battle crazed? And tries to take Troy and kill Hector? So Apollo smacks him in the head, dazing him, and Hector stabs him in the gut. Bye-bye Patroclus.
Book 17: Now Hector gloats a lot and takes Achilles' armor, and everyone starts fighting over Patroclus' body. This chapter is filled with the back and forth, the gods get involved a little (Apollo and Athena, each to their chosen side) and the Trojans fight their way back towards the Greek ships.
That's all I got for ya there.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 7
End of Book 13: Fighting, fighting, more fighting. A bunch of Trojans died. A bunch MORE Greeks died and the Trojans are getting pretty near the ships. But at this point everyone on both sides is kinda bummed because their friends keep dying.
Book 14: Here is where I think it gets interesting: Back to the gods! Hera decides she's going to trick Zeus into sexytimes to give Poseidon time to help the Greeks. She gets Sleep to help her (even though last time he did that, Zeus was SO ANGRY) and she goes to mount Ida, after borrowing Aphrodite's lust-inducing girdle in which all her charms are sewed, and tells Zeus she's just passing through on the way to their parents' house. (Oceanus? I'd never heard of the guy.) Zeus says "Hey baby, why don't you postpone your visit while we have some sexytimes?" And Hera says "Okay, sure!" at which point he surrounds them in a golden cloud and she puts him to sleep.
Back on the ground, Poseidon rallies the Greeks and the Trojans start dying en mass.
At some point the Greeks switch up their armor, giving the best armor to the most valiant. I'd hate to be the guy with the awesome shield (which is all that's keeping me alive) informed I've gotta give it to Ajax and I'll get a plank of wood in return.
Book 15: At this point Zeus wakes up and is, as expected, PISSED OFF. But he tells Hera that if she'll just do what he says, it'll all be okay. He's going to fulfill his promise to Thetis and give Achilles some glory, which means Patroclus is going to fight and be killed by Hector, Achilles is going to avenge him by killing Hector, and it'll all be peachy. Basically, he gives away the ending.
Back on the ground Apollo heals Hector (who was smashed by a big rock in the last book) and the Trojans rally one more time and are thisclose to the Greek ships, which they plan to set on fire. (Zeus is waiting until this happens to turn the tide of war and bring Achilles into the fray.)
We're very much in gods-using-men-as-playthings territory.
Book 14: Here is where I think it gets interesting: Back to the gods! Hera decides she's going to trick Zeus into sexytimes to give Poseidon time to help the Greeks. She gets Sleep to help her (even though last time he did that, Zeus was SO ANGRY) and she goes to mount Ida, after borrowing Aphrodite's lust-inducing girdle in which all her charms are sewed, and tells Zeus she's just passing through on the way to their parents' house. (Oceanus? I'd never heard of the guy.) Zeus says "Hey baby, why don't you postpone your visit while we have some sexytimes?" And Hera says "Okay, sure!" at which point he surrounds them in a golden cloud and she puts him to sleep.
Back on the ground, Poseidon rallies the Greeks and the Trojans start dying en mass.
At some point the Greeks switch up their armor, giving the best armor to the most valiant. I'd hate to be the guy with the awesome shield (which is all that's keeping me alive) informed I've gotta give it to Ajax and I'll get a plank of wood in return.
Book 15: At this point Zeus wakes up and is, as expected, PISSED OFF. But he tells Hera that if she'll just do what he says, it'll all be okay. He's going to fulfill his promise to Thetis and give Achilles some glory, which means Patroclus is going to fight and be killed by Hector, Achilles is going to avenge him by killing Hector, and it'll all be peachy. Basically, he gives away the ending.
Back on the ground Apollo heals Hector (who was smashed by a big rock in the last book) and the Trojans rally one more time and are thisclose to the Greek ships, which they plan to set on fire. (Zeus is waiting until this happens to turn the tide of war and bring Achilles into the fray.)
We're very much in gods-using-men-as-playthings territory.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 6
Can we talk about the Cretins? People from Crete are called Cretins (maybe Crete-ans? I dunno, I'm listening to it) but it usually makes me wonder...why did "Cretin" become a euphemism for uncivilized dolt? Maybe it has nothing to do with Crete. I should look into that. Later, maybe.
End of Book 11: They finally get around to talking to Patroclus and asking him to persuade Achilles to help. Patroclus is all "but I can only do what Achilles tells me" and they're all like "EVERYONE IS HURT AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIIIEEEE!" And so Patroclus goes off to do whatever he's going to do. (It's unclear in the book at this point, but I KNOW ALREADY, BOOYA!)
Book 12: Apparently the Greeks built a moat and a wall to protect their ships, but they didn't sacrifice to the gods when they did it, so Zeus and Poseidon decide to knock them down. Poseidon reroutes some rivers to wash it out, and Zeus does some stuff too. I forget.
But all that happens later (foreshadowing!)
For now the Trojans are right at the door of the Greeks, banging on the wall, and Zeus is showing mega-favoritism to the Trojans which pisses off Poseidon, who decides to rally the Greeks. But only in secret, because Zeus is a big bully.
Sidenote: I did not realize that "bite the dust" was a Roman phrase. In this book people are "biting the dust" left and right. It's kind of distracting, because "Another one bites the dust" starts in my head every time I hear the phrase.
Also, I took the time to record the actual phrase used when someone dies (when it's not "bite the dust" or "a fog comes over his eyes"): "His armor rang rattling 'round him as he fell heavily to the ground."
I used my phone's speech-to-text feature to record myself saying that as I walked, and it was transcribed as: "His armor ring rattling around him as fell happily to the ground." Gives it a very "Love not war" vibe.
According to Sparknotes, someone got showered with blood by Zeus during this book. I...must have missed that.
Beginning of Book 13: Now there's more fighting and dying and regrouping and discussing of what happens next. Poseidon's helping out the Greeks (Achaeans) while Zeus takes a little break.
End of Book 11: They finally get around to talking to Patroclus and asking him to persuade Achilles to help. Patroclus is all "but I can only do what Achilles tells me" and they're all like "EVERYONE IS HURT AND WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIIIEEEE!" And so Patroclus goes off to do whatever he's going to do. (It's unclear in the book at this point, but I KNOW ALREADY, BOOYA!)
Book 12: Apparently the Greeks built a moat and a wall to protect their ships, but they didn't sacrifice to the gods when they did it, so Zeus and Poseidon decide to knock them down. Poseidon reroutes some rivers to wash it out, and Zeus does some stuff too. I forget.
But all that happens later (foreshadowing!)
For now the Trojans are right at the door of the Greeks, banging on the wall, and Zeus is showing mega-favoritism to the Trojans which pisses off Poseidon, who decides to rally the Greeks. But only in secret, because Zeus is a big bully.
Sidenote: I did not realize that "bite the dust" was a Roman phrase. In this book people are "biting the dust" left and right. It's kind of distracting, because "Another one bites the dust" starts in my head every time I hear the phrase.
Also, I took the time to record the actual phrase used when someone dies (when it's not "bite the dust" or "a fog comes over his eyes"): "His armor rang rattling 'round him as he fell heavily to the ground."
I used my phone's speech-to-text feature to record myself saying that as I walked, and it was transcribed as: "His armor ring rattling around him as fell happily to the ground." Gives it a very "Love not war" vibe.
According to Sparknotes, someone got showered with blood by Zeus during this book. I...must have missed that.
Beginning of Book 13: Now there's more fighting and dying and regrouping and discussing of what happens next. Poseidon's helping out the Greeks (Achaeans) while Zeus takes a little break.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 5
Book 10: It's nighttime and the Greeks and Trojans are antsy because their camps are so near to each other. The Greeks send Odysseus and Diomed to go spy on the Trojans, and the Trojans send some guy to spy on the Greeks. The two overpower the one, pump him for information, then kill him.
I notice a trend here where the Trojans always beg for their lives (cowardly!) and ask to be taken alive because they can fetch a large ransom.
Also Zeus is on the Trojans side. Maybe this storytelling tradition is why we're often on the side of the underdogs? (Because of Zeus, not because of the life-begging.)
On a side note, Homer may be a biased storyteller.
Book 11: More fighting and death, with occasional fashion interlude. I know that the describe what the people are wearing so that the folks listening to the story (without benefit of a movie starring Brad Pitt) can imagine what they look like. But it still tickles me when the badass warriors are putting on a fashion show while getting ready to fight. (And this purple cloak is DOUBLE-thick, oh look at that skullcap! All the warriors are wearing them these days.)
Also the language is pretty descriptive at times. Like when some folks get their heads chopped off and Homer says "they are more use to vultures than to their wives now."
Harsh!
Anyway, we're not done with book 11. More on that tomorrow.
I notice a trend here where the Trojans always beg for their lives (cowardly!) and ask to be taken alive because they can fetch a large ransom.
Also Zeus is on the Trojans side. Maybe this storytelling tradition is why we're often on the side of the underdogs? (Because of Zeus, not because of the life-begging.)
On a side note, Homer may be a biased storyteller.
Book 11: More fighting and death, with occasional fashion interlude. I know that the describe what the people are wearing so that the folks listening to the story (without benefit of a movie starring Brad Pitt) can imagine what they look like. But it still tickles me when the badass warriors are putting on a fashion show while getting ready to fight. (And this purple cloak is DOUBLE-thick, oh look at that skullcap! All the warriors are wearing them these days.)
Also the language is pretty descriptive at times. Like when some folks get their heads chopped off and Homer says "they are more use to vultures than to their wives now."
Harsh!
Anyway, we're not done with book 11. More on that tomorrow.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 4
I had some extra time and mindless tasks to perform today (cooking, cleaning, that sort of thing) so I listened to 4 more books of the Iliad (6-9).
But a lot of what happens in these books is the tide of war going back and forth, so I don't have a lot of specifics to relate.
Here's what I do have to say (bolstered by the summaries I read on Sparknotes.com):
Book 6: We retreat into the camp of the Trojans for much of this book, showing confrontations between Paris and Hector. Sparknotes says both Hector and Helen berate the cowardly Paris during this part, but I mainly remember the part at the end where Hector and Paris are buddies again and prepare to go kill them some Greeks. Hector also talks to his wife and son here. Humanizing!
Book 7: Time for another man-to-man combat to give us some relief from constant battle. This time it's Hector stepping up to the plate, and although Menelaus is raring to go, it is Ajax who ultimately steps forward. (The strong Ajax, not the other Ajax.) Nobody dies, however, as night falls and apparently there's no dueling at night? Also they decide to take a break the next day so everyone can bury their dead. Holiday!
Book 8: So I don't remember much of this at all, and a lot of it is coming from Sparknotes. Zeus forbids the other gods to take part in the battle, but then takes the side of the Trojans by sending lightning onto the Greeks. Zeus: Kind of a jerk. (Honestly, I do remember mention of lightning, but mostly my brain relates this passage as just a litany of fighting and death.) Then at the end the Trojans who have the upper hand at this point camp outside the Greeks' stronghold with a lot of campfires, to seem all creepy and powerful. (I remember that part too. Imagery!)
Book 9: Agamemnon is mega-bummed and wants to throw in the towel, but is then convinced by advisers to get back in touch with Achilles (remember him? greatest warrior around?) and give him back the slave-girl he stole and give him some horses and junk. Achilles accepts his visitors (with best-bud Patroclus playing the part of butler) from the Greeks, but says he'd still rather not help, even though those are some pretty sweet horses.
----------------------------------------
Now we're getting to the part I've actually read about in a couple of other books. Patroclus is going to ::SPOILER ALERT:: fight in Achilles' stead and get killed by Hector. Achilles, mad with rage, will then go to fight and kill Hector to avenge Patroclus. Then he'll drag Hector's body around behind his horse, disrespecting the corpse. King Priam will come to camp and humbly beg for his son's body back.
The story of Achilles' conference with Priam is told in the book Ransom by David Malouf. It extends the encounter into a novella, plumbing the depths of grief and shared humanity.
The entire story of Achilles and Patroclus is told in the more recent Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which rewrites the story a little, imagining the two in what starts as a teenage romance, and then turns into a tragic love story after a few years on the front of the Trojan War. All of the Iliad thus far is related in Miller's book, excepting the lists of names and all of the ins and outs of the battles.
I can kind of see why these authors want to look at these characters and situations because the rest of this is turning into a snooze-fest.
But a lot of what happens in these books is the tide of war going back and forth, so I don't have a lot of specifics to relate.
Here's what I do have to say (bolstered by the summaries I read on Sparknotes.com):
Book 6: We retreat into the camp of the Trojans for much of this book, showing confrontations between Paris and Hector. Sparknotes says both Hector and Helen berate the cowardly Paris during this part, but I mainly remember the part at the end where Hector and Paris are buddies again and prepare to go kill them some Greeks. Hector also talks to his wife and son here. Humanizing!
Book 7: Time for another man-to-man combat to give us some relief from constant battle. This time it's Hector stepping up to the plate, and although Menelaus is raring to go, it is Ajax who ultimately steps forward. (The strong Ajax, not the other Ajax.) Nobody dies, however, as night falls and apparently there's no dueling at night? Also they decide to take a break the next day so everyone can bury their dead. Holiday!
Book 8: So I don't remember much of this at all, and a lot of it is coming from Sparknotes. Zeus forbids the other gods to take part in the battle, but then takes the side of the Trojans by sending lightning onto the Greeks. Zeus: Kind of a jerk. (Honestly, I do remember mention of lightning, but mostly my brain relates this passage as just a litany of fighting and death.) Then at the end the Trojans who have the upper hand at this point camp outside the Greeks' stronghold with a lot of campfires, to seem all creepy and powerful. (I remember that part too. Imagery!)
Book 9: Agamemnon is mega-bummed and wants to throw in the towel, but is then convinced by advisers to get back in touch with Achilles (remember him? greatest warrior around?) and give him back the slave-girl he stole and give him some horses and junk. Achilles accepts his visitors (with best-bud Patroclus playing the part of butler) from the Greeks, but says he'd still rather not help, even though those are some pretty sweet horses.
----------------------------------------
Now we're getting to the part I've actually read about in a couple of other books. Patroclus is going to ::SPOILER ALERT:: fight in Achilles' stead and get killed by Hector. Achilles, mad with rage, will then go to fight and kill Hector to avenge Patroclus. Then he'll drag Hector's body around behind his horse, disrespecting the corpse. King Priam will come to camp and humbly beg for his son's body back.
The story of Achilles' conference with Priam is told in the book Ransom by David Malouf. It extends the encounter into a novella, plumbing the depths of grief and shared humanity.
The entire story of Achilles and Patroclus is told in the more recent Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which rewrites the story a little, imagining the two in what starts as a teenage romance, and then turns into a tragic love story after a few years on the front of the Trojan War. All of the Iliad thus far is related in Miller's book, excepting the lists of names and all of the ins and outs of the battles.
I can kind of see why these authors want to look at these characters and situations because the rest of this is turning into a snooze-fest.
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 3
Paris and Menelaus face off, and Menelaus has the upper hand when Aphrodite butts in and steals Paris away in a cloud. Menelaus is VERY put out and demands Helen back. Aphrodite, meanwhile, is urging Helen to go see Paris in his bedchamber, because he's all hot and muscly. (No really.) Helen balks because she saw the whole battle and knows Menelaus would have killed Paris, but Aphrodite calls her a "bold hussy" and makes her go anyway.
Athena's getting bored, so she encourages a Trojan to shoot an arrow at Menelaus, assuring him that it's DEFINITELY THE BEST PLAN. Of course, she then keeps the arrow from killing Menelaus. But the attempt on his life enrages the Greeks so they all start fighting. This begins a section of the story in which lots of people die, their armor rattling and clanging to the ground, or mists covering their eyes. Often they are stabbed in the nipple or the groin, but sometimes in the mouth with the steel among their teeth. Yeah, it's a festive passage. These people have names, but I do not remember them.
Also there's an interlude on Olympus where Zeus and the gods are discussing what's going on. The gods are increasingly involved in the battle at this point, and it's interesting the way the story is told that sometimes the gods can be some sort of metaphor or embodiment of a human quality, and other times they're definitely doing things.
Like, Ares goes around rabble-rousing in the Trojan ranks "in the form" of this other guy. So the story could be that this other guy just got the spirit and riled up the troops and people later said that Ares was totally their in that guy's form.
But Aphrodite at one point gets stabbed in the hand by a Greek (who Athena clued in as to the best Aphrodite-stabbing technique), and so...that's not very metaphorical? At the time Aphrodite was also saving her son from the battle. Because he had been crushed by a boulder, if I recall.
So here we are. People are stab-stabbing away at each other, the gods are running around encouraging them in the stabbing, and Zeus and Hera are sniping away at each other on Olympus.
This is the end of Book 3 and the entirety of books 4 and 5.
Athena's getting bored, so she encourages a Trojan to shoot an arrow at Menelaus, assuring him that it's DEFINITELY THE BEST PLAN. Of course, she then keeps the arrow from killing Menelaus. But the attempt on his life enrages the Greeks so they all start fighting. This begins a section of the story in which lots of people die, their armor rattling and clanging to the ground, or mists covering their eyes. Often they are stabbed in the nipple or the groin, but sometimes in the mouth with the steel among their teeth. Yeah, it's a festive passage. These people have names, but I do not remember them.
Also there's an interlude on Olympus where Zeus and the gods are discussing what's going on. The gods are increasingly involved in the battle at this point, and it's interesting the way the story is told that sometimes the gods can be some sort of metaphor or embodiment of a human quality, and other times they're definitely doing things.
Like, Ares goes around rabble-rousing in the Trojan ranks "in the form" of this other guy. So the story could be that this other guy just got the spirit and riled up the troops and people later said that Ares was totally their in that guy's form.
But Aphrodite at one point gets stabbed in the hand by a Greek (who Athena clued in as to the best Aphrodite-stabbing technique), and so...that's not very metaphorical? At the time Aphrodite was also saving her son from the battle. Because he had been crushed by a boulder, if I recall.
So here we are. People are stab-stabbing away at each other, the gods are running around encouraging them in the stabbing, and Zeus and Hera are sniping away at each other on Olympus.
This is the end of Book 3 and the entirety of books 4 and 5.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 2
So Agamemnon receives the dream from Zeus that tells him to fight the Trojans NOW NOW NOW and he is going to do that but first...decides to test his men by telling them he got a dream saying they should go home? (This is the WORST plan. I don't know what is going on in Agamemnon's brain.)
His men, being sane and wanting less spears in their gullets, are all about this and start heading for the ships. But Hera notices and tells Athena that maybe she should do something (do it yourself, Hera!) and Athena goes down and mentions to Odysseus that maybe this journey home is a cowardly and unwise move. (Odysseus hadn't been packing up, he'd been sitting in contemplation or something.)
So Odysseus goes among the men and says "HEY GUYS. GET BACK TO WORK, IDIOTS!" and they agree that being cowardly isn't the way to be, plus there was that prophecy about how they'd be fighting there for 9 years, and in the 10th they'd win. "It's only been 9 months, guys. Seriously," says Odysseus. (Paraphrase.)
Then it's time to get ready for battle, which means it's time to give a listing of who all is there. There are a LOT OF PEOPLE THERE. I was listening to names and places for twenty minutes or more. Takeaways: There are two guys named Ajax, one of whom is the BEST FIGHTER after Achilles (who is still sitting this one out), and the other one of whom is not. So sucks to be that guy. There may or may not be two places with the appellation "Haunt of the doves." I hope there ARE two because I like to imagine the competing tourist industries. Like the Original Crab Shacks at the beach or Original Pizza places in New York.
Now everyone's ready, and we head over to Troy where they're also getting ready for battle. They name off some of those guys (still a lot, but way less) and Iris speaks to Priam telling him to give a better pep talk to the men. They head out to get ready and are all ready to fight when Paris (kidnapper of Helen) challenges anyone to a fight for the right to keep Helen. Menelaus, Helen's husband, says "HELL YES!" at which point Paris backs down a little, but Hector (best fighter of the Trojans, son of King Priam) says "Dude, don't be a wuss. I wish you'd never been born! You ruin everything!" and Paris pulls it together and decides that he'll fight like he said he would.
They get King Priam to agree to the terms (and tell the Greeks to stop throwing rocks at the Trojans) and also let Helen watch. Helen, by the way, has been sitting in her room embroidering cloth with scenes of the battles to be fought for her. Isn't that nice?
There are also some sacrifices of lambs during all of this.
In case you're wondering, this is all the end of book 2 and part of book 3.
His men, being sane and wanting less spears in their gullets, are all about this and start heading for the ships. But Hera notices and tells Athena that maybe she should do something (do it yourself, Hera!) and Athena goes down and mentions to Odysseus that maybe this journey home is a cowardly and unwise move. (Odysseus hadn't been packing up, he'd been sitting in contemplation or something.)
So Odysseus goes among the men and says "HEY GUYS. GET BACK TO WORK, IDIOTS!" and they agree that being cowardly isn't the way to be, plus there was that prophecy about how they'd be fighting there for 9 years, and in the 10th they'd win. "It's only been 9 months, guys. Seriously," says Odysseus. (Paraphrase.)
Then it's time to get ready for battle, which means it's time to give a listing of who all is there. There are a LOT OF PEOPLE THERE. I was listening to names and places for twenty minutes or more. Takeaways: There are two guys named Ajax, one of whom is the BEST FIGHTER after Achilles (who is still sitting this one out), and the other one of whom is not. So sucks to be that guy. There may or may not be two places with the appellation "Haunt of the doves." I hope there ARE two because I like to imagine the competing tourist industries. Like the Original Crab Shacks at the beach or Original Pizza places in New York.
Now everyone's ready, and we head over to Troy where they're also getting ready for battle. They name off some of those guys (still a lot, but way less) and Iris speaks to Priam telling him to give a better pep talk to the men. They head out to get ready and are all ready to fight when Paris (kidnapper of Helen) challenges anyone to a fight for the right to keep Helen. Menelaus, Helen's husband, says "HELL YES!" at which point Paris backs down a little, but Hector (best fighter of the Trojans, son of King Priam) says "Dude, don't be a wuss. I wish you'd never been born! You ruin everything!" and Paris pulls it together and decides that he'll fight like he said he would.
They get King Priam to agree to the terms (and tell the Greeks to stop throwing rocks at the Trojans) and also let Helen watch. Helen, by the way, has been sitting in her room embroidering cloth with scenes of the battles to be fought for her. Isn't that nice?
There are also some sacrifices of lambs during all of this.
In case you're wondering, this is all the end of book 2 and part of book 3.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Epic Summer: The Iliad, post 1
So I've already walked today (and as I did I finished The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman). But I've got the day off work, and I'm roasting some vegetables to eat at work over the next few days, which means peeling and chopping which = boring.
Perfect time to get started on my epic summer! (Especially because I've gotta be at work by 8 the next two days, and I generally can't get up early enough to walk on my 8 a.m. workdays.)
So I began listening to The Iliad.
First off, this thing doesn't start with an explanation of what's going on. I don't know if they'll go back and discuss it, but it starts off with Achilles and Agamemnon fighting about Agamemnon's refusal to give a priest his daughter back. (The daughter was captured as a sort of P.O.W., and Agamemnon wants to get busy with her. He says he likes her better than his wife, Clytemnestra, which...is mid-life-crisisy?) Anyway, because Agamemnon didn't give back the priest's daughter (even though the priest came and offered a nice ransom for her) the god Apollo is PISSED OFF and starts smiting the Greeks with shiny silver arrows and pestilence. Bad news bears. Achilles points out how Agamemnon is stupid, and Agamemnon says "Fine, I'll give the priest his daughter back, but I'm taking YOUR slave girl instead." Achilles is all slack-jawed and says, "Fine, see if I fight in YOUR war anymore jackass!"
Achilles, like an asshat, then asks his goddess mother Thetis to ask Zeus to side with the Trojans in the war. Teaching Agamemnon a lesson! (And killing a bunch of people, which Achilles doesn't seem to mind so much.) Thetis does this, even though it pisses off Hera, and when Hera starts complaining to Zeus about it he basically says he's going to smack her around, which pretty disturbing in terms of modern day gender relations, and her son Hephaesteus?* tries to make her see reason by pointing out that last time HE got in Zeus' way the top dawg of Olympus threw him out of heaven by his heel, wherein he fell to earth, which took a LONG TIME.
Currently, Zeus is fulfilling his pledge to Thetis (who is a sea-nymph, which is pretty cool) by sending Agamemnon a dream telling him to attack the city.
He does this by saying "Hey, dream, come here!" And then a dream comes to him and he tells it what to say, and then it goes to Agamemnon to repeat the message. Being a god must be mega-convenient.
* - These names, guys, they are hard to figure out when you're listening to it, but I'm pretty sure I remember that name from reading the Percy Jackson books. Yeah, I get my Greek mythology from pre-teen lit. Watcha gonna do about it? Actually I also got some of it from a recent reading of Song of Achilles which is a book detailing the love of Achilles and Patroclus, imagining that instead of just being friends they are, you know...FRIENDS. Anyway, it's amazing how much of this story is just part of our cultural conversation even after a lot of centuries.
Perfect time to get started on my epic summer! (Especially because I've gotta be at work by 8 the next two days, and I generally can't get up early enough to walk on my 8 a.m. workdays.)
So I began listening to The Iliad.
First off, this thing doesn't start with an explanation of what's going on. I don't know if they'll go back and discuss it, but it starts off with Achilles and Agamemnon fighting about Agamemnon's refusal to give a priest his daughter back. (The daughter was captured as a sort of P.O.W., and Agamemnon wants to get busy with her. He says he likes her better than his wife, Clytemnestra, which...is mid-life-crisisy?) Anyway, because Agamemnon didn't give back the priest's daughter (even though the priest came and offered a nice ransom for her) the god Apollo is PISSED OFF and starts smiting the Greeks with shiny silver arrows and pestilence. Bad news bears. Achilles points out how Agamemnon is stupid, and Agamemnon says "Fine, I'll give the priest his daughter back, but I'm taking YOUR slave girl instead." Achilles is all slack-jawed and says, "Fine, see if I fight in YOUR war anymore jackass!"
Achilles, like an asshat, then asks his goddess mother Thetis to ask Zeus to side with the Trojans in the war. Teaching Agamemnon a lesson! (And killing a bunch of people, which Achilles doesn't seem to mind so much.) Thetis does this, even though it pisses off Hera, and when Hera starts complaining to Zeus about it he basically says he's going to smack her around, which pretty disturbing in terms of modern day gender relations, and her son Hephaesteus?* tries to make her see reason by pointing out that last time HE got in Zeus' way the top dawg of Olympus threw him out of heaven by his heel, wherein he fell to earth, which took a LONG TIME.
Currently, Zeus is fulfilling his pledge to Thetis (who is a sea-nymph, which is pretty cool) by sending Agamemnon a dream telling him to attack the city.
He does this by saying "Hey, dream, come here!" And then a dream comes to him and he tells it what to say, and then it goes to Agamemnon to repeat the message. Being a god must be mega-convenient.
* - These names, guys, they are hard to figure out when you're listening to it, but I'm pretty sure I remember that name from reading the Percy Jackson books. Yeah, I get my Greek mythology from pre-teen lit. Watcha gonna do about it? Actually I also got some of it from a recent reading of Song of Achilles which is a book detailing the love of Achilles and Patroclus, imagining that instead of just being friends they are, you know...FRIENDS. Anyway, it's amazing how much of this story is just part of our cultural conversation even after a lot of centuries.
Epic Summer: The Iliad, The Odyssey, Ulysses
Last summer I started walking in the mornings before work, which I'm still doing fairly regularly. (Go me.)
At first I was listening to music, but because I'm not typically a music person (in that I don't follow trends and know about new bands) the work it took to find music that was good and find enough of it that I wouldn't get bored listening to it for an hour every day was just too much. (Find me a fainting couch!)
That's when I started listening to audiobooks while walking. I already listened to them on the way to work, so this means I'm doing double time on my reading (listening) in addition to the other books that I'm reading with my eyeballs. (My reading goal of 100 books is in the bag this year.) Fortunately my library has a pretty good collection of downloadable audiobooks (or CD audiobooks if I take the time to copy them onto my computer and transfer them to my MP3 player), so I was learning things and having a good time while getting some physical activity in. (Go me: redux.)
This weekend at work I was looking for my next downloadable audiobook and I saw someone had just returned Ulysses by James Joyce. And I figured...hey, I'll give it a shot. Not like I'm ever going to read the thing, right? Then my boss pointed out that it's structured around the story of the Odyssey, and I figured maybe I should listen to that first. But if I'm going to do that, then why not listen to the Iliad as well?
And so.
I decided to embark upon an EPIC SUMMER full of Trojans and Monsters and ending with...DUBLIN. Will I survive? Will I quit after one day of some guy droning on about how Achilles thinks Agamemnon is a jerk?
Time will tell.
At first I was listening to music, but because I'm not typically a music person (in that I don't follow trends and know about new bands) the work it took to find music that was good and find enough of it that I wouldn't get bored listening to it for an hour every day was just too much. (Find me a fainting couch!)
That's when I started listening to audiobooks while walking. I already listened to them on the way to work, so this means I'm doing double time on my reading (listening) in addition to the other books that I'm reading with my eyeballs. (My reading goal of 100 books is in the bag this year.) Fortunately my library has a pretty good collection of downloadable audiobooks (or CD audiobooks if I take the time to copy them onto my computer and transfer them to my MP3 player), so I was learning things and having a good time while getting some physical activity in. (Go me: redux.)
This weekend at work I was looking for my next downloadable audiobook and I saw someone had just returned Ulysses by James Joyce. And I figured...hey, I'll give it a shot. Not like I'm ever going to read the thing, right? Then my boss pointed out that it's structured around the story of the Odyssey, and I figured maybe I should listen to that first. But if I'm going to do that, then why not listen to the Iliad as well?
And so.
I decided to embark upon an EPIC SUMMER full of Trojans and Monsters and ending with...DUBLIN. Will I survive? Will I quit after one day of some guy droning on about how Achilles thinks Agamemnon is a jerk?
Time will tell.
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