Essay #1, Due February 21: The Iliad

Although The lliad is an epic poem of war and violence, its three most detailed scenes are all

talk. Book 1 is built around the argument between Achilles and Agamemnon over how to

compensate Agamemnon for the loss of Chryseis. Book 9 details the debate in which Odysseus,

Phoenix, and Ajax try to persuade Achilles to return to the fight. And Book 24 gives us the

conversation between Priam and Achilles concerning the body of Hector.

Analyze each of these three discussions to establish what the issues and main arguments are in

each case and–what I am particularly interested in how the issues and arguments help us

understand the logic, the psychology, and the moral values of the Greeks and Trojans any or all

of these. Each of these analyses should be about 300 words long. As a conclusion, consider what

we learn about Greek ideas and values from comparing these three scenes. The conclusion

should bring the paper to about 1100-1200 words

Some points to consider:

Each of these scenes depicts a very different sort of talk-

-a bitterly hostile argument

between allies; a persuasive encounter among friends; and a cooperative effort by

enemies to reach an agreed-on outcome. Because of these different purposes, the scenes

may not all illustrate the same points of logic, psychology, and morality.

Your thesis may be that there is a common thread linking the three discussions; or that

your three analyses reveal a single, larger, underlying point; or that by comparing all

three discussions we can identify some contradictions or tensions in the Greek world-view