The Iliad: Overview Flashcards
Where is Homer from?
Ionia, Turkey
Significance of Ionia
region of intellectualism, where Eastern/Western cultures met)
How were these epic poems handed down from generation to generation? What is this technique generally called?
Orally passed down → oral tradition
What supposedly caused the Trojan War?
Paris’s seduction and theft of Helen from Agamemnon (Paris is his wife)
What might have been a likelier cause?
Dispute over trade routes
When did the war take place?
1600-1200 BCE
The other epic poem that serves as the sequel to The Iliad is …
The Odyssey
The characters in Homer’s epic poems are either humans or Gods. What was the purpose of having Gods in the story?
Sets an example of lifestyle for the humans
The performers and writers placed lots of repetition in epic poems. Why?
Elevated organization and increased comprehension
How was Homer blind?
Inner > physical sight
How was the Iliad written?
Oral tradition → Homer wrote it
Epic format means?
Long, novel length poem about heroic journey, in media res
what does Homeric Epithets mean?
quick, economic descriptions (ie. “Brilliant Achilles”)
Who is Achilles son of?
King Peleus + Thetis
Why did Eris crash who’s wedding? What did she do?
Was not invited to King Peleus and Thetis’s wedding + threw apple into wedding crowd that said “For the fairest one” → Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite went to claim it
