Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
On January 9, 2012, we begin our long-anticipated discussion of The Iliad. The more the merrier, and all are welcome to jump in at any time.
We're going to do this differently from other group reads here at MR, given both the length and perceived difficulty of the text and people's commitments to other group reads, as well as their shiny new resolutions which need tending.
We'll start our formal discussion of the first six books in a week, so those who haven't cracked it yet can still take it at an easy pace of about a book a day. I'll post some questions and talking points on January 9, but the thread is open as of now. People should feel free to discuss the book as they're reading it, with any comments, issues or so forth. No need to wait a week. At six books a week, we'll wrap this up in a month, but the timetable can be tweaked in either direction if the consensus calls for it.
After next week's discussion, anyone who wants to be leader in a subsequent week is more than welcome; just let me know.
I think that's it. If I've been unclear about anything, just ask.
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This thread is apparently closed but I finally finished with The Iliad and I wanted to mention what I took from the book.
I was impressed at what a standup fight war was to old blind Homer. It was a lot like factory work: when the sun goes down everyone goes home, eats supper and hits the sack to be ready to get up the next day and go back to work. Given their technology this was probably workable but I'd be very surprised if both sides didn't sent out patrols at night and someone had to police up the bodies which would have been a big operation.
In general, the tactics he describes were pretty much unbelievable. He describes chariots being driven through the opposing force with a driver and an archer who, oddly, is only there to shoot at heros from the opposing side. Of course, the tactic involved is trampling the enemy infantry with a team of horses. I noticed that the one most often killed here was the driver rather than the hero with the bow. That was surely a reasonable counter tactic by the opposing infantry. I realize both Greeks and Trojans lived in aristocratic societies and the hero thing supported the Superman ideal but it was issues like this that stretched my credulity and turned the narrative away from a description of a war into something else.
The only infantry tactic Homer describes is: "There they are! Let's get 'em!" It's seriously hard to believe this from the people who invented the phalanx.
They use gods to explain the irrational fortunes of war rather than looking for the reasons things happen, the source of tactical thinking. It's hard to believe that a commander as incompetent as Agamemnon could keep the loyalty of men in combat far from home. There is nothing in this story to hint at where the Greeks and Trojans acquired discipline.
In the end I had to conclude that The Iliad has little to do with war or history. It seems to be a well written religious tract lying at the heart of Western Civilization. The story involved me and the language, seen through interpreters, was engaging. I read the Lattimore translation on my book reader and listened to the Stephen Mitchell translation on audio working back and forth between the two experiences. I think it works better in aural form but I had to rely on the text version to pick up the details.