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1.29.2016

Iliad: Week Three Discussion (Book 3)

Book Three: Events and Observations

- Encouraged by his dream, Agamemnon lines up his army, and Troy follows suit

-Hector accuses Paris of starting the war. Paris defends himself, but to placate him, offers to challenge the Greeks to a duel

-A challenge is made, and Menelaus accepts. Both sides take an oath that whoever wins get Helen, and then will leave each other alone in peace.

-Helen, notified by the gods, comes out to watch the duel between her past and current husbands. Homer uses this as a chance to give the Trojans’ views of the Greeks as Helen identifies the Greek warriors for Priam.

-Helen blames herself for the upcoming battle, and expresses regret that she ever left Menelaus.

-The duel begins, and Menelaus is winning. Just as he is about to kill Paris, Aphrodite intervenes and whisks Paris away to safety.

-Aphrodite tries to get Helen to go to Paris. Helen initially refuses, calling him a coward, but Aphrodite uses her power to make Helen fall back in love with him.

-Confused by Paris’ vanishing act, the two armies nonetheless declare Menelaus victor. He is to take Helen back to Greece, and the war will be over.

-Notable Quotation

“Let any parties to this oath who first

calamitously break it have their brains

decanted like these wine-drops on the ground-

they and their children; let their wives be slaves” Fitzgerald, Book 3, lines 357-360


Questions to think about:

-Homer describes the two armies as they prepare for battle. What are the differences between their behavior, and what might this represent?

- Who is/are the villain(s) here? Who is/are the victim(s)?

- Why might Homer split his narrative view between the three groups (gods, Greeks, Trojans)?