Classical and Biblical: Extra Reading Diary

For the last assignment of the weekdays, I have chased to read the first half of Homer's The Iliad. And although I am stopping now to do the assignment for the week, I have enjoyed it so much that I am about to go and finish the rest of the reading. This is an epic story of the the Trojan War, full of heartbreak, valor, pride, idiocy, etc. I honestly found it challenging to pick just a few examples from the text that were my favorite, but alas, I must!

Perhaps the most impactful quote from the story for me was from The Embassy to Achilles. In it, there is an embassy coming to Achilles to persuade him to come to battle on behalf of the Greeks, for the Trojans were destroying their ranks. Achilles heart is jaded with pride, and the embassy reminds him of his own father's admonition:

"My son, the gods will give you strength and will make you mighty in battle, if it be their will; but there is something which you must do yourself: keep down the pride of your heart, for gentleness is better than pride; also keep from strife, so shall the Greeks, both young and old, love you and honor you"

This example is so closely linked to Biblical ideologies it fits so perfectly with this unit! This quote echoes that of one of Solomon's Proverbs:

Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. 18:12

Achilles's father, Perseus, gave wise advice to his son. It is so neat to see the correlation between Christian roots and classical Greek mythology deposited into little parts of each of the texts.

Another favorite was when Achilles is still talking to the embassy and he says, "Once I thought fame was a better thing than life; but now my mind has changed..." in The Embassy to Achilles (cont.) Although Achilles has many issues of pride, anger, judgement, etc. It was anti-characteristic of him to have the thought of fame being of low value to him. It is especially interesting in light of what he says later in The Deeds and Death of Patroclus, where Achilles is speaking to Patroclus. "But when you have done this, come back and fight no more with the Trojans, for it is my business to conquer them, and you must not take my glory from me..."It is interesting to see how I thought for one moment that Achilles might be learning that fame isn't everything, yet he is still jealous for glory.

These quotes are just a few of the highlights to me of this long tale. What I love most about it, and what is contrary, in my opinion, of the last reading I did, is that this story flows. It flows like the long mane of Patroclus's immortal chariot horses. I felt connected the story, as if I was there experiencing it all. Every committed reader knows that this is the mark of a good work!

This post is a bit long, but I just got so excited! Just for grins, here is a picture of the wrathful Achilles:

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons