Greek Terminology of The Iliad

Aristeia

Excellence

Prowess as a warrior

Aristos – to be the best; man of excellence

Arete - excellence in battle, sport or council

Hubris

Excess pride or arrogance; this was Odysseus’ flaw at the beginning of his journey home. Why? What did he do?

And how was he changed by the end?

May show disrespect for gods and man (or their relatives)

Kleos

Glory

Often implying fame or immortality (in memory of others)

Achieved as a result of one’s time (acts of excellence meriting honor)

Polis

A social community or city-state

Troy as an example

It is a complex hierarchical society built around the notion of citizenship

Legal equality, male citizenship

Temple of Apollo, Thermon

City States - Polis

Xenia and Philos Hospitality

Related to the tie between guests and hosts

Involves obligation and giving of gifts

Remember when this happened in The Odyssey?

Philos – friendship, used particularly to indicate family and friendship ties with those of the same group, usually implies explicit or implicit expectations of reciprocity

Timepronounced “tee-may”

Honor

Value

Public acknowledgement of one’s value, glory through awarding prizes

Acclaim for achieving excellence in battle, sport of council

Personal time can conflict with the time of one’s community

Epic Poem

a LONG narrative poem (it tells a story) on a great and serious subject that

- is told in an elevated, formal style (fancy words, very serious, almost ceremonial)

- has a heroic or quasi-divine character on whose actions depend the fate of something huge like a nation or the whole human race or the universe.

Traditional epics developed from the Oral Tradition, which means historical and legendary tales passed down through generations of story-telling.

They are often during a period of expansion and warfare.

Classical Epic poems: the Illiad, the Odyssey; Anglo-Saxon epic: Beowulf

Later ones written in deliberate imitation of those above: Virgil’s Aeneid, Milton’s Paradise Lost

There are all sorts of rules/conventions these types of tales must follow:

hero has to be of great national or cosmic importance. In the Greek ones, he is usually related to the gods somehow (Achilles, Aeneas)

the setting must be VAST. So the hero will often go on a long journey that takes years, during which he visits many different lands.

There must be superhuman deeds in battle (Achilles, Odysseus, Beowulf)

Gods and/or supernatural folks take an active interest or even participate and offer advice

Rules for the Writing Style

narrator begins with an invocation to the muse. He’s asking for inspiration so he can tell his tale better. There are 9 muses; one of them (Calliope) is the muse of epic poetry.

story begins in medias res, in the middle of the action, and then the narrative has flashbacks to catch up to where you began, and then it moves on from there.

Other Elements of Style That You’ll Notice:

Epics reflect the important conventions of their time, like the importance of the patriarchal lineage (who’s your daddy?) or xenia, Greek hospitality

Because these stories were performed, there are lots of repetitive clues and wordplay to keep the characters straight, like Homeric Epithets (Grey-eyed goddess…what else?)