Homework Responses for Hal Bourne's Greek Myths students.
This page is intended for homework responses for Hal Bourne's Greek Myths students.
When directed to do so by the calendar, please respond to the questions listed below. You can either respond to the question or to one of your peers' comments.
The Iliad is called the Iliad because it is about the story of the War of Troy. True, it is essentially the story of Achilles but I think that he is too absent for the whole book to be named the Achillead. Therefore, the book gets its name from where the story takes place, Illium, which is another name for Troy. I know that the story begins with the rage of Achilles and ends with his death, but I think for a lot of the writing in between, he is greatly just missing in action. The Iliad title encompasses the book a lot better.
While it is true that much of the story follows the path of Achilles, much of the story and war takes place without him. A long period in the first half of the book happens when Achilles is frustrated with Agamemnon for taking his wife. The war takes place for a long time without Achilles for many battles, despite the failures of the Greeks. Furthermore, when Achilles does join the war, while he seems to be the center of the story, killing a huge number of Trojans including Hector, he is no way the greatest or most powerful of characters presented. It is clear that his pride and impulsivity get in the way of his wit. In terms of composedness, he is not the best.
This poem is called the Iliad, as opposed to the Achillead, because Achilles is not the most important part of the story. It is a huge book, involving the complex relationships and trials of many important characters. Achilles begins the book by being furious with Agamemnon, and ends it by dying, but he is not present for much of the fighting in the middle of the epic. During the time he is refusing to fight, other warriors, such as Diomedes, Hector, and Odysseus, win glory for their skills. Just because Achilles has especially noteworthy moments of glory doesn't mean that he deserves to have the entire poem named after him.
The Iliad should not be called Achillead because a huge portion of the epic does not involve Achilles. Even though much of the story is centered around Achilles rage at Agamemnon, Achilles himself rarely appears. The only times we do see Achilles is in the beginning when he argues with Agamemnon, and towards the end after Patroclus dies in battle. Also, because Achilles only appears in the beginning and the end, it makes more sense to name the book the Iliad, which translated means Troy.
Human beings are passionate, angry, reckless, arrogant, sad, intelligent, prideful, selfish, loving and stubborn. I think one of Homer's major purposes in the Iliad is too show these conflicting emotions in people and how they try to deal with them. Achilles' story of how he copes with his wounded pride from losing Briseis, his rage and sadness at the death of Patroclus, and his actions in response are used to demonstrate human emotions. However, his story is not the main point of the Iliad or it otherwise would be called the Achilliead. Achilles is used to show the needs and wants of humans and how it impacts their actions and thinking. There are many other characters in the poem that illustrate emotions like arrogance or fear of human beings, but their stories aren't as significant as Achilles. Even so, their stories help get Homer's point across just the same.
"The Achillead" wouldn't be a fitting title for the poem because Achilles only played a minor part in the story. Even though things started and ended with him, he wasn't present for most of the story. Instead the story was about the War of Troy. According to both Eliza and Wikipedia, Ilium was another name for Troy, the Latin name. I believe Homer named his poem "The Iliad" after Ilium (Troy) because that was the story he hoped to tell. If Achilles had participated in the war throughout the story, a title related to his name might have made sense. Because Achilles did not participate, the poem was named after the city the story took place in.
The Iliad is not called the Achillead because even though the Iliad is supposedly the tale of the “hero”, Achilles, it mainly follows the route of the Trojan War. Achilles, though a prominently mentioned figure throughout the epic, is not actually in many of the battle scene. The poem is based around said scenes, and therefore, the actual importance of Achilles in battle is dulled down. I also think that Achilles does not deserve to have the epic named after him. He acted like a coward and, in my opinion, sometimes didn’t deserve the respect he was getting, much less a poem named after him.
Those who read the epic 'Iliad' and seek to change the name of this wonderfully extensive and engaging poem have missed the story to be found within its pages. The 'Harry Potter' books are titled after their protagonist because no scene there written does not have a direct connection to the life of Harry Potter. But the Iliad? It is a story of love, of loss, of war and blood and death. It is not the story of Achilles, who, though he may be loved by the gods and almost one himself, is not the hero. He is not protected, nor is he highlighted more than another person of his such stature. If anyone, would not the poem be titled after Helen, who is the beginning and ending of things? Or do these oral traditions have no starts or finishes, are they simply told until the last embers have died, to be picked back up in the saddle as the day breaks?
The Iliad is not called the "Achillead" because the Iliad is not only about Achilleas. While Achilleas is a main focus of the story he is no more a focus then the rest of the warriors that made a big impact on the Trojan War. When people are asked what the story the Iliad is about they will most likely and correctly respond with; "an epic outlining the Trojan War." If they were to say: "an epic outlining Achilles' journey during the Trojan War" they would not be correct. They would be correct in some respects because Achilles plays a big role in the war, but not the biggest, and that is why the iliad is not called the Achillead.
The Iliad is called the Iliad not the "Achillead" because the story follows the War of Troy and many different warriors not just Achilleas. Although Achilleas can be seen as the main character or who the story follows it more directly follows the war itself and Achilleas is simply a warrior who is focused on. Achilleas is made out to be the greatest warrior of all time in the Iliad but that also does not mean that the whole epic should be named after him. In my opinion Achilleas is simply a character that is followed and naming the epic after him is like saying it is all about him, which is not true. Some people may disagree with me and may be able to argue the opposite point but I stand strong next to my opinion.
This poem is not called the "Achillead" because it is not only about Achilles. It is called the Iliad because it is centered around the war against Troy which in Greek was called Ilion or Ilias. Although Achilles is a main character in the story, I would not say he is enough of a focus to name the whole epic after just one man. There is much more than one person's story that takes place in the Iliad, which is why I believed it was named the Iliad, after a location of a major battle that encompasses the stories of many people, instead.
Although the beginning specifies the rage of Achilles the majority of the book focuses on the Trojan War. Achilles does ultimately have the winning effect on the war and sways the outcome but he does not even begin to fight until book 20. Most of the time this war hero spends his time enraged and sulking because of Agamemnon. The Iliad is not called the "Achillead" because the epic focuses its efforts on the war in Troy, or Illium. If it were to recount Achilles' life while the war went on then the "Achillead" would be a worthy name. The title of a book usually refers to what happens therein or the main topic. As I stated earlier, this epic does not follow Achilles' life until he loses his dear friend Patroclus. It also does not just end when he dies, it ends when Ilium is won. It is often referred to as the "Song of Ilium", that is what this epic ultimately is. It outlines the struggle of years to win the city. The struggle between Achilles and his pride is only a subplot.
Despite Achilles and his rage playing a major role in the play, many other characters have pivotal roles as well. Agamemnon, Odysseus, the Aentes, Diomedes, Hector, Helen, Paris, and Menelaus are just a few. Had Achilles chosen to fight in the battles as his comrades did, perhaps the epic would be called the Achillead and not the Iliad. The war is being fought while Achilles pouts, and people all around him are earning their glory while he watches from the bench. Since a great portion of the Iliad takes place on the battlefield (due to long metaphors, trash-talking, and extreme descriptions) and Achilles is not there to be witness to it or partake in the action, the epic cannot be called the Achillead.
Although most of the calamities that are inflicted on both the Argives and the Trojans are caused by Achilles, Achilles is not the root of all problems. if Troy never existed, Helen the wife of Menelaus would not have been seduced by Paris. Because of the prophecy Priam the king of Troy gives his son away to another man. Troy is the central connection to nearly everything that happens in Troy.
Also, Achilles was never really present in the book until book eighteen. His presence was never seen in the battlefield, rather the slaughter of the argives was what we saw for the majority of the book. Achilles may be a hero, but he's less honorable than Hector. Nothing should be named after Achilles because he is driven by pride, not by responsibility and honor.
Homer named the book the Iliad because it is a very long book that has a lot of complex characters and issues, all of which Achilles is not a part of. Yes, he is a major part of the book, but the poem is really about the Trojan War as a whole not just the aspects Achilles is involved in. Achilles plays a major role in the beginning and end of the book. The focus in the beginning is on his "rage" although he doesn't actually start fighting and killing scores of people until the very end. By calling the book the Achiliad, it fails to acknowledge the hard work that the Trojans put into the war and that they almost won and only acknowledges Achilles even though he is not the only reason the Greeks ended up winning.
Achilles Is a huge part of the Iliad, yes, but he is not what the book is about. The books focus is on the whole Trojan war. Achilles was important role in the warfare, as he was known to be a great warrior. He did make an impact on the outcome of the war. The Greeks won with his help but there were plenty of times when Achilles stepped out and refused to fight while the rest continued on. This is proof that it was not only because of Achilles. There are other characters that play a big role in the play like Hector. It would not be right to name the whole book after one man when it's focus was on the war in total.
I think that the story is not called the achilliad because the story is not only the story of Achilles, it is also the story of many other characters. The most prominent other character is Hector and it can be argued that Hector is more built as a character, for achilles the only thing we really see from him is his rage and his stubbornness. For hector we see his physical prowess, his family relations. If it was called the achilliad then I think that the story would have to focus more on Achilles rather than the trojan war.
The book is not called the Achillead because while Achilles may be a large part of the story, even the main hero, he is not the center focus of the book. There are many parts that have absolutely no reference to Achilles, much of the book passes without him. Troy however is always the main focus of the book, it all revolves around the Trojan war. Achilles isn’t in the book enough for it to be called the Achillead, the Iliad is a much more appropriate title since it is the main focus of the story.
The Iliad is called the Iliad because it is about the story of the War of Troy. True, it is essentially the story of Achilles but I think that he is too absent for the whole book to be named the Achillead. Therefore, the book gets its name from where the story takes place, Illium, which is another name for Troy. I know that the story begins with the rage of Achilles and ends with his death, but I think for a lot of the writing in between, he is greatly just missing in action. The Iliad title encompasses the book a lot better.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that much of the story follows the path of Achilles, much of the story and war takes place without him. A long period in the first half of the book happens when Achilles is frustrated with Agamemnon for taking his wife. The war takes place for a long time without Achilles for many battles, despite the failures of the Greeks. Furthermore, when Achilles does join the war, while he seems to be the center of the story, killing a huge number of Trojans including Hector, he is no way the greatest or most powerful of characters presented. It is clear that his pride and impulsivity get in the way of his wit. In terms of composedness, he is not the best.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is called the Iliad, as opposed to the Achillead, because Achilles is not the most important part of the story. It is a huge book, involving the complex relationships and trials of many important characters. Achilles begins the book by being furious with Agamemnon, and ends it by dying, but he is not present for much of the fighting in the middle of the epic. During the time he is refusing to fight, other warriors, such as Diomedes, Hector, and Odysseus, win glory for their skills. Just because Achilles has especially noteworthy moments of glory doesn't mean that he deserves to have the entire poem named after him.
ReplyDeleteThe Iliad should not be called Achillead because a huge portion of the epic does not involve Achilles. Even though much of the story is centered around Achilles rage at Agamemnon, Achilles himself rarely appears. The only times we do see Achilles is in the beginning when he argues with Agamemnon, and towards the end after Patroclus dies in battle. Also, because Achilles only appears in the beginning and the end, it makes more sense to name the book the Iliad, which translated means Troy.
ReplyDeleteHuman beings are passionate, angry, reckless, arrogant, sad, intelligent, prideful, selfish, loving and stubborn. I think one of Homer's major purposes in the Iliad is too show these conflicting emotions in people and how they try to deal with them. Achilles' story of how he copes with his wounded pride from losing Briseis, his rage and sadness at the death of Patroclus, and his actions in response are used to demonstrate human emotions. However, his story is not the main point of the Iliad or it otherwise would be called the Achilliead. Achilles is used to show the needs and wants of humans and how it impacts their actions and thinking. There are many other characters in the poem that illustrate emotions like arrogance or fear of human beings, but their stories aren't as significant as Achilles. Even so, their stories help get Homer's point across just the same.
ReplyDelete"The Achillead" wouldn't be a fitting title for the poem because Achilles only played a minor part in the story. Even though things started and ended with him, he wasn't present for most of the story. Instead the story was about the War of Troy. According to both Eliza and Wikipedia, Ilium was another name for Troy, the Latin name. I believe Homer named his poem "The Iliad" after Ilium (Troy) because that was the story he hoped to tell. If Achilles had participated in the war throughout the story, a title related to his name might have made sense. Because Achilles did not participate, the poem was named after the city the story took place in.
ReplyDeleteThe Iliad is not called the Achillead because even though the Iliad is supposedly the tale of the “hero”, Achilles, it mainly follows the route of the Trojan War. Achilles, though a prominently mentioned figure throughout the epic, is not actually in many of the battle scene. The poem is based around said scenes, and therefore, the actual importance of Achilles in battle is dulled down. I also think that Achilles does not deserve to have the epic named after him. He acted like a coward and, in my opinion, sometimes didn’t deserve the respect he was getting, much less a poem named after him.
ReplyDeleteThose who read the epic 'Iliad' and seek to change the name of this wonderfully extensive and engaging poem have missed the story to be found within its pages. The 'Harry Potter' books are titled after their protagonist because no scene there written does not have a direct connection to the life of Harry Potter. But the Iliad? It is a story of love, of loss, of war and blood and death. It is not the story of Achilles, who, though he may be loved by the gods and almost one himself, is not the hero. He is not protected, nor is he highlighted more than another person of his such stature. If anyone, would not the poem be titled after Helen, who is the beginning and ending of things? Or do these oral traditions have no starts or finishes, are they simply told until the last embers have died, to be picked back up in the saddle as the day breaks?
ReplyDeleteThe Iliad is not called the "Achillead" because the Iliad is not only about Achilleas. While Achilleas is a main focus of the story he is no more a focus then the rest of the warriors that made a big impact on the Trojan War. When people are asked what the story the Iliad is about they will most likely and correctly respond with; "an epic outlining the Trojan War." If they were to say: "an epic outlining Achilles' journey during the Trojan War" they would not be correct. They would be correct in some respects because Achilles plays a big role in the war, but not the biggest, and that is why the iliad is not called the Achillead.
ReplyDeleteThe Iliad is called the Iliad not the "Achillead" because the story follows the War of Troy and many different warriors not just Achilleas. Although Achilleas can be seen as the main character or who the story follows it more directly follows the war itself and Achilleas is simply a warrior who is focused on. Achilleas is made out to be the greatest warrior of all time in the Iliad but that also does not mean that the whole epic should be named after him. In my opinion Achilleas is simply a character that is followed and naming the epic after him is like saying it is all about him, which is not true. Some people may disagree with me and may be able to argue the opposite point but I stand strong next to my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is not called the "Achillead" because it is not only about Achilles. It is called the Iliad because it is centered around the war against Troy which in Greek was called Ilion or Ilias. Although Achilles is a main character in the story, I would not say he is enough of a focus to name the whole epic after just one man. There is much more than one person's story that takes place in the Iliad, which is why I believed it was named the Iliad, after a location of a major battle that encompasses the stories of many people, instead.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the beginning specifies the rage of Achilles the majority of the book focuses on the Trojan War. Achilles does ultimately have the winning effect on the war and sways the outcome but he does not even begin to fight until book 20. Most of the time this war hero spends his time enraged and sulking because of Agamemnon. The Iliad is not called the "Achillead" because the epic focuses its efforts on the war in Troy, or Illium. If it were to recount Achilles' life while the war went on then the "Achillead" would be a worthy name. The title of a book usually refers to what happens therein or the main topic. As I stated earlier, this epic does not follow Achilles' life until he loses his dear friend Patroclus. It also does not just end when he dies, it ends when Ilium is won. It is often referred to as the "Song of Ilium", that is what this epic ultimately is. It outlines the struggle of years to win the city. The struggle between Achilles and his pride is only a subplot.
ReplyDeleteDespite Achilles and his rage playing a major role in the play, many other characters have pivotal roles as well. Agamemnon, Odysseus, the Aentes, Diomedes, Hector, Helen, Paris, and Menelaus are just a few. Had Achilles chosen to fight in the battles as his comrades did, perhaps the epic would be called the Achillead and not the Iliad. The war is being fought while Achilles pouts, and people all around him are earning their glory while he watches from the bench. Since a great portion of the Iliad takes place on the battlefield (due to long metaphors, trash-talking, and extreme descriptions) and Achilles is not there to be witness to it or partake in the action, the epic cannot be called the Achillead.
ReplyDeleteAlthough most of the calamities that are inflicted on both the Argives and the Trojans are caused by Achilles, Achilles is not the root of all problems. if Troy never existed, Helen the wife of Menelaus would not have been seduced by Paris. Because of the prophecy Priam the king of Troy gives his son away to another man. Troy is the central connection to nearly everything that happens in Troy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Achilles was never really present in the book until book eighteen. His presence was never seen in the battlefield, rather the slaughter of the argives was what we saw for the majority of the book. Achilles may be a hero, but he's less honorable than Hector. Nothing should be named after Achilles because he is driven by pride, not by responsibility and honor.
Homer named the book the Iliad because it is a very long book that has a lot of complex characters and issues, all of which Achilles is not a part of. Yes, he is a major part of the book, but the poem is really about the Trojan War as a whole not just the aspects Achilles is involved in. Achilles plays a major role in the beginning and end of the book. The focus in the beginning is on his "rage" although he doesn't actually start fighting and killing scores of people until the very end. By calling the book the Achiliad, it fails to acknowledge the hard work that the Trojans put into the war and that they almost won and only acknowledges Achilles even though he is not the only reason the Greeks ended up winning.
ReplyDeleteAchilles Is a huge part of the Iliad, yes, but he is not what the book is about. The books focus is on the whole Trojan war. Achilles was important role in the warfare, as he was known to be a great warrior. He did make an impact on the outcome of the war. The Greeks won with his help but there were plenty of times when Achilles stepped out and refused to fight while the rest continued on. This is proof that it was not only because of Achilles. There are other characters that play a big role in the play like Hector. It would not be right to name the whole book after one man when it's focus was on the war in total.
ReplyDeleteI think that the story is not called the achilliad because the story is not only the story of Achilles, it is also the story of many other characters. The most prominent other character is Hector and it can be argued that Hector is more built as a character, for achilles the only thing we really see from him is his rage and his stubbornness. For hector we see his physical prowess, his family relations. If it was called the achilliad then I think that the story would have to focus more on Achilles rather than the trojan war.
ReplyDeleteThe book is not called the Achillead because while Achilles may be a large part of the story, even the main hero, he is not the center focus of the book. There are many parts that have absolutely no reference to Achilles, much of the book passes without him. Troy however is always the main focus of the book, it all revolves around the Trojan war. Achilles isn’t in the book enough for it to be called the Achillead, the Iliad is a much more appropriate title since it is the main focus of the story.
ReplyDelete