HOMER, THE ILIAD, Pt. 1
Books I-II

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Learn the names and familiarize yourself with the main characters.* (See chart below)

2. Write a one-two page summary of the plot of the first two books.  The purpose of this assignment is to help you to think through what is happening and to keep track of the main points.  It should also help you begin to recognize the beautiful order and craftmanship in the plot.  You can do your plot summaries in different ways.  For example, you can write a series of paragraphs telling the STORY, describing the main events (summary of the story).  Or you can make an OUTLINE summarizing the main points.  You can even make a simple LIST, identifying and numbering the main points in sequence.  For example, a simple, numbered LIST of the main events in Book I might look like this:

    Book 1: The Rage of Achilles
1. The rage of Achilles will cost "countless Achaean losses"
2. The cause of Achille's rage was Agamemnon's unjust demand
3. Agamemnon refuses to accept the priest's ransom
4. Apollo sends a plague killing many Achaean soldiers
5. The prophet Calchas explains the cause of Apollo's rage
6. Agamemnon rages against Calchas' prophecy
7. The conflict between Agamemnon & Achilles worsens
8. Athena intervenes and Achilles yields to the goddess
9. Agamemnon demands the slave girl and Achilles submits
10. Achilles prays for vengeance against the Greeks and Zeus consents

    An OUTLINE for Book 1 of the Iliad might look something like this:

    Book 1: The Rage of Achilles
A. The Cost of Achille's Rage: "countless Achaean losses"
B. The Cause of Achille's Rage: his "clash" with Agamemnon
C. The Stubborness of Agamemnon
D. The Rage of Apollo against Agamemon
E. The Rage of Agamemnon against Calchas
F. The Quarrel between Achille's & Agamemnon Deepens
G. Achille's Prayer for Vengeance

Don't just copy what I've done here.  Find your own words and ways to capture the story.
That way you learn it better, and it becomes your own.  Remember that there are resources
on the website in the Great Books Atrium to help you.  For example, check out the Glossary
for the Iliad (http://www.oxfordtutorials.com/IliadGlossary.htm).  

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    * PRINCIPLE CHARACTERS OF THE ILIAD:

I. Human Characters

A. Greeks (Achaeans/Argives/Danaans)
1. Agamemnon - supreme Greek military commander
2. Achilles - greatest of the Greek warriors; commander of Myrmidons
    (son of a mortal father & a divine mother)
3. Menelaus - brother of Agamemnon; husband of Helen
4. Odysseus - the tactful husband of Penelope
5. Patroclus - friend and counselor of Achilles

    B. Trojans
1. King Priam - husband of Hecuba
2. Hector - son of Priam; husband of Andromache
3. Paris - son of Priam; abductor of Helen
4. Pandarus - great Trojan archer
5. Helen - abducted wife of Menelaus
    (daughter of Zeus & a mortal mother)

II. Divine Characters

    A. Pro - Greek gods
1. Hera - wife of Zeus
2. Athena - daughter of Zeus; goddess of wisdom

    B. Pro - Trojan gods
1. Aphrodite - daughter of Zeus; goddess of love
2. Apollo - son of Zeus; god of music & poetry
3. Ares - son of Zeus; god of war