The most striking quality of Greek literature, poetry and prose alike, is that it is

alive and relevant today as it was when it was first written, We cannot fail to respond to

the extraordinary power with which it present to issues of perennial urgency. We may

admire it for its technical skill, but what binds us to it is its profound humanity, its wise

appreciation of human values. It deals with precise issues in a universality way, and it

gains our attention not by arguing for this side or for that, but by presenting a situation

full, in all its powerful implications. Its extraordinary immediacy and directness drive

home its imaginative thoughts with an irresistible power, and behind it we feel the living

force of people who were eager to examine their destinies with the outmost candor

passion.

Poetry was the Greek’s immediate response to a wide range of experience, and to

reflect this variety they invented or perfected many of the poetic form we now know.

They seem to have begun with the heroic epic, which is objective storytelling in verse of

exciting and tragic events. They followed this with a more personal and emotional poetry,

which was sung to the lyre and it, is called lyric for this reason. And their high noon, the

Greeks invented both the tragedy and the comedy, even in the later years, they continued

to write charming poetry though its strength had become diminished and its subject less

majestic.

Talavera& Ate Norte:

The Greek Epics

Though shrouded in the mists of antiquity, the “Illiad” and the “Odyssey”

emerged as the greatest epic in Western literature. The so-called Homeric question as to

authorship is overshadowed by the power and beauty of the works themselves. The

consensus is that from the myths and legends, the floating literature and the works of the

rhapsodist, the shaping of the epics and imposition of form was accomplished by a

literary genius with the name of Homer. Origin and development have conferred on the

epics and classification of folk epics of growth. The poems, however, bear the imprint of

the style and technique of an individual author.

Homer is credited with the epic conventions, which affected the development of this

poetic form. These are:

1. The exploits of the hero (usually national) which furnish the theme.

2. The invocation to the Muse.

3. The beginning in “media res.”

4. The epithets and epic similes.

5. The divine intervention in human lives.

6. The length monologues.

7. The use of the dactylic hexameter.

The subject matter “Illiad” portrays the life and the ideals of the heroic age. With a reliable historical basis, the action moves swiftly and vigorously from the dramatic quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon to the death of the heroic Hector and the fall of Troy. The narrative is divided into twenty-four books, division not attributed to Homer, but in keeping with the natural, logical pauses in the development of action which the ancient bards must have found convenient. The events comprising the plot achieve organic unity through the inter-relationship of action and a definite setting; through the unifying theme, the wrath of Achilles and its consequences. The memorable and striking incidents are numerous but unforgettable are the parting between Hector and Andromache, the death of Hector and the aged Priam’s pleas to the victorious Achilles for the return of Hector’s body. Though the action of the poem covers ten years, Homer limited the time to forty-seven days of the last year in which Troy fell. Aristotle praised Homer for this economy and for his keeping his eyes on the narrative instead of intruding personality into the story.

Homer used a large canvas for painting of situations involving intertwined destinies. Around the central figure of Archilles are warriors worthy to stand with him; the indomitable resourceful Odysseus, Agamemnon, commander of the Achain Forces, the fearless Diomedes, the valiant Ajax, the youthful Patroclus. Among the foes stand out Hector, the noblest of heroes his wife Andromache, the aged King Priam and others. Around the central figure of Acvhilles are warriors worthy to stand with him; the indomitable, resourceful Odysseus, Agamemnon commander of the. Achain Forces, the fearless Diomedes the valiant Ajax, the youthful Ptroclus. Among the foes stand out Hectors the noblest of heroes, his wife, Andromache, the aged King Priam and others. A

master craftsman effortlessly wove their lives into a unified pattern. The Homeric characters are colorful, gallant and noble intensely alive but recognizably human in their defects and blemishes of character. This humanization is extended to the gods who walk among men and are made understandable to the human intellect and imagination. Homer is essential Greek of the Greeks, but endowed with a sensitive and fineness which made him recognize and admire nobility and gallantry of spirits even when found in an enemy as in the case of Homer.

Homer presents each character with a few bold strokes and then stars filling in the sketch by revealing details which individualize and clarify their particular traits. He uses devices now considered modern, for an example, the dramatic, indirect techniques of characterization by which a character reveals himself through the eyes of the old men of Troy who watched her graceful progress along the walls of Toy and likened her to the immortal goddesses.

The “Odyssey” obviously written at a much later date, reveals a matured and more serene point of view. Philo M. Buck says that the “Iliad” is in essence a tragedy,” the “Odyssey,” a romantic comedy. Instead of the confined setting of the Iliad along the plains of Troy, the “Odyssey” takes its hero to almost all the unknown parts of the world at that time. But this is multiplicity of setting does not impair the basic unity gained through emphasis on one central character. Odysseus, and on the theme: his unwavering resolves to each Ithaca and be re- unite with Penelope and Telemachus. Other points of contrast are perceptible; the predominance of the hero in the “Odyssey,” the theme of Achilles ‘anger and its tragic result, that of the longing for home and family and its fulfillment for Odysseus: the stress, physical and emotional in the “Iliad,” the exhilarating spirit of adventure in the “Odyssey,” the search for glory in one, that the peace of the other. There is a contrast, too, in the plot structure of the “Iliad” and its organic unity; the loosely strung episodes in the “odyssey.” Both epics recapture the Greek social systems their politics and religious practices.

Together these two great epics portray the whole spectrum of man’s existence, his indomitable will, his imperishable spirit his unending quest for glory and immortality.

THE SUMMARY

The Iliad

The Greek have been besieging Troy for nine years, trying to win back Helen who

was abducted by Trojan prince Paris. A plague spread through their camp, and the gods

tell Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, that in order to restore health, he must return a

prize – a girl that he has captured. Agamemnon obeys, but to compensate for his loss, he

takes a girl who belongs to Achilles, the greatest warrior among Greeks. Achilles

insulted, refuses to continue fighting. His defection weakens troop morale; many of the

Greeks want to return home, but, eventually, they are persuaded to stay. Paris then,

challenge Helen’s husband Menelaus to a duel to settle the war. Menelaus accepts and

they fight, but as Paris about to killed Aphrodite snatch him up and take him to Helen’s

bedchamber. So no one is victorious and the war goes on. The heroes on both sides aided

by their favorite gods fight nobly and show their valor, while Achilles sulks in his tent.

Finally, Agamemnon sends envoys to him offers to give back his girl, and promises many

valuable gifts if he will rejoin the army. Achilles refuses.

With the help of a divine stratagem, the Trojans begin to gain the advantage.

Achilles’ friend Patroclus, who had also withdrawn from the fighting, insists on returning

to the battle. Achilles reluctantly consents to his going lend him his own armor. Patroclus

fights nobly, but he cannot overcome the great Trojan hero Hector. Hector kills him and

strips him of the armor.

Now Achilles is infuriated and decides to fight Hector. His goddess mother procures him new armor from the god Hepaistos, in which and with the aid of another divine stratagem, he is able to kill Hecto. To avenge the loss of Patroclus he drags the body three times around thewall of Troy. When he returns triumphant, the Greeks hold funeral games in Patroclus’ honor.

Meanwhile Hector’s father, King Priam of Trojan War, prepares to approach Achilles and begs for the body of his son. The gods grant him safe-conduct through the Greek lines.Archilles, moved by the old man’s grief grants his request. Thus, Hector is buried with honor.

The Odyssey

Odysseus, one of theGreek victors of the Trojan War, has been trying to return home for ten years bur has been prevented by the enmity of the God. When the epic opens, he is prisoner of the island of the nymph Calayso, who wants him to stay with her forever.

Meanwhile, at home in Ithaca, his wife Penelope is trying to put off the many suitors ho, presuming Odysseus dead, want to marry her and control his estate. While waiting for her to choose one of them the used uo Odysseus wealth- eating, drinking, and carousing.

It is now twenty years since Odysseus left home. His son Telemanchus has grown to manhood. No longer able to endure the arrogance of the suitors, he determines to find his father. Accompanied by the goddess Athena in disguise, he goes to Laecedemon, where Menelaus is king. There he finds the beautiful Helen living with her husband as happily as if the Trojan War had never taken place. They welcome Telemanchus and entertain him bountifully, recalling the exploits of his fateher in the Trojan War.

While Telemanchus is feasting in Laecedemon, the gods order Calypso to let Odysseus to go. She helps him built a raft, and he carried through the storm to the land of King Alcinoos. The king’s daughter Nausicaa finds him in the beach and takes him to his father. He is welcomed and, after excelling in the athletic games the next day, recounts for the company the story of his wandering since the war.

He tells how his men ate the drugged fruit in the land of Lotus-Eaters and had to forced back to the ships, how they went on the land of the Cyclopes, where they were captures and several of them were eaten by the Cyclopes and Poluphemus before Odysseus blinded the monster’s single eye and escaped. He recounts their adventures on the Island of the Winds in the Land of the Midnight Sun, and their transformation into animals the sorceress Circe. Odysseus explains that the gods rescued him from this fate but told him he had to visit the kingdom of the dead, to seek advice from the blind to seer Teiresias, before he could find his way home. Odysseus then describes how after returning from the journey, he set sail again and manage to escape the lure of the singing sirens, and the terrors of the Scylla and the Charrybdis. In the land of the Sun God, his men killed the god’s cattle and were punished by drowning. He tells how he alone survived that fate and was cast up on Calypso’s island, where he had stayed seven years. Now, he says, he wants only to return home.

King Alcinoons impress by his story, provide him with a ship, and he sails to Ithaca. There hhe is met by Athena, who helps him devise a stratagem to foil the traitors. While she goes off to Laecedemon to fetch Telemanchus, Odysseus, disguised as an old man, visit a loyal swine-herd from him of the situation at the palace. He tells only Telemanchus who he is before returning to his home, still in disguise. There he is recognized by his dog and his old nurse, but not by his wife.

Following Athena’s advice, Penelope announces that she will marry whoever suitor can win a shooting contest using her husband’s bow. Odysseus enters the contest and wins easily. He then reveals himself to the suitors, and, with Telemanchus help, massacres them. Penelope is afraid to accept him until he convinces her of his identity by telling the secret of their marriage bed. Athena blesses their reunion by holding back the dawn so they can enjoy a long night together. Then Odysseus regain his home and kingdom.

Suggestion for Discussion:

1. What are the similarities and differences of Archilles and Odysseus as epic heroes? Enumerate their traits, abilities strengths and weaknesses to clarify your answers.

2. Between Achilles and Odysseus, whom do you consider the ideal epic hero? Support your answer.

3. What aspects of human nature are manifested by the gods and goddess in interviewing in the story? How does it become their personal weaknesses and strengths as divinities? How does it affect the fate of the heroes?

4. What are the flaws in the character of the heroes that allow them to meet the tragic events they have encountered? Supporting your answer.

5. What Greek national and cultural aspects are reflected of highlighted in the epics?