Homer Iliad Activities for Students

TROY
Activities for Homer's Iliad

1. Read The Trojan War, Chapter 2: "Oral Poetry and the Troy Cycle," and Chapter 3: "Homer's Iliad: The War at Troy" (25-58)

2. Explore the links on the Homer and the Troy Cycle page.

3. Read through all the Activity questions on this page before selecting Activities to work with. Some of the Activities are quite easy and may only require reading part of the Iliad, while others are far more difficult, and may require reading more than one text or doing online research plus reading texts.

Select Activities that interest you and are appropriate to the time you have to spend on them. You will not get a higher grade because you select a more difficult Activity. Some Activities that are especially complex will offer double credit; if so, that will be stated in the Activity question. If you select the double credit option, you must write "double credit" on your Activity AND you must develop your Activity in substantial depth, in order to qualify for the double credit.

Select two of these Activities for Unit 1; make a copy of the Activity question to begin your response. Post your response to the Blackboard Homer Forum.

In Book 1 of the Iliad, who do you think is most to blame for the rage, Achilles or Agamemnon? Explain in detail why you take this position, supporting your ideas with specific examples from Book 1.

Compare Agamemnon's explanation of his quarrel with Achilles in Book 9 of the Iliad (Agamemnon was blinded and made mad by the gods) and in Book 1 (Achilles was insubordinate). Which one do you think is true? Or are they both true? Support your response with specific examples from both books.

List several of the women, mortal and divine in the Iliad and write a brief description of each one, explaining her role in the Iliad. Finally, write a paragraph or two summing up Homer's ideas about women in the Iliad--what they are like and how they are treated.

Later civilizations disapproved of Homer because "he told lies about the gods." Look in Book 21 for some of these "lies." List and describe several of them. Do you think Homer actually believed in gods such as he sang about? If so, do you think he was being impious to his gods? Why or why not? Support your position with specific examples from the Iliad, especially Book 21.

Achilles and Agamemnon are the two most outstanding men in the Iliad, yet they behave in ways that are destructive to their men. It is easy to see their negative qualities. However, this question asks you to look for the excellence in each man. List several qualities and/or examples and explain why they contribute to his excellence. Support your response with several specific examples.

Compare a Homeric hero to a modern hero. The modern hero may be a fighter, a ruler, a leader, or an athlete; he may be real or fictional. Write a brief biography of each hero, looking at the specifics of their family lives, beliefs, friendships, activities, heroic behaviors, etc. You will probably want to go to Bulfinch's Mythology for information about your Iliad hero's family life. Then, explain how each hero affects the society he lives in and how people feel about him. Finally, what are the most interesting differences between your two heroes and so what?

Go to the Images of Bronze Age Troy and Mycenae. Look through the various images and select three that might actually have existed in the world of the Iliad. Describe each image and explain exactly where in the Iliad you would expect to find it, who would use it, own it, live in it, etc., and what you could learn about the Iliad from seeing the image. Support your ideas with specific examples.

Go to the main page for Homer and look through the section: IMAGES BASED ON HOMER AND THE TROY CYCLE. Select three images which deal with the events of the Iliad. Name and describe each image and compare it to the corresponding scene in the Iliad. How has the artist interpreted the characters, events, etc.? Do you agree with the artist's interpretation? Why or why not? Explain using specific examples to support your points.

Review The Trojan War, Chapter 2: "Oral Poetry and the Troy Cycle." Look at the list of Troy epics and the characters and plot of the overall Troy Cycle to get a feeling for the mythic context of the Iliad. Now think about the relations of gods and humans in the Iliad. Select two interesting scenes where gods and humans interact. Describe each scene in some detail and explain its role in the overall story. Do you think these gods were any more or less real to Homer than the heroes? Why or why not? Support your ideas with specific examples from the Iliad.

Option for double credit: read my essay, Achilles' Wrath and the Plan of Zeus, and then write an essay on human-god interaction in the Iliad. You will need to develop your ideas fully, using plenty of examples from the Iliad, AND you must indicate on the essay that it is for double credit!

Go to Bulfinch's Mythology and look up the stories of two or three major gods and/or heroes from the Iliad. Now select one or more specific scenes in the Iliad that can be better understood after reading about the characters' mythological roles. Explain the way the mythology helps you to understand each scene, using specific details to support your ideas.

Go to Thucydides and read the first half of Book 1, which discusses the Trojan War, its economics and strategies. Compare this analysis to the version you have read in the Iliad. Point out some interesting differences between the two versions and explain why you think they are different. Can you find any interesting similarities? Support your ideas with examples from both texts. (Double credit: worth up to 100 points.)