Homeric Epics, The Iliad, May 17, 2026, 2nd of 8 Mtgs, Please read Bks 7-12

Session #2 of 8
Now our group moves back to the first western epic poem, the progenitor of all narrative storytelling to follow: Homer's The Iliad to be followed by the first sequel: The Odyssey.

Moving from the medieval and early modern deconstructions of Troy back to its source—the Homeric epics—offers a rare opportunity for "intellectual archaeology."

Justification: From Chivalry to the Agon
Reading Homer after Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida allows for a rigorous examination of the teleology of heroism. Chaucer reframes the Trojan conflict through the prism of Boethian philosophy and the courtly love tradition, elevating the internal psychological landscape over the external battlefield. Shakespeare, conversely, provides a cynical, late-Renaissance deconstruction, where the "heroic" figures of antiquity are reduced to "emulous factions" and the glory of the Bronze Age is stripped of its luster.
Returning to the Iliad and Odyssey is not a mere chronological exercise but a confrontation with the ontological foundation of Western literature. It enables the group to analyze how the "Matter of Troy" evolved from a study of menis (wrath) and divine-human intersections into a vehicle for medieval romanticism and Elizabethan satire. This "reverse reading" highlights the radical shift from the pre-Christian, existential ethics of the Homeric agon—the struggle—to the later focus on romantic fidelity and political decay. It permits a comparative analysis of how the character of the "Greek" and the "Trojan" was molded to serve the ideologies of 14th-century England and 17th-century London, respectively.

Homer’s Influence on Dante
Despite the "sovereign" status Dante accords to Homer (l'alto poeta) in Canto IV of the Inferno, his influence is characterized by a fascinating paradox: Dante could not read Greek and had no direct access to the Homeric texts. His Homer was a figure of Latin mediation and Virgilian echoes.

• The Reinvention of Ulysses: In Inferno XXVI, Dante’s portrayal of Ulysses is a significant departure from the Homeric "homecoming." While Homer’s Odysseus seeks the restoration of the household, Dante’s Ulysses is driven by a transgressive desire for "virtue and knowledge,” leading him beyond the Pillars of Hercules to his doom.
• The Epic Structure: Dante adopts the Homeric focus on the journey as a metaphor for the soul's refinement, though he redirects the epic "return" toward a theological "ascent."

Editions [available from your local library or online]:
Any English translation (there are 18 in the last 75 years -see session graphic), but we recommend:
The Iliad, Caroline Alexander, Ecco, 2015, ISBN: 9780062046284
High literalism; avoids modern poetic smoothing to preserve the starkness of the Bronze Age ethos. Used: $7+

The Odyssey, Emily Wilson, W. W. Norton, 2017, ISBN: 9780393356250
Groundbreaking for its lexical precision regarding social status and gender. Used: $9+

Online via Zoom
RSVP for the link.

Schedule of Readings:
May 03, 2026 - Homer: The Iliad, Books 1-6
May 17, 2026 - Homer: The Iliad, Books 7-12
May 31, 2026 - Homer: The Iliad, Books 13-18
Jun 14, 2026 - Homer: The Iliad, Books 19-24
Jun 28, 2026 - Homer: The Odyssey, Books 1-6
July 12, 2026 - Homer: The Odyssey, Books 7-12
July 28, 2026 - Homer: The Odyssey, Books 13-18
Aug 11, 2026 - Homer: The Odyssey, Books 19-24

Summary of previous sessions:
Coming soon!

For 2026 [subject to change]:
Homer: Iliad/Odyssey
Virgil: Georgics/Aeneid
Ovid: Metamorphosis /Erotic Poems