Homer's Iliad: Self & Society

SLN #: 90098
Course Prefix: LAW-791
Course Section: 037
Credit Hours: 3
Instructor(s): Lynk
Course Books: View List of Books

Course Description:
Art illuminates life. The Iliad of Homer is the greatest work of epic poetry in Western literature. The beauty of its language, the continuing relevance of its characterizations and its insights into human motivation have made it a timeless classic. In this seminar we will look closely at Homer’s themes in the Iliad in order to examine their relevance to modern life. In particular, we will examine the tension between individual self-assertion and the need to conform to social norms and duties; between an individual’s legitimate desire for vindication and the need to subsume that desire within socially approved norms of dispute resolution. Today, issues such as these influence, for example, the decisions that lawyers must make as they help individual clients achieve their personal goals within the context of social norms (laws) defining appropriate behavior and the settlement of conflicts.

The Iliad illuminates this dilemma through its depiction of the conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles in the Greek (Achaean) camp in the context of the overriding conflict between the Achaeans and the Trojans. Underlying these concerns is the fact that humans are fallible; we make decisions today based on our expectations of the future that often prove incorrect. Humans also are different from gods and animals in that we are mortal (gods are not) and we are self-aware (animals are not); how does our awareness of the inevitability of our death influence the choices we make about the life we live?

The class will undertake a close reading and analysis of the Iliad and its mythological context. Questions we will examine include the following: How would we have handled the dilemma facing Agamemnon when Achilles challenges his leadership in Book 1? Why is the mythological power of Achilles’ goddess mother, Thetis, diminished for purposes of this poem? What is the significance of the prior generation of heroes, particularly Hercules, to the heroes of the Iliad? What does it mean that Homer shows such disrespect for Ares, the god of war, in a poem that is ostensibly about war? Why is Ares, the god of war, so unheroic, while Athena, the greatest female warrior deity, is heroic? How is Helen, the ostensible cause of the war and a prototype for the modern “trophy wife;” still such a sympathetic character in the poem? As depicted by Homer, what are the moral principles of the Greek gods? Why is Odysseus the most modern of the poem’s protagonists? What different qualities are represented by the principal female deities and mortals in the poem: Thetis, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Andromache, Helen, Breisies and Hecuba? What different qualities are represented by the principal male characters in the poem: e.g., Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Nestor, Diomedes, Paris and Menelaus? What defines a hero in the world of Homer’s characters? Why is Hector a more sympathetic character than Achilles? Why is Achilles a morally greater character than Hector?

No prior knowledge of The Iliad is required. Various supplemental reading materials, including an Outline of the Iliad, will be provided. The primary reading throughout the course will be The Iliad itself. We will use Richmond Lattimore’s translation (University of Chicago Press, 1951, paperback ed. 1961; 2011). Lattimore’s translation is generally considered to be the finest available in modern English. See, Hugh Lloyd Jones, “Welcome Homer!,” The New York Review of Books 28 33 (Feb. 14, 1991). Class members may, however, use other verse translations in English. Other popular modern English verse translations include those by Robert Fagels and Stanley Lombardo.

CREDITS: This is a three credit course.

Supplemental Materials: In addition to The Iliad, students will obtain a notebook of Supplemental Materials that will be available from the Law School Copy Center for purchase. I have prepared an Outline of The Iliad which is included in this Supplement. The Outline should inform your views but not shape them. It should be read in conjunction with the text, not instead of the text.

Optional Reading: The optional reading listed in the syllabus is recommended but not required for the course. Where possible, the items listed will be on reserve in the Ross-Blakeley Law Library.

Organization of Class Discussion: The class sessions will be organized as follows: After the first two weeks, each class will be divided into two parts. In the first half of each class I will discuss an aspect of the Iliad and its relationship to our theme or subject for that week. We then will take a short break and when we begin again, different members of the class will be assigned to lead a discussion of the book (chapter) of the poem which has been assigned for that week. Everyone is expected to have read each chapter as it is due.

Papers: There is no final written examination. There will be three (3) papers required of all law students enrolled in this class. Each paper should be eight (8) pages in length, exclusive of endnotes. The first paper topic will be assigned by me. Each student will choose their second and third paper topic subject to my approval. Each paper will count for 25 per cent of your grade. Class participation will count for 25 percent of your grade.

Office hours: I am delighted to meet with students. I am available after class and in my office by appointment. I generally am not available to meet before class. My office is room 226 at the College of Law, John S. Armstrong Hall. My telephone number is (480) 965-0433 and my e-mail address is myles.lynk@asu.edu The best way to reach me is by email.

Additional Information:
Credit Hours: 3
Grading Option: Letter Grade Only
Written Assignment: See Course Description
Graduation Writing Requirement: No
Flexible/Upper-Level Writing Requirement: Yes
Skills Requirement: No
Simulation Course: No
Experiential Learning: No
Seminar: No
Special Withdrawal Course: No
Final Exam Given: No
Participation Points: See Course Description
Attendance Policy: Per Statement Of Student Policies

* The law school has a policy that is used to calculate credit hours. Please see the Statement of Student Policies.