1. HOMER: The Iliad and The Odyssey
Greek literature begins with Homer’s two masterpieces
These were never intended for reading, but for oral recitation

2. The Iliad The earlier of the two epics Its subject is war
The characters are the men in battle and the women whose fate depends on the outcome
The war is fought by the Achaeans against the Trojans for the recovery of Helen, wife of Menelaus who ran away with Paris of Troy

3. The Iliad
There is no sentimentally in Homer’s descriptions of the battles
War is violent and terrifying and so is the way Homer tells about it

4. The Iliad
Homer also focuses on the excitement of war by combining two emotions:
The human revulsion from the horror of violent death
The human attraction to the excitement of violent action
Homer accepts violence as a basic aspect of human life and accepts it without questioning it

5. The Iliad Conflicts of The Iliad include: War Peace
The nature of political authority
Which has the stronger claim?
Acknowledged position (Agamemnon) OR
Merit (Achilles)
Your thoughts on this?