Plato's Symposium

Socrates 470-399 B.C.E.

Considered the world's first philosopher, Socrates witnessed the gradual downfall of Athenian society following the Pelopponesian War (431-404 B.C.E.). The losses Athens suffered led to the end of the Golden Age of Athens, and a dark period of governmental failure and corruption. There followed an eight-month period in which Athens was ruled by a oligarchichal assembly rulers who called themselves "The Thirty Tyrants"; however these rulers were overthrown and a new, diplomatic regime was soon reinstated. However, the 'democracy' of Athens was not to be confused with the democracy of present Western civilization. Plato, Socrates' most avid admirer, denounced Athenian democracy under which Socrates was killed as little more "than tyranny"since it "gives power to the ignorant many over the enlightened few." In his generative text, The Republic, Plato argued that in his own imagined society of democratic rule, philosophers would become rulers and vice versa--and that in fact those like Socrates would be the "leader he deserved to be" (863-4).

During his lifetime, Socrates did not record his philosophical teachings in writing; yet, it would appear that he was a magnanimous personality who commanded the respect and devotion of a number of proteges. A sophist (wisdom teacher), he chose to live simply, eschewing material wealth and political aspirations. To his pupils and associates, he was beloved and admired; to those beyond his intimate circle, he was despised and feared. In 399 B.C.E., Socrates was cited by the Athenian government for impiety: in his case, he was jailed and executed for the crimes of "inventing new deities, failing to believe in the gods of the city, and for 'corrupting the youth'" of Athens. As punishment he was forced to drink hemlock and died.

Plato 429-347 B.C.E.

Plato, the most famous and revered pupil of Socrates, was born to a wealthy and privileged Athenian family. Schooled by his mentor Socrates, he demonstrated an early interest in poetry, and perhaps wrote one tragedy (863). Your text points out that "Plato," which means "broad shouldered" may well have been a nickname assigned to him during his youth in sports, and that his original, given name was Aristocles. In any case, Plato, as he is now known famously, is credited for presenting the basis for philosophical, ethical, and polemical thought that survives today in the modern world. It is also through Plato--and Xenophon--a second protege of Socrates--that we understand the philosophical teachings of his tutor, Socrates.

Each philosopher gives differing interpretations of the scholar's personality and philosophies; however, even within Plato's writings of Socrates, he is sometimes shown as having contradicting impulses and personality traits. "In some [texts], Socrates professes total ignorance, and the result of all his questions is only to show that other people, too, have incomplete understanding of basic evaluative concepts like courage, pleasure, and holiness. In others, Plato's Socrates makes far more substantive claims" (863). Our text observes the possibility that, much like any other literary character, Plato chose to convey different aspects of his tutor that fit the genre and context of each dialogue.

The Symposium is fictionalized platonic dialogue among many of Plato's contemporaries. The "symposium" which means "Drinking Party" is dedicated to the discussion of eros--or sexual love, a matter which draws "universal interest and appeal" (864). The characters include the "soupy young tragic poet" Agathon; Eryximachus, an arrogant, posturing physician; the 'playboy' Alcibiades; Aristophanes, a 'drunken playboy' and Socrates the philosopher.

The Symposium begins as a frame narrative: a dialogue between two speakers conveys the place and time of the Symposium's occurrence, which was the moment Apollodorus, a follower of Socrates, "is accosted in the street by a friend who begs to be told about the famous party at the house of Agathon. Apollodorus explains that the party was not a recent event, but took place several years before: at the time of Agathon's first victory in the dramatic competition at the great Dionysia (in 416 B.C.E.)" (865).

The structure of the narrative, particularly as an overheard conversation, lends itself to specific themes:

Nostalgia (for a lost golden age before the Peloponnesian War.)
Redemption of Socrates' character in the face of his enemies
The central concern of the Symposium: "[t]he deep human desire for an absent, distant, perhaps unattainable object--whether that object is a long-gone drinking party, a sexy or puzzling person, or an abstract idea of beauty" (865).

Characters:
Agathon
Eryximachus
Alcibiades
Aristophones
Socrates

Terms
Eros
Frame Narrative
Ladder of Love
Platonic Love
Pederasty
Erastes
Eromenos

Medea: Hell Hath No Fury

Maria Callas as Medea in the Pier Paolo Pasolini's production of the play.

Of Wives and Foreigners:

Women of Corinth, I have stepped outside
so you will not condemn me. Many people
Act superior--I'm well aware of this.

Some keep it private; some are arrogant in public view. Yet there are others who, just because they lead a quiet life are thought to be aloof. There is no justice in human eyesight: people take one look and hate a man, before they know his heart, though no injustice has been done to them. A foreigner must adapt to a new city, certainly. Nor can I praise a citizen who’s willful, and who treats his fellow townsmen harshly, out of narrow-mindedness.

My case is different. Unexpected trouble 

has crushed my soul. It’s over now: I take

No joy in life. My friends, I want to die.

My husband, who was everything to me—

How well I know it—is the worst of men.

Of all the living creatures with a soul 

and mind, we women are the most pathetic.

First of all, we have to buy a husband;

Spend vast amounts of money, just to get

A master for our body—to add insult

To injury. And the stakes could not be higher:

Will you get a decent husband, or a bad one?

If a woman leaves her husband, then she loses

Her virtuous reputation. To refuse him

Is just not possible. When a girl leaves home

And comes to live with new ways, different rules,

She has to be a prophet—learn somehow

The art of dealing smoothly with her bedmate.

If we do well, and if our husbands bear

The yoke without discomfort or complaint,

Our lives are admired. If not, it’s best to die.

A man, when he gets fed up with the people

At home, can go elsewhere to ease his heart

--he has friends, companions his own age.

We must rely on just one single soul.

They say that we lead safe, untroubled lives

At home while they do battle with the spear.

They’re wrong. I’d rather take my stand behind

A shield three times than to through childbirth again.

Still, my account is quite distinct from yours.
This is your city. You have your fathers' homes,
your lives bring you joy and profit. You have friends.
But I have been deserted and outraged--
left without a city by my husband,
who stolre me as his plunder from the land
of the barbarians. Here I have no mother,
no brother, no blood relative to help
unmoor me from this terrible disaster.
So, I will need to ask you one small favor.
If I should find some way, some strategy
to pay my husband back, bring him to justice,
keep silent. Most of the time, I know, a woman
is filled with fear. She's worthless in a battle
and flinches at the sight of steel. But when
she's faced with an injustice in the bedroom,
there is no other mind more murderous.

Questions for discussion:
What observations does Medea make about the condition of women, generally?
What assumptions about women and their condition does she dispel--particularly with regard to her plan to murder her own children?
What pleas does she make for her own condition as a foreigner? A recluse?
How does she use her positioning as a foreigner to curry empathy or acceptance of her actions? (see lines 255-63).

Euripides: Medea

Euripides (ca. 480-406 B.C.E.) 

Photo from Wikipedia.com

The youngest of the three most celebrated tragedians of Athens, his works were only moderately successful; however scholars note that Euripides' tragedies, unlike those of his contemporaries, contained more humor and compassion--particularly in his renderings of Helen of Troy. "For readers," your text points out, Euripides was "the liveliest, funniest, and most provocative of the three great Athenian tragedians" (783). However, his later works demonstrate harsh criticism toward the sufferings of women and families during the Peloponnesian war (784). 

"A younger contemporary of Aeschylus and Sophocles, Euripides lived through most of the cultural and political turmoil of the fifth century, and was seen as one of the most influential voices for the revolutionary ideas that were developing in this period. Controversial in his time for his use of colloquial language and his depictions of unheroic heroes, sexually promiscuous women, and cruel, violent gods. Euripides has lost none of his power to shock, provoke, amuse, and engage his audiences" (783).

Euripides is associated with the Sophists--philosophers like Aristotle--who were heralded by some as purveyors of a new school of thought, and "progressive oppenness"; and by others as a threat to the education of young males. Euripides plays tended to steer audiences' focus from the deeds of heroes and toward the internal conflicts and 'domestic wrangling' of average individuals. Euripides "was seen as a cynical realist about human nature: Sophocles said that while he showed people as they ought to be, Euripides showed them as they are" (784). His male protagonists are shown in the full bloom of questionable character; his women are often violent and outrageous. Members of the lower classes and slaves featured prominently and sympathetically in the tragedies of Euripides, and the gods were featured as ruthless in one extreme, indifferent in the other. 

Medea

Medea (Tracey A. Cole)

The tragedy of Medea is linked to the Athenian narrative of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Our text summarizes the plot: 

"...the hero Jason was told by his uncle, Pelias, that he could not claim his rightful inheritance, the throne of Iolcus, unless he perform a seemingly impossible quest: cross the Black Sea to the distant barbarian land of Colchis, ruled by the savage king Aeetes, and bring back to Greece the Golden Fleece, which was guarded by a dragon. Jason assembled a group of the finest Greek heroes, and built the world's first ship--the Argo--to take them to Colchis. Once they arrived, King Aeetes set Jason the task of ploughing a field with a team of fire-breathing bulls. Luckily, the king's daughter, Medea, fell in love with Jason. She was skilled in magic, and enabled him to plough the field, lull the dragon to sleep, steal the fleece, and escape back to Greece, killing her own brother to distract the attention of their enraged Colchian pursuers. When they arrived in Iolcus, Pelias tried to go back on his word, and hang onto power. Medea got back at him by persuading Pelias' daughters that they could make their father immortal by boiling him alive--which was, of course, untrue. After the scandal was discovered, Jason and Medea were forced into exile. The couple had children, and eventually moved to Corinth. There, Jason decided to divorce Medea and marry a native Corinthian princess instead. With that, the action of Medea begins" (784-5).

Themes

Sophia: Wisdom. Sophia can be seen as having two different connotations, however: on the one hand it is considered a deep insight; on the other, "mere cleverness" (785).

Infidelity

Revenge

Women's Roles/Place in Society

Foreigners
Fallen Woman
Motherhood
Betrayal

Your text observes that Medea is, for its many readers, a difficult play to interpret, in that Medea's complex character and deeds are at once heroic and contradictory. In one instance, she is an empowered female who responds stoically to Jason's infidelity. She takes a stand for all women, observing childbirth as a greater endurance than battle, saying, "I'd rather take my stand behind a shield three times than go through childbirth once." Her actions to avenge this dishonor, however, are bloody and violent. An observation can be made that, as women and foreigners were considered at the lowest station in Athenian life, Medea's actions suggest a pastiche of what might happen when rises up against one's station. 

Ancient Athenian Drama: Sophocles and Oedipus Rex

Sophocles (ca. 496-406 B.C.E.)

Born to an affluent family, Sophocles rose to renown as one of the great Greek Tragedians of the Classical Age of Greece. He is considered the "most Homeric" of the three great tragedians, Sophocles, Aeschylus (Oresteia), and Euripides (Medea).

Throughout his career, Sophocles composed over one hundred twenty plays. Among them only the Theban plays that feature the life and legacy of Oedipus survive: Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonnus; plus four others: Ajax, Electra, Trachiniae and Philoctetes. Early on before he had reached the age of thirty, he had defeated his predecessor, Aeschylus, at the annual Dionysia. 

Theater in Ancient Greece

During the Classical Age, Pericles, who was a friend and patron to Sophocles, strongly encouraged and supported the arts. As our text points out, wealthy Athenians were expected to afford financial support to the arts; the less wealthy citizen was encouraged to support the arts through the state's subsidy of a theater ticket (702).

The Great Dionysia was a religious festival that featured fetes: open air theatrical productions of dramatic plays that were usually based on folkloric epics and meant to honor the god, Dionysus, or Bacchus. Dionysus, was a god associated by Athenians with wine (of particular significance in a country abundant in vines), misrule, indulgence, and decadence. Dionysus represented a 'subversive' element; in fact our text names him "a wild figure: he rode a chariot pulled by leopards, dressed in strange, effeminate clothing and an ivy crown, and was accompanied by ecstatic, crazy women (the Maenads)..." Accompanying this strange panoply of characters were the satyrs: half-men, half-goat demigods of earthly pleasure. The festivals were held in honor of this god. In fact, one source has it that the Greeks regarded Dionysus as a god that represented man's joy: "a joy within him that he cannot explain," that propels him forward with a sense of walking on the "wings of the wind" and "fills him with a deep sense of worship" This sensation was called enthusiasm, which meant "the god within us" (1).  

During the Festival of Dionysus or Bacchanalia, "three tragic poets were chosen by the official city governor to produce a tetralogy of plays for each day's entertainment. Performances began at dawn and included three tragedies, which might or might not concentrate on a linked set of stories, followed by a lighter play featuring satyrs (a 'satyr play'). A rich Athenian citizen put up the money to pay for the costs of each day's performance, including purchase of costumes and masks, and training of the chorus members and actors. These producers prided themselves on their participation, and gloated if the performance they had financed won the competition." Prizes were awarded to the best production: that is, to the dramatist who outperformed his adversaries at 'teaching a chorus' (646).  

The Athenian Theater

The theater itself was open-air, and attendees sat in stands that formed a semi-circle around the orchestra ('dancing area'), which was situated at the lowest level, center. The stage was situated at one end of the orchestra where a skene--a backdrop--represented whatever scene the action called for. 

Tragedy: The text informs us is thought to have derived its name from 'tragoidia' or 'goat-song': a song performed during ritualized sacrifice involving a goat.  Thespis, about whom not much is known, 'invented tragedy in the year 534 B.C.E.' and whose name provides the origin for the term 'thespian' (645).

All actors in Athenian drama were men: female roles were also played by young men or boys; all actors wore masks which concealed their faces and thus demanded that they rely on projecting their voices and expansive body language to convey their roles, as well as the use of the chorus.

Devices Used in Athenian Drama

Chorus: An assembly of twelve to seventeen actors who directed the emotions and mood of scenes in Athenian drama. These actors performed the same function that movie scores do in film: directing the emotional responses of the audience. 

Terms: 
Dramatic Irony: Athenians came to see productions of these beloved dramas with the same expectations as you or I would go to the theater or watch a movie--to enjoy the structure of the plot, the climax, the outcome--Athenians had seen each play many times: it was the way they were produced that made them so alluring. How they were interpreted and acted out went a long way in their success. Therefore, all members of the audience knew of Oedipus's fate, while Oedipus himself languishes in the dark and ignorance of the true nature of his fate. The moment that he discovers his fate, however, was a moment of revelation--and satisfaction, for the audience. 

Deus ex machina (theatrical device in which a god enters the scene to resolve a crisis in the plot) Literally: "God in the machine."

Hubris: Excessive pride. Exhibited by Oedipus in Oedipus Rex, the hero or protagonist bears a fatal flaw--in this case, hubris: a pride that damns him. 

Hamartia: A fatal flaw. 

Catharsis: In Ancient Greece, theater goers attended a production for a much different reason than we attend a movie or play. Often we do not know the outcome of the plot, and the key to our enjoyment is finding out who the killer is, for instance. In Ancient Athens, however, attendees already knew the outcome of the drama they came to witness. In such cases as Oedipus, which had been transcribed and adopted from oral tradition, theater goers attended for the purpose of enjoying the way the play was produced or interpreted. The experience brought on catharsis--a means to purge the emotions. This experience of catharsis is what we feel when we cry at sad movies, or feel the thrill of a good scare in a horror picture. The ancient Greeks weren't much different.   

Oedipus Rex

  Oedipus, 1957 (from mythmatters.blogspot.com)
Characters: 
Oedipus, the king of Thebes
Jocasta (or, Iokasta): Queen of Thebes
Tiresius: Blind Sage
Kreon/Creon: Queen Jocasta's brother
Antigone and Ismene: Daughters of Oedipus and Jocasta
The Chorus
Leaders
Attendants

Plot: Oedipus returns home from war and pillage (and from having solved the Sphinx's riddle) to find that there has been a plague set upon Thebes. Creon tells him that the plague has been sent by the god Apollo, because King Laius has been murdered at the crossroads. The plague will not be lifted until the king's murderer is brought to justice. Meanwhile, the prophet, Tiresius tells Oedipus that he is the murderer. 

Setting: The royal palace at Thebes. 

Themes: Arrogance (or hubris), blindness (actual and figurative), shame, outrage, irony, fate and free will, wisdom, power, memory.

Riddle of the Sphinx: The riddle goes what walks on four legs early in life, two legs in middle life, and three legs in old age? The answer of course, is man. Oedipus feels great self-satisfaction at his having solved the riddle and defeated the Sphinx. However, he takes this sense of pride a bit too far, and it leads to his downfall. 

Aesop ca. 620-564 B.C.E.

Often when we think of 'literature,' we think of the elevated forms of narrative prose, poetry, and drama. Aesop's fables, which represents "a hodgepodge of funny anecdotes, proverbs, animal stories, and morality tales from the ancient Greco-Roman world" have come to be thought of as children's fare; however, in their day they were nothing of the sort. These tales were told for entertainment, and have been cited and recited by poets, philosophers, historians, and politicians. As these fables represent an extension of the oral tradition that gave way to a variety of performative literature that was "lowly, down-to-earth, unpretentious, and fun" (623).

Aesop himself has been the subject of lore. He was thought to be a slave, reputed for his exceptional "ugliness and outspokenness." In the Middle Ages he was rumored to be a "black Ethiopian" (1). Perhaps these assumptions about the progenitor of these fables says something about the circumstances of his audiences: while Greek tragedy and epic consistently featured high-born characters and members of the aristocracy who wrestle with a moral conscience and struggle to elevate themselves to godlike beings, fables featured the concerns of the lower castes of society, and contained didactic--or moral--messages. Our text observes that "...tragedy and epic, allow us to identify, aspirationally, with people whose status is higher than our own; fables, by contrast, evoke characters who are lowly, and often not even human. They are aimed at ordinary people, not aristocrats, and often suggest the danger and folly of trying to change one's status in life, create revolution, or usurp the position of one's betters" (624). And, unlike the often convenient morality of the upper classes, these tales represent a 'consistent morality' among the folk.

Our text points out that several of the tales told by Aesop feature animals that were not native to Greece. This trope of exotic animal characters suggests a cross-cultural influence among ancient cultures; further it suggests ancient moorings for popular children's fables and folktales prevalent today, including the Brer Rabbit and Tarbaby stories made popular by Joel Chandler Harris in the nineteenth century.

Book XXII: The Death of Hector

Book XXII opens as Achilles realizes he's been fooled by the god, Apollo. He spots Hector and commences his charge.

Meanwhile, Hector stands on the rampart while his parents plead with him not to fight Achilles: he's mad, and besides, Hector's no match for him. Hector ignores his parents, deciding that it's best to just do away with Achilles for good. For a moment he considers offering him some riches, but he decides not to go through with that plan. While he's vacillating, he looks up and sees Achilles coming at him and trembles with fear. He takes off running--another ironic bit, as he swore he'd never do that. But, they circle the city three times. 

Zeus, observing the action, turns to his daughter, Athena, to have mercy on these two. She, like her mother, warns him not to mess around with fate. 

Hector is losing the battle fast: Achilles keeps cutting him off and cornering him. Athena addresses Achilles:

"There's nothing but glory on the beachhead 
For us now, my splendid Achilles, 
Once we take Hector out of action, and 
There's no way he can escape us now,
Not even if my brother Apollo has a fit
And rolls on the ground before the Almighty.
You stay here and catch your breath while I go 
To persuade the man to put up a fight" (243-50).

Athena draws the two men toward each other and Hector gives up running. It is here that Hector asks Achilles not to defame his corpse if he kills him. Of course, Achilles scoffs at this. Hector killed Patroclus and a bunch of other friends of his. Not likely he'll bend on this issue. 

The fight is onAchilles raises his spear and Hector ducks, mocks him. Then Hecto flings his javelin at Achilles, and the disk bounces of Achilles' shield. While Hector reaches for another, he senses his number is up. While he's ruminating over Athena's trick, impending death, and the possibility of doing some great deed to fix his memory in the annals of history, Achilles charges, spears him right in the tender place where the collarbones meet. Hector dies wearing his rival's armor. 

The Greeks strip Hector of his armor, take a moment to admire his body before stabbing it with their spears. But Achilles has a far greater plan for Hector's body: he's going to show it off to Priam and Hecuba, just for kicks. And Vengeance.

Achilles pinions Hectors ankles together and attaches him to his chariot, allowing the horses to drag the man's body before Zeus and everybody. Priam and his wife are understandably horrified; Andromache is clueless until she hears her mother-in-law scream. Then her biggest fear mounts: that her child will grow up a virtual orphan, dependent on the whims of his father's friends. He will be turned away and shamed. 

Finally, Andromache resolves to burn her husband's clothes: her husband's body has been desecrated and will never burn on the pyre. 

photo: harvardmuseum.org

Book XVIII

The Shield of Achilles
by W.H. Auden

She looked over his shoulder
For vines and olive trees,
Marble well-governed cities
And ships upon untamed seas,
But there on the shining metal
His hands had put instead
An artificial wilderness
And a sky like lead.

A plain without a feature, bare and brown,
No blade of grass, no sign of neighborhood,
Nothing to eat and nowhere to sit down,
Yet, congregated on its blankness, stood
An unintelligible multitude,
A million eyes, a million boots in line,
Without expression, waiting for a sign.

Out of the air a voice without a face
Proved by statistics that some cause was just
In tones as dry and level as the place:
No one was cheered and nothing was discussed;
Column by column in a cloud of dust
They marched away enduring a belief
Whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief.

She looked over his shoulder
For ritual pieties,
White flower-garlanded heifers,
Libation and sacrifice,
But there on the shining metal
Where the altar should have been,
She saw by his flickering forge-light
Quite another scene...

Book XVIII: The Shield of Achilles

As Book XVIII opens, Achilles is in anguish over the death of Patroclus. Antilochus has given him the news that Patroclus is 'down,' that the Trojans are battling over his corpse, and Hector has his armor. Achilles drops to the ground, defiling himself with ash and dirt in his grief while Antilochus tries to soothe him. Achilles begins to wail, and his mother hears him. She and the nymphs of the sea join him. When Thetis joins her son on the beach he is inconsolable. 

The two of them converse through their grief. Achilles tells his mother that she should have married another immortal, and his father, Peleus, should have married another mortal. He says "You will no longer welcome me home" since he has lost his will to live. The only thing worth the fight is to kill Hector. Thetis tells him, "Hector's death means yours."

Achilles tells his mother that he wishes "all strife could stop, among gods/And among men, and anger too--it sends/Sensible men into fits of temper..." (112-14). Thetis plans to go to Olympus to ask Hephaestus to make Achilles a beautiful suit of armor. Meanwhile, Iris, the messenger of the gods, tells Achilles to hurry up and save Patroclus: Hector means to desecrate the body, drag it back to Greece, behead it, and impale it on the ship's mast. Achilles, perhaps still a little delirious from his grief says, "no, I better not...my mom's getting new armor for me. The messenger tells him to 'go to the trench' and let the Trojans get a glimpse of him--that will be enough to let them know it's on. 

Then Achilles gets to his feet and Athena adorns him with magic armor, "haloed his head with a golden cloud that shot flames from its incandescent glow" (216-18). Then he did as instructed and let out a war cry that made the Trojans wince. 

Later on, the Trojans decide to hold an assembly before making dinner plans. Polydamas (son of Panthous), steps forward with a plan. He suggests they lay low behind the wall, seeing as how Achilles is back and badder than ever. When he was still mad at Agamemnon, the Myrmidons were easier to battle--but now Achilles has vengeance on his mind and is made all the more ferocious. He says to camp that night in the marketplace, far from their wall, where Achilles doesn't expect to find them. Then they'll plan an ambush. Hector says "nonsense!" and they should stay on the plain. 

Meanwhile, Achilles and his fellow Greeks spend the night mourning Patroclus. They clean and dress his body and lay him to rest. Zeus and Hera watch and comment. 

Meanwhile (again) Thetis approaches the mansion of Hephaestus. He's busy making ambulatory cauldrons. Thetis is greeted by his wife, Charis, who welcomes her warmly. Hephaestus is equally cheered to see her, recalling the time she and Eurynome saved him after Hera tossed him off a cliff. He was lame, you see. 

Hephaestus sets to work on a magnificent shield for Achilles. He ornaments it with carvings of the entire world, representing the dichotomies of city and country, war and peace, love and hate, 'conflict and celebration' (1). 

Book XVI: The Death of Patroclus

                                                                                                                               Menelaus cradles the body of Patroclus

As the editors of our text chose to excerpt portions of the Iliad, they excerpted parts of the Books themselves, as well. What is left out is that, earlier in the book, Patroclus has asked Achilles if he can lead the Myrmidons in battle and Achilles agrees, giving the younger man his armor. So, as our version of Book XVI opens, Sarpedon, the son of Zeus, comes upon Patroclus in battle. Patroclus is whipping the Trojans. The two men start toward each other, and Zeus looks on from his seat on Mt. Olympus. 

He turns to Hera and laments that Fate has destined his son to die in battle. Here again is the hero's quandary: should Zeus allow his son to be killed (perhaps garnering a hero's funeral and honored by posterity) or, should Zeus intervene, take him out of battle and return him to Lycia where he's safe, but unsung? Hera snaps at him, saying:

"Son of Cronus, what a thing to say! 
A mortal man, whose fate has been long fixed, 
And you want to save him from rattling deat?
Do it. But don't expect all of us to approve.
Listen to me. If you send Sarpedon home alive,
You will have to expect other gods to do the same
And save their own sons--and there are many of them
In this war around Priam's great city.
Think of the resentment you will create. 
But if you love him and are filled with grief,
Let him fall in battle at Patroclus' hands, 
And when his soul and life have left him, 
Send Sleep and Death to bear him away
To Lycia, where his people will give him burial
With mound and stone, as befits the dead" (Lines 477-491).

Sarpedon and Patroclus close in for combat. Patroclus kills Sarpedon's charioteer. More men down. Glinting spears and swords. Finally, Patroclus charges toward Sarpedon, and "the bronze point/ caught Sarpedon just below the rib cage/Where it protects the beating of the heart (513-15). With his last breath, Sarpedon calls to Glaucos to call the troops together and defend his body. Patroclus pulls his sword from the fallen Sarpedon, pulling out the lungs with it (538).

At this stage, one may wonder, "why so much gore?" Is it really all that necessary--we know going in that war is bloody. The text, nonetheless, seems to provide vivid detail of the gore in death. Why might that be?

So overcome with the death of Sarpedon is Glaucus that he is reminded of the wound he received from Teucer, who shot him with an arrow. He calls upon Apollo to ease his suffering in grief and to heal his wound. He asks the god for strength to call the Lycians into battle and protect Sarpedon's body, which, we find out later, is nearly destroyed. Apollo hears Glaucus's prayer and is healed. He calls on the Lycians to defend the body of their fallen hero--but not before encountering Hector. He chastises Hector for falling behind on protecting Sarpedon's body. Then the Greeks descend on the body and a battle ensues. Zeus darkens the sky. For his part, Zeus debates whether Hector should kill Patroclus, or whether Patroclus should live on for a short while longer, to rack up on glory points. Sensing impending defeat, Hector calls his troops to retreat back to Troy. The hordes of warriors depart, leaving Sarpedon's body at the bottom of a heap. 

Zeus instructs the god Apollo to take the body away, "out of range" (700). He orders him to clean him in the river, anoint him with oil, and prepare him for funeral in Lycia. 

Notice the narrator's address shifts here:
"Do you remember it, Patroclus, all the Trojans
You killed as the gods called you to your death?
Adrastus was first, then Autonus, and Echeclus,
Perimas, son of Megas, Epistor, Melanippus...
And it would have been more, but the others ran, 
Back to Troy, which would have fallen that day
By Patroclus' hands" (724-31).

Patroclus would make three attempts to reach the parapet at Troy, but he was driven back by Apollo. On the fourth try, Apollo forced him back, saying:

"Get back, Patroclus, back where you belong.
Troy is fated to fall, but not to you, 
Nor even to Achilles, a better man by far" (740-2).

Apparently Fate has other plans. 

Meanwhile, Hector is torn over whether to retreat further within the walls of Troy. Apollo comes to him in the disguise of Asius (his mom's brother) and tells him to "Get in that chariot and go after Patroclus" (755). Hector drove straight into the throng, making a beeline for Patroclus, who was perched on his chariot holding a big rock. Patroclus threw it, hitting Hector's chariot driver, Cebriones (King Priam's illegitimate son). Thus follows another gory scene involving eyeballs. Patroclus has a chuckle at the poor guy's fate. 

Hector gets mad and leaps at Patroclus, big battle to follow. Patroclus hurls himself into a mass of Trojans, killing nine of them. Here again the narrator's focus turns to addressing Patroclus:

"Then--did you feel it, Patroclus?--out of the mist,
Your death coming to meet you. It was 
Apollo, whom you did not see in the thick of battle,
Standing behind you, and the flat of his hand
Found the space between your shoulder blades..." (826-30).

Hector is not content to kill Patroclus and let him die: he must taunt the fallen warrior. Patroclus's dying words taunt Hector back, saying that he cannot rival the great Achilles. 

To what extent does fate intervene in the action of Book XVI? How do the gods handle fate? Do they go along with it--or tempt it?

Book IX: Bring Back Achilles

Book IX
It looks as though Achilles might have gotten his way, because as Book IX opens, the Greeks are in a panic. Agamemnon steps forward and addresses his fellow commanders, saying that it is time to give up. Zeus has turned his back on him and all is lost:

"Great Zeus of Cronus,
Is a hard god, friends. He's kept me in the dark
After all his promises, all his nods my way
That I'd raze Ilion's walls before sailing home.
It was all a lie, and I see now that his orders
Are for me to return to Argos in disgrace..." (lines 20-4).

However, Diomedes steps forward and challenges Agamemnon, saying "wait a minute, I'm not supporting this hang-dog defeatism! You were the one who called me 'weak' and said I was not as good as my dad! You can split if you want to, but as for myself and my fellow Achaeans will stay and fight--and if they don't, Sthenelus and I have staying power" (paraphrase, lines 35-53).

In steps Nestor and suggests they put aside the quarreling and eat. Meanwhile, in a private gathering with Agamemnon, Nestor suggests they ask Achilles to come back and help them out. He reminds Agamemnon of the way he insulted Achilles and took his prize away--thus they really need to heap on the gifts and compliments. Agamemnon replies, admitting that yes, his temper tantrum went over the top, and he behaved like a madman. If Achilles will come around, he will bestow all the gifts of treasure he can muster. If Achilles refuses, well, he's worse than Hades. Besides, I am an elder and a king!

The Greeks locate Achilles in his encampment, playing the lyre and singing. Only Patroclus is with him. Achilles greets them and they eat again.

In lengthy supplication, Odysseus recounts to Achilles all the fortunes (the racehorses, the towns, the beautiful women from Lesbos, Briseis, whom he never touched, gold and so on) he will receive if he just turns loose of his grudge against Agamemnon. If not, think for a moment about all the others "suffering up and down the line," and how great it would be for Achilles if he killed Hector.

Achilles whines about being whined at. He's done all of this fighting and pillaging and sacrificing, and for what? His spoils are taken from him--in fact, he's the only one this was done to. He's not impressed with all that is offered and scoffs at Odysseus (hence at Agamemnon) for having the cheek to offer such things. He doesn't want Agamemnon's daughter, or any of the other gifts he's been offered and he flatly refuses to bend. Why? Because none of these things measures up to a man's life.

He tells them:
"My mother Thetis, a moving silver grace,
Tells me two fates sweep me on to my death.
If I stay here and fight, I'll never return home,
But my glory will be undying forever.
If I return home to my dear fatherland
My glory is lost but my life will be long,
And death that ends all will not catch me soon" (lines 424-9).

Then Phoenix steps forward and starts crying. He chastises Achilles through his tears for his behavior and for basically being a spoiled brat. Phoenix recounts the story of his own life, when his mother coerced him into sleeping with his father's concubine so that she would reject the older man. His father found out and cursed him, saying that Phoenix would never have children. Then he ran away and was taken in by Peleus, Achilles' father. Phoenix acts as an older brother to Achilles, feeding and caring for him. However, he admits the real reason he sought to 'make [Achilles] [his] child. What was it? (page 267).

Phoenix tells another long story--this time with a discernible moral for Achilles to notice. It's a warning to go ahead and drop his anger and accept the treasure being offered already.

Still, Achilles is adamant about his refusal. He won't return to war until Hector starts destroying his own army. He offers Phoenix a nice, soft bed. The Greeks return word to Agamemnon, and he and his company are shocked at Achilles' stubbornness.