11/24/2023 0 Comments Homer iliad odysseyIn formal science we can see a parallel: scientists who excel in their practical activities (laboratory work) and in achieving short-term victories (paper publication) achieve higher status. However, taken as a whole the Iliad presents war as a futile exercise, a series of hollow victories. Homer’s text is full of bloody and relentless violence interestingly, the bloodier the violence the more bucolic and pacific the attending similes are. Heroes excel and are validated in battle, and the greater the warrior the better a hero they are. But it is also Homer’s humans who are better than the gods: their short lives give them something the gods can never have – the moral dignity of effort and endurance.Īnother of the Iliad’s themes, and a paradoxical one, is that of war. The parallel to formal science is, I think, useful: we tell ourselves a story of science as a series of remarkable discoveries made by a handful of geniuses working alone, but the actuality is that formal science is carried out by a vast group of workers who are not necessarily geniuses, and have very human lives. Apart from anything else, “more than half of the Iliad is occupied by the long battle scenes from which the hero on account of his withdrawal is wholly absent” (Camps 1980: 13) That observation of the absence of the main subject alone is pertinent to our understanding of formal science: many discoveries are made when scientists are not focusing on what their stated aim is.Īlthough the Iliad and Odyssey are populated with gods and goddesses, and supernatural beings of different sorts, the focus keeps coming back to real human experiences. ![]() “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus and its devastation”īut the poem isn’t really about that – or rather not about that alone. Of all the Grecian Woes, O Goddess sing!” (Pope) “The Wrath of Peleus’s Son, the direful Spring Here is the famous opening verse of the Iliad: What is the Iliad about? There are lots of themes, and even a very clear stated aim and goal of the poem. Here are some further thoughts on this topic. On reflection I think a more sustained reading of formal science, its practitioners and institutions, through Homer can reward us. Take this course with a master teacher in a live online class.I dismissed using Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as a metaphor for contemporary science a bit quickly in my 2018 paper ‘Homer in the laboratory’, only focussing on the idea of οικος as a metaphor for how contemporary science labs operate. You can also purchase The Iliad & Odyssey Complete Set (with DVDs) instead of the set with Streaming Videos. This product is a lifetime membership that gives you unlimited access to stream the instructional videos for The Iliad & The Odyssey.Īccess membership information on your My Account page under the Streaming Courses tab. These Memoria Press editions feature the translations of Samuel Butler, which are both scholarly and easily accessible to younger students. ![]() The Iliad and the Odyssey have been enormously influential in Western literature and art, and are the perfect place to begin your study of Western culture and the Great Books. The Odyssey was the original great adventure story and character study. The Iliad was the principal textbook in the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, and the primary authority in matters of ethics and morals, civic behavior, and military tactics. ![]() Traditionally dated to the 8th century B.C., these epics were the most important influences in the formation of Greek culture. Western civilization begins with the two greatest books of the ancient world, the Iliad and the Odyssey by the Greek poet Homer.
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