History 4A: Paper #2
The Iliad
De Anza College
How does The Iliad reflect the society that produced it? What is the relationship between the society that produced it (Homer’s Greece) and the society it portrays (Mycenaean Greece)? How does the poem reflect the political hierarchy of ancient Greece? What role does the heroic code of honor play in the poem? Which character emerges as the most heroic? How does it portray gender roles? How does it portray economic relations in ancient Greece? What does the poem say about religious beliefs in ancient Greece?
Use examples from the text to explain your answer.
You must cite your sources, and list them at the end of your paper as a List of References. Please do not “borrow” material from the web without providing proper citations and enclosing direct quotations in quotation marks. Otherwise, it will be considered plagiarism, and the penalties will be severe.
Typed, double-spaced, 12-point type, 600-800 words. Use MLA formatting.
Please e-mail as an attachment to the instructor at crjackson81@gmail.com before midnight on the date due. Note: before sending the assignment, you must rename the file in the following format: LastnameFirstname-papernumber. Example: JacksonChristopher-paper1.doc. If the file is not properly named, it will not be accepted. If the file cannot be opened with MS-Word, it will not be accepted. Please put the course number and the file name in the subject line of the e-mail. For example: Subject: History 17B JacksonChristopher-paper1. That allows me to better keep track of the several hundred papers that I received during the quarter.
For help with MLA formatting, consult the Purdue Owl (on-line writing lab).
Some tips for reading selections from The Iliad:
“Achaeans,” “Argives,” “Danaans,” and “Hellenes” are all synonyms for Greeks in the context of the poem. “Ilium” is a synonym for Troy.
Apollo shooting arrows in Book I is a symbol for disease ("pestilence").
Agamemnon is one of many kings among the Greeks, but is the most important of them. Achilles is the most powerful warrior among the Greeks, and Hector is the most powerful warrior among the Trojans. Hector’s brother, Paris, started all the trouble when he foolishly agreed to judge three goddesses on their beauty; the winner, Aphrodite (goddess of love), promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. The two losers (Hera, wife of chief god Zeus, and Athene, daughter of Zeus) became enemies of Paris and his people. (The other gods likewise take sides in this epic battle, and they do not always fight “fair.”) Paris kidnapped Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, from Sparta, where she was married to Menelaus, the Spartan king. Menelaus persuaded the other Greek kings to retrieve Helen; they have been laying siege to Troy for ten years when The Iliad takes place.