The goddess said, and sullen took her place;
Black horror sadden’d each celestial face.
To see the gathering grudge in every breast,
Smiles on her lips a spleenful joy express’d;
While on her wrinkled front, and eyebrow bent,
Sat stedfast care, and lowering discontent.
Thus she proceeds —“Attend, ye powers above!
But know, ’tis madness to contest with Jove:
Supreme he sits; and sees, in pride of sway.
Your vassal godheads grudgingly obey:
Fierce in the majesty of power controls;
Shakes all the thrones of heaven, and bends the poles.
Submiss, immortals! all he wills, obey:
And thou, great Mars, begin and show the way.
Behold Ascalaphus! behold him die,
But dare not murmur, dare not vent a sigh;
Thy own loved boasted offspring lies o’erthrown,
If that loved boasted offspring be thy own.”

Group 5: Identify examples of alliteration, repetition, metonymy, and imagery that reveal his character as a god of war.Make a claim about Mars based on the verse.

Stern Mars, with anguish for his slaughter’d son,
Smote his rebelling breast, and fierce begun:
“Thus then, immortals! thus shall Mars obey;
Forgive me, gods, and yield my vengeance way:
Descending first to yon forbidden plain,
The god of battles dares avenge the slain;
Dares, though the thunder bursting o’er my head
Should hurl me blazing on those heaps of dead.”

With that he gives command to Fear and Flight
To join his rapid coursers for the fight:
Then grim in arms, with hasty vengeance flies;
Arms that reflect a radiance through the skies.

Group 6: How is Pallas portrayed as a goddess of wisdom? How does she sooth Mars? Identify words or phrases that reveal her beliefs in destiny.

And now had Jove, by bold rebellion driven,
Discharged his wrath on half the host of heaven;
But Pallas, springing through the bright abode,
Starts from her azure throne to calm the god.
Struck for the immortal race with timely fear,
From frantic Mars she snatch’d the shield and spear;
Then the huge helmet lifting from his head,
Thus to the impetuous homicide she said:
“By what wild passion, furious! art thou toss’d?
Striv’st thou with Jove? thou art already lost.
Shall not the Thunderer’s dread command restrain,
And was imperial Juno heard in vain?
Back to the skies wouldst thou with shame be driven,
And in thy guilt involve the host of heaven?
Ilion and Greece no more should Jove engage,
The skies would yield an ampler scene of rage;
Guilty and guiltless find an equal fate
And one vast ruin whelm the Olympian state.
Cease then thy offspring’s death unjust to call;
Heroes as great have died, and yet shall fall.
Why should heaven’s law with foolish man comply
Exempted from the race ordain’d to die?”

This menace fix’d the warrior to his throne;
Sullen he sat, and curb’d the rising groan.
Then Juno call’d (Jove’s orders to obey)
The winged Iris, and the god of day.
“Go wait the Thunderer’s will (Saturnia cried)
On yon tall summit of the fountful Ide:
There in the father’s awful presence stand,
Receive, and execute his dread command.”

End of the Lesson Assessment: How is Jove’s power portrayed ? How does his power affect the immorals and mortals?

Homework: Continue reading Book 15. Determine a purpose for your own reading. State the purpose and annotate the verse accordingly. Bring in your annotations based on self-assigned purposes to the class tomorrow.We’ll share and use them for close reading.

Lesson 19

Objectives: Students will grasp details of how Poseidon gets involved in the Trojan war and how Apollo saves Hector.

Aim: How do the gods continue their involvement in the Trojan war? What are the effects caused due to their interference?

Text: pages 8-17 of Book 15

Do now: How is the horse described on page 10 of book 15 starting ” When the pampered steed with reins unbound to ..full of the gods”?

Mini Lesson-

How is the conflict between Jove and Neptune portrayed? How do they differ in their attitude toward Troy?

“Attend the mandate of the sire above!
In me behold the messenger of Jove:
He bids thee from forbidden wars repair
To thine own deeps, or to the fields of air.
This if refused, he bids thee timely weigh
His elder birthright, and superior sway.
How shall thy rashness stand the dire alarms
If heaven’s omnipotence descend in arms?
Striv’st thou with him by whom all power is given?
And art thou equal to the lord of heaven?”

“What means the haughty sovereign of the skies?
(The king of ocean thus, incensed, replies;)
Rule as he will his portion’d realms on high;
No vassal god, nor of his train, am I.
Three brother deities from Saturn came,
And ancient Rhea, earth’s immortal dame:
Assign’d by lot, our triple rule we know;
Infernal Pluto sways the shades below;
O’er the wide clouds, and o’er the starry plain,
Ethereal Jove extends his high domain;
My court beneath the hoary waves I keep,
And hush the roarings of the sacred deep;
Olympus, and this earth, in common lie:
What claim has here the tyrant of the sky?
Far in the distant clouds let him control,
And awe the younger brothers of the pole;
There to his children his commands be given,
The trembling, servile, second race of heaven.”
“And must I then (said she), O sire of floods!
Bear this fierce answer to the king of gods?
Correct it yet, and change thy rash intent;
A noble mind disdains not to repent.
To elder brothers guardian fiends are given,
To scourge the wretch insulting them and heaven.”

“Great is the profit (thus the god rejoin’d)
When ministers are blest with prudent mind:
Warn’d by thy words, to powerful Jove I yield,
And quit, though angry, the contended field:
Not but his threats with justice I disclaim,
The same our honours, and our birth the same.
If yet, forgetful of his promise given
To Hermes, Pallas, and the queen of heaven,
To favour Ilion, that perfidious place,
He breaks his faith with half the ethereal race;
Give him to know, unless the Grecian train
Lay yon proud structures level with the plain,
Howe’er the offence by other gods be pass’d,
The wrath of Neptune shall for ever last.”
Thus speaking, furious from the field he strode,
And plunged into the bosom of the flood.

The lord of thunders, from his lofty height
Beheld, and thus bespoke the source of light:
“Behold! the god whose liquid arms are hurl’d
Around the globe, whose earthquakes rock the world,
Desists at length his rebel-war to wage,
Seeks his own seas, and trembles at our rage;
Else had my wrath, heaven’s thrones all shaking round,
Burn’d to the bottom of his seas profound;

And all the gods that round old Saturn dwell
Had heard the thunders to the deeps of hell.
Well was the crime, and well the vengeance spared;
Even power immense had found such battle hard.
Go thou, my son! the trembling Greeks alarm,
Shake my broad aegis on thy active arm,
Be godlike Hector thy peculiar care,
Swell his bold heart, and urge his strength to war:
Let Ilion conquer, till the Achaian train
Fly to their ships and Hellespont again:
Then Greece shall breathe from toils.”

Student Independent Practice-

Group 1: Gather textual evidence to respond to- How does Phoebus save Hector? (9-10)

Group 2: Gather evidence to respond to -How Thoas react to Hector’s “resurrection”?(11)

Group 3: Gather evidence to respond to –How does the battle between Greeks and Trojans escalate after Hector was saved by Apollo (12)?

Group 4: Gather evidence to respond to- How does Apollo help the Trojans? How does he feel with his work? (13-14)

Group 5: Gather evidence to respond to –How are Greeks’ fleet described? (15) How is Ajax described confronting Hector and when his companion Lycophone got killed(16)?

Homework: Read and respond: How does Hector encourage Trojans to continue the fight against Greeks( 18)? How does Ajax do the same to the Greeks? (19)

Lesson 20

Objectives: Students will write a critical summary of the assigned passage and make a claim based on the text by using annotative skills.

Aim: What is the passage about? What is the point does he try to make? How does he convey the point?

Do now: Review lesson 18.

Mini Lesson:

How to write a summary of a passage?

1. Identify the events
2. Identify the logical relations that connect the events
3. Prioritize the details of the event
4. Identify the key words that can be used in the summary

What’s the claim?

• Notice and Focus
• Method- pattern, binary, repetition, strand, anomaly, etc
• So what?

Student Independent Practice-

Assign a passage for each group-

After reading the passage,-

1. Write a summary
2. Make a claim
3. List at least three textual evidence to support the claim

Homework: Read Book 16 and describe how the book is different from all the other books we have read. Select a specific passage to illustrate its unique narrative.

Lesson 21

Objectives: Students will describe how book 16 of Iliad is different from the rest of the books we have read by selecting  a specific passage to illustrate its unique narrative.

Aim: Why is Book 16 unique?

Do Now:  Share your homework based on book 15 within your group.

1. Write a summary
2. Make a claim
3. List at least three textual evidence to support the claim

Mini Lesson: Summary and analysis

Click the link to read examples of summary and analysis ( http://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-iliad/book-16)

Student Independent Practice-

Each group respond to two of the questions below . Be sure to use direct quotations from the text.

Iliad 16

1. How appropriate is the simile on the first page of book 16 which compares Patroclus to a little girl weeping for mother? What is Achilles’ point in making it? What effect does it have on the audience of the poem (you!)?

2. What is Achilles’ reaction to Patroclus’ speech that includes the provocative exclamation “You and your damned Honor!”  How does Achilles justify sending Patroclus out to fight in his place?

3. What are Achilles’ special instructions to Patroclus ? What does he say about his sense of honor? What does the end of his speech say about the strength of his friendship with Patroclus?

4. In Patroclus’ arming scene, Homer specifically tells us that Patroclus does not take Achilles’ spear. Why? How does this relate to Nestor’s cup in book 11 (11.674) How does it relate to Achilles’ cup in this book ? What is special about Achilles’ horses?

5. What religious ceremony does Achilles perform before sending out his troops to fight? What special vessel does he use for it? How effective is it? Usually prayers offer something to gods. How does this prayer fit that pattern?

6. How does Patroclus make a political statement against Agamemnon out of the Myrmidons’ re-entry into battle? And how does the sight of Patroclus in battle affect the Trojans?

7. Look at Zeus’ reaction to his son Sarpedon’s death . What does this say about the relation between ‘fate’ and the gods?

8. Why is there such a terrible fight over Sarpedon’s body?

9. Following Sarpedon’s death, his dejected and wounded comrade Glaucus prays to Apollo . Usually prayers offer something to gods. How does this prayer fit that pattern? What is Apollo’s reaction?

10. How does Zeus make sure that Sarpedon’s body is treated properly?

11. What responsibility does Patroclus have for his own death? To what extent is Apollo responsible? To what extend it Hector responsible? To what extent is Achilles responsible? To what extent is Zeus responsible? Euphorbus? Fate?

12. Which god is Hector’s patron in this book? What does this god have to do with prophecy? What is ironic about Patroclus’ prophecy to Hector , that Hector rejects?

Homework: What’s one of the most important themes revealed in this book? Why? ( Bring in book 22 tomorrow).

Pick one verse from Book 22 and use the five analytical moves to read closely the selected passage-

Five Analytical Moves

Move 1:  Suspend judgment (understand before you judge)

Move 2: Define significant parts ( Notice and Focus) and how they are related

Move 3: Look for patterns of repetition and contrast and for anomalies ( aka The Method)

Move 4: Make an implicit explicit (convert to direct statement meanings that are only suggested- make details speak)

Move 5: Keep reforming questions and explanations (what other details seem significant? What else might the mean?

Lesson 22

Objectives: Students will make inferences about the themes  by  discussing the heighlighted scenes of Book 16, Book 18 and 22 of The Iliad.

Aim: 

• In what ways does Achilles’ grief over Patroclus modify the conception of glory on which he operates? Compare and contrast how Achilles identifies honor and glory before Book 16 (and in Book 16) with what he says about them after he learns Patroclus has died. How does Achilles’ fighting, in Books 20-22, compare with what he says?
• In what ways does Achilles pass beyond the ordinary limits of humanity, in the aftermath of Patroclus’s death? How does the epic mark Achilles’ transgressions of human limits?
• What do the gods’ fights in Book 22 do to advance the tale of Achilles’ heroism? What principles help settle conflicts among the gods over the Trojan War?

Texts:

• Book 18  Achilles Shield
• Book 22: Hector’s Death

Do Now: How are the horses depicted in the verse?

PASSAGE 1: Descriptions of  horses ( book 16)

1. 1. Meantime, at distance from the scene of blood,
   2. The pensive steeds of great Achilles stood:
   3. Their godlike master slain before their eyes,
   4. They wept, and shared in human miseries.
   5. In vain Automedon now shakes the rein,
   6. Now plies the lash, and soothes and threats in vain;
   7. Nor to the fight nor Hellespont they go,
   8. Restive they stood, and obstinate in woe:
   9. Still as a tombstone, never to be moved,
   10. On some good man or woman unreproved
   11. Lays its eternal weight; or fix’d, as stands
   12. A marble courser by the sculptor’s hands,
   13. Placed on the hero’s grave. Along their face
   14. The big round drops coursed down with silent pace,
   15. Conglobing on the dust. Their manes, that late
   16. Circled their arched necks, and waved in state,
   17. Trail’d on the dust beneath the yoke were spread,
   18. And prone to earth was hung their languid head:
   19. …………
   20. He said; and breathing in the immortal horse
   21. Excessive spirit, urged them to the course;
   22. From their high manes they shake the dust, and bear
   23. The kindling chariot through the parted war:
   24. So flies a vulture through the clamorous train
   25. Of geese, that scream, and scatter round the plain.
   26. From danger now with swiftest speed they flew,
   27. And now to conquest with like speed pursue;
   28. Sole in the seat the charioteer remains,
   29. Now plies the javelin, now directs the reins:
2. 1. Passage 2: Petroclus’ Death ( Book 16)( pages 25-32)
   1. Mini Lesson- Read closely of Passage 2 about Petroclus’ death. Discuss how his sudden death is by fate.
   1. Then Hector pausing, as his eyes he fed
   2. On the pale carcase, thus address’d the dead:
   3. “From whence this boding speech, the stern decree
   4. Of death denounced, or why denounced to me?
   5. Why not as well Achilles’ fate be given
   6. To Hector’s lance? Who knows the will of heaven?”
   7. Pensive he said; then pressing as he lay
   8. His breathless bosom, tore the lance away;
   9. And upwards cast the corse: the reeking spear
   10. He shakes, and charges the bold charioteer.
   11. But swift Automedon with loosen’d reins
   12. Rapt in the chariot o’er the distant plains,
   13. Far from his rage the immortal coursers drove;
   14. The immortal coursers were the gift of Jove.
   1. Then thus to Phoebus, in the realms above,
   2. Spoke from his throne the cloud-compelling Jove:
   3. “Descend, my Phoebus! on the Phrygian plain,
   4. And from the fight convey Sarpedon slain;
   5. Then bathe his body in the crystal flood,
   6. With dust dishonour’d, and deform’d with blood;
   7. O’er all his limbs ambrosial odours shed,
   8. And with celestial robes adorn the dead.
   9. Those rites discharged, his sacred corse bequeath
   10. To the soft arms of silent Sleep and Death.
   11. They to his friends the immortal charge shall bear;
   12. His friends a tomb and pyramid shall rear:
   13. What honour mortals after death receive,
   14. Those unavailing honours we may give!”
   15. Apollo bows, and from mount Ida’s height,
   16. Swift to the field precipitates his flight;
   17. Thence from the war the breathless hero bore,
   18. Veil’d in a cloud, to silver Simois’ shore;
   19. There bathed his honourable wounds, and dress’d
   20. His manly members in the immortal vest;
   21. And with perfumes of sweet ambrosial dews
   22. Restores his freshness, and his form renews.
   23. Then Sleep and Death, two twins of winged race,
   24. Of matchless swiftness, but of silent pace,
   25. Received Sarpedon, at the god’s command,
   26. And in a moment reach’d the Lycian land;
   27. The corse amidst his weeping friends they laid,
   28. Where endless honours wait the sacred shade.
   29. Meanwhile Patroclus pours along the plains,
   30. With foaming coursers, and with loosen’d reins.
   31. Fierce on the Trojan and the Lycian crew,
   32. Ah blind to fate! thy headlong fury flew
   33. Against what fate and powerful Jove ordain,
   34. Vain was thy friend’s command, thy courage vain.
   35. For he, the god, whose counsels uncontroll’d
   36. Dismay the mighty, and confound the bold;
   37. The god who gives, resumes, and orders all,
   38. He urged thee on, and urged thee on to fall.
   39. Who first, brave hero! by that arm was slain,
   40. Who last beneath thy vengeance press’d the plain;
   41. When heaven itself thy fatal fury led,
   42. And call’d to fill the number of the dead?
   43. Adrestus first; Autonous then succeeds;
   44. Echeclus follows; next young Megas bleeds,
   45. Epistor, Melanippus, bite the ground;
   46. The slaughter, Elasus and Mulius crown’d:
   47. Then sunk Pylartes to eternal night;
   48. The rest, dispersing, trust their fates to flight.
   49. Now Troy had stoop’d beneath his matchless power,
   50. But flaming Phoebus kept the sacred tower
   51. Thrice at the battlements Patroclus strook; ²⁴⁵
   52. His blazing aegis thrice Apollo shook;
   53. He tried the fourth; when, bursting from the cloud,
   54. A more than mortal voice was heard aloud.
   55. “Patroclus! cease; this heaven-defended wall
   56. Defies thy lance; not fated yet to fall;
   57. Thy friend, thy greater far, it shall withstand,
   58. Troy shall not stoop even to Achilles’ hand.”
   59. So spoke the god who darts celestial fires;
   60. The Greek obeys him, and with awe retires.
   61. While Hector, checking at the Scaean gates
   62. His panting coursers, in his breast debates,
   63. Or in the field his forces to employ,
   64. Or draw the troops within the walls of Troy.
   65. Thus while he thought, beside him Phoebus stood,
   66. In Asius’ shape, who reigned by Sangar’s flood;
   67. (Thy brother, Hecuba! from Dymas sprung,
   68. A valiant warrior, haughty, bold, and young;)
   69. Thus he accosts him. “What a shameful sight!
   70. God! is it Hector that forbears the fight?
   71. Were thine my vigour this successful spear
   72. Should soon convince thee of so false a fear.
   73. Turn thee, ah turn thee to the field of fame,
   74. And in Patroclus’ blood efface thy shame.
   75. Perhaps Apollo shall thy arms succeed,
   76. And heaven ordains him by thy lance to bleed.”
   77. So spoke the inspiring god; then took his flight,
   78. And plunged amidst the tumult of the fight.
   79. He bids Cebrion drive the rapid car;
   80. The lash resounds, the coursers rush to war.
   81. The god the Grecians’ sinking souls depress’d,
   82. And pour’d swift spirits through each Trojan breast.
   83. Patroclus lights, impatient for the fight;
   84. A spear his left, a stone employs his right:
   85. With all his nerves he drives it at the foe.
   86. Pointed above, and rough and gross below:
   87. The falling ruin crush’d Cebrion’s head,
   88. The lawless offspring of king Priam’s bed;
   89. His front, brows, eyes, one undistinguish’d wound:
   90. The bursting balls drop sightless to the ground.
   91. The charioteer, while yet he held the rein,
   92. Struck from the car, falls headlong on the plain.
   93. To the dark shades the soul unwilling glides,
   94. While the proud victor thus his fall derides.
   95. “Good heaven! what active feats yon artist shows!
   96. What skilful divers are our Phrygian foes!
   97. Mark with what ease they sink into the sand!
   98. Pity that all their practice is by land!”
   99. Then rushing sudden on his prostrate prize,
   100. To spoil the carcase fierce Patroclus flies:
   101. Swift as a lion, terrible and bold,
   102. That sweeps the field, depopulates the fold;
   103. Pierced through the dauntless heart, then tumbles slain,
   104. And from his fatal courage finds his bane.
   105. At once bold Hector leaping from his car,
   106. Defends the body, and provokes the war.
   107. Thus for some slaughter’d hind, with equal rage,
   108. Two lordly rulers of the wood engage;
   109. Stung with fierce hunger, each the prey invades,
   110. And echoing roars rebellow through the shades.
   111. Stern Hector fastens on the warrior’s head,
   112. And by the foot Patroclus drags the dead:
   113. While all around, confusion, rage, and fright,
   114. Mix the contending hosts in mortal fight.
   115. So pent by hills, the wild winds roar aloud
   116. In the deep bosom of some gloomy wood;
   117. Leaves, arms, and trees, aloft in air are blown,
   118. The broad oaks crackle, and the Sylvans groan;
   119. This way and that, the rattling thicket bends,
   120. And the whole forest in one crash descends.
   121. Not with less noise, with less tumultuous rage,
   122. In dreadful shock the mingled hosts engage.
   123. Darts shower’d on darts, now round the carcase ring;
   124. Now flights of arrows bounding from the string:
   125. Stones follow stones; some clatter on the fields,
   126. Some hard, and heavy, shake the sounding shields.
   127. But where the rising whirlwind clouds the plains,
   128. Sunk in soft dust the mighty chief remains,
   129. And, stretch’d in death, forgets the guiding reins!
   130. Now flaming from the zenith, Sol had driven
   131. His fervid orb through half the vault of heaven;
   132. While on each host with equal tempests fell
   133. The showering darts, and numbers sank to hell.
   134. But when his evening wheels o’erhung the main,
   135. Glad conquest rested on the Grecian train.
   136. Then from amidst the tumult and alarms,
   137. They draw the conquer’d corse and radiant arms.
   138. Then rash Patroclus with new fury glows,
   139. And breathing slaughter, pours amid the foes.
   140. Thrice on the press like Mars himself he flew,
   141. And thrice three heroes at each onset slew.
   142. There ends thy glory! there the Fates untwine
   143. The last, black remnant of so bright a line:
   144. Apollo dreadful stops thy middle way;
   145. Death calls, and heaven allows no longer day!
   146. For lo! the god in dusky clouds enshrined,
   147. Approaching dealt a staggering blow behind.
   148. The weighty shock his neck and shoulders feel;
   149. His eyes flash sparkles, his stunn’d senses reel
   150. In giddy darkness; far to distance flung,
   151. His bounding helmet on the champaign rung.
   152. Achilles’ plume is stain’d with dust and gore;
   153. That plume which never stoop’d to earth before;
   154. Long used, untouch’d, in fighting fields to shine,
   155. And shade the temples of the mad divine.
   156. Jove dooms it now on Hector’s helm to nod;
   157. Not long — for fate pursues him, and the god.
   158. His spear in shivers falls; his ample shield
   159. Drops from his arm: his baldric strows the field:
   160. The corslet his astonish’d breast forsakes:
   161. Loose is each joint; each nerve with horror shakes;
   162. Stupid he stares, and all-assistless stands:
   163. Such is the force of more than mortal hands!
   164. A Dardan youth there was, well known to fame,
   165. From Panthus sprung, Euphorbus was his name;
   166. Famed for the manage of the foaming horse,
   167. Skill’d in the dart, and matchless in the course:
   168. Full twenty knights he tumbled from the car,
   169. While yet he learn’d his rudiments of war.
   170. His venturous spear first drew the hero’s gore;
   171. He struck, he wounded, but he durst no more.
   172. Nor, though disarm’d, Patroclus’ fury stood:
   173. But swift withdrew the long-protended wood.
   174. And turn’d him short, and herded in the crowd.
   175. Thus, by an arm divine, and mortal spear,
   176. Wounded, at once, Patroclus yields to fear,
   177. Retires for succour to his social train,
   178. And flies the fate, which heaven decreed, in vain.
   179. Stern Hector, as the bleeding chief he views,
   180. Breaks through the ranks, and his retreat pursues:
   181. The lance arrests him with a mortal wound;
   182. He falls, earth thunders, and his arms resound.
   183. With him all Greece was sunk; that moment all
   184. Her yet-surviving heroes seem’d to fall.
   185. So, scorch’d with heat, along the desert score,
   186. The roaming lion meets a bristly boar,
   187. Fast by the spring; they both dispute the flood,
   188. With flaming eyes, and jaws besmear’d with blood;
   189. At length the sovereign savage wins the strife;
   190. And the torn boar resigns his thirst and life.
   191. Patroclus thus, so many chiefs o’erthrown,
   192. So many lives effused, expires his own.
   193. As dying now at Hector’s feet he lies,
   194. He sternly views him, and triumphant cries:
   195. “Lie there, Patroclus! and with thee, the joy
   196. Thy pride once promised, of subverting Troy;
   197. The fancied scenes of Ilion wrapt in flames,
   198. And thy soft pleasures served with captive dames.
   199. Unthinking man! I fought those towers to free,
   200. And guard that beauteous race from lords like thee:
   201. But thou a prey to vultures shalt be made;
   202. Thy own Achilles cannot lend thee aid;
   203. Though much at parting that great chief might say,
   204. And much enjoin thee, this important day.
   205. ‘Return not, my brave friend (perhaps he said),
   206. Without the bloody arms of Hector dead.’
   207. He spoke, Patroclus march’d, and thus he sped.”
   208. Supine, and wildly gazing on the skies,
   209. With faint, expiring breath, the chief replies:
   210. “Vain boaster! cease, and know the powers divine!
   211. Jove’s and Apollo’s is this deed, not thine;
   212. To heaven is owed whate’er your own you call,
   213. And heaven itself disarm’d me ere my fall.
   214. Had twenty mortals, each thy match in might,
   215. Opposed me fairly, they had sunk in fight:
   216. By fate and Phoebus was I first o’erthrown,
   217. Euphorbus next; the third mean part thy own.
   218. But thou, imperious! hear my latest breath;
   219. The gods inspire it, and it sounds thy death:
   220. Insulting man, thou shalt be soon as I;
   221. Black fate o’erhangs thee, and thy hour draws nigh;
   222. Even now on life’s last verge I see thee stand,
   223. I see thee fall, and by Achilles’ hand.”
   224. He faints: the soul unwilling wings her way,
   225. (The beauteous body left a load of clay)
   226. Flits to the lone, uncomfortable coast;
   227. A naked, wandering, melancholy ghost!

Passage 3: Achilles’ Shield Book 8

1. Meanwhile the silver-footed dame
2. Reach’d the Vulcanian dome, eternal frame!
3. High-eminent amid the works divine,
4. Where heaven’s far-beaming brazen mansions shine.
5. There the lame architect the goddess found,
6. Obscure in smoke, his forges flaming round,
7. While bathed in sweat from fire to fire he flew;
8. And puffing loud, the roaring billows blew.
9. That day no common task his labour claim’d:

• Full twenty tripods for his hall he framed,

1. That placed on living wheels of massy gold,
2. (Wondrous to tell,) instinct with spirit roll’d
3. From place to place, around the bless’d abodes
4. Self-moved, obedient to the beck of gods:
5. For their fair handles now, o’erwrought with flowers,
6. In moulds prepared, the glowing ore he pours.
7. Just as responsive to his thought the frame

• Stood prompt to move, the azure goddess came:

9. Charis, his spouse, a grace divinely fair,
10. (With purple fillets round her braided hair,)
11. Observed her entering; her soft hand she press’d,
12. And, smiling, thus the watery queen address’d:
13. “What, goddess! this unusual favour draws?
14. All hail, and welcome! whatsoe’er the cause;
15. Till now a stranger, in a happy hour
16. Approach, and taste the dainties of the bower.”

• High on a throne, with stars of silver graced,

8. And various artifice, the queen she placed;
9. A footstool at her feet: then calling, said,
10. “Vulcan, draw near, ’tis Thetis asks your aid.”
11. “Thetis (replied the god) our powers may claim,
12. An ever-dear, an ever-honour’d name!
13. When my proud mother hurl’d me from the sky,
14. (My awkward form, it seems, displeased her eye,)
15. She, and Eurynome, my griefs redress’d,
16. And soft received me on their silver breast.

• Even then these arts employ’d my infant thought:

8. Chains, bracelets, pendants, all their toys, I wrought.
9. Nine years kept secret in the dark abode,
10. Secure I lay, conceal’d from man and god:
11. Deep in a cavern’d rock my days were led;
12. The rushing ocean murmur’d o’er my head.
13. Now, since her presence glads our mansion, say,
14. For such desert what service can I pay?
15. Vouchsafe, O Thetis! at our board to share
16. The genial rites, and hospitable fare;

• While I the labours of the forge forego,

8. And bid the roaring bellows cease to blow.”
9. Then from his anvil the lame artist rose;
10. Wide with distorted legs oblique he goes,
11. And stills the bellows, and (in order laid)
12. Locks in their chests his instruments of trade.
13. Then with a sponge the sooty workman dress’d
14. His brawny arms embrown’d, and hairy breast.
15. With his huge sceptre graced, and red attire,
16. Came halting forth the sovereign of the fire:

• The monarch’s steps two female forms uphold,

8. That moved and breathed in animated gold;
9. To whom was voice, and sense, and science given
10. Of works divine (such wonders are in heaven!)
11. On these supported, with unequal gait,
12. He reach’d the throne where pensive Thetis sate;
13. There placed beside her on the shining frame,
14. He thus address’d the silver-footed dame:
15. “Thee, welcome, goddess! what occasion calls
16. (So long a stranger) to these honour’d walls?

• ’Tis thine, fair Thetis, the command to lay,

8. And Vulcan’s joy and duty to obey.”
9. To whom the mournful mother thus replies:
10. (The crystal drops stood trembling in her eyes:)
11. “O Vulcan! say, was ever breast divine

• So pierced with sorrows, so o’erwhelm’d as mine?
• Of all the goddesses, did Jove prepare
• For Thetis only such a weight of care?
• I, only I, of all the watery race
• By force subjected to a man’s embrace,

7. Who, sinking now with age and sorrow, pays
8. The mighty fine imposed on length of days.

• Sprung from my bed, a godlike hero came,

1. The bravest sure that ever bore the name;

• Like some fair plant beneath my careful hand

2. He grew, he flourish’d, and he graced the land:
3. To Troy I sent him! but his native shore
4. Never, ah never, shall receive him more;
5. (Even while he lives, he wastes with secret woe;)
6. Nor I, a goddess, can retard the blow!
7. Robb’d of the prize the Grecian suffrage gave,
8. The king of nations forced his royal slave:
9. For this he grieved; and, till the Greeks oppress’d
10. Required his arm, he sorrow’d unredress’d.
11. Large gifts they promise, and their elders send;
12. In vain — he arms not, but permits his friend
13. His arms, his steeds, his forces to employ:
14. He marches, combats, almost conquers Troy:
15. Then slain by Phoebus (Hector had the name)
16. At once resigns his armour, life, and fame.

• But thou, in pity, by my prayer be won:

8. Grace with immortal arms this short-lived son,
9. And to the field in martial pomp restore,
10. To shine with glory, till he shines no more!”
11. To her the artist-god: “Thy griefs resign,
12. Secure, what Vulcan can, is ever thine.
    1. could I hide him from the Fates, as well,
13. Or with these hands the cruel stroke repel,
14. As I shall forge most envied arms, the gaze
15. Of wondering ages, and the world’s amaze!”
16. Thus having said, the father of the fires
17. To the black labours of his forge retires.
18. Soon as he bade them blow, the bellows turn’d
19. Their iron mouths; and where the furnace burn’d,
20. Resounding breathed: at once the blast expires,
21. And twenty forges catch at once the fires;
22. Just as the god directs, now loud, now low,
23. They raise a tempest, or they gently blow;
24. In hissing flames huge silver bars are roll’d,
25. And stubborn brass, and tin, and solid gold;
26. Before, deep fix’d, the eternal anvils stand;
27. The ponderous hammer loads his better hand,
28. His left with tongs turns the vex’d metal round,
29. And thick, strong strokes, the doubling vaults rebound.
30. Then first he form’d the immense and solid shield;
31. Rich various artifice emblazed the field;
32. Its utmost verge a threefold circle bound; ²⁵²
33. A silver chain suspends the massy round;
34. Five ample plates the broad expanse compose,
35. And godlike labours on the surface rose.
36. There shone the image of the master-mind:
37. There earth, there heaven, there ocean he design’d;
38. The unwearied sun, the moon completely round;
39. The starry lights that heaven’s high convex crown’d;
40. The Pleiads, Hyads, with the northern team;
41. And great Orion’s more refulgent beam;
42. To which, around the axle of the sky,
43. The Bear, revolving, points his golden eye,
44. Still shines exalted on the ethereal plain,
45. Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main.
46. Two cities radiant on the shield appear,
47. The image one of peace, and one of war.
48. Here sacred pomp and genial feast delight,
49. And solemn dance, and hymeneal rite;
50. Along the street the new-made brides are led,
51. With torches flaming, to the nuptial bed:
52. The youthful dancers in a circle bound
53. To the soft flute, and cithern’s silver sound:
54. Through the fair streets the matrons in a row
55. Stand in their porches, and enjoy the show.
56. There in the forum swarm a numerous train;
57. The subject of debate, a townsman slain:
58. One pleads the fine discharged, which one denied,
59. And bade the public and the laws decide:
60. The witness is produced on either hand:
61. For this, or that, the partial people stand:
62. The appointed heralds still the noisy bands,
63. And form a ring, with sceptres in their hands:
64. On seats of stone, within the sacred place, ²⁵³
65. The reverend elders nodded o’er the case;
66. Alternate, each the attesting sceptre took,
67. And rising solemn, each his sentence spoke
68. Two golden talents lay amidst, in sight,
69. The prize of him who best adjudged the right.
70. Another part (a prospect differing far) ²⁵⁴
71. Glow’d with refulgent arms, and horrid war.
72. Two mighty hosts a leaguer’d town embrace,
73. And one would pillage, one would burn the place.
74. Meantime the townsmen, arm’d with silent care,
75. A secret ambush on the foe prepare:
76. Their wives, their children, and the watchful band
77. Of trembling parents, on the turrets stand.
78. They march; by Pallas and by Mars made bold:
79. Gold were the gods, their radiant garments gold,
80. And gold their armour: these the squadron led,
81. August, divine, superior by the head!
82. A place for ambush fit they found, and stood,
83. Cover’d with shields, beside a silver flood.
84. Two spies at distance lurk, and watchful seem
85. If sheep or oxen seek the winding stream.
86. Soon the white flocks proceeded o’er the plains,
87. And steers slow-moving, and two shepherd swains;
88. Behind them piping on their reeds they go,
89. Nor fear an ambush, nor suspect a foe.
90. In arms the glittering squadron rising round
91. Rush sudden; hills of slaughter heap the ground;
92. Whole flocks and herds lie bleeding on the plains,
93. And, all amidst them, dead, the shepherd swains!
94. The bellowing oxen the besiegers hear;
95. They rise, take horse, approach, and meet the war,
96. They fight, they fall, beside the silver flood;
97. The waving silver seem’d to blush with blood.
98. There Tumult, there Contention stood confess’d;
99. One rear’d a dagger at a captive’s breast;
100. One held a living foe, that freshly bled
101. With new-made wounds; another dragg’d a dead;
102. Now here, now there, the carcases they tore:
103. Fate stalk’d amidst them, grim with human gore.
104. And the whole war came out, and met the eye;
105. And each bold figure seem’d to live or die.
106. A field deep furrow’d next the god design’d, ²⁵⁵
107. The third time labour’d by the sweating hind;
108. The shining shares full many ploughmen guide,
109. And turn their crooked yokes on every side.
110. Still as at either end they wheel around,
111. The master meets them with his goblet crown’d;
112. The hearty draught rewards, renews their toil,
113. Then back the turning ploughshares cleave the soil:
114. Behind, the rising earth in ridges roll’d;
115. And sable look’d, though form’d of molten gold.
116. Another field rose high with waving grain;
117. With bended sickles stand the reaper train:
118. Here stretched in ranks the levell’d swarths are found,
119. Sheaves heap’d on sheaves here thicken up the ground.
120. With sweeping stroke the mowers strow the lands;
121. The gatherers follow, and collect in bands;
122. And last the children, in whose arms are borne
123. (Too short to gripe them) the brown sheaves of corn.
124. The rustic monarch of the field descries,
125. With silent glee, the heaps around him rise.
126. A ready banquet on the turf is laid,
127. Beneath an ample oak’s expanded shade.
128. The victim ox the sturdy youth prepare;
129. The reaper’s due repast, the woman’s care.
130. Next, ripe in yellow gold, a vineyard shines,
131. Bent with the ponderous harvest of its vines;
132. A deeper dye the dangling clusters show,
133. And curl’d on silver props, in order glow:
134. A darker metal mix’d intrench’d the place;
135. And pales of glittering tin the inclosure grace.
136. To this, one pathway gently winding leads,
137. Where march a train with baskets on their heads,
138. (Fair maids and blooming youths,) that smiling bear
139. The purple product of the autumnal year.
140. To these a youth awakes the warbling strings,
141. Whose tender lay the fate of Linus sings;
142. In measured dance behind him move the train,
143. Tune soft the voice, and answer to the strain.
144. Here herds of oxen march, erect and bold,
145. Rear high their horns, and seem to low in gold,
146. And speed to meadows on whose sounding shores
147. A rapid torrent through the rushes roars:
148. Four golden herdsmen as their guardians stand,
149. And nine sour dogs complete the rustic band.
150. Two lions rushing from the wood appear’d;
151. And seized a bull, the master of the herd:
152. He roar’d: in vain the dogs, the men withstood;
153. They tore his flesh, and drank his sable blood.
154. The dogs (oft cheer’d in vain) desert the prey,
155. Dread the grim terrors, and at distance bay.
156. Next this, the eye the art of Vulcan leads
157. Deep through fair forests, and a length of meads,
158. And stalls, and folds, and scatter’d cots between;
159. And fleecy flocks, that whiten all the scene.
160. A figured dance succeeds; such once was seen
161. In lofty Gnossus for the Cretan queen,
162. Form’d by Daedalean art; a comely band
163. Of youths and maidens, bounding hand in hand.
164. The maids in soft simars of linen dress’d;
165. The youths all graceful in the glossy vest:
166. Of those the locks with flowery wreath inroll’d;
167. Of these the sides adorn’d with swords of gold,
168. That glittering gay, from silver belts depend.
169. Now all at once they rise, at once descend,
170. With well-taught feet: now shape in oblique ways,
171. Confusedly regular, the moving maze:
172. Now forth at once, too swift for sight, they spring,
173. And undistinguish’d blend the flying ring:
174. So whirls a wheel, in giddy circle toss’d,
175. And, rapid as it runs, the single spokes are lost.
176. The gazing multitudes admire around:
177. Two active tumblers in the centre bound;
178. Now high, now low, their pliant limbs they bend:
179. And general songs the sprightly revel end.
180. Thus the broad shield complete the artist crown’d
181. With his last hand, and pour’d the ocean round:
182. In living silver seem’d the waves to roll,
183. And beat the buckler’s verge, and bound the whole.
184. This done, whate’er a warrior’s use requires
185. He forged; the cuirass that outshone the fires,
186. The greaves of ductile tin, the helm impress’d
187. With various sculpture, and the golden crest.
188. At Thetis’ feet the finished labour lay:
189. She, as a falcon cuts the aerial way,
190. Swift from Olympus’ snowy summit flies,
191. And bears the blazing present through the skies.²⁵⁶

Homework: Describe five most interesting scenes you can identify  on the shield. Read book 22 and find the verse that describes how Hector is killed by Achilles.

Lesson 23

Objectives: Students will discuss the themes of family, fate and revenge by examining various characters’ reactions to Hector’s death.

Aim: Why does Achilles drag Hector’s body in front of Priam and Hecuba? What do the gods’ fights do to advance the tale of Achilles’ heroism? What principles help settle conflicts among the gods over the Trojan War?

Do now: Share the poem you have written using allusions.

Mini Lesson

Dramatic tension in book 22.How is the human side portrayed in this book (22)? How does Homer use a close-up strategy to bring to readers the senselessness of a war- victory for victors, tragedy for victims.

Student Independent Activity

Portfolio review

1. Review at least two portfolios and make four comments for each one.
2.  1st comment should be for a specific work; the 2nd about the organization of the portfolio; 3rd about the amount of work included; 4th about the quality of the work at glance

Homework: DO some research about Virgil’s Aeneid, in particular about Book 2 of teh epic. Bring in some notes to share with the class tomorrow.

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Final Essay Assignment based on Iliad by Homer

As Pope points out that there are many interesting characters portrayed in the epic and each of whom has his or her own unique characteristics. Some of them are portrayed as heroes and some villains. There are gods and goddesses that play various roles in controlling the lives of the mortals. In other words, mortals and immortals are intertwined in a way that they are inseparable. The story centers on the Trojan war but many other themes are prevalent as well such as friendship, family, power struggle, gender roles, horror of war, glorification of war, love and revenge, fate, rituals, death, etc.

Based on the epic Iliad, write an analytical essay in which you can focus on a character, theme, a ritual ( burial or praying) )or a specific literary device and its contributions to the development of a theme. You can also focus on a specific scene and discuss how it helps reveal a theme or a symbol such as the Shield of Achilles.

On the Shield of Achilles ( you need to read book 18)

Homer’s description of Achilles’ shield is as fabulous a piece of art as the shield itself.  Using a pattern of images—concrete representations of sensory experiences and abstractions—Homer brings the scenes on the shield to life.  He endows the people in the scenes with motion, sound, thought, speech, and action.  Contrasting scenes of peace and war, country and city, sowing and harvesting, and dancing and working reflect the intense joy and utter pathos of life as Homer’s audience knew it.  Ultimately, the images on the shield form a coherent pattern of human reality.

 Remarkably, the shield contains the entire cosmos, or ordered universe.  The outer circle is the River Ocean, the boundary of the world.  Within the boundary are planets and constellations that form an essential part of the daily life of people who till the soil and live by the seasons.  Agriculture, harvest festivals, and marriage rites find their place in the shield.  Two cities, one at war and one enjoying peace represent all the major aspects of life in The Iliad—the heroic and tragic reality of war and the relieving calm of peacetime.  In fact, Achilles’ shield is a microcosm of The Iliad and of Homer’s world.

In his description of Achilles’ shield, Homer’s imagery captures the complex world of The Iliad.  The marriage ceremonies and harvest festivals of one of the cities of the shield represent the joyous side of life, while the city beleaguered by two armies contain images of the pathos of war.

How are images of violence on the shield balanced by images of plowing and harvesting?

On Fate

Fate is a critical issue in Greek culture and in The Iliad.  What role do Achilles’ personal characteristics play in bringing about his fate?

 Hephaestus says that he wishes that he could forge a shield that could protect Achilles from his fate.  Based upon your understanding of Greek culture and your reading of The Iliad so far, is it ever possible for human beings to escape their fate?  Explain and support your thinking.

Debate:  Both Hector and Achilles make a conscious decision to confront death, which makes them heroic in the eyes of the ancient Greeks.  Does modern society consider people who consciously face death heroic?  Explain and support your answer.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Iliad Portfolio

In YOUR PORTFOLIO, you will organize the work you have done for he unit in a logical manner. It is preferred you  include as much work  as you have completed  even if they were class notes or annotations.

The only mandatory items are-

1. preface
2. Table of contents with section or page number
3. reflection

For your preface, you will write a poem using as many relevant and appropriate allusions as possible for the epic. The poem can reveal your understanding or reaction to or comments on the epic. There should be at least 10 lines in the poem and if you can write in a heroic couplet format, it’d be quite impressive.

Te reflection should reveal your learning or thought process during the unit-what you have learned, walked away with or struggled with etc. I’d also like to see reflections on close reading,  annotations, making claims, writing summaries etc.

English Portfolio Rubric

Additional Commentaries: _____________________________

Review Lesson

Objectives: Students will discuss the themes implied in Book 23 where Hector is killed by Achilles by identifying the rituals, details of Hector’s death and Achilles’ attitude toward his death.

Aim: How does Hector die? What happens afterwards? Why is Achilles portrayed as a hero in this book for killing Hector?

Do Now: Share your reflections and observations about the portfolios.

Mini Lesson-

In this book, we have a rare glimpse of a wife who mourns for her husband’s death. How is her mourning described? How do Hector’s parents react to their son’s death?

So far in the epic, death has been glorified and except for Achilles’ reaction to his friend, Petroclos’ death. In this book, death is depicted more realistically and seen through the eyes of the family members. Why is the scene special in the epic? What new aspects do we glean through the scene?

Independent Practice-

Group 1: How does Minerva plead for Hector’s death? Why?

Group 2: When does Hector realize his death is near? How does he react to the imminent death?

Group 3: How does Achilles kill Hector? What does he do afterwards with Hector’s body?

Group 4: How do Hector’s parents, Hecuba and Priam react when they see Hector’s body? What does Priam try to do?

Group 5: How does Hector’s wife, Andromache react to her husband’s death? How is her attitude toward war very different from the sense of glorification we know of?

End of the Lesson Assessment: What themes are implied in the book?

Homework: Respond– How is the book unique in a way? What other aspects of the ancient Greek society we can glean from the book? Provide textual evidence.