How War-gods are Made: The Link Between Homer & the Peloponnesian War

The epic poem Iliad, written by Homer long ago and far away about the Trojan War and the men and women therein, ended with the famous line: “Thus, then, did they celebrate the funeral of Hector breaker of horses.” But of course, it was only a story… Or was it?

Although Achilles and Hector may have been archetypes of ancient Hellenic warriors who fought for honor, glory and greed – and Helen may have lived but sat out the war in Egypt according Herodotus (Histories 2:113-120), the fact is the warrior king Agamemnon, a “shepherd of the people” was an actual historical figure mentioned in many works of ancient history as well as inscribed on ancient artifacts. Indeed, the ancient Greek Thucydides noted that “Agamemnon’s was a continental power; and he could not have been master of any except the adjacent islands if he had not possessed a fleet” (1.9.4). With these words Thucydides adds weight to what Homer wrote about Agamemnon, the king of the Argives who had arrived with “their strong benched ships” to make war on Troy as so many other “pirates” did in that era according to Thucydides (1:5-7).

But thematically there is more going on than our tale of war. With Homer, man is at the center of myth and the glory of man is of utmost importance. Unlike the later Greeks the code of manhood in the Iliad was action, not thought. All of life was a battle against disorder and the true man confronts this disorder heroically to leave a name for himself and an example of himself.

Course Objectives:

Our course Telos will be to explore the religious and philosophical links between the Iliadic gods of war and the Peloponnesian War. A war which ultimately led to the destruction of the ancient Greek world, the rise of Macedonian power, and the war-lord Alexander who admittedly was Aristotle’s most famous student – yet lived and breathed the Homeric ethos which is why we know his name to this very day! Equally, students will be encouraged to become proficient in the conversational approach to learning: close readings, interpretive questions, and Socratic discussions of the texts. Students will develop lateral thinking skills by way of analyzing and synthesizing themes and motifs from various texts and strive to write persuasively about the perennial human questions on the existence of God and what that means for human beings.

Texts:

• Iliad
• Thucydides