The Illiad
Summary of Content: “Teaching the Iliad by Homer”
This video provides an insightful reflection on teaching Homer’s Iliad, emphasizing its literary and Christian relevance, along with practical teaching advice. The speaker, presumably an experienced educator, aims to convince viewers—especially Christians—of the importance of engaging with the Iliad, while also sharing key background knowledge and interpretative frameworks that enhance understanding and instruction of the text.
Importance of Teaching the Iliad
The Iliad is a masterpiece of epic poetry, recognized as one of the greatest literary works in history, praised by scholars such as Harold Bloom.
It offers a profound aesthetic beauty, which Christians should appreciate alongside truth and goodness. Beauty, the speaker argues, is a divine attribute rooted in God’s character, not merely subjective or relative.
The Iliad presents distinctive contrasts between pagan and Christian worldviews, particularly regarding power, fate, and morality.
Key Christian Themes Highlighted in the Iliad
The Underdog Concept:
In the Iliad, the “underdog” inevitably loses, exemplified by Hector, despite being favored by Zeus.
Conversely, Achilles, the “overdog,” wins because of his strength and favor with the gods.
This contrasts sharply with the Christian idea that God is strong when humans are weak, as illustrated in the biblical story of David and Goliath.
The pagan worldview celebrates human strength and divine favor based on physical or mental superiority, whereas Christianity exalts divine strength manifesting through human weakness.
The Hopelessness of the Pagan Worldview:
The pagan gods are limited in power and ultimately cannot prevent suffering or death, even for favored heroes like Hector.
Zeus, the father of gods, mourns Hector’s fate but cannot alter it, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of pagan gods despite sacrifices and worship.
This underscores the futility and despair inherent in pagan religion, which contrasts with the Christian hope grounded in an omnipotent God.
Practical Teaching Insights and Recommendations
Translation Choice:
The speaker prefers Richmond Lattimore’s translation of the Iliad because it is highly accurate and captures the “militaristic beat” of the poem, reflecting the intensity of battle.
Other, more poetic translations may lack this raw, battle-driven tone and thus be less appropriate for teaching the Iliad.
Assumption of Prior Knowledge:
Homer assumes readers already know the backstory of the Trojan War, which is essential for understanding the poem’s context.
Concise summary:
Paris, a Trojan prince, is hosted by Menelaus, king of Sparta.
Paris abducts (or elopes with) Menelaus’s wife, Helen, precipitating the war as Menelaus rallies the Greek forces to reclaim her.
This event is framed as fated by the gods, notably by Paris’s judgment among goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, who promises him Helen’s love if he chooses her as the fairest.
This divine intervention sets the course of the war, highlighting the interplay of fate and human action.
Judgment of Character in the Pagan vs. Christian Worldview:
The Iliad reflects a pagan emphasis on words over actions when judging character. For example, Helen expresses regret over her actions but continues them; the ancient Greeks are meant to trust her verbal expressions of remorse despite contradictory behavior.
Christianity, in contrast, stresses judging by actions, as Jesus teaches in Matthew 7: “You will know a tree by its fruit.”
This difference in worldview offers a rich teaching opportunity to compare pagan and Christian ethics.
Achilles as the Hero:
Achilles is the poem’s central hero but is portrayed as angry, prideful, and often sulking over a perceived slight—his conflict with Agamemnon over a captive woman.
From the Greek perspective, Achilles is justified in his anger and withdrawal, and his eventual vengeance on Hector fits their heroic ideal.
From a modern or Christian viewpoint, Achilles’s behavior may seem selfish and unheroic, causing students to struggle with his characterization.
Teachers should emphasize that Achilles embodies traditional Greek heroic values, even if these conflict with contemporary ethics.
Teaching Resources
The speaker recommends The Children’s Homer by Padraic Colum as a valuable resource for introducing younger students (roughly grades 6–8) to the Iliad and Odyssey.
This adaptation makes the stories more accessible before students tackle the original, more difficult Homeric texts.
Despite its title, the book is not intended for very young children but rather for middle-grade readers.
