Homeric Sports    Clas. 4110 Sept. 25
The Iliad as Tragedy

1.1 For it's own sake: Ismail Kadare, The File on H.

2.1 The Funeral Games for Patroclus (Book 23). Achilles' leadership.
2.2 Games as 'warfare', without the consequences. Focus on the elite, opportunity to win glory (kleos) and wealth (time). All-round athletes. Skills with value on the battlefield (exception: boxing).
2.3 Greek athletics. Secular and sacred games. Prizes. Standard events: chariot-racing, boxing, wrestling, running, javelin, throwing the weight (discus), archery.
2.4 The Chariot Race. Importance of swift horses over skill. The participants (wealthy, aristocratic). Divine intervention (the gods play out their own quarrels, again through mortals). Hierarchy of competitors. Recognition of hierarchy in the awarding of prizes.
2.5 Achilles as leader: settling the disputes over the chariot race.
2.6 Boxing Match (23.653-99). Specialized skills required. Rules and equipment. Focus in this version: strength, over skill. Removal of the loser by comrades.
2.7 Achilles vs. Agamemnon (looking back to Iliad, Book 1). Use of wealth. Rewarding skill, social position, proper behavior. Response to conflict. Achilles - a model of etiquette?

3.1 The final assessment of Achilles. What sort of epic hero is Achilles (civilized accomplishments, many sides). Fragility.
3.2 Tragic 'inflexibility'. A characteristic of Achilles? Decision to withdraw. Decision to re-enter combat. Stubbornness -- or principles?
3.3 Why seek kleos?

Bibliography
Poliakoff, Michael B., Combat Sports in the Ancient World: Competition, Violence, and Culture. Yale University Press: 1987