Selections from Homer’s Iliad and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

This is the link to read: https://ung.edu/university-press/books/compact-anthology-world-literature.php

The Iliad (Books I-III and XX-XXIV) and The Art of War (Complete)

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Homerâ€s Iliad:

Background to the Trojan War

The War resulted from the Judgment of Paris–a myth involving Achilles’ parents, the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite (called Juno, Minerva, and Venus in our text), and the mortal Trojan, Paris. Essentially, the goddess Thetis, who would become Achilles’ mother, married a mortal named Peleus; all the gods and goddesses of Olympus and the other Greek gods and goddesses were invited. Except Eris, goddess of discord, because she caused trouble.

Being insulted, Eris had her revenge–she created a golden apple inscribed with a Greek word meaning ‘To the Fairest of All’ and rolled it into the wedding. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple, and appealed to Zeus to settle the dispute. As Hera was his wife and sister, Athena his daughter, and Aphrodite, his … cousin I guess you would call her–she was born from the ocean after Cronos castrated his father Uranus and threw the genitals into the sea–Zeus wanted no part of this dispute. Paris was chosen because he was seen as an honorable mortal because he fairly dealt with the god Apollo in a different dispute.

All three of the goddesses offered bribes; Hera, queen of the gods, offered power–the crown of Europe and Asia; Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare, offered skill and wisdom in battle; Aphrodite offered beauty and love: Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chose Aphrodite and claimed Helen as his wife.

Problem was, Helen was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. After Paris stole Helen and brought her to Troy, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon declare war on Troy and unite the city-states of Greece to their cause. They recruit Odysseus, Achilles, and other great Greek heroes to fight Troy. The Trojan War would last 10 years, only ending (after the events of The Iliad) when Odysseus creates the Trojan Horse, which allows the Greeks to get inside the great Troy gates.

It took another 10 years for Odysseus to get home to Ithaka–detailed in The Odyssey.

Peter Paul Reubens depicted the Judgment of Paris in his painting seen here (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

The goddesses are lined up: Athena, next to her discarded armor; Aphrodite, attended by her son Eros (also known as Cupid); and Hera wearing a golden crown. Paris holds up the golden apple.

The War has been used in countless works of art, poems, plays, films, sculpture, music, etc. In the 20th Century, the Irish poet W.B. Yeats imagined the moment of Zeus raping Leda in his poem ‘Leda and the Swan (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.‘ to focus on the horror of that moment as well as the devastation of the War (be forewarned, it’s a graphic and disturbing poem that is not required reading for this course, but does offer a modern view/context to Homer’s work). And the American poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) also re-imagined that scene in her poem ‘Leda (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.‘ (less graphic perhaps but no less disturbing).

Why do you think this moment remains so powerful for artists?

Features/Forms in Homer’s Poetry

While our version of the poem is rendered in a modern prose style, the original Homeric Poetry has the following features:

1. Invocation of the Muse—asking for help from the gods to sing and write well in line 2–Calliope was the goddes of epic poetry and the poet is asking for her help in making a great work.We see this in the first lines, ‘Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus,that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans.’
2. The use of titles and epithets like ‘Grey-eyed Goddess,’ ‘White-Armed Goddess,’ ‘Clever Odysseus.’ This was done to give the person reciting the poem a neumonic device to remember lines.
3. The “Homeric Catalog”: Lists of names, weapons, Achilles†shield as described in Book XVII etc.
4. Scenes of horror juxtaposed with touching, tender scenes. See for example the scene when Hector greets his son and scares the boy to death before taking off his helmet and the boy becomes happy. See also the scene when Achilles receives Paris after killing Hector. Both men lost someone they loved. Both are grieving and share a tender moment in their grief.

Themes:

1. Homecoming–key theme throughout Greek literature–also a theme The Odyssey. The idea of getting home to wife and children as well as the idea of defending home. Seen in one of Achilles’ fates: returning home, but without his battle won glory–but he can live a long life.
2. Glory, won especially on the battlefield–Fame, notoriety, and going down in history all key for the this theme. Seen in Achilles’ other fate: he can live a short life, dying on the battlefield, but he will earn great fame and glory. He chooses this fate, going down in history as a great warrior. Paris, who kills Achilles, gets no glory for this because he doesn’t face Achilles face to face but instead shoots him from behind. (there’s a whole forum on this point)
3. Honor and Respect–due especially to one’s betters or superiors, to the gods, and to those who win glory on the battlefield. (there’s a whole forum on this point)
4. Rage/Fury/Wrath–a key theme that opens the open–Achilles is full of wrath and rage because of his sense of dishonor because of Agamemnon’s actions. The Gods too are wrathful–Poseidon keeps Odysseus from reaching home for 10 years after Troy, Apollo rains plague and death down on the Greeks at Troy, Athena tricks Hector into facing Achilles and certain death, etc. See for example Athena’s rage, Hector’s rage against Patroclus, and Achilles’ rage upon Hector.
5. Fate–Once a fate is set, no chance of change in Greek culture–the fates are settled and that’s it–even the other Gods do not/cannot change the Fates. Achilles must choose between two fates and two fates only: Going home without honor, or honor and legendary glory, but dying young on the battlefield.

Respect vs. Honor/Glory

How do these idea differ both in The Iliad and in your mind?

A key for the Greeks is that glory is won, honor is displayed and received. Honor is shown to guests, to superiors, to the gods, etc. Achilles, e.g., shows respect and proper honor to Priam despite being enemies in the War.

But Achilles did not honor Hector and in fact loses his honor because he dishonors Hector’s body Hector did not honor Patroclus.

Picking Sides in the Trojan War

I’d say both sides have heroes, their reasons for going to war, and are both wrong in going to war–so typical of wars in general.

Homer, like most great writers and poets, gives no easy answers. Can we apply images and lessons from the Iliad to our current wars?

The Trojan War, like the recent and on-going wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, lasted ten years. Does it compare to Vietnam, the Great War (World War 1) or WW2 in your mind? How so? How not?

The Gods joing the fray on both sides–we are told in Book XX that, “Juno, Pallas Minerva, earth-encircling Neptune, Mercury bringer of good luck and excellent in all cunning—all these joined the host that came from the ships; with them also came Vulcan in all his glory, limping, but yet with his thin legs plying lustily under him. Mars of gleaming helmet joined the Trojans, and with him Apollo of locks unshorn, and the archer goddess Diana, Leto, Xanthus, and laughter-loving Venus.” It becomes, aside from Jupiter/Jove/Zeus, a family affair and civil war.

What do you think of these gods and how they enter this human affair–especially Zeus’ role as literal progenitar of the conflict who refuses to take a side in this horror he creates through this lust and rape?

Achilles vs. Hector

The conflict in the story builds to its climax in the fight between to the two greatest heroes on each side, Achilles and Hector, in Book XX. The narration we have in this version is pretty graphic–this version of the poem spares little detail of the damage that swords, spears, and shields can do to human bodies–what do you think of these depictions? Is this entertaining? Or perhaps meant to show that war is not so entertaining and fun as stories (especially in modern Hollywood) would have us believe, but utterly destructive and dehumanizing.

Achilles’ rage comes from the killing of his friend and most beloved comrade, Patroclus, by Hector in a section of the story we’re not looking at.

In his dying breaths, Hector asks Achilles to accept the ransom for his body and treat it with respect–as a fallen equal, but Achilles, to his shame in the eyes of the gods and certainly it is suggested to us the reader, will have none of.

Achilles drags Hector’s body like a dog many times around Patroclus’ tomb and around the Gates of Troy. He attempts to defile Hector’s corpse (Apollo, Troy’s protector, keeps the body from being destroyed). Does this make Achilles less heroic? Does it matter?

Achilles is then killed by Paris in a way that, to the Greeks at least, was cowardly–Paris doesn’t face Achilles as an equal with sword and spear, but he hides behind Achilles and shoots him in the leg with an arrow.

Paris receives no honor or glory for the kill, Achilles is buried with honor and glory for killing Hector and so many other Trojans.

Themes in The Iliad

It is a story of how men and gods fight for glory and fame–often to know or even despite their fates–and try to either defend of get home. It’s like much of war itself in all ages and times–the soldiers often, as I understand it, often develop a cynical sense that one’s fate is already sealed–you’ll either get home or you won’t and there’s nothing you can do about it.

But getting home is the chief desire–we see this in Achilles and the other warriors, I think, in The Iliad. Glory and honor then come far down the list of possible achievements–more so in the Greek literature than in real life, I imagine. Every United States’ Medal of Honor winner I’ve heard speak (and I met several at their annual convention one year during grad school) all say that they deserved their medals far less than others they knew, and accepted the Medal of Honor only on behalf of those who didn’t come home.

So what can we say about such themes in Homer’s poem? How does the poem handle issues like predestination and fate? How does it handle the issue of the nature of war as a good thing in a general sense, but an absolute horror in the particulars?

Other thoughts on broad themes or specific scenes/characters in the work?

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

In the introduction to the work in our anthology, our editors write, “In Confucian thinking, everyone has an assigned place in society, with strict expectations for behavior that could potentially limit creative/unusual responses. Sun Tzuâ€s approach to warfare is Daoist in nature, rather than Confucian ‘by adapting oneself to oneâ€s situation, rather than rigidly holding fast to how one thinks things should be, one is able to recognize the fluidity of conditions and act upon them decisively’ (Mark).”

Early on, Sun Tzu writes,

“The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in oneâ€s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. 4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and Discipline. 5, 6. The MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. 7. HEAVEN signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. 8. EARTH comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. 9. The COMMANDER stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness. 10. By METHOD AND DISCIPLINE are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.”

What do you think of this as organizing principles for a society? What is the role of justice?

How does this view of war and society compare and contrast to that which we see in the six books of The Iliadwe’ve read this week?

What other points of Sun Tzu’s treatise seem useful to us–in what contexts? Why do you think that business schools, law schools, and modern military academies like West Point and Annapolis teach this work?

 

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Other

Answer the 2 questions below and reply to each student.

Student Reply must be over 200 words.

Make sure all student replies you start it with Hello (Student Name),

Please upload each question in different word documents.

Question 1:

As you prepare to write this discussion, take a few moments to do the following:

• Review the Modeled Discussion.
• Read any required and recommended reading materials for this week, especially Chapter 9 from the text.

Review the grading rubric for this discussion

Auteur theory in film suggests not only that a director is the primary author of a film, but also that the film must be analyzed within the context of the director’s other films. Directors create certain expectations with their films much in the same way authors create certain expectations with their writing. Are there directors whose work you always recognize when you see it? What qualities bind their works together?

As you construct your initial post, focus on the importance of auteur theory in film analysis and interpretation.

• Name a director who you would consider an auteur and explain your reasoning.
• Discuss the arguments against auteur theory and provide examples to support your points.

Examine how the auteur theory influences audiences and critics, using examples from film criticism, film marketing campaigns, and your own personal experience.

Include the name of the director you identified in the “Subject” line of your discussion. Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references.

Student Reply 1: Matthew Williams

One famous director and idol of mine who I would view as an auteur is Spike Lee.

Auteur is the French word for author and when applied he is truly the director that paints the film in his own personal vision (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014, Sec. 9.3). Though he was born in Atlanta, GA. He is well known for his love of the city of New York through his love for the New York Knicks. He was a major part in many movies such as School Daze, Malcolm X, and Crooklyn. The film that I will focus on is Crooklyn. Obviously the name of the movie is stemmed from the city in New York “Brooklyn”. Lee’s love for the city of New York and his knowledge of the city was evident in this film. Aside from only doing so in the name of the movie he painted his experiences in the city in this movie. Many of which he personally experienced and from stories of those close to him.

The biggest argument against the Auteur Theory is basically that it give the director too much power. When the theory is in affect it really drowns out others that are trying to do their job in making the film. For example it cuts out a lot of the screenwriters job whos job is to put the story or vision into his or her own words (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014). When a director is an Auteur this could cause controversy with the screenwriters ideas and views being made irrelevant.

The Auteur Theory influences the film a lot when it gets criticized. There have been instances when a film has been criticized badly and the director passes blame on the screenwriter. How can the blame be passed when this Theory drowns his or her opinions completely out? Personally I believe that the film “Crooklyn” was better because Spike Lee had so much of an influence on the film. However, that is an opinion and very may well could have been better if the this Theory was not as used.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Student Reply 2: Shannon Jackson

Auteur theory posits that the director is indeed the author of the film, imprinting it with his personal vision (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014 sec. 9.3 chapter 9) I would consider Spike Lee an auteur. Spike lee’s films are always African American centered and driven around subjects that needs to be heard including politics, race, and controversial subjects. His films are creative and with a personal style that is exclusive to his films and film directing. Viewers can automatically tell when a film has been directed by spike lee. Many disagree with the auteur theory because it reinvents itself, rather to caters to a unique style or writing and directing. Auteur theory influences audiences and critics by judging the film directors a film director may or may not agree of the film or directors or writers’ content of the film. Those not in agreeance with the film or film director’s choice of the film may market ads, television commercials or ads disagreeing with the film, trying to discredit the talent of the film maker. From my point of view the auteur theory makes it easier for me to have an idea of what a film is about, because of the familiarity of the director and or writer of that film.

Reference:

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Question 2:

As we have been discussing, the mise en scène of a film is the use of a variety of design elements to create the visual theme. As you prepare to write this discussion, take a few moments to do the following:

• Read any required and recommended reading materials for this week, referring back to Chapter 5 (Mise en Scene and Actors).
• Review the grading rubric for this discussion.

Select a full-length film from the AFI 10 Top 10 list (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Mise en scène refers to different technical elements used in making a film such as lighting and sound, both of which you have already analyzed in this course. The term also encompasses the role of actors in a film, their physical positioning and movements within the frame, as well as the different styles and types of acting.

You can classify an acting category using only one film as reference, but these categories are subject to change. Each new role helps to clarify or shift an actor’s designation. Do some actors always fall into the same category? How can actors change from category to category? Does genre have any effect on the acting styles present in a given film?

Using specific examples from your chosen film, write an initial post of at least 200 words which should

• Identify three actors from your film and classify each according to the acting category listed in your text.
• Explain your reasons for classifying the actors as you do. Use specific references to the film and pay special attention to how these decisions impacted characterization. Also, consider the impact of any realistic or stylized portrayals within the film.

Focus on one of the actors you’ve discussed. Based on other films the actor has been in, would this actor always be placed in the same category? If so, what does this say about the category or actor? If not, what can you infer about the flexibility of these categories? Provide evidence (references from other films, including film clips and stills) to support your argument.

You must use at least two outside sources, in any combination of embedded video clips, still photos, or scholarly sources. All sources should be documented in APA style as outlined by the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

Student Reply 1: Zachary Huff

The film that I chose to write about is called Alice in Wonderland

Johnny Depp- Method Acting

Method Acting is requiring that actors draw on their own memories and experiences to meet the heart of the character. Johnny Depp plays in a lot of different films. In many of his films, he portrays himself to be a mad type of character for example, Edward Scissorhands, Jack Sparrow, and for this case the one and only mad hatter. When it comes to acting he takes his experience from all the different rolls that he plays and puts it towards being better at the next roll to take.

Anne Hathaway-Method Acting

Just as Johnny Depp, Anne is a very well known actor. She plays in many films many of which portray her to be proper and queen like. For example, she plays Mia, the princess of Genovia in the Princess Diaries or her role in Les Misérables, however, in Alice in Wonderland she plays the White Queen who is very proper and always stands up straight. She takes what she has experience and learned and put it into her characters.

Helena Bonham Carter- Stylized Acting

Stylized Acting is used when actors and directors want to call attention to the fact that the actor is indeed acting. Helena plays the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland and much of how she is portrayed in that film is a way that many can tell that she is acting. There isn’t an individual that would make the decisions she makes are act the way that she does in the film. However, she could also be a realism acting by revealing the emotions that she has throughout the film.

As mentioned above, Johnny Depp plays in many films and much of those films he plays a mad character one not mentioned was Sweeny Todd. Butchering people into pies. Not all films that he plays in include a mad individual and I do believe that he is very capable of playing different acting types in the films not only from his experience but his personality as well.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Student Reply 2: Curt Lyons

I decided to pick the movie Alien from 1979. The three actors I picked are Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. I would label them all as method actors for the most part in this film. You might be able to say Realism just with some of the interactions and dialog portions but I would say method. “Method requires that actors draw on their own memories and experiences to reach the heart of a character, so that they more genuinely feel the emotions they’re portraying instead of just pretending to.” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs 2014 sec.5.4 chapter 5). Although there are really no real-life experiences that you can draw upon to teach you how to act when a little alien pops out of someone’s chest, I don’t think these actors really could fall in any other category when talking about this movie or any other for that matter.

The one actor I would focus on is Tom Skerritt. I think I would place him in pretty much the method acting area. He has never really had a crazy over the top role. He always plays a more serious guy. The clip below is what I think I will always his best role Viper from Top Gun and how he was no nonsense no games type of guy in that movie and that’s how I see him in most his roles. I don’t think it really says anything about an actor as much as what the audience likes to see from that actor. Doesn’t really mean he can’t play the role it’s just we have been used to seeing them one way and that’s what we like. I think there are some actors that can easily do different styles and it works out just fine, but I don’t think he is one. Ill use the Dumb and Dumber starts for example, Jim Carrey is one that I think must stick with the stylized acting the Ace Ventura’s, Liar Liar, and The Mask. When he went away from that and tried Number 23 and The Majestic it just wasn’t the same. When he moves away from that its just not the same. But then you have guys like Jeff Daniels who can pull off a role like Harry Dunn in dumb and dumber or Travis Gornicke in RV and then go right into a serious role like Teddy Sanders in the Martian where he was the director of NASA or Col. Chamberlain in Gettysburg and do both great.

Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

IDMb. (2016) Retrieved From: http://imdb.com/title/tt00078748/