Homer's works were in some ways the closest thing the Greeks had to a Bible. If one wanted authoritative teaching about the gods and about their dealings with mankind, one turned to Homer. Passages culled from the Iliad and the Odyssey served as "proof texts" for any point one might try to make. Likewise, Homer's writings were also the starting point for later "inspired" writers--the poets and playwrights of ancient Greece. But Homer's works are a very strange sort of Bible, and it's not always easy to say exactly what his religious views were.Please read the Iliad study questions on the syllabus, and then as much of you can of Books I-VI. Cite here a line or incident that shows how the Iliad is like a Bible or how it makes a very strange "Bible."
This is the first time I've used the Lattimore translation. I like it, but I'm finding it slower going than some translations. I prefer quality on your part to quantity, so if you only get through Books I and II, that's ok. The introduction is great, and you'll get from it a bit more about Schliemann, Evans, and Ventris.
Brek-ek-ek-ek-coax-coax.
