WHAT IS AT THE HEART OF ACHILLES' deep anger against both his country-men and their mortal enemies, the Trojan army and King Priam's allies? He is the ultimate divided man, literally is half-mortal, half-divine. But in what other ways is he a man at odds with himself? For our next paper, you will complete a study of Achilles in the context of Ancient Greek values, using Jung's concept of self and his process of individuation as a basis for that analysis. Keep careful notes through these last five books on the aforementioned.

Monday

No class for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. seminar day. We will pick up with our reading of Homer's Iliad on Tuesday. I wanted to ask if you--as I did--noted Isabel Wilkerson's observation relating to African-Americans who face their departure from home into an unknown land and uncertain future. Nice connection to Campbell, that!
HW: Finishing reading book 20 for class tomorrow. (In book 19, Agamemnon and Achilles reconcile, and Achilles arms for battle.)

Tuesday

Discussing book 18. We will spend some time carefully thinking about the shield of Achilles, as created by Hephaestus at the request of Thetis.
HW: Reading book 21 and 22, both due Thursday.

Wednesday

Today we will discuss book 20. In this book, the gods are invited to engage the war firsthand by Zeus. Is it your sense that the gods engage the mortals in an attempt to elevate and guide human endeavor? Are the gods demeaning themselves by engaging in the brutality of human war? We will also spend another 15 minutes drawing our shields.
HW: Tomorrow we will engage books 21 and 22. Please have them read. Remember that the audio for these books is available on my read drive.

Thursday

In books 21 and 22, we see the brutality of Achilles, even taking on nature itself in the shape of the river Xanthus. What do we make of his brutality? What does Homer think of his brutality? What would the ancient Greeks make of his behavior? We will begin a careful analysis of his character using our Jungian model.
HW: Read book 23.

Friday

Meeting in the library, where we will begin working on a research assignment on Ancient Greek mythology. Report directly there for class today.
HW: Finish reading The Iliad, and begin the background research on your assigned topic, compiling the first five of your sources on noodle-bib.