ACHILLES' SHEILD HAS BEEN the focus of our study over the last week. Besides having read more closely the description of his shield in Book 18, we have discussed the shield's menaing within the Iliad. How is it a mandala, or symbolic representation of his Jungian self? This week we finish Homer's Iliad.

MONDAY

Finishing our discussion on Achilles' shield and his essential conflicts. Why is Achilles seen as heroic?
Read book twenty tonight.

TUESDAY

How do the Gods manipulate the fate of man? How do we see fate operate in our own lives? Is there such a thing as fate, or is it all chance? We will also begin listening to a Radiolab podcast on this topic.
Finish reading book twenty-one.

WEDNESDAY

Achilles as a global threat. How does he nearly 'break' nature itself? What is the scale of war the Greeks have unleashed upon their world? And what connections do we see here between pollution or thremonuclear war?
Read book twenty-two.

THURSDAY

Death in the face of unbeatable odds. How does Hector embody the noble death?
Read book twenty-three.

FRIDAY

We will (finally) watch a film version of the battle over Patroclus's corpse. Why is Achilles so brutal in his treatment of Hector's corpse? How is his behavior just as outragous as his earlier actions, when he sat out the war and allowed his comrades to be slaughtered?
Finish reading the Iliad this weekend. I will collect and grade annotations AFTER spring break.