The Iliad translated by Robert FaglesThe Mater Amabilis™ high school plans (currently available in beta version in the high school facebook group) proposes an ambitious series for Level 5 Year 1 (ninth grade) epics: The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid. To prepare myself to "teach" them, I ordered a few Great Courses by Elizabeth Vandiver from Audible including The Iliad of Homer. After listening to the first few lectures, I rearranged our schedule so First Son could listen to them as well.
The lectures provide background material and context for the book. A few at the beginning of the course covered general background material including the all-important Why should we continue to read and study the Greek classics?. In The Iliad of Homer, she explains and elaborates on the concepts of time (honor) and kleos (fame or glory). While I had never read The Iliad in its entirety, I was familiar with the story. Listening to the lectures gave me an understanding of Achilles and his actions that reframed the entire epic for me. (That's the lecture that convinced me First Son needed to listen as well.)
Dr. Vandiver also provides translation commentary that brings out the poetic allusions to the text that are missed when only reading it in translation. I appreciated how often she reiterated how much more there is to learn about the epics.
First Son loved listening to the lectures. While part of that love was because he was able to build with LEGOs while listening, he also found them fascinating in their own right and a relaxing break from the reading itself. I asked him to read or listen and narrate each lesson. He did a marvelous job narrating the lectures.
The supplemental materials (available as a PDF if you purchase the course from Audible) include an outline of each lecture, suggestions for further reading, and questions to consider. The outline and suggested questions were invaluable as I wrote quizzes for each epic, though many would not be appropriate if your student didn't also listen to the lectures.
First Son does not have access to my Audible account on his Kindle. I didn't want him wandering around with my smartphone which has access to the internet. We have a filter and I don't have any games on the phone, so mostly I was afraid it would be distracting. I use bluetooth earbuds when I'm listening to audiobooks but I didn't want to share them so we purchased these iJoy headphones for First Son and he leaves the phone on the counter. These are actually much nicer than mine and automatically connect to the phone. I had thought any of the kids could use them, but First Daughter (age 12) tells me they are a little uncomfortable for her because even at their smallest setting they are too big. First Son, being 15 and over six feet tall, doesn't have that problem.
I would assign First Son the books to read in The Iliad, then have him listen to the corresponding lecture. In order to make each lesson manageable, I scheduled Epics three times a week and assigned only one book or one lecture each lesson.
When combined with our study of one Shakespeare play each term, the course load for English earned an Honors designation. I think another option would be to read The Iliad and The Aeneid without the lectures, but include them for The Odyssey. Though the first two lecture series on The Iliad and The Odyssey are designed to go together, you would still get a lot of background material and richness from what I think is the most important book of the three.
A note on the translation for The Iliad: First Son and I read the Robert Fagles translation shown above because that is the one Kansas Dad had purchased for a college course. I can't remember which one Dr. Vandiver quotes from within the lectures, but it's not necessary to chose the same one.
The Schedule
Week 1
1 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 1
2 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 2
3 - Book 1
Week 2
1 - Book 2
2 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 3
3 - Book 3
Week 3
1 - Book 4
2 - Book 5
3 - Book 6
Week 4
1 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 4
2 - Book 7
3 - Book 8
Week 5
1 - Book 9
2 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 5
3 - Book 10
Week 6
1 - Book 11
2 - Book 12
3 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 6 (quiz next week)
Week 7
1 - quiz on first 12 books and 6 lectures
2 - Book 13
3 - Book 14
Week 8
1 - Book 15
2 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 7
3 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 8
Week 9
1 - Book 16
2 - Book 17
3 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 9
Week 10
1 - Book 18
2 - Book 19
3 - Book 20
Week 11
1 - Book 21
2 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 10
3 - Book 22
Week 12
1 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 11
2 - Book 23
3 - Book 24
Week 13
1 - Great Courses: The Iliad of Homer Lecture 12
2 - quiz on the second half of The Iliad and last six lectures
It takes a bit more than a term each to get through The Iliad and The Odyssey when incorporating the lectures, but The Aeneid is shorter so does not need an entire term.
The Quizzes
Quiz 1
10 points each
- What do you know about Homer?
- Define kleos (fame/glory) and timê (honor) as they were for the ancient Greeks.
- Why are the Greeks besieging Troy?
- Who is Agamemnon? Tell everything you know about him.
- Why does Achilles initially recuse himself from battle?
- Tell about the embassy to Achilles (who they are, what they say, how Achilles responds).
- Who is Hector? Tell everything you know about him.
Quiz 2
- How are the Homeric gods different from the modern Christian understanding of God? (12 points)
- Describe how Patroclus convinces Achilles to let him rejoin the battle. What arguments does he make? (8 points)
- Patroclus kills Sarpedon, the son of Zeus. How does what happens to his body prefigure the deaths of Patroclus and Hector? (What is the same about them?) (12 points)
- What happens to Achilles when he learns of Patroclus’s death? (8 points)
- Describe the new armor of Achilles. (8 points)
- Contrast Achilles and Hector, describing at least two ways they are different from each other. (12 points)
- Tell about the conference between Priam and Achilles. How does it come about? How do they behave and speak to each other? (8 points)
- Pretend you are talking to a friend and want to convince him or her to read the Iliad. What would you say? Mention specific ideas or events from the poem. (12 points)
I received nothing for this post and all opinions are my own. Links to Amazon are affiliate links. I purchased the Audible course and the headphones, but The Iliad was already on our bookshelf.
