Combat and Classics Podcast

Poseidon interferes with the will of Zeus because Hera has seduced the king of the gods with a sexy belt. Also, the battle between the Greeks and Achaeans continues to escalate.

We return to the question of "who should be in charge?" and try to figure out why someone should be in charge of something (war, sports, business) generally. We think especially about taking feedback on your decisions as a leader.

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We wonder why Book 13 doesn't have a cool name like Book 12 did.

Then we turn to other questions, like what is on the minds of both sides of this conflict? is it true that military prowess, or military virtue, gives you other virtues, such as skill at deliberation? Or are the two things separate?

Said another way and using the example of sports, why isn’t the best player the coach?

And as it relates to the Iliad: who should be in charge of the Greek army?

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Shilo, Jeff and Brian continue their read through of Homer's Iliad. We try to figure out why Book 12 exists as the midpoint of the story and how Homer is using it to build on his themes and continue the narrative. Specifically we ask why is the book so short compared to the others? Why all the similes about war and the natural world and is war a natural phenomenon?

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[Yell-y war voice] "CARNAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!!!"

Our opening question from Jeff is "can we spoil the Iliad?"

We try to understand what's going on with the story in terms of the hierarchy of Greek heroes on the battlefield and who the "good guys" and the "bad guys" are. We also try to understand what's happening with Achilles, who said that he'd return to the fight once the Trojans were at the ships and we seem to be at that moment but Achilles just sends Patroclus to find out who a wounded Greek is and we get a long story from Nestor.

Brian also mentions his guest hosting of Shakespeare Dallas' "Shakespeare Decoded" pod which you can listen to here.

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We got some calls! Thanks a ton to Mark Eleveld and his students at Kankakee High School. Truly honored that you all took the time to call or write in your questions on our Episode 62 on the Iliad Book 5 where we discussed the apparent blurring of gods and mortals and especially Diomedes wounding of a god as well as the difference between courage and the absence of fear.

If you have questions for us you can call in at 703.677.8645 or email us at [email protected].

The Night Raid! Important book in the kinda middle of the story with lots of action. Agamemnon wakes up in the middle of the night and convenes a war planning committee. Nestor says the Greeks should send some spies out, Diomedes and Odysseus volunteer.

Hector also calls for a spy to go look at the what the Greeks are up too, and Dolon volunteers.

We talk about the asymmetries between the Greek mission and the Trojan mission and the visualization of Diomedes killing sleeping soldiers and ask what role beauty plays in this book. We also ask what the goal of war is: to kill the enemy or to defeat the enemy's war to fight.

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The Trojans have pushed the Greeks all the way back to their ship.  Night falls, and a panicked Agamemnon and Menelaus need a plan.  They decide to send an embassy to Achilles, to beg him to rejoin the fighting.  And (spoiler alert) the embassy fails -- but interestingly.  It looks like Achilles' position softens; but if so, why doesn't Odysseus report this to the rest of the Greeks?  Does Achilles have a moment of philosophic insight about the superiority of the contemplative life?  Or is he just a prisoner on the beach, like Odysseus and the rest of the heroes?  How does Achilles want to be remembered?

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The gods assemble on Mount Olympus after the Trojans put a whooping on the Greeks. The Greeks decide to build defensive fortifications for the first time in the nine year war. Zeus gives a speech to the other gods warning them about going against his will.

What do we think of Zeus as a leader? How does he compare to the leaders of the Greeks and Trojans?

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Book 7 opens with a duel. The Greeks draw lots to fight Hector and (supposedly) end the war. Nine Greeks volunteer to fight and lots are drawn. Ajax wins the lottery and fights Hector. Ajax seems to be winning but the fighters make a truce and decide to take a day off to bury and honor the dead.

Our opening question is: Who are the Greeks without Achilles?

Some followup questions are: Does this book set up Nestor being wrong in the future? Does having Achilles around damage the other heroes?

You can call into our phone number and leave a voicemail with your questions that we may play on the show: 703.677.8645. Or email us at [email protected].

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Oh hey! You can call us now! 703.677.8645. Leave a voicemail with your question and we may play it on the air and try to answer it.

You can also email us at [email protected]

In this week's episode we find the Trojans getting beat pretty badly by the Greeks, so Helenus (a soothsayer and Hector's brother) tells Hector to go back to Troy and get the women to sacrifice to Athena. While he's back in town Hector visits his brother and chastises him for not returning to the battlefield. But then Hector goes and visits his wife and newborn son.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Agamemnon chastises Menelaus for taking prisoners, and Diomedes and Glaucus fight, but find out their grandpappies were buddies... so they decide to exchange armor and agree to a personal truce.

We try to tease out in this episode: who is Hector? How does he compare to Agamemnon and Achilles?

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