Iliad and Professors
"When their bodies were covered with burnished bronze, they moved out, led by Poseidon, who held in his clenched fist a terrible sword, its long edge like lightning, a weapon outlawed in mortal combat, sheer terror for men. Opposite him, Hector marshaled the Trojans, and the two of them tightened the cords of war, Poseidon tossing his dark-blue mane and Hector standing in a cone of cold light, while the sea surged up to the Greek ships and huts. The two sides closed with a pulsating roar." -Iliad [14, 389-399]
I read the Iliad for my Ancient Philosophy class and this quote struck me more than anything else in the book. This quote had a strong impression on me because of the way in which my professor framed the conception of the gods in the Iliad. In his opinion (I don't know how widely these opinions are shared but I'm just going to put them all in the context of being beliefs held by my prof), the gods in the Iliad are created to explain subconscious mental states--ways in which we don't understand ourselves. This is not to say that the gods don't have other functions, but this is their main function. IN that context, this quote struck me. We have a mortal, Hector, going against a God, Poseidon, who has uncanny powers. Not only do the odds seem stacked against Hector, but he doesn't even know what he's going against. This passage brought out the fear and uncertainty that the gods help explain in the Iliad.
This ancient class might be the most engaging class I've ever had. It kind of scares me how much it effects me. I'm worried that my outlook is being severely affected by this class. At the same time, I feel like its really helpful to have this temptation. It allows me to evaluate myself more and where I get my beliefs from. I wonder if any of you out in cyber world share my dilemma of wanting to be effected by your professors but also having reservations about the extent to which we are affected?
On a similar note, I think its an interesting feature of our culture that parents not only let but encourage and pay for their kids to go off to a place where they will inevitably be shown things that draw them further from the parents mentally. I'm sure some people might say that this doesn't matter, ideas are one thing and being family and having a loving connection is another. I don't really agree with that objection right now. Yeah, I still feel close to my parents despite my outlook deviating from theirs, but still....