And the question is ......................................

There is no question. I just want to share it with you. Sir2u, I need to share it with you.

There is no question. I just want to share it with you. Sir2u, I need to share it with you. — Michael Lee

OK, cool. :smile:

The need to share, is it in some way spiritual?

The gods in those days were not shy were they? they came down to our level and let us see them.

Maybe if we all started worshiping Neptune or even Thor they would come back.

Okay, this is a lame post. I do that from time to time, but I just loved the story. The Iliad was by far too violent and greedy and tells us who we really are Sir2u. As a human race, we have lost our sense of empathy and compassion. It is incredibly disappointing, but since I will be dead in about thirty years, at best, why should I worry?

Speaking of the Iliad, listen to this verse that Hector said,

No man will hurl me down to Death, against my fate.
And fate? No one alive has ever escaped it,
neither brave man nor coward, I tell you --
it's born with us the day that we were born. Iliad VI, 580

But look what happens later...

But the two Aeantes blazing in battle-fury
saw to Imbrius now...as two lions seizing a goat
from under guard of circling rip-tooth hounds,
lugging the carcass on through dense matted brush,
hoist it up from the earth in their big grinding jaws.
So the ramping, crested Aeantes hoisted Imbrius high,
stripping his gear in mid-air, and the Little Ajax,
raging over Amphimachus' death, lopped the head
from the corpse's limp neck and with one good heave
send it spinning into the milling fighters like a ball,
right at the feet of Hector, tumbling in the dust. Iliad XIII, 240

I don't know where I'm going with this Sir2u. Do you know?

Okay, this is a lame post. — Michael Lee

No, it has a lot of potential. All that is missing are the road signs to show the path to take.

I do that from time to time, but I just loved the story. — Michael Lee

Welcome to the club. Free membership and drinks are on the house for the first evening.

Violence is as much a part of human nature as love. It hits some more than others.
If you look at the history and present state of humanity you will find so many examples of how violence was used to overcome the obstacles in the path of many group's advancement. Throughout history conquering the people on the land you wanted or that had the food you needed was the way of life.

Try reading the Iliad using groups as the characters instead of individuals.

I always tried to get my students to put the stories we read into a modern setting. Have you tried doing this. I used this idea to see if the stories carried any messages that were still valid today. Not all of the students were up to the task, but we had some good ideas and a lot of very good discussions.

I don't know where I'm going with this Sir2u. Do you know? — Michael Lee

That sounds a bit like my all time favorite bumper sticker.

"Don't follow me, I'm lost.
Put up some signs and we can follow them and see where we end up.

Hell, Banno used to start with less and get a century thread. :lol: