The Burden of Truth #1
From Iliad by Homer, Trans. E.V. Rieu (London: Penguin, 1950), pp. 174 (ePub edition):
Achilles dear to Zeus, you have instructed me to account for the anger of lord Apollo the Archer-god; and I will do so. But listen to me first and swear an oath to use all your eloquence and strength to look after me and protect me. I ask this of you, being well aware that I am about to infuriate a man whose authority is great among us and whose word is law to all the Greeks. An ordinary mortal is no match for anyone in authority he angers. Even if his superior swallows his anger for the moment, he will still nurse his grievance till the day when he can settle the account. Consider, then, whether you can guarantee my safety.
If you have watched the movie Troy (2004), you probably have a basic idea of what the Iliad is about. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly suggest that you do. Although the film falls short of the book, I'm not a purist and think that cinema and books are two distinct storytelling mediums. It's not realistic to expect a movie, which typically lasts around two hours, to fully capture a book that may have taken you days or even weeks to read. The same book or film may have a different meaning for each person. As individuals, we approach a text differently, and therefore, the conclusions we draw can vary widely. When I think about a book like the Iliad, I realize that its meaning has evolved for me as I have grown older. Certain passages ring different. I see more. The book itself hasn't changed, but I have. When you read comments on Letterboxd, the website for movie lovers, you will quickly notice how people have different takes on the same movie. It sometimes makes you wonder if it's the same movie we all watched. Similarly, a filmmaker brings their unique experiences and perspectives to the text. The filmmaker must decide which parts of the book to draw our attention to and what to keep out of focus. They can choose to emphasise/enhance certain sections or even interpret the book differently. They may also have to pander to public preferences by only including elements that are currently deemed acceptable or aligned with the dominant ideologies of the time. Finance, the lack of it or too much of it, can significantly affect the quality or direction a film takes. In my observation, people who have read the book are more likely to be interested in watching its movie adaptation, while those who have only seen the movie may not show the same level of interest in reading the book. Although I am not certain why this is the case, I have also noticed that some individuals have been introduced to literature through movie adaptations. Quentin Tarantino turned his movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), into a novel. However, I am not interested in reading the book. It seems that, in this case, I prefer the movie over the book.
The Iliad is an epic poem about humans who just couldn’t keep their anger and desires in check and gods who kept meddling in human affairs. It is more nuanced than that but you get the gist. What triggered the whole conflict, you might ask? A wedding invitation. There was a wedding taking place, and all the gods and goddesses were invited except for one. Eris, the goddess of Discord wasn’t invited and for good reason. I wouldn’t have invited the chick either. If you want a peaceful and delightful wedding, why would you invite the one person in charge of discord? Anyway, Eris didn’t take this well as one would expect. You can never win with Eris; if you invite her, there will be trouble, and if you don’t invite her, there will still be trouble. I suppose not being invited to a friend's or family member's wedding has always been a big deal. However, Eris took it to a whole new level when she came up with a way to exact her revenge. She threw a golden apple, on which was inscribed 'to the most beautiful of all.' Present at the wedding were three Olympian goddesses who laid claim to the golden apple: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. You would reckon that these three women would be wise enough to decipher and thwart Eris’ plans, but no, they walked magnificently right into it. They asked Zeus to pick which one of them was the most beautiful, but being the smart dude that he was, he respectfully declined and instead recommended that they ask a mortal named Paris. At the wedding, each of the three goddesses hoped to win the golden apple and influence Paris in their favor, so they attempted to bribe him. Athena offered him wisdom and skill in war, Hera promised to make him the King of Asia and Europe, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, promised to give him the world's most beautiful woman, Helen of Sparta (not a goddess). Which do you think the dude picked? Helen of Sparta of course. I am living in 2023, and I just think that was a foolish thing to do. Would I have done better? Who knows? Paris' choice only triggers the anger of Hera and Athena against Paris and his people. I don’t envy the dude. Why would anyone take on that assignment if even Zeus skipped it? And what criteria would one use to judge which of the three goddesses is the most beautiful? A case could be made for the corrosive impact of bribery. If Paris had made his choice not based on inducements, the Trojan war probably wouldn’t have happened, and Eris’ plan would have failed miserably. But Eris was a pro at this and could probably anticipate their actions and design her trap accordingly.
On a diplomatic mission to Sparta, Paris seduced and eloped with Helen while her husband, Menelaus was away attending the funeral of his maternal grandfather, which was contrary to the norms of hospitality. The actions of Paris were strongly disapproved by his brother, Hector. It is good that at least someone had the sense to object, but unfortunately, Hector could do nothing to stop him except hurl insults at Paris. It makes you wonder if Hector should have done more to prevent his brother from behaving stupidly. If this isn't a cause for intervention, I don't know what is, especially when you understand the repercussions of such outright disrespect towards a Spartan King. I personally think that interventions are a moral imperative when the behavior of the person in question could adversely affect the lives of many people. The story may seem distant to modern audiences, but situations not dissimilar to the one depicted in the Iliad still trigger conflicts, albeit not on the same scale. It's common to come across news stories about people who commit murder due to their partner's infidelity. So there probably will never be a time when Paris’ actions wouldn’t be considered problematic as Helen was not only the queen of Sparta, but also a mother and a wife. Filled with rage, Menelaus sought the assistance of his brother Agamemnon, who was a Mycenaean king, to lead a Greek contingent in retrieving Helen and exacting retribution from the Trojans for their disrespectful behavior. Agamemnon saw this as a great opportunity to expand his territory and influence, and agreed to help his brother seek revenge. To achieve his goal of conquering Troy, Agamemnon realized that he needed the support of other Greek cities. As a result, he gathered 29 contingents, which included 49 captains, to join his expedition to Troy. In total, the Greeks had around 1,186 ships at their disposal. The Greek expedition to Troy was filled with experienced warriors such as Odysseus, Diomedes, Achilles, Ajax, Nestor, and more. With such an impressive lineup, one would assume that the Greeks could easily capture Troy in just a few days. Alas, ten years into the war, the Greeks were still unable to breach the walls of Troy. They had to resort to sacking towns around Troy and sharing the spoils among themselves. This misconception that wars can be quickly won persists even in modern times, with many countries assuming that wars will only last a few weeks. However, in reality, wars tend to last much longer than initially anticipated, as seen in several US invasions and Russia's current blunders in Ukraine.
Thanks for reading. If there's anything you'd like to chat about, or if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you. :)