I’m only through book 13, but half of that was this last weekend- right after I started the thread a huge project reared it’s ugly head and I had zero time until this weekend. Excuses, excuses. I’ve been loving it so far, though. Maybe somebody who actually kept on track wants to start the discussion thread? I’ll be caught up in a few more days- I can’t wait to see what happens*.
I agree with Eleanor about the reading aloud- I’ve been driving my cat and my fiance nuts! At times I feel like all of the names are overwhelming, but then I was thinking last night that each of these guys has a whole story of their own- even the ones who we only get told their names and their fathers. All of these men and women lived their lives, did all these heroic deeds, whatever, all to end up on the pointy end of Hector’s or Diomedes’ stick. Oof.
And you all were so right! Agamemnon is a total dick. I did a drawing of him as the “king who devours his people” like Achilles said… I’ll try to post it to Flickr tomorrow. It makes it hard to ‘root’ for any one side- the Trojans totally started it by refusing to give Helen back to Menelaus, but I just can’t help but hope that Agamemnon gets his ass handed to him for being such a prick. I guess that’s the point? We aren’t supposed to root for one side or the other, just watch as the epic unfurls.
Anyhow- I’m sorry I dropped the ball, but I am loving the book adn I can’t wait to discuss for reals!
*yes I know what happens, but I don’t know how yet!
Ok, it’s the day, but I’m not quite done either but willing to discuss what I’ve read so far. DO we start anew thread or use this one? What’s the format?
I’m somewhere between “almost done” and “nowhere near done” (somewhere around book 17). It’s taking longer than I thought, partly because of the endless surprisingly* graphic descriptions of unknown (but named) people dying.
I also would be quite happy to never again see the following words(Fagles translation): car, nipple, entrails. And probably some others, but I don’t recall them offhand.
*Although I’m not quite sure why I’m surprised by the graphic descriptions.
I don’t know- It seems silly to start the final thread if nobody’s done, but maybe there is an on-target contingent out there? Maybe at this point whoever finishes first can start the serious discussion thread and the rest of us can chime in as we catch up? Or do we want to push back the date another week all together? I’m full of questions, no answers, but I’m champing at the bit to go home and read some more- The Trojans are at the ships and I think Achilles might be getting ready to kick some butt!
I’m reading the Lattimore translation and trying to figure out what “deep girdled” means in a woman. I’d be happy with another week-- this is a pretty thick puppy to begin our seminar schedule with.
By the way, in the “Hera gets dolled up and tricks Zeus into screwing and crashing out” section-- what a dog he is! “Ooh, Hera, mama. You SO hot. You hotter than anything EVAR. You’re even hotter than Rachel was that time, at the pool with the Spanish fly and that neat negligee. And you’re hotter even than Tracy was, when we met at that bar in Vegas that time and did in in the elevator and she had my lovechild. And you’re hotter than Brianne was, that time when she did that thing with the coconut oil at the beach resort and had my lovechild. And you’re even hotter than Lisa was, oh my God was she hot, but even more hot than she was when I met her at Club 28 and we went back to her place and she had all those candles and stuff and she had my lovechild. And. . .” I mean, I’d slap him!
That’s hilarious.
I’m a slacker. I got sucked into a couple of other books.
I’m just now up to the part where the Greeks are kicking ass because while they found some sucker to go tell Achilles that Patroclus is dead, nobody wants to be the one to tell him that they let the Trojans take Patroclus’s body.
Not only is Agamemnon a jerk, but he keeps giving up! Every other book or so the princes have to talk him out of going home.
I recollect that an amazing large percentage of the Illiad went something like this:
‘The noble Ajax strutted to the forefront of the battle and recited the names of his illustrious ancestors. He spotted the unfortunate Percius in the crowd, and gave a manly yell. Percius turned to flee, his gore to save, when the noble Ajax cast his mighty spear. The imperishable bronze few through the air like a bolt of lightning and struck the cowardly Percius in his back, the spearhead emerging from his gut in a fountain of blood and entrails. Wailing, the body of Percius fell in the dust as the shade of blackest night fell over his eyes.’
Is that equivalent to “sashed and lovely” in the Fagles? lots of the girls are said to be so- I think first is Briseis, on Fagles page 92, book 1, line 512 (manuscript line 430 or so). What does that mean, besides just pretty and maybe innocent?
I agree! Shall we shoot for Monday, or do we want to give ourselves a little more slack?
Let’s go with Monday, then. That’s gives everyone a weekend of skimming, at least.
For deep-girdled, for example Book 18, line 339: “women of Troy and deep-girdled Dardanian women. . .” Perhaps it just means “stacked”?
Ah, apparently it’s bathukolpos,and means to have a lot of robe falling draped below where the belt lies so that the belt isn’t visible-- like a really loosely tucked in pirate shirt or whatever. A picture with this entry (don’t know if that link will work. .)
Kolpos has a variety of meanings. Literally it means “cleft” or “gulf”, and thus breasts by metonomy. It has even come into medical vocabulary as colpo-, often referring of all things to the vagina. Alternatively, the narrow pass of Thermopylae is called a kolpos.
I think there is some confusion here, though. Deep-girdled is an entirely different word, “bathuzonous”. This is the word linked in Autenrieth above.
Missed my edit window. the above is not quite right.
Kolpos has a variety of meanings. Literally it means “cleft” or “gulf”, and thus breasts by metonomy. It has even come into medical vocabulary as colpo-, often referring of all things to the vagina. Alternatively, the narrow pass of Thermopylae is called a kolpos. Autenrieth takes kolpoi as folds in garments instead. But since he is kind of prude, I am not exactly shocked that he would interpret kolpoi to refer to clothes rather than cleavage.
Interestingly enough, “bathykolpian” in English refers strictly to breasts.
I’m getting my wisdom teeth out this weekend (all 4- 2 really wedged in there- woohoo!), so I’ll be out of work until Wednesday (it’s also a slow time at work, so I figure I don’t need to push it, even if my recovery goes smoothly.) I don’t have the internet at home, so I won’t be able to start the new thread, but If you want to do it, I’ve got no problem with that- I’ll jump in to the discussion when I get back.
No kidding.
“Achillius! I am Skiamakonrimiouson, and let me speak to you of my Generation. My mother the naiad and father, glassy-eyed Mikloslisoöuonion the Horse-Wrestler of Prius, met at a bar back in 850, blah blah blah blah blah. And so there.”
“Oh, that is nice.” [strikes powerfully with ash spear, hitting the center of the circle of the strong shield at the part where the bronze and the wood meet with silver nails, separating his liver from the socket and the tendons and the spurting blood and the shattered jawbone]
“Glargh!” [keels over as a smoggy veil descends et cetera. Fight over corpse and armor]