The Rage of Achilles
Posted by: Jamie B on: April 3, 2011
Here we go with the Iliad! Norton includes selections from several of the books, with summaries of the omitted parts. Today, I’m dealing only with Book One.
It is fitting that the first word of this epic poem is Rage, because just about everyone in this part of the poem is mad as hell. I actually made an “Angry List” in my margins. The list of the pissed includes: Achilles, Agamemnon, the priest of Apollo, Apollo himself, Hera, and Zeus. And probably quite a few of the non-speaking roles, as well.
Now, if you don’t already know, the vast Acheaen (aka Greek) army, is currently waging war on Troy in retribution for the “kidnapping” of Helen (the wife of Menelaus, one of their kings). Read the rest of this entry »
An Evening In Greece
Posted by: Jamie B on: March 23, 2011
After leaving the Bible, Norton moves on to the next big thing in ancient history: Greece!
It seems that, in the deep dark past of Greek history, there was a great deal of prosperity. The Minoan ruins on Crete, the great city of Mycenae, and the epic palace of Pylos show all the signs of a flourishing, wealthy civilization. But then, there was a great catastrophe. It doesn’t seem that anybody knows what exactly happened, but the entire civilization was nearly lost. Greece was illiterate for centuries. (The catastrophe has to be bad if the entire population forgets how to read and write.) Read the rest of this entry »
The Song of Songs
Posted by: Jamie B on: March 13, 2011
- In: Palestine
- 2 Comments
The Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon) is probably the most troublesome feature of the Old Testament for modern Christians. You see, it’s erotic poetry. And it’s right smack in the middle of the Bible.
Anybody who has ever been forced to endure a youth group session on this short poetic book (generally complete with a lesson on abstinence and courting, amirite?) will know that many Christian scholars try to explain that this is meant to be a metaphor for how Jesus loves us, or something like that.
No. Just … no. The poem is pretty explicit, and I don’t want to be thinking about Jesus during it. Read the rest of this entry »
My love is one and only
Posted by: Jamie B on: February 19, 2011
- In: Egypt
- 2 Comments
I’ve read a great deal of love poetry. A huge percentage of the Western canon of poetry is focused on love. I’m female and I spent half my adolescence thinking about luvvv. This is not a subject that I am unfamiliar with. And I have to say that these selections of love poetry from Ancient Egypt might be the best I have ever read.
There is something refreshing about the language of all these poems. They are so simple and straightforward and honest – even more amazing because of the complexity of some of the themes. Sexuality has been a taboo subject for so long in the West that it is astounding to read such unabashed treatment of attraction and sensuality. Read the rest of this entry »
Following the Sun
Posted by: Jamie B on: February 16, 2011
- In: Egypt
- Leave a Comment
Maybe it’s just me, but when I think of “Egyptian religion” (admittedly not something I think of on a daily basis), I think of a multitude of strange gods with animal heads. And that neat-looking eye that supposedly symbolizes Ra. And Stargate. So when I turned to the section of Egyptian religious poetry, I was expecting something decidedly polytheistic and foreign to me.
I was very wrong. These selections of poetry are monotheistic in the extreme – my Judeo-Christian-raised brain kept flashing to Psalms, that’s how monotheistic it was. The introduction indicates that this exclusive worship of the sun god was later viewed as heretical, so this is clearly not a representative sample of the religion of Egypt, but it was nonetheless surprising to me. Clearly, I have much to learn. Read the rest of this entry »
Immortality via Cultural Memory
Posted by: Jamie B on: February 11, 2011
At the beginning of Part 4 of Gilgamesh, our hero is still weeping for his friend. And a new fear has struck him – fear of his own mortality. “What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death, I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom they call the Faraway, for he has entered the assembly of the gods.”
Gilgamesh embarks on an epic journey to find Utnapishtim, who is a sworn doppelganger for the biblical Noah. Gilgamesh fights a pride of lions, speaks with Scorpion-men, and traverses a pitch-black tunnel. He has now found the garden of the gods, a paradise of gemstone fruit and plants. One of the gods is here, and tells him to give up, for he “will never find the life for which [he is] searching.” Gilgamesh then finds and speaks to a nearby goddess. He tells her the story of his toils and of his deep sorrow and fear. She tells him again that he can never find immortality. Instead she counsels him to go out and live his life and enjoy it for all it is worth. I am interested to see that again a woman is the voice of reason and hope. Where the male god just said “give up,” the goddess offers wise advice and help. Read the rest of this entry »
Fighting Giants and Gods
Posted by: Jamie B on: February 4, 2011
Part 2 of Gilgamesh picks up without interlude after the fight and conciliation of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. One assumes that time has passed, because they seem to have developed a deep friendship. Gilgamesh has a dream and Enkidu interprets it. Gilgamesh’s dream enforces the gods’ desires for him to rule Uruk (mandate of heaven), but that he is not destined to acquire everlasting life. The phrasing in this translation seems to imply that maybe some people are given this destiny. Finally, Gilgamesh is encouraged to not abuse his power.
More time seems to pass, and Enkidu has a complaint. All play and no work has made him unhappy and weak. In answer to this, Gilgamesh decides that now is a good time to head to the Country of the Living, also called the Land of Cedars. My assumption is that this is a poetic name for Lebanon, well known in ancient times for their cedar forests.
Gilgamesh waxes eloquent about his ambitions to attack and destroy Humbaba, a gigantic creature who guards the Forest. Enkidu has misgivings (he’s terrified, actually), and Gilgamesh insists. Their frank discussion serves as an example of friendship – two men honestly offering viewpoints and discussing them. Gilgamesh eventually “wins” the discussion (although really it seems like Enkidu gives in). Read the rest of this entry »
“The First Great Heroic Narrative”
Posted by: Jamie B on: January 31, 2011
If I’d been randomly choosing a place to begin an adventure through world literature, I could hardly have chosen a better outset than Gilgamesh.
Reaching all the way back to practically the dawn of civilization, the historical Gilgamesh was king of Uruk (in modern-day southern Iraq, on the Euphrates) in about 2700 BC. That’s about 5000 years ago. The epic narrative of his exploits was in development for thousands of years in the oral tradition, and was luckily recorded on clay tablets before the entire thing was lost to the sands of time. It remained lost until around 1870 AD when it was accidentally rediscovered by archaeologists.
Due to the length of this narrative, I’ll be dealing with it in segments. Today, we confront the Prologue and Part One.
The narrative begins with praise to what seems to be a bad king (I hesitate to call him evil, but he’s painted in pretty harsh colors). His people call out to the gods in their oppression, and the gods confer amongst themselves. They decide that man is not meant to be alone, and they create a soulmate for him: “…now create his equal; let it be as like him as his own reflection, his second self, stormy heart for stormy heart. Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet.” Read the rest of this entry »
Open the cover
Posted by: Jamie B on: January 30, 2011
Hello there!
I’d like to take a moment to describe my blog before I plunge in.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in English a while back. I’m one of those people who just can’t get rid of a book, so my old textbooks have been haunting my bookshelves for quite some time. As you probably know, you never read everything in a textbook, and sometimes, the best stuff gets left out. So that’s my challenge – to read the leftovers!
I’m planning to start with one of my (many many) volumes of the Norton Anthology and work through them. I’ve probably got enough textbooks to last for years. 
First textbook post should be coming soon!
