Hello and welcome to Montana Classical College! Today we will pick up our series of lectures on the Iliad with Book 8. Robert Fagles gives a title to this book: The tide of battle turns. Zeus becomes proactive about answering Thetis’ supplication—Achilles will be honored through the slaughter of Achaeans; and so, the Trojans bring the fight to Achaeans in a way that makes the Achaeans deeply feel a need for Achilles so that in Book 9, an embassy will be sent to persuade Achilles to return.
This time, instead of relentlessly focusing on juicy passages, we will follow the action of the book as a whole as it unfolds, paying attention to which side is truly stronger, and noting the interplay or conflict between prudence and courage that characters from both sides show.
