Journal #1 — September 3, 2020
My first week of classes for Greek Literature has been pretty successful. The workload is not particularly overwhelming, but it definitely did take some time for me to organize all that is required of me. And by “time” I mean it took me up until right now, Wednesday at 11:13 pm, to be fully on track with all of my schoolwork. But school is all about learning! What I’m learning in this very moment, as I doze off with every keystroke, is that I need to become more well acquainted with time management. What’s important is that the work gets done in a timely manner, even if that time is a few hours before.
I’ve been doing all of my studying and schoolwork and classes in my bedroom which is a lot less challenging than I assumed it would be. I thought I might be very distracted but my classes have truly been getting my undivided attention, which is rare in many aspects of my life. My room is a very lovely environment that is conducive to my learning proficiency. I try to spend at least one hour per day on Greek Lit to ensure that I’m not falling behind. How productive those hours are, I couldn’t tell you.
Thursday, August 27: I actually got up two hours early, in a frenzy, thinking I’d forgotten to do the journal that was due this day. I spent about an hour and a half writing the most mediocre journal in Greek Lit History, only for it to not even be due. In the back of my mind, I knew we didn’t have anything due, but I didn’t want to start the year off slacking. Slacking is strictly reserved for October. The good news is that 1) I practiced discipline and 2) you won’t have the displeasure of reading that journal. You’re welcome. I spent the other 30 minutes of my two hour frenzy brushing up on the essay we were asked to read on Medium.
This was the second day of Greek Lit and about an hour and a half was spent in this class. During class, we dove into analyzing and reflecting upon Book 1 of the Iliad and I was slightly confused about what was going on, which I immediately knew was a result of reading it via laptop. Later, I went to my local library and checked out a physical copy and audiobooks of both The Iliad and The Odyssey because I find it very difficult to retain any minute details without the act of physically holding what I’m reading and turning the pages.
Friday, August 28: I re-read book 1 of The Iliad and continued on to book 3. Book 2 was very exhausting and close to the end, there were so many names and titles that went over my head. Overall, I really like the W.H.D. Rouse translation. I think that it is helping me actually enjoy reading the Iliad. Reading Book 2 alone was probably an hour and a half long excursion, which I find really interesting because I am an avid reader who zips through books fairly quickly. This one is different. I don’t know if “language barrier” is the correct term… “Grammatical barrier?” Comprehension is a beast when the grammar and sentence structures don’t align with the modern ways of speaking. I’m coping with this by imagining Thor and the people of Asgard are speaking the dialogue.
On this day I also found myself getting very frustrated that the time I normally use for pleasure reading is starting to be soaked up but The Iliad. I figured that would be the cost of being an English major. I’m putting in a lot more effort to understanding the Iliad in its entirety so that I’m genuinely having a good time reading it and viewing it a something that I’m gaining as opposed to time that I’m losing. I decided that I’m going to make a plan that will help me finish all of my schoolwork at a decent time so that my nights can be spent cooped up in my reading chair with a glass of kombucha and some science fiction.
Tuesday, September 1: We had class again for an hour and a half. What I found most interesting during this class was contemplating whether I would want to be apart of The Iliad, and if having a legacy is worth dying young like Achilles. I do not love the idea of oblivion, but I’m sure there will come a day when we’re all forgotten about, so I don’t think I would trade my life for being remembered.
After class, I wrote all of the notes from The Chalkboard into my notebook designated for this class so that I could retain the information. I’ve been going through some not-so-happy things this week, so I wasn’t 100% mentally present during the actual class time and I needed to spend extra time post-class compensating for what my wandering mind caused me to miss. I didn’t miss too much and I felt like I was beginning to have a decent grasp on The Iliad.
It wasn’t until this day that I began pondering the journal questions. Here’s what I had to say about them:
If I were to advise Agamemnon to lead differently at this point in the epic, I would probably let him know that he has to put his pride and arrogance aside to achieve greatness. Pride and arrogance can cloud his judgment as a leader, making him base his decisions on emotion rather than logic, which I think is more important to have as a leader. He certainly would not receive my advice very well. I might not live for much longer after that point. Agamemnon is notoriously stubborn (further proving my point), with an “insufferable” temper, and thinks his opinions reign superior, so I probably wouldn’t even try with him.
Menelaus, Agamemnon’s brother, being wounded by an arrow in Book 4 was a turning point in the poem. Agamemnon experienced a series of emotions when Menelaus was wounded. I previously stated that Agamemnon acts off of emotion, but this is his family, so any emotion he experiences following Menelaus’ injury is valid. The first emotion Agamemnon felt following Menelaus’ injury was shock and within that shock, he felt nervous and betrayed. Once Menelaus is getting medical help, Agamemnon feels determined, ordering his men to suit up and prepare for battle. Amidst his determination, he also feels prideful — in a good way this time. He’s proud of his men and he expresses that pride to them, preparing their spirits for what’s to come.
The love between Paris and Helen does not move me at all and it’s barely relatable. Paris is a homewrecker! But I did find humor and relatability in Helen going to bed with Paris directly after scolding him about being a liar and a coward. That part might be a little relatable.
Wednesday, September 3 — Thursday, September 4: Today I was dedicated. I had one cup of coffee and my brain decided that I was invincible. The time is now 1:11 AM and I am on hour two of piecing together this journal. I thought I’d run out of things to say but I don’t think I have yet. On Wednesday I panicked about Thursday’s (today’s) quiz, studied the entirety of The Chalkboard, scraped my way through Book 5 during dinner, then started writing this journal. Book 5 took a little bit less time to read than Book 2 but it was still an uphill battle. Excluding when I began writing this journal, I think I spent two hours on Greek Lit.
Despite it being an uphill battle, I really enjoyed Book 5 and I think it might be my favorite part thus far. My favorite part of Book 5 was witnessing Diomedes have his Shining Moment. This might be a wild comparison, but it reminded me of The Half-Blood Prince and how excited I was that Draco Malfoy was getting the page/screen time that he deserved! In Book 5, Diomedes was the definition of a warrior on the battlefield. Diomedes was influenced by Athena, as she gave him the bravery and skill he needed to be successful. This also reminds me of the 2009 action film “Taken,” when the main character says, “But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.” I thought that was a silly comparison. I read somewhere that Book 5 is often referred to as Diomedia, which is the poet’s way of highlighting Diomedes’ greatness. In my opinion, omitting some of Diomedes’ aristeia wouldn’t have affected the plot much, but Homer puts emphasis on Diomedes because he’s admirable. He’s up to par with Achilles and Agamemnon. You can quote me on that. I actually think that this compares to today’s action films very seamlessly. For example, in the Avengers movies, all of the Avengers join forces in the end, but almost every Avenger has several personal aristeias that lead them to the Endgame. Note: I also really loved his quote from Diomedes, “I am not afraid, I shrink from nothing.” I love this quote because it’s always nice to have a reminder that I’m “deliberate and afraid of nothing” (Audre Lorde), so I will certainly be keeping this quote in my back pocket for future reference.
