Homer's Iliad and the Problem of Force

Description

The topic of force has long remained a problem of interpretation for readers of Homer's Iliad, ever since Simone Weil famously proclaimed it as the poem's main subject. This book seeks to address that problem through a full-scale treatment of the language of force in the Iliad from both philological and philosophical perspectives. Each chapter explores the different types of Iliadic force in combination with the reception of the Iliad in the French intellectual tradition. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that the different terms for force in the Iliad give expression to distinct relations between self and "other." At the same time, this book reveals how the Iliad as a whole undermines the very relations of force which characters within the poem seek to establish. Ultimately, this study of force in the Iliad offers an occasion to reconsider human subjectivity in Homeric poetry. Cover Homer’s Iliad and the Problem of Force Copyright Acknowledgments Contents Introduction: The Homeric Problem of Force, between Philology and Philosophy Homer and the Philosophy of Force, between Language and the Subject Homer and the Philology of Force, between the Human and Divine Kratos Alkē Menos Sthenos Biē (W)is Dynamis Damazō/Damnēmi 1: “Stronger”: Performative Speech and the Force of Achilles The Homeric Scepter: Speech and the Source of Authority A Performative Intervention: Nestor’s Scale of Superiority in Iliad 1 Force, Speech, and the Genealogy of Achilles The Force of Zeus and Its Performative Limits Conclusion 2: Kratos before Democracy: Force, Politics, and Signification in the Iliad Towards a Political Theology of Force in Homer and Hesiod The Alterity of Kratos: Philological and Mythopoetic Interventions Misinterpreting Kratos: Zeus’ Deception of Agamemnon Reinterpreting Kratos: Diomedes’ Rebuke Conclusion 3: Force and Discourse in the Funeral Games of Patroclus The Problem of Force in the Funeral Games: Nestor’s Advice to Antilochus Foucault and the Funeral Games: Menelaus’ Quarrel with Antilochus Reversals in the “Regime of Truth”: Eumelus and Ajax Resolution through Discourse: Achilles’ Interventions and the End of the Agōn Conclusion 4: The “Force that Kills”: Simone Weil and the Problem of Agency in the Iliad Simone Weil on Force and the Subject in Homer and History Subjects of Force in the Iliad Force, Fate, and Death: Sarpedon, Patroclus, and Hector Conclusion: Achilles’ Awareness Conclusion: Homeric Forces and Human Subjects Reconsidered APPENDIX: Force in Early Greek Hexameter Kratos Part I. Kratos in the Iliad Part II. Kratos in the Odyssey Part III. Kratos and related forms in Theogony, Works and Days, and Homeric Hymns Alkē Part I. Alkē in the Iliad Part II. Alkē in the Odyssey Part III. Alkē and Related Forms in Theogony,Works and Days, and Homeric Hymns Biē Part I. Biē in the Iliad Part II. Biē in the Odyssey Part III. Biē in Theogony, Works and Days, and Homeric Hymns Menos Part I. Menos in the Iliad Part II. Menos in the Odyssey Part III. Menos in Hesiodic Poems and the Homeric Hymns Sthenos Part I. Sthenos in the Iliad Part II. Sthenos in the Odyssey Part III. Sthenos in Hesiodic Poems and the Homeric Hymns (W)is Part I. (W)is in the Iliad Part II. (W)is in the Odyssey Part III. (W)is in the Hesiodic Poems and Homeric Hymns Dynamis Part I. Dynamai, dynamis in the Iliad Part II. Dynamai, dynamis in the Odyssey Part III. Dynamai, dynamis in the Hesiodic Poems and Homeric Hymns Damazō/damnēmi Part I. Verbal Root dam- in the Iliad Part II. Verbal Root δαμ- in the Odyssey Part III. δαμ- in Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns References Index Locorum Index