We've read the Iliad and the Odyssey. So, Homer becomes the basis for Greek civilization. Meaning that all educated Greeks, they memorize the Iliad in Odyssey. People don't people don't read read them right now at at this point. They speak and they listen in front of um an audience.
And so Homer becomes basically the infrastructure of their mental worldview and um this leads to the greatest civilization in human history. But eventually the Romans will conquer the Greeks. The Romans will conquer the entire Mediterranean and they will uh create the Roman Empire. The Romans are nothing like the Greeks. The Greeks are very open uh very curious.
They believe in the idea of sorry um and udeimmonia. Erite means excellence to be the best at what you can. Udimmonia means flourishing. You can only achieve human happiness if you achieve your erete. Okay?
If you become your erete. So think of Odysius who was great speaker. That is his um and he uses his speech in order to fulfill his destiny and to save his family. Okay? And that achieves udeimmonia.
The Romans are very different. The Romans believed in the idea of piety. Okay? And piety just means obedience to your fathers, to history, and to tradition. And so the Romans are an extremely conservative people, but they're very good at fighting wars, and that's why they become the empire.
Um but after the empire is established, what the Romans recognize is that Greek culture is vastly superior and many well educated Romans begin to drift towards Greek culture which in the Roman perspective leads to the corruption of the Roman soul. And so Augustus Caesar who is really considered the first emperor of Rome he recognizes that in the long term even though the Romans have conquered the Greeks physically spiritually the Greeks will conquer the the Romans and the main issue is Homer. So his solution is to destroy Homer. You can't burn books because uh there there aren't that many books and also people have memorized Homer. So you need to corrupt Homer.
And the solution that he devises is called the Iniad. And we can consider the iniad as the antihomer. Okay? Or the inversion of Homer. taking the ideas of Homer and inverting them.
Okay. So, um this becomes the Bible of Roman Empire, meaning that if you're a school boy, you have to memorize the Iniad. And this is the main way that you learn Latin, the official language of the um Roman Empire. And so whereas Homer will give us Greek civilization and the birth of Western civilization, the Iniad will create the dark ages a thou about a thousand years when Western creativity um ends and then someone will emerge who will recognize the evil that is the Iniad and he will create a antidote to the poison that is the Iniad. And this person of course is called Dante.
Okay. And so what we'll do is we will read the iniad for the next two weeks and understand how it poisons and corrupts Homer and then this will lead us to the divine comedy which is really the liberation of the human soul from the poison that is the iniad. Okay. All right. So um some basic background about the iniad.
So the Iniad what it does is it replicates both the Odyssey and the Iliad. Uh the Iniad is 12 it's 24 books. The first 12 books models off the Odyssey. The last 12 books models off the Iliad. So uh the story begins when Inas he um is one of the survivors of the fall of Troy.
Okay. And so he takes his father and his child to go off to the Italian peninsula because the gods have told him that he he has fated he is destined to found the Roman Empire. And that's why the gods had to destroy Troy in order to create the Roman Empire. But as he um sails to Italian Peninsula, uh there's a shipwreck and he lands in Carthage. Okay, Carthage.
And there he meets the queen Ditto. And the Carthaginians and Ditto are extremely hospitable to Inas. And so they have this huge banquet. And Inias is telling her about the story of the fall of Troy. How Troy fell.
Remember remember that Homer doesn't actually discuss the fall of Troy, but Inias will discuss the fall of Troy. And by discussing the four of his main purpose is to show how duplicitous, manipulative, deceptive the Greeks are. Okay. He's he's also going to tell us um um why the values of Homer are evil, why love is evil, why love will lead you into tragedy. And then by telling the story, what will happen is that uh Inas will seduce Ditto.
Ditto will fall in love with him. Not because not only is he brave and handsome, but he's also a great poet. He's able to tell the story in a beautiful manner. And so they fall in love. Okay.
All right. So this is the beginning of the in in uh uh uh Iniad. And so what what what we're going to read first is it is a story of the fall of Troy. It begins when the Greeks pretend to leave the beaches of Troy and they leave behind a wooden horse. Okay?
And there's a huge debate among the Trojans as to what to do with this horse and they decide basically, you know, we can't take a risk. Let's just destroy the this horse, throw throw it uh into the sea. And then what happens is that a Greek soldier emerges and he's a prisoner. He's he was caught by some shepherds and he tells the story of the Trojan horse and why it's really not a threat to the Trojans. In fact, it's a gift from the Greeks to the gods.
So, because it's a gift to the gods, you cannot destroy it because then you piss off the gods. Okay? And what this is going to show us is that the Greek culture, philosophy, theater, rhetoric, it's all one of deception. The real chosen horse is Greek culture. You cannot let Greek culture into Rome because then it will corrupt and poison the empire from within.
Okay? So that that so again this is propaganda. So it's very blatant what they're doing. Okay? It's very blatant what Virgil um is doing and okay something I I need to explain is like Virgil is considered the poet who composed this uh iniad but it was actually Augustus Caesar who wrote this.
Basically, Augustus Caesar was one who provided Virgil with a framework and then Virgil um uh composed it into Latin poetry. And actually at the end of his life, Virgil actually want to burn this down, burn this. And the reason why is if you're a poet, what you believe is that your gift comes from the gods. And so you represent the gods. But if you actually work for the empire, if you actually use your gift for the emperor, then maybe the gods will punish you.
Right? So Virgil, Virgil was very much afraid and wanted to like burn the uh Iniad. Um but August Caesar would not let him. And so this became the Bible of the Roman Empire. It is a evil evil piece of work.
Okay? And it is the antihomer. So, we're going to study it um because it's going to shape Western civilization throughout the Middle Ages until the coming of Dante. Okay. So, all right.
So, Ivory, can you read, please? Yeah. Suddenly, in the thick of it all, a young soldier, hands shackled behind his back with much shouting, Trojan shepherds were hauling him toward the king. He'd come on the man by chance, a total stranger. He'd given himself up with one goal in mind, to open Troy to the Greeks and lay her waste.
He trusted to courage, nerved for either end, to weave his lies or face a certain death. Young Trojan recruits, keen to have a look, came scurrying up from all sides, crowding round, outdoing each other to make a mockery of the captive. Now hear the treachery of the Greeks, and learn from a single crime the nature of the beast. haggarded, helpless, there in our midst he stood, all eyes revant on him now, and turning a weary glance at the lines of the of Trojan troops, he groaned and spoke. Where can I find some refuge?
Where on land, on sea? What's left for me now? A man of so much misery. Nothing among the Greeks, no place at all. And worse, I see my Trojan enemies crying for my blood.
His groans convince us, cutting all our show of violence short. Okay. So at this time in history and this this is about um about 30 BCE um Greek theater is very very popular. The Romans love Greek theater and Greek theater is really um the very paragon of Greek civilization. And what this is telling us is that no Greek theater is evil.
It's meant to deceive us. Okay. So this soldier, this Greek soldier, he is trained in theater. He's trained in philosophy. He's trained in rhetoric.
And he's using all his craft, all his skills in order to ultimately deceive the good but but naive Trojans. Okay. All right. So he tells the story of how he came to be left behind uh in Troy. And the story is that he pissed off Odysius.
Odysius plotted against him. So, so when it came time for the Greeks to leave Troy and sell home, they need they needed to sacrifice a person and that person was this guy. But somehow this guy ran off. Okay. Okay.
Can you read Ivory? The day of infamy soon came. The sacred rights were all performed for the victim. The salted meals strewn, the bands tied around my head. But I broke free of death, I tell you.
Burst my shackles. Yes. And hid all night in the reeds of a marshy lake, waiting for them to sail. If only they would sail. Well, no hope now of seeing the land where I was born.
Or my sweet children, the father I longed for all these years. Maybe they'll ring from them the price of for my escape. Avenge my guilt with my loved ones blood. Poor things. I beg.
I beg you, king. By the powers who know the truth, by any trust still uncorrupt in the world of men, pity a man whose torment knows no bounds. Pity me in my pain. I know in my soul I don't deserve to suffer. He wept and won his life.
Our pity too. Pam takes command. Has him freed from the ropes and chains that bind him fast and hails him warmly. Whoever you are from now on you've lost the Greeks. Put them out of your mind and you'll be one of us.
But answer my questions. Tell me the whole truth. Why did they raise up this giant monstrous horse? Who conceived it? What's it for?
Its purpose, a gift to the gods, a great engine of battle. Okay, so again, this reminds us of the Iliad where Pry, the king of the Trojans, is known for being a very generous, magnolent, uh, sorry, um, benevolent um, open person. But this will lead to the doom of Troy. So remember in the Iliad it is because of prime's generosity his ability to forgive Il uh Achilles that leads to the great friendship between Pry and Achilles. Okay.
And again Virgil is trying to reverse this and he's trying to show us that no you think that generosity will lead to goodness. No, generosity will lead to evil. You see how prime is too trusting, too generous. And so he believes this Greek uh soldier and then he will allow the Trojans to bring the horse into Troy and at night the the Greek soldiers will escape from the horse, open the gates of Troy and now the Greeks are rushing in to kill everyone. Okay.
And Inas hears this um slaughter and he tries to save as many people as he can. And his first thought is, "Where is my king? How do I save my king?" Okay. So, as the Greeks are ravaging the city, killing as many people as they can, Inas is rushing to save his king, Priam. All right.
All right. So, can you read uh Ivory? Perhaps you wonder how Pam met his end. When he saw his city stormed and seized, his gates wrenched apart, the enemy camped in his palace deaths. The the old man dawned his armor long unused.
He clamps it around his shoulders, shaking with age, and all for nothing, straps his useless sword to his hip, then makes for the thick of battle, out to meet his death. At the heart of the house, an ample altar stood naked under disguise. An ancient laurel bending over the shrine, embracing our household gods within its shade. Here flocking the altar, Hakuba and her daughter is huddled, blown headlong down like doves by a black storm, clutching all for nothing the figures of their gods. Seeing Pam decked in the arms he'd worn as a young man.
Are you insane? He c she cries. Poor husband. What impels you to strap that sword on now? Where are you rushing?
Too late for such defense, such help. Not even to my for my own not even my own Hector if he came to the rescue. Now come to me Pam. This altar will shield us all or else you'll die with us. With those wars drawing him towards her there she made a place for the old man beside the holy shrine.
Okay let's continue. Suddenly look a son of Pum Pol just just escaped from slaughter at Pyrus's hands. Okay, so Pyrus is a son of Achilles. Okay, so this is a rewriting of the ending of the Iliad where Pry and Achilles have this great emotional battle where they forgive each other and uh Prime's love for Hector and Achilles love for his father unifies their soul. Okay, this is going to be a rewriting of that battle.
So Achilles is dead and now his son is seeking to kill Pryam. Keep on going. Comes racing through spears, through enemy fighters, fleeing down the long arcades and deserted hallways. Badly wounded, Pyrus hot on his heels, a weapon poised for the kill, about to seize him, about to run him through and pressing home as polities reaches his parents and collapses, vomiting out his lifeblood before their eyes at that. Okay, so again this is a rewriting of the Iliad where now Polites becomes Hector, right?
Because remember um Achilles kills Hector at the gates of Troy and Prime Heguba are on the walls watching this and then Achilles commits um a war crime by basically tying Hector to his chariot and then um um dragging Hector all around the wall the walls of tour. Okay, so this is a re reimagining of that scene. Okay, keep keep on going. At that PM trapped in the grip grip of death, not holding back, not checking his words, his rage. You, he cries, you and your vicious crimes.
If any power on Hile recoils at such an outrage, let the gods repay you for all your reckless work. Grant you the thanks, the rich reward you, the the rich reward you've earned. You've made me see my son's death with my own eyes. Defiled the father's sight with a son's lifeblood. You say you're Achilles, the son.
You lie. Achilles never treated his enemy preempo. No, he honored a supply right. He blessed to betray my my trust. He restored my hectar's bloodless corpse for for burial.
Sent me safely home to the land I rule. Okay. So again he is reminding us of the ending of the Iliad where in this great war peace and love come to universe when Achilles and Pry um are able to become friends. Okay. And he's saying your father you've you've destroyed the legacy of your father.
You've destroyed the friendship between us. Okay. All right, keep on reading. With that and with all his might, the old man flings a spear, but too impotent now to pierce, it merely grazes Pyrus's brazen shield that blocks his way and clings there, dangling limb from the boss, all for nothing. Pyrus shouts back, "Well then, down you go, a messenger to my father, Pelus's son.
Tell him about my vicious work. How neoblimus degrades his father. Neilmus is actually another name for pyrus. Okay, it's the same person. Keep on going.
Degraes his father's name. Don't you forget now. Die. That said, he drags the old man straight to the altar, quaking, slithering on through slicks of his son's blood and twisting preemps his hair in his left hand, his right hand sweeping forth his sword, a flash of steel. He buries his hill deep in the king's flank.
Such was the fate of P of Pum, his death, his law on earth. With Troy blazing before his eyes, her ramparts down, the monarch who once had ruled in all his glory, the many lands of Asia, Asia's many tribes, a powerful trunk is lying on the shore, the head wrenched from the shoulders, a corpse without a name. Okay, so there's a difference between the Greeks and the Romans. Okay, the Greeks are very cultured people. They enjoy going to the theater and watching a tragedy and crying together to rejuvenate their sense of humanity.
Okay, that was a Greek culture. The the Romans go to the coliseum and watch gladiator fights. Okay, they like blood. They like violence. And so the Iniad is an extremely violent uh poetry.
In fact, you can say it's almost pornographic in the violence that it depicts. All right? And the Romans just love this because they are a bloodthirsty people. All right? All right.
So, Prime is dead and with its death, what it is doing is negating the um moral lesson of the iliac to forgive one's enemy. Okay. Okay. So, the Romans read this and they remember reading the saying, "Oh my god, I was wrong to think that Prime was heroic in forgiving Achilles." What I should be really thinking is what a foolish old man who deserves to die for thinking that his enemy should be forgiven that for thinking that his enemy has a good soul in him. Okay, so again, this is negating the Iliad.
is actually poisoning and corrupting the Iliad. All right. So, um, now Inas is talking about his reaction watching his king die. Okay. Uh, keep on reading, Ivory.
Then for the first time, the full horror came home at came home to me at last. I froze. The thought of my own dear father filled filled my mind when I saw the old king gasping out his life with that raw raw wound. Both men were the same age. And the thought of my cruisa alone, abandoned, our house plundered, our little Elas's fate.
I look back, what forces still stood by me? None. Totally spent in war. They'd all deserted down from the roofs. They flung themselves to earth or hold their broken bodies in the flames.
So at just that moment, I was the one man left. And then I saw her clinging to Vestus' threshold, hiding in silence, tucked away. Helen of Argos. Glare of the fires lit my view as I looked down, scanning the city left and right. And there she was, terrified of the Trojans's hate.
Now Troy was overpowered, terrified of the Greeks' revenge, her deserted husband's rage. That universal fury, a curse to Troy and her native land. And here she lurked, skullking, a thing of of loathing, cowering at the altar. Helen out it flared the fire inside my soul, my rage ablaze to avenge our f our fallen country. Pay Helen back crime for crime.
Okay. So, Inas is watching his entire civilization being destroyed and he knows that his family will be destroyed as well. And he is taken a back. He's sort of like paralyzed by his anger and his hatred and his fear. And then he sees Helen and he's like, "This is her fault." Okay, this is why we are we are destroying a civilization because of this Okay, and so this is telling us what this the lesson from this is that love is a source of evil in the world.
Okay, love is a source of evil in this world. Remember the odyssey. What is the what is the um main lesson of the Odyssey? Love is the redemptive force of the world. Right?
If you are shattered as a person, it is love that will lead you home and heal you as a person. And what the Iniad is saying said is that love is what destroys civilization. Love is what corrupts you. Love is what leads you to hell. Okay.
All right. So he wants to kill Helen as revenge for destruction of Troy. But then what happens is that Inis's mother Venus. Okay. So Venus is his mother steps in, appears before him and says, "No, you can't do this.
You have to go home and save your wife and your child." Okay. So Inas goes home and what he does is he save he takes his family and takes them to the ship to escape Troy. But as they are running through the um um streets of Troy, uh what Inis does is he puts his father on his back. Okay. And he holds his son, his young son, uh Ilas and the and Cissa, the wife has to follow them.
Okay. Okay. So that that's a Roman priority. Okay. The most important person in the family is the patriarch, the father.
Then is the son who inherits and the wife is just someone who follows. Okay. But her job is to serve rather than being equal in the relationship. And this again is very different from the Odyssey where in many ways Penelope and AudiS are equal to each other. Okay.
All right. So what happens is that Inas gets to the ship and he and he puts his father and his son on the ship ready to escape, but he recognizes at the at the very last minute his wife is missing. So he goes back and tries to save his wife, but his wife is dead. And why is she dead? Because she killed herself.
Why did she kill herself? She killed herself because it is her duty not to burden her husband. because her husband is destined for great things. He's destined to found an empire. So, he must marry into a new lineage, a new royal family.
And therefore, she has to kill herself to free him. But not only that, but if she were to become a slave to the Greeks, it would cause him embarrassment for the rest of his life. Right? Okay. So, um that is the Roman perception of a wely duty.
Okay? If you're not useful to your husband, just kill yourself. Okay. Uh c can you read? Creusa.
Nothing. No reply. And again, Cusa. But then as I madly rushed from house to house, no one in sight. Abruptly, right before my eyes, I saw her stricken ghost.
My own cruises shade. But larger than life, the life I known so well. I froze. My hackles bristled. voice choked in my throat and my wife spoke out to ease me of my anguish.
My dear husband, why so eager to give yourselves s to such mad flights of grief? Is not without the will of the gods these things have come to pass? But the gods forbid you to take Cusa with you, bound from Troy together. The king of Lio Olympus won't allow it. A long exile is your fate.
The vast plains of the sea are yours to plow when you reach Hisperian land where Lydian tber flows with a smooth march through rich and lomy fields, a land of hearty people. There great joy and the kingdom are yours to claim and the queen to make your wife. Dispel your tears for Carusa whom you loved. I will never behold the high and mighty pride of their palaces, the Mermadons, the Delopians, or go as a slave to to some Greek matron. No, not I, daughter of Dardanus, that I am the wife of Venus's son.
The great mother of God detains me on these shores. And now, farewell. Hold dear the son we share. We love together. Again, this is very different from the Odyssey where the Odyssey is really about a journey of two people, Penelopey and Odysius, to find each other again because love is the greatest force in the universe.
Okay. Love is what compels the two to reunite and to find each other amidst all the chaos um surrounding them. In the INIAD the idea is that love is hell. So what is heaven? Okay, if love is hell what is heaven?
Heaven is piety. Piety just means obedience to the prophecy of the gods. Right. It is the will of the gods that Troy be destroyed so that Rome can be created. It is a pro it is the prophecy of the gods that Inas will be the one to lead the Trojans to found this Rome.
And therefore what is good what is divine is obedience to this prophecy. Okay. So uh a long exile is your fate. All right. The king of mal lofty Olympus won't allow Zeus okay or Jupiter demands this of us.
If Zup if Jupiter demands us to sacrifice ourselves then we must do so. Okay. And so this reverses the odyssey right where the gods will it Penelopey and Odysius reunite. But here um the gods will that and separate. All right.
Okay. So um from our eyes this doesn't sound that influential but the reality is remember this becomes the basis of Roman civilization. All right. And what is civilization? But a set of values, a set of ideas that guide you in your life.
Okay? And what this is doing is inverting Homer, poisoning, and corrupting Homer. All right. Okay. Any questions, guys?
Okay. So, we'll we'll continue this next week. Okay.