Greek and Rome

Read this first!

You will be answering questions concerning the filmmaker’s portrayal of god-mortal relations in the Homer’s Iliad, upon which the selected movie is based. I strongly recommend that you read the questions before you watch the movie, and take relevant notes while watching, so that you will be adequately prepared to quickly and effectively answer the questions.

Watch The fury of Achilles on Youtube via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPLLeBEcQtg

Answer each question with 150-250 words citing specific examples from the movie and the works we’ve read in class:

How do the gods involve themselves in human affairs, in the movie, and how does this compare to what you know of the Classical portrayal of these same gods, especially in the Iliad?

In The fury of Achilles we see gods getting involved in human affairs in somewhat similar ways compared with the Iliad. In the fury of Achilles Apollo gets mad at the Greeks when Agamegnon takes one of his worshippers, or daughter, and refuses to give her back. Just like in the Iliad, Apollo sends sickness throughout the Greek army. Zeus also helps Apollo by sending a bad storm. Although some of the instances where gods get involved are very similar, it seems like there are slightly different motives behind it. In the Iliad the gods seem to only act on their own behalf and they don’t actually care what humans think. However, in the fury of Achilles, it seems like the humans have more influence on when the gods will intervene. Criasis prays to Apollo and Apollo answers his prayers with a wagonload of treasure to give to Agamegnon in exchange for his daughter. This is different than the Iliad.

How do the human characters in the movie feel about the gods, and how does this compare to what you know of the Classical portrayal of these same gods, especially in the Iliad?

The human characters in the fury of Achilles completely rely on the gods for guidance. They look to the gods to lead...