Nature and Culture in the Iliad: The Tragedy of Hector

by James M. Redfield

By focusing on the story of Hector, James M. Redfield presents an imaginative perspective not only on the Iliad but also on the whole of Homeric culture. In an expansive discussion informed by a reinterpretation of Aristotle's Poetics and a reflection on the human meaning of narrative art, the analysis of Hector leads to an inquiry into the fundamental features of Homeric culture and of culture generally in its relation to nature. Through Hector, as the "true tragic hero of the poem," the events and themes of the Iliad are understood and the function of tragedy within culture is examined. Redfield's work represents a significant application of anthropological perspectives to Homeric poetry. Originally published in 1975 (University of Chicago Press), this revised edition includes a new preface and concluding chapter by the author.

Genres: Classics, History, Mythology

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a perfect book, but it is an utterly essential one for appreciating The Iliad. Long regarded as a kind of anthropological study of the text, that kind of thumbnail sketch seems bound to lose rather than gain the work readers. What Redfield does, in simplest terms, is a kind of contextual study. He works through what particular words and concepts would have meant in the culture for which this work was originally produced, and then applies that etymological, sociological understanding to the narrative arc of The Iliad. It seems, to this reader at least, the most natural and persuasive way of proceeding in the world, and yet, when the book first appeared, there was significant resistance both to how the argument worked and what conclusions it reached. The first half of the text is a bit of a slog, though for some readers it might offer greater appeal. In it, Redfield lays the philosophical and philological groundwork for his text, by thinking through questions of narrative and tragedy, especially as articulated by Aristotle. These arguments are augmented by references to Greek drama and Homeric epic, and are far the driest portion of the narrative. Once this conceptual ground is cleared, however, Redfield feels free to begin to build his reading of The Iliad and it is here where the book becomes essential. In Redfield's persuasive reading, the real tragedy of the poem stems from the narrative around Hector. To unpack this idea, Redfield explains the sense of various terms and concepts as they would have meant to an earlier audience. This move allows the reader to replace anachronistic readings of the poem. What they are replaced with are nuanced and, frankly, exciting readings of particular moments in the poem that far surpass the shibboleths of the past. To take just one example, Redfield unpacks the difference between ritual and ceremony in the chapter called "Purification." Contemporary understanding of these terms sees them often as rough equivalents. Redfield however, distinguishes them. Ceremony is an action that marks a passage of time or an evolution of status, that renders that change acceptable. Ritual, by contrast, intervenes in the human order and itself creates a change. Ceremony is about manners, ritual about magic. As Redfield would have it, a presidential inauguration, where someone is sworn in, is the essence of ceremony. However, to the degree the one being sworn in makes a private promise to his or her God, the event partakes of ritual. This distinction allows Redfield to go to town on the final books of The Iliad. The funeral games for Patroclus are a ceremony. They are one of the mechanisms by which this culture marks the absence of the warrior and how he ceases to be a member of the community. Redfield elucidates a host of gestures linked to Patroclus' funeral games that perform precisely this function. And ceremony is simply not enough to return Achilles to the human community, given the grief and separation he has experienced earlier in the poem. Only ceremony when it rises to the level of art can do that. And this allows Redfield to turn to what amounts to a magisterial reading of the final book of the poem, where Priam meets Achilles to ransom the body of his dead son. What makes Redfield's reading so persuasive and impressive is how thoroughly it accounts for the majesty of the poem's final moments. It is a reading that in fact enhances modern appreciation of the unfathomable gesture of a father asking for the body of his son from the man who murdered his son. This reading makes all the philosophical throat-clearing in the book's first portion utterly worth the candle. But it is only one of a host of cultural insights that render moment after moment in the poem less opaque and more meaningful to a modern audience. Essential.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Περισσότερο 3,5 παρά 4, αλλά "χαρίζει η ομάδα"

Σχετικά καλογραμμένη αν και αρκετά φειδωλή η ανάλυση αυτή, φέρνει αντιμέτωπους τους δύο βασικούς ήρωες της Ιλιάδας (ο τίτλος είναι σχεδόν παραπλανητικός), αυτή τη φορά όχι στο πεδίο της μάχης αλλά για να αναλύσει τα αίτια και τα ελατήρια της δράσης τους μέσα στο πλαίσιο των δοξασιών του Ομηρικού (και προομηρικού) κόσμου. Χάνει (κατ' εμέ) πολλές σελίδες αναλύοντας τραγωδία και μίμηση, αλλά χωρίς αμφιβολία το έργο δε στερείται εμβρίθειας.
Ειδικά το απονήρευτο (νεοφερμένο στην ομηρική ανάλυση) μυαλό, θα ανακαλύψει πτυχές των ηρώων που δεν φανταζόταν, προεκτάσεις των ενεργειών των ηρώων που δεν είναι ίσως εμφανείς στην πρώτη ανάγνωση του έργου. Η "μάνητα" του Αχιλλέα μέσα από ένα "νέο" πρίσμα δείχνει μονόδρομος και ηθική επιλογή και το "σφάλμα" του Έκτορα δείχνει την απώλεια εκ μέρους του ήρωα (εν μέρει από επιλογή εν μέρει από τις επιταγές της θέσης του) του πλαισίου εντός του οποίου ενεργούσε και νομοτελειακά σχεδόν τον οδηγεί στην πτώση. Πιο πολλά δε λέω, να μπείτε στον κόπο να διαβάσετε, αξίζει κι ας βάζω 3,5 ξινά αστεράκια.
Μην εκπλαγείτε που έχει αναφορές και στην Οδύσσεια, πάντως, είναι λίγες και στην πλειονότητά τους μάλλον ήσσονος σημασίας.

Υ.Γ. Η "φύση" δεν έχει να κάνει με δέντρα, λουλούδια και ποταμάκια, επειδή κάποιος με ρώτησε σχετικά...

[Sveta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takes us out of our modern context and deepens the scope of what can be understood and admired in Homer. For me, Achilles is the essential, fundamental Other -- maybe because he's so complete. We envy Achilles his completeness because, I think, we don't recognize that its price is sorrow, and since we can't imagine a valid justification for divine rage, we find it hard to admire him. Hector, human in his incompleteness, can easily inspire our admiration -- but not our envy.

[roibean · Rating 3 out of 5]

praying u save my diss bbg

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are all charmed when Hector fondles his little boy; we are less charmed when he prays that the boy may someday come back from the battle carrying a dead enemy's armor, "that his mother may joy in her heart."

We wonder why Hector, who has just spoken so forcefully of the horrors of war, should not wish for his son a life of peace."

~

The approach taken in this book is to assume that Homer was 'right' in what he wrote, his poem struck a chord with his audience and was remembered because it presumably meant something to them. The culture described in the Iliad can therefore tell us two things: (1) the baseline level of what Homer's audience would have expected to hear, and (2) the narrative 'breaks' which would have surprised the audience and taken them off into uncharted territory, like, for instance, Achilles' refusal of Agamemnon's peace offering.

The substance of this book discusses aspects of purification, the role of war and heroism, and what and why such works of literature would have been considered a tragedy. And at the centre of the Iliad narrative are the interrelated fates of both Achilles and Hector:

"Hector's story is a tragic action in the classic mold; it is the story of a man somewhat better than ourselves who falls through his own error. It is a mark of the ethical complexity of the Iliad that the true tragic hero of the poem is a secondary character; the poet of the Iliad has set a finished tragedy as a subplot within a design yet more ambitious and grand."

[SamExplainsItAll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book probably a little too much. As someone who finds great interest in the juxtaposition between Hector and Achilles this book acts as a perfect interrogation of the divide between man and god. Hector, who constantly finds himself confronted with the identity of mortality must confront what that means for his own existence and the love he holds. Redfield's interrogation of the world surrounding that central ideas helps to ground the good and bad parts of this Homeric hero and how they meld and contrast the actions of Achilles. A must read for anyone looking to partake in classical studies.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was less fun than The Power of Thetis and less accessible to a lay reader, but I am still glad that I read it. They paired nicely together. While the subtitle says it’s about Hector, it’s like 60% about Aristotle, so be warned.

[Debbie Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of hard to rate - parts were way too abstruse, but other sections were extremely insightful and helpful.

[Collin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtige analyse van Homerus’ ‘Ilias’ en de tragedie van Hektor aan de hand van Aristotles’ theorie over de epiek en de tragedie.

[Searchingthemeaningoflife Greece · Rating 5 out of 5]

[...]Το αρχαίο ρητό λέει ότι ένα πράγμα υπερβαίνει τη δύναμη ακόμη και των θεών: να κάνεις να μην έχει γίνει κάτι που έχει γίνει.[...]

[...]Οι ηθοποιοί έχουν ένα ρητό: «Ο κακός του έργου δεν είναι ποτέ κακός για τον εαυτό του».[...]

[...]Το ακάθαρτο γίνεται έτσι καθαρό χάρη στη δύναμη της αποστασιοποιημένης νόησης.[...]

[...]Όπως η κηδεία εναποθέτει τον νεκρό στο θάνατο, έτσι εναποθέτει και τον ζωντανό στη ζωή.[...]

[Irami]

I'm writing a novel that generally apes the plot structure of the Iliad, and I'm having a hard time motivating my Hector character. I need to crawl into his sense of dignity, and I think that Redfield's book will help. Plus, I read the fifth chapter a few years back for a class, and the insight has stuck.