Week 8 Journal

Sebastian Borgard
6 min readOct 15, 2020

Thursday’s started off as they normally did. Math was first and it began with some review for the test we would have on Wednesday. After that class, I had Greek Lit. We began class talking about the debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence. Everyone gave opinions on how they thought it went as well as predictions for how the next debate would turn out. After that, we moved to the quiz for the day. The quiz asked questions regarding book 24 of the Iliad like the names of the women who were mourning Hector and the gods aiding certain people. Many people had connectivity issues during the quiz but overall everyone was able to finish and we moved on to reviewing what we would need to know for the exam. Out of six passages given, we would need to give context for four of them. Describing speaker, audience, theme, events leading up to the passage, and what happens after. We made a study guide listing basic information about the story during class that could be used to study for the exam later. After class, I went for my routine walk with my dog before my dentist appointment later. In terms of homework that night I didn't have too much to do for Friday so I relaxed at home and even had time to take a nap. Friday I had Cultural Anthropology and Calculus back to back in the morning. In Anthropology we finished our section on marriage in other cultures and we were quizzed on it after. Calc was more review for our upcoming exam. I feel like the exam will be difficult but I should be able to do okay. After classes, I began my Anthropology assignment which was to describe a marriage and talk about how it relates to our culture. U talked about Han Solo and Princess Leia since we were also allowed to talk about fictional couples as well. In that couple, you get the classic trope of the “bad boy” and the “sophisticated girl.”Han Solo was brought up in the streets as a bounty hunter so his personality was the complete opposite of that of Leia. She grew up as royalty so her upbringing would cause her to see Solo as a bad person at first, however, upon seeing him you could tell there was a connection. After the assignment, I received an email saying that my physics exam has been moved to next Friday, so I had time to myself since there was no more work left to do. I played basketball before relaxing for the rest of the day with a few friends. Saturday I spent some studying for my Greek Literature exam. I looked at the study guide that we put together in class as well as another study guide that was put together with more information on it. I studied characters and what happens in each of the books for about an hour before spending time with family for the day. We decided to to go Go-kart racing and play arcade games. It was my parents, sister, and cousins who came along with me. we only had time to do one race but I enjoyed myself. The next day was my birthday so I decided to take the day off from homework. My family went out to eat with me and I ordered seafood. After that, I went to go meet up with some friends to watch the Lakers win the NBA finals. I was happy to see them win because I wanted the Lakers to win the championship in honor of Kobe and Gigi. Monday I spend more time looking at my study guide after reviewing for my test in calc that morning and starting our new chapter in ANthropology about gender, race, and sexuality in the world. This time I went through important scenes in the Iliad like Agamemnon’s apology tom Achilles and the speeches given after the deaths of loved ones. I spent a while looking at these notes and then watched a few physics lectures before I stopped doing work for a while. I went for a walk with my dog around the neighborhood and ate pasta for dinner before studying again before the exam. During the exam the next day I was nervous because I didn’t know what passages would be put on the exam but was confident I’d do well. The first passage occurs after the death of Hector after Priam and Idaeus return from Achilles’ tent with the body of their fallen hero. This all happens in Book 24, the final book of the Iliad. After not seeing Hector’s body for nine days, Hecuba, Helen, and Andromache mourn the body of Hector since they did not have a chance to do so at the moment of his death. In this specific passage, Andromache is addressing the city of Troy, herself, as well as the dead Hector. After this scene Hecuba gives her lamentation and followed by Helen, then the city weeps and the funeral is held for Hector in the end. The theme in this passage is humanity because here you see the Trojan people all feeling the same thing after seeing Hector’s body return. All the pain and emotion felt in this scene connects everyone presents making this a human moment as opposed to the fighting and aid from the gods throughout the Iliad.The second passage on the exam is Agamemnon’s “apology” to Achilles for all that he’s done to anger the warrior Achilles in book 19. After hearing of Patroclus’ death, Achilles enraged decided to rejoin the war. Upon his arrival at the battlefront, he encounters Agamemnon who is the reason why Achilles left. Agamemnon not only gives Achilles all the gifts he promised but also gives an “apology” which was really an explanation for why he stole Achilles’ prize. Agamemnon blames the gods for his action and makes the situation more about how he “had no choice” in the actions he’s committed and makes the situation more about himself than Achilles, the person he’s wronged. After the scene, Odysseus gives some advice to the men before preparing for battle and Achilles mourns for Patroclus once more before he is prepared to get revenge by killing Hector. The theme here is pride because Achilles must put his pride aside and fight with Agamemnon in order for him to get revenge. The fourth passage is taken from book 9 where Phoenix, Odysseus, and Ajax are sent to the tent of Achilles to beg for his return to battle. Before this, the Greek Army was getting destroyed by the Trojans constantly being forced to retreat. The Warriors have lost hope and Agamemnon declares the war a failure. Agamemnon promised gifts if the hero were to return to war, but Achilles would not accept them because Agamemnon’s actions have angered him too much. In the passage Achilles is addressing Phoenix, Ajax, and Odysseus who all used different methods to try and persuade him to return. Achilles tells them the gifts and honor won’t change the fate of a man because at the end of the day death will come regardless of gifts you possess or actions are done in battle. The theme for this passage is fate because in ancient times fate was something set in stone that no one thought could be changed, so the Greeks and Trojans in this story held fate above most things. After this scene, the three men return unsuccessful in asking Achilles to join the war. Passage five is also taken from book 24 however this time it is Helen mourning over Hector’s body. She is mainly speaking to the dead Hector n=but the Trojan people are also listening in on this speech. Before this Hecuba and Andromache gave their lamentation to Hector. Similarly to the first passage, the theme here is grief and humanity. At the end of the day, everyone will be sad to lose someone so at the end of this long war, it was only human for all the people of Troy to mourn their hero. After this scene, The funeral for Hector is held. Those were my responses to the passages I chose on the exam. After that exam, I spent time working on my calc assignments while studying for the exam that I would have in the class the next day. The calc exam was difficult and required a lot of work to get correct answers. Taking exams first thing in the morning isn’t the best feeling either because you’re still waking up. I think I did well for the most part but all I can do is wait for the responses. I studied some physics after my calc exam to prepare for Friday. I ate lunch after and watched tv before starting book 1 of the odyssey. The book opens with Poseidon wanting revenge on Odysseus and therefore making his journey home long. The other gods on the other hand are talking about Aigisthos who slept with Agamemnon’s wife during the war then killed Agamemnon when he returned. Hermes warned Aigisthos not to do this but he ignored the warning and now Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, is seeking revenge. Athena wants Zeus to spare Odysseus but that won’t happen until Poseidon forgets his anger toward Odysseus for poking the eye of his cyclops son, Polyphemus. Odysseus is being held captive on Calypso’s island at that moment.

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