Now, in the summer of 1971, with Father Ong's permission, I unofficially audited his interdisciplinary graduate course on Polemic in Literary and Academic Tradition: An Historical Survey. In that course, Ong worked up the material that he later presented in his 1979 Messenger Lectures at Cornell University - the published version of which is his 1981 book Fighting for Life: Contest, Sexuality [Gender], and Consciousness (Cornell University Press).
Now, in 2000, I published my introductory-level survey of Ong's life and eleven of his books and selected articles as the book Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies: The Phenomenology of the Word and I-Thou Communication (Hampton Press). It was awarded the Marshall McLuhan Prize for Outstanding Book in the field of Media Ecology, conferred by the Media Ecology Association in June 2001.
Now, also in Emily Wilson's "Introduction" to her 2018 translation of The Odyssey, she has a perceptive discussion of one episode in The Odyssey that is related to McNamee's theme of Honor and the Epic Hero. She says, "After this climactic moment, the ship - the last left from Odysseus' fleet - sails directly on to Thrinacia, the island of the Sun God (Helius), and is becalmed there. Supplies dwindle and the men grow hungry. While Odysseus is absent, taking a nap in a cave, the men kill and eat the Cattle of the Sun, although they know it is forbidden. This monstrous choice is made for understandable reasons: the men are hungry and desperate, and they choose to risk the anger of the gods rather than endure the pain and slow humiliation of death by starvation" (p. 27). She then quotes Eurylochus' speech to the men, urging them not to worry about the Sun god's response. Then she says, "The language is inspiring, as if from a rousing battle speech. We may well wonder what exactly is wrong with Eurylochus' suggestion. The episode hints at an important idea in the poem: that the willingness to die for honor, which is value so highly on the battlefield, is not always useful in these strange new worlds. The poem shows us the rewards that come to the 'much-enduring' or 'long-suffering' protagonist through his willingness to wait for the right moment to act, without ever giving up the goal. Moreover, the determination of this crew member to eat even forbidden foods, and to drink even 'the sea,' represents a kind of self-assertion that is out of keeping with his place both in society and in the narrative. He is usurping the leadership role of Odysseus.
"This act of forbidden consumption is a terrible mistake, which condemns the men to death and deprives them of their chance of getting home. Helius, the Sun God, responds to the eating of his cattle as if the men had taken a bite out of the god himself, and Zeus backs him up by drowning them all. Eating is important in The Odyssey, and eating the wrong things in the wrong way results in violence or death" (pp. 27-28).
Now, in Emily Wilson's "Translator's Note" in her 2023 translation of The Iliad (pp. lxi-lxxv), she says, "I first began reading Homer in high school, early in my study of ancient Greek. I liked The Odyssey, but I loved The Iliad with a passionate devotion. I have now lived with this poem for some thirty-five years - rereading it, teaching it in the original and in various translations, and, now, rendering it into English. For the past six years, I have worked intensively on this translation. But even now, when I turn back to lines I have read hundreds of times already, I find that the raw power of the Greek still startles me, like Athena suddenly tugging Achilles by the hair to stop him in his tracks. Often, I am unable to read without goose bumps, tears, or both.
"Human mortality is at the center of it all. I know of no other narrative that evokes with such unflinching truthfulness the vulnerability of the human body. Yet The Iliad also makes the whole world feel gloriously alive. . . . We hear many voices: almost half the poem consists of direct speech, and richly varied personalities are audible in the distinct ways each character talks" (p. lxi).
In Emily Wilson's "Introduction" in her 2023 translation of The Iliad (pp. xi-lix), she discusses the epic's hero Achilles and honor (extensively (pp. xxvii, and xxix-xxxiv).
In the subsection titled "Conflict and the Norms of War" in her "Introduction" (pp. xxvi-xxix), Emily Wilson says, "The work of war entails a constant struggle to gain glory or a win (kudos) and an opportunity to boast (euchos), which must be achieved by outdoing fellow warriors on the battlefield, gaining both glory and the material wealth that comes from slaughtering, stripping, and humiliating the enemy. The more people you kill, the greater the triumph. An individual fighter gains an aristeia ('bestness' - a period of extraordinary military success) when he robs numerous opponents of their lives, their weapons, and their honor, and thus shows himself the 'best' among his peers. Warriors compete against not only their enemies but also, simultaneously, their own comrades, who are their rivals for the title of 'best' (aristos).
Subsequently, she says, "The warrior's glory (kleos) is created by his community. People honor and praise the most successful fighters as if they were gods, and their names are remembered and handed down in songs such as The Iliad itself. The yearning for greater and greater honor drives the hero to ever-greater demonstrations of his own superiority. And yet the values and practices of the community also provide checks of the warrior's yearning for success at any cost" (pp. xxvii-xxviii).
Subsequently, she says, "The Iliad shows what happens when all these social norms are violated, and fighters push for victory at any cost" (p. xxviii).
In the subsection titled "The Code of Honor" in her "Introduction" (pp. xxix-xxxiv), Emily Wilson says, "Elite fighters always have 'excellence' (arete), because of their skill in fighting and their noble birth. But they also aspire to the highest possible social status - a position that always depends on the opinions and actions of others. Honor is often acquired through material possessions - and these things can be lost or taken away. A 'trophy' or 'prize of honor' (geras) is a piece of important property, awarded to the most successful or honorable warriors once a battle is won. These trophies include the most highly valued women enslaved after the sack of a city or settlement. . . . Briseis, awarded first to Achilles and then seized by Agamemnon, is such a trophy" (p. xxx).
"Status is also built out of language (kleos, a noun cognate with the verb kluo, 'to hear': fame or glory is the result of tales told and heard). Warriors are inspired to fight by the promise of praise and memory in stories like the poem itself" (p. xxx).
As you can see, Emily Wilson has much of value to teach us in her 2023 translation of The Iliad.
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