Grief and the Hero: The Futility of Longing in the Iliad

203 Pages·2021·1.062 MB·English

by  Emily P. Austin

Grief and the Hero

Grief and the Hero
The Futility of Longing in the Iliad
Emily P. Austin
University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor
Copyright © 2021 by Emily P. Austin
All rights reserved
For questions or permissions, please contact [email protected]
Published in the United States of America by the
University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed on acid- free paper
First published March 2021
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication data has been applied for.
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 13232- 4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 12846- 4 (e- book)
To Rachel
who has been my trace horse

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Grief, Longing, and Anger: An Introduction 1
The Nature of Pothê in the Iliad 4
Pothê Outside the Iliad 7
Achilles’ Story: Singular, yet Universal 10
Scholarly Context and Plan of Chapters 14
1 Pothê in the Iliad 17
Pothê in Non- Grief Contexts 18
Grief Rooted in Pothê 23
The Relationship of Achilles and Patroklos 32
2 Longing, Anger, and Futility 50
Relentless Immobility 52
Restless Volatility 59
Things Going Nowhere 67
Aimless Anger 75
3 How Pothê Changes the Story 82
Insatiate Anger and the Sack of Troy 83
From Endlessness to Letting Go 96
Release, Take One 104
Release, Take Two 113
4 Grief for Hektor 119
Hektor and the People of Troy 122
Personal and Civic Grief: Andromache 127
Communion and Isolation— A Parenthesis 129
Personal and Civic Grief for Hektor: Troy 133
The Passive Quality of Trojan Grief 146
viii • Contents
Conclusion 150
Appendix A: ποθή, ποθέω, and πόθος in the Iliad:
Some Subdivisions 155
Appendix B: ποθή, ποθέω, and πόθος in the Odyssey:
Some Subdivisions 161
Bibliography 169
Index Locorum 179
Subject Index 185
Digital materials related to this title can be found on the Fulcrum platform
via the following citable URL: https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11647876
Acknowledgments
As this book comes to its final rounds of edits, the world has been swept by
a pandemic. Many of us have been reflecting on work, on our relationships,
and on our participation in our communities. In this time of reflection,
it is a pleasure for me to thank those who have helped bring this book to
light. The community of supporters is broad and varied, and to each one,
even unnamed, I owe tremendous thanks. The first thanks go to my men-
tors at Boston University, especially Stephen Scully and Stephanie Nelson,
who have prodded me to a deeper engagement with Homer and helped
me find my own voice among the many lovers and critics of this poem.
Thanks go also to my colleagues at the University of Chicago, among whom
I have found joy, intellectual companionship, and many helpful conversa-
tions. Sarah Nooter has been a wise and generous mentor, without whom
this book— and the writing process— would have been far duller. I am also
grateful to the cohort of humanities faculty who began with me at Chicago,
especially Katie Kearns, a soul of common sense who keeps me grounded.
Thanks go also to those who have helped from farther afield. Seth Schein
read three chapters at an early stage, and he astonished me by offering
detailed comments over the course of several extensive phone conversations.
Joel Christensen offered to read a whole draft (unsolicited), which he did in
the exact amount of time he predicted (I believe it was five weeks). Anyone
who knows Joel knows his generosity with time and feedback. I am grateful
for the input and support of these seasoned Homerists. I am also grateful
for the care with which the book’s two anonymous reviewers read the manu-
script, and for their intelligent and useful comments.
My father, my mother who died seven years ago, and my brother are
each in this book somehow, and I have no other way to thank them than
to offer them the book in return. I hope they enjoy it. Rachel Fisher sifted