The boasting, the outside intervention… what is this if not professional wrestling? Who else gives a big speech in the midst of battle? So many elements of spectacle as entertainment are truly timeless. Can you imagine if instead of a bronze shield, Achilles had a steel chair?
What I keep coming back to throughout The Iliad is the connection between divine intervention and the real-life reality of how little we control. While we can influence outcomes with our actions, we don't truly control them. External forces always get a vote. Some call those forces divine intervention. Others do not. They exist and get a vote regardless.
Thetis “containing multitudes” gives her complexity and humanity - she is neither victim nor all powerful. While she ultimately accepts her own and her son’s fate she still acts to ameliorate her own and Achilles’ pain.
Totally something else to share. My son lost one of his classmates in fifth grade. I had been the boy's kindergarten teacher. My son wanted to go to the funeral. I let him decide. And when we went, he broke down and cried in my arms. I knew he had to go through his pain, and I couldn't take it from him. I just held him.
The boasting, the outside intervention… what is this if not professional wrestling? Who else gives a big speech in the midst of battle? So many elements of spectacle as entertainment are truly timeless. Can you imagine if instead of a bronze shield, Achilles had a steel chair?
Thank you for your touching and thoughtful study of Thetis.
Such an interesting chapter. I particularly liked when Hades was shouting at everyone to calm down in case the roof of the underworld fell in
What I keep coming back to throughout The Iliad is the connection between divine intervention and the real-life reality of how little we control. While we can influence outcomes with our actions, we don't truly control them. External forces always get a vote. Some call those forces divine intervention. Others do not. They exist and get a vote regardless.
Thetis “containing multitudes” gives her complexity and humanity - she is neither victim nor all powerful. While she ultimately accepts her own and her son’s fate she still acts to ameliorate her own and Achilles’ pain.
Totally something else to share. My son lost one of his classmates in fifth grade. I had been the boy's kindergarten teacher. My son wanted to go to the funeral. I let him decide. And when we went, he broke down and cried in my arms. I knew he had to go through his pain, and I couldn't take it from him. I just held him.
This is a beautifully written and deeply moving piece. Your insights on Thetis and the limits of power were especially poignant for me.
Thanks again, Matthew. It’s always enlightening to read your essay afterwards.