Had Homer been to war, himself?
That's a question I have to ask veterans with firsthand experience of war. I have not been there, to war, and so I can't judge that element of truth in Homer's epic.
(I come from a military family, a police family--my father was a cop--so I feel I have some understanding, but only a partial understanding, though great respect. I went to college, as the youngest, not into the military as my two older brothers did. My grandfather was a Captain in a division of tanks in WW2, and I learned appreciation and respect for the military from my beloved grandparents.)
I feel that I go to war before the walls of Troy with Homer. I feel that Homer educates me about war in profound ways, but that is not necessarily the brute, true experience.
What do veteran readers and readerly veterans think and feel and believe when you read The Iliad?
Caveat: a good artist, a true artist, can listen to and represent the experiences of others, experiences beyond their own.
Thanks,
MD
Post script:
In response to certain friends I would like to clarify that I have taught Homer's Iliad half a dozen times at the college level, and certain veterans in my classes have so far a lot of appreciation for this work of art. They, so far, feel heard. I have to keep asking, though, and I do.
Also, there are legends of Homer being blind, but I have to ask from what age? Or, even if blind, what power the empathetic mind and listening ear must this poet have had?
