In an earlier post (here), I discussed the opening word of the Iliad and gave some relevant personal examples to indicate my initial sense of the word. But my thoughts are evolving. Last night, our class opened up a discussion of the first 12 books of the Iliad. Astutely led by John McGowan, the class engaged in a thoughtful discussion of the role of Achilles, of "honor," of women, of Fate (as algorithm!) and "hero" culture.
During class, I did not share my obsession with μῆνιν as I thought it risked a redirect from a fruitful collaborative discussion. Yet I continue to hold that the key to this work is getting that one word right. Dr. McGowan brought out context - that the Iliad depicted a "warrior culture" in a "prestate society." This resonated with me. Before class, I had held the movie "Dazed and Confused" to be the contemporary avatar of the Iliad. I could not better describe my Iowa public high school of the mid-70s than as a "warrior culture" in a "prestate society."
Football was the expression of a warrior culture in which the best were heroes, in which injuries were life changing moments to be told and retold and in which the women and fame went to the winners. Long after trophies were won and put into glass cases as prized possessions, stories were repeated about the heroes who had won them. While we lived in a "state," our high school society was "prestate" and a world of its own.
When one of the class brought up the "raw authenticity of emotions," it moved to the tone within the context. The raw authenticity of emotions confirms the reality of μῆνιν. Dr. McGowan mused that we can't seem to command and control our anger. In my reading of the Greek language and culture, this power of the irrational was the most disturbing to the Greeks. Just as many religious people concoct fantasies as to why bad things happen to good people, the Greeks did the same to account for irrationality in a world of reason. Is Achilles' μῆνιν is rational, irrational or suprarational?
In the movie "Dazed and Confused," the connective theme is whether or not the quarterback, Randall "Pink" Floyd is going to play quarterback for the senior year. He has his own personal μῆνιν in response to the coach's demand that all the players sign a no drug use pledge. The urging of lifelong friends and teammates have little impact on his struggle to define and live his best life. But through a personal process unclear to those around him, he does define himself and the movie ends with "Slow Ride" playing as they ride off into the Texas horizon.
Dr. McGowan highlighted the stakes of Achilles' decision. When you know that there is no life like the one you have now, then what's the best way to live it? Randall Floyd understood that life doesn't get much better than being a high school senior and in that opportunity sought his best life. In this way with the fullness of self-reflection, love and engagement, Achilles struggles to define himself. He's not, as some mentioned, a "monster" or "egotistical" or "monomaniacal." Instead, he's a man who struggles to be true to his sense of who he is. He knows he's not in Troy because he hates the Trojans or because he needs more fame or women or money. Mῆνιν is the agonizing birth of Achilles defining and expressing his own personhood not simply as a "doer of deeds and a speaker of words." Mῆνιν captures the powerful "manic" nature of the experience of the transitioning expressive self and the perception of this transition by its community.
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