Moments in HUM Books

The Iliad

Achilles' Wrath: Quarrel with Agamemnon over Briseis (Love/Pride).

Theme: Wrath

The Iliad

Death of Patroclus: Killed by Hector, prompting Achilles' return (Grief/Revenge).

Theme: Honor

The Iliad

Hector's Death: Achilles kills him, drags his body (Tragic Heroism/Mortality).

Theme: Death

The Iliad

Priam Ransoms Hector: Achilles relents, showing humanity (Compassion/Death Rituals).

Theme: Fate

Sappho, Poems

Fragment 31: Physical anguish from unrequited love (Jealousy/Bodily Impact of Desire).

Theme: Love, Longing

Sappho, Poems

Fragment 130: Compares love to "a mountain whirlwind" (Nature Imagery/Passion).

Theme: Desire

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh & Enkidu's Bond: Wild vs. civilized unity (Transformation through Love).

Theme: Friendship

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Enkidu's Death: Gilgamesh's lament and quest for immortality (Mourning/Fear of Death).

Theme: Friendship

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Utnapishtim's Flood Story: Immortality denied; acceptance of human limits (Divine Wrath/Existential Wisdom).

Theme: Grief

Genesis (Selections)

Adam & Eve's Fall: Temptation, expulsion (Original Sin/Knowledge vs. Innocence).

Theme: Sin, Convenant

Genesis (Selections)

Cain & Abel: First murder (Jealousy/Divine Justice).

Abraham & Isaac: Test of faith (Sacrifice/Obedience).

Exodus (Selections)

Burning Bush: Moses' divine mission (Calling/Identity).

Passover & Red Sea: Deliverance from Egypt (Miracle/Covenant).

Golden Calf: Idolatry punished (Betrayal/Repentance).

Themes: Liberation, Faith, Law

1 Samuel (Selections)

David & Goliath: Faith triumphs over power (Courage/Divine Favor).

David & Jonathan: Covenant of loyalty (Love/Political Alliance).

Saul's Downfall: Disobedience to God (Hubris/Tragic Kingship).

Themes: Kingship, Obedience, Friendship

2 Samuel (Selections)

David & Bathsheba: Adultery and murder (Moral Corruption/Abuse of Power).

Nathan's Parable: Rebukes David (Justice/Repentance).

Absalom's Rebellion & Death: David's grief ("Would I had died instead of you!") (Paternal Love/Political Tragedy).

Themes: Power, Sin, Repentance

Aristotle, Poetics

Definition of Tragedy: Mimetic, cathartic, with plot > character (Structure/Purpose).

Hamartia: Hero's fatal flaw (e.g., Oedipus' pride) (Error vs. Vice).

Themes: Tragedy, Catharsis, Plot

Herodotus, Histories

Croesus & Solon: "Call no man happy until he is dead" (Fate/Wealth vs. Contentment).

Cyrus' Rise: Shepherd upbringing foretells kingship (Destiny/Irony).

Themes: Hubris, Cultural Relativism

Sophocles, Oedipus the King

Sphinx's Riddle Solved: Oedipus' triumph (Wisdom/Irony).

Self-Blinding & Jocasta's Suicide: Revelation of incest/patricide (Shame/Despair).

Themes: Fate, Knowledge, Tragedy

Euripides, The Bacchae

Pentheus Torn Apart: Agave unknowingly kills son (Hubris/Chaos vs. Order).

Dionysus' Epiphany: "You did not know what you are" (Power of the Irrational).

Themes: Madness, Divine Vengeance

Euripides, The Trojan Women

Hecuba's Lament: "Troy is smoke" (Mourning/Loss).

Andromache's Farewell: Son Astyanax killed (Maternal Tragedy/Futility of War).

Themes: War's Atrocities, Suffering

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Allegory of the Cave: Enlightenment vs. Ignorance (Philosophy/Reality).

Plato’s Ring of Gyges

Ring of Gyges: Morality without consequences (Justice vs. Corruption).

Plato’s Symposium

Symposium: Diotima's Ladder (Love as ascent to eternal beauty).

Plato’s Apology/Crito

Apology/Crito: Socrates' defense and refusal to escape (Duty/Law vs. Individual).

Homer, The Iliad

Thetis Pleads with Zeus: Achilles’ mother asks Zeus to aid the Trojans to punish Agamemnon (Divine Favor/Manipulation of Fate).

Theme: Divine Intervention

The Iliad

Paris vs. Menelaus Duel: Paris is spared by Aphrodite, breaking the truce (Cowardice/Divine Meddling).

Theme: Mortality, Divine Intervention

The Iliad

Hector’s Farewell to Andromache: Emotional parting with wife and son Astyanax (Family vs. Duty/Humanity in War).

Theme: Honor

The Iliad

Achilles’ Shield: Forged by Hephaestus; depicts peace and war (Art as Mirror of Life/Epic Symbolism).

The Iliad

Achilles’ Choice: Foretold he can gain glory and die young or live long in obscurity (Fate vs. Free Will).

Theme: Fate

The Iliad

The Gods’ Feuds: Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite take sides, influencing battles (Divine Pettyness/Human Pawns).

The Iliad

Achilles’ Mourning Rituals: Sacrifices Trojans and horses at Patroclus’ pyre (Grief/Excess of Wrath).

Genesis (Selections)

The Flood (Noah’s Ark): God destroys humanity, spares Noah (Divine Judgment/Covenant via Rainbow).

Genesis (Selections)

Tower of Babel: Humans punished for hubris; languages scattered (Pride vs. Divine Authority).

Genesis (Selections)

Sodom and Gomorrah: Lot’s family spared; wife turns to salt (Mercy vs. Obedience/Divine Retribution).

Genesis (Selections)

Jacob and Esau: Jacob steals birthright/blessing (Deception/Divine Election).

Genesis (Selections)

Jacob’s Ladder: Vision of angels ascending/descending (Divine Connection/Promise to Abraham’s Line).

Genesis (Selections)

Joseph’s Betrayal: Sold by brothers, rises in Egypt (Providence/Forgiveness: “You meant evil, but God meant good”).

Genesis (Selections)

Covenant of Circumcision: Abraham’s mark of faith (Sacred Oath/Identity).

Genesis (Selections)

Hagar and Ishmael: Exiled to desert; God provides water (Marginalization/Divine Compassion).