King Agamemnon, in grief at seeing “mighty Hector killing his Argives,” finally recognized the injustice of his taking the woman Briseis by force from Achilles. He proclaimed, “I was blind, but I will now make atonement.” Is this true repentance? He does admit guilt, but then protests, “the gods struck...

King Agamemnon’s apology to Achilles (see “Homer I” article), and the latter’s rejection of it, take place in an assembly of the Greek warlords who face almost certain defeat—death or enslavement—if they battle without Achilles. The warlords are willing to risk their lives for their civilization, but in a tribal...

Today’s lesson is from Homer, who, though perhaps not a philosopher, is yet philosophical in his portrayal of human existence. From Homer’s writing, we might define the human person as the being who lives out a call, or destiny, coming from the divine realm and requiring a response. A person...

What lessons can philosophy teach a Christian? Philosophy can mean reasoning out answers to abstruse questions, as one might suspect, but in our case it means the pursuit of Wisdom (philosophy is literally “love of wisdom”) by which we fulfill our human potential (Aristotle, Ethics I.7). Wisdom acquired brings in...