Great Books Ep 20: The Paradox of Masculinity: The Crying Heroes of The Iliad

In the hyper-masculine world of The Iliad, we see many instances of men crying publicly. But in modern times, a man crying publicly is frowned upon in most cultures.

A dark cloud of grief fell upon Achilles as he listened. He filled both hands with dust from off the ground, and poured it over his head, disfiguring his comely face, and letting the refuse settle over his shirt so fair and new. He flung himself down all huge and hugely at full length, and tore his hair with his hands. The bondswomen whom Achilles and P…