Summary of Homer’s Iliad: Warrior Culture of Ancient Greece

Today we reflect on a summary of the Iliad by Homer.
We cannot truly understand the culture of the ancient Greeks, and Greek
philosophy, culture and history, not to mention the Western philosophical tradition,
without becoming familiar with Homer’s works, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Why is the RAGE of Achilles the first word of the saga? Why did Achilles choose to
boycott the battles when his concubine Briseis was taken away from him?
How does the Iliad celebrate both the glory and the futility of war?
What role did concubines play both in ancient warfare and in ancient warrior
cultures?
How similar were the warrior cultures of ancient Greece and the American Indians?

Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!
At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video.
Please feel free to follow along in the PowerPoint
script we uploaded to SlideShare.

Summary of the Iliad
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History
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All ancient cultures were warrior cultures, out of necessity.
War was a deadly business, if an ancient city-state lost the
war the city would be plundered, often the military age
men would be slain, and the women and children would
be sold into slavery. In ancient Athens, a quarter of the
population were slaves, and in ancient Rome about forty
percent of the population were slaves. Most of these
slaves were either born into slavery or were captured
during war, some were captured and sold by pirates.

https://youtu.be/7QAZ_s6zw4E https://youtu.be/9xKxqAbJ2qY
https://youtu.be/poyvJajCXnE
https://youtu.be/O67cmVRvBtA

Scholars agree that the Iliad and Odyssey were
recited orally as epic poetry for centuries before they
were written down. Some scholars speculate that
the ancient Greek language was influenced more by
the Iliad and Odyssey than the English language was
influenced by the Bible and Shakespeare.

Warrior Cultures in the Ancient World
The Great Courses professor, Elizabeth
Vandiver, tells us that the “Homeric
warrior fights for:
Honor (timê, pronounced teemay)
Glory or fame (kleos).
Geras: booty, gifts, or a particular
prize (geras).
Kleos also serves as the only true form
of immortality available to Homeric
heroes: they live on in what people
say about them after they are dead.”
Protected by Ares, Achilles Overwhelms Hector
Painted 1815, by Antonio Raffaele Calliano

Complete Saga of the Trojan War

Homer’s Iliad only covered an excerpt of the saga of
the Trojan Wars. By far the Iliad was the most
revered, but there were other epic poems, mostly
lost to the sands of history, that sung the rest of the
story.

This is the basic plot line of the complete saga of the
Battle of Troy from Professor Vandiver’s study guide:
BOLDFACE: Time Period of the Iliad
1.“The most beautiful woman in the world, Helen,
daughter of the great god Zeus and wife of the Greek
Menelaus, was abducted by the Trojan prince Paris.
2.Under the command of Menelaus’ elder brother
Agamemnon, the Greeks mustered an army to sail to Troy
and fight for Helen’s return. The war against Troy lasted
for ten years. The fighting was evenly balanced, with
each side having its foremost warrior (Achilles for the
Greeks, Hector for the Trojans).
3.Achilles was the son of a goddess mother, Thetis, and a
human father, Peleus. Their wedding was arranged by
Zeus, and Thetis was not entirely willing.

Abduction of Helen of Troy, ceiling fresco, Venetian, mid-18th century
1. “The most
beautiful
woman in the
world, Helen,
daughter of the
great god Zeus
and wife of the
Greek Menelaus,
was abducted by
the Trojan prince
Paris.

Peter Paul Rubens - The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, 1636
3. Achilles was
the son of a
goddess mother,
Thetis, and a
human father,
Peleus. Their
wedding was
arranged by
Zeus, and Thetis
was not entirely
willing.

4. The greatest Trojan warrior, Hector, was killed by the
greatest Greek warrior, Achilles, who after the time of the
Iliad was himself killed by Paris.
5.Finally, the Greeks resorted to trickery. Using the famous
ruse of the Trojan Horse, invented by Odysseus, they
infiltrated the walled city of Troy and sacked it by night. The
Odyssey mentions the Trojan Horse.
6. The Greeks committed many outrages against the Trojans
during the Sack of Troy. Foremost were the killing of King
Priam at his household altar, the murder of Hector’s baby son
Astyanax by throwing him from the city walls, and the rape of
Priam’s daughter Cassandra in the virgin goddess Athena’s
temple.
7. These outrages angered the gods, leading to many
hardships for the surviving Greeks on their way home. Most
importantly, Agamemnon was killed by his wife and her lover
when he arrived home, and Odysseus spent ten years
wandering on his way home from Troy.”

Protected by Ares, Achilles Overwhelms Hector, by Antonio Raffaele Calliano, 1815
4. The greatest
Trojan warrior,
Hector, was
killed by the
greatest Greek
warrior, Achilles.

The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy, by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, 1760
5. Finally, the
Greeks resorted
to trickery. Using
the famous ruse
of the Trojan
Horse, invented
by Odysseus,
they infiltrated
the walled city
of Troy and
sacked it by
night.

Sack of Troy, by Miquel Bestard, 1633
6. The Greeks
committed many
outrages against
the Trojans during
the Sack of Troy.
Foremost were the
killing of King Priam
at his household
altar, the murder of
Hector’s baby son
Astyanax by
throwing him from
the city walls, and
the rape of Priam’s
daughter
Cassandra in the
virgin goddess
Athena’s temple.

Ancient Greek and American Indian Culture

In many ways, the warrior culture of ancient Greece is more comparable
to the American Indian culture than it is to the modern American culture,
except that ancient Greece was evolving into a literate culture. Literacy
encourages introspection, and Homer in the Iliad, while celebrating the
glory of the ancient Greek warriors, also explores the futility and
madness of war.
The similarities between the warrior culture of the Iliad and the American
Indian warrior culture as described in the Tales of the Northwest are
captivating. These include stories of incredible stoic bravery not only on
the battlefield, but also incredible bravery shown by those who are not
involved in the fighting.

“RAGE – Goddess, sing the rage of
Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous,
doomed, that cost the Achaeans
countless losses,
hurling down to the House of the
Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters’ souls, but made their
bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs
and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving
toward its end.”
Wrath of Achilles, by Michel-Martin Drolling, 1810
The Iliad is about the rage of Achilles, the first verses of the Iliad celebrate the rage
of the great warrior Achilles, the very first word of the Iliad is:

What was the source of Achilles’ rage? Was he raging at the Trojans?
No, Achilles’ rage was directed at King Agamemnon who had caused him
to lose face when he confiscated his prized concubine, the beauty
Briseis. During raids on the towns surrounding Troy, the Greeks carried
off many of their young maidens as newfound concubines, Agamemnon
won the young girl Chryseis, while Achilles won the beauty Briseis.
Professor Elizabeth Vandiver opines that Agamemnon did much more
than rob from Achilles his concubine, that in his hubris he stripped from
Achilles not his armor but worse, stripped from him his honor and his
glory, making him lose face before his comrades. Indeed, gaining respect
and avoiding shame is critical for warriors, and men in any age.

Giovannia Battista Tiepolo – Briseis is being
led to Agamemnon, painted about 1757

The first act of bravery in the Iliad occurs when Chryses, father
of Chryseis, alone, unarmed, in broad daylight, confidently
strides into the armed camp of the Achaeans, seeking to
ransom his daughter Chryseis. The courage of Chryses
impresses the armies of the Greeks, but Chryses is shown no
hospitality by Agamemnon, but is discourteously told to leave
from whence he came, which is what initially angered the gods,
this breaking of hospitality is something you just do not do.
This is an aborted camp meeting, and many Greeks will die
from plague as a result.

Chryses’ visit to
Agamemnon to
ransom his
daughter
Chryseis. House
of the Nymphs.
Fourth century
AD.

The priest Chryses prays to Apollo, and Apollo sends
a plague down upon the Achaeans, killing many
noble warriors ignominiously. A Greek seer
prophecies that the only way to end the plague is to
return the daughter Chryseis to her father Chryses,
and at length the Achaeans persuade Agamemnon
that he must do just that.

The priest
Chryses
Persuading
Apollo to Send
the Plague upon
the Greeks, by
Jacopo
Alessandro Calvi,
1815

King Agamemnon has already committed one act of hubris
by mistreating a priest of Apollo, so now he commits
another act of hubris. All the concubines kidnapped
during their raids have been distributed among the
soldiers, so rather than wait for the next successful raid,
Agamemnon seizes the concubine of Achilles, Briseis. This
causes the RAGE to boil up inside Achilles, this is why he
decides he no longer needs to fight Agamemnon’s battles
to retake the kidnapped beauty Helen of Troy.

The Abduction of Briseis from the Tent of Achilles, by Johann Heinrich Tischbein, 1773

There are parallel stories of brave camp meetings in
the best book on American Indian frontier culture I
have encountered, The Tales of the Northwest.
One is the story of Charles Hess, he was a half-
breed: half-white, half-Indian. He found work with
another fur trading company three hundred miles
away, so he had to move with his wife and children
to take the new job.

Frederic Remington, A Dash for the Timber, 1889

They came across a herd of buffalo, and he
galloped ahead to shoot some supper, but the
herd spooked, and he was detained for several
hours chasing down dinner. When he was gone,
some Sioux Indians who had been trailing this
little party attacked and destroyed the camp
and all that was in the camp, killing and scalping
his wife and five of his children, including his
son, and carrying away his daughter.

Five Indians and a
Captive, by Karl
Ferdinand Wimar,
1855

Our friend Charles Hess had no choice, he swore
vengeance, but he traveled on to his new post, and
fell sick for a week or so, but he heard some news of
which tribe held his daughter. He made some
inquiries through intermediaries of what would be
accepted as a ransom.
Charles Hess knows he needs to pay a visit to the
enemy camp, alone, unarmed, in broad daylight,
walking tall. What does he experience when he
enters the camp of the enemy?

Frederic Remington, smoke signal, 1905

Charles Hess saw in the enemy camp
“the scalps of his family hanging upon
a pole, and the savages were dancing
around them in triumph. He was
greeted, not with hostility, for the
hospitality of the Sioux nation forbade
that, but with evident exultation and
insolence. Some sung the wrong they
had done him. He presented himself
before his daughter’s husband, or
master, and uncovering his breast said,
‘I am worthy of pity. This is my only
child; restore her or strike me as you
struck her mother. I am alone on
earth; lo, here is a ransom.’”
Frederic Remington - Episode of the Buffalo Gun, 1909

The story continues:
“The features of the Indian master
showed some feeling. ‘I am the
only child of my father,’ he
replied. ‘The ransom is little, but
you are old and need someone to
make your clothes and moccasins,
and to take care of you. Tarry and
partake of our cheer before you
depart. Then take your child,
Rising Buffalo (the name the Sioux
had given him), and none shall
molest you.’”
Frederic Remington - Episode of the Buffalo Gun, 1909

Fearful to irritate the Indian by any sign of impatience,
the heart-stricken old man entered the lodge, and sat
down with his daughter to a dish of boiled buffalo
meat. While at this repast, a young savage who had
assisted at the massacre of his family entered, and
holding out his bow and arrows to Hess, said, ‘Here,
Rising Buffalo, I used this once to your sorrow. Do you
understand the use of it?’
He was in an enemy camp, wary, unarmed, and
outnumbered, by you just cannot let such insolence go
unanswered. “He sprang to his feet, seized the
weapons, and drawing the arrow to the head, replied,
‘stand off a little and I will show you.’ But the elder
interfered. ‘You are a fool,’ said he. ‘Go away and let
Rising Buffalo depart in peace.’”
Indian Brave, by Henry Farney, around 1900

This is only one of many successful camp meeting stories in the Tales of
the Northwest.
The Iliad has a successful camp meeting near the end. After Achilles has
slain Prince Hector in battle, his father King Priam bravely marches into
the Greek camp, and into the tent of Achilles, to plead for the return of
the body of his son, so he can provide him a proper burial. He does throw
his arms around the knees of Achilles, but this is how, in Greek culture,
you ask mercy of a warrior. Achilles breaks down in sympathy with the
father’s grief. Since this is a successful camp meeting, they share the
requisite meal before Priam leaves with the body of his son.

Priam Pleading with Achilles for the Body of Hector, by Gavin Hamilton, late 1700’s

Concubines in the Iliad & the Old Testament

The Iliad also opens with a conflict between warriors, between
Achilles and Agamemnon, over concubines captured in battle.
There are clues that suggest that perhaps Briseis is not the typical
concubine, she actually has a few lines of dialogue in the Iliad,
and her later actions suggest she genuinely cares for Achilles,
which is reciprocated by pieces of dialogue from Achilles.
Briseis later shows her devotion to Achilles when they both
mourn over the corpse of Achilles’ best friend, Patroclus, after he
is killed in battle.

Briseis mourns the
death of Patroculus,
best friend of Achilles.
Julien-Michel Gué,
Painted 1815

Concubines captured in battle are just part of a
warrior culture, we see this in the warrior culture
depicted in the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, there is a
mitzvah for concubines captured
in battle:
“When you go forth to war
against your enemies, and the
Lord your God gives them into
your hands, and you take them
captive, and see among the
captives a beautiful woman, and
you have desire for her and
would take her for yourself as
wife, then you shall bring her
home to your house, and she
shall shave her head and pare
her nails.”
Levite and his concubine, by Pieter de Grebber, referring to ugly
incident in Book of Judges, 1600s

“And she shall put off her
captive’s garb, and shall remain
in your house and bewail her
father and her mother a full
month; after that, you may go in
to her, and be her husband, and
she shall be your wife. Then, if
you have no delight in her, you
shall let her go where she will;
but you shall not sell her for
money, you shall not treat her as
a slave, since you have
humiliated her.” Deuteronomy
21:10-14
Levite and his concubine, by Pieter de Grebber, referring to ugly
incident in Book of Judges, 1600s

The rabbis consider these verses important, for Rambam
draws out both positive and negative Mitzvah from
them. The gist of the rabbinical commentary is that the
captive beautiful woman should be treated with respect
and dignity, she should not be treated as a mere slave, she
should rather be treated as a wife like any other Jewish
wife.
Initially, she is to be left alone and not violated, allowed to
mourn her loss for a solid month to give time for the
soldier’s lust to subside.

The Battle, Marc Chagall
Rambam regards
this verse as “only a
concession to
human weakness,”
and that “there is no
doubt that one of
the basest things a
man can do is to
discard a woman
with whom he has
lived together,”
particularly when
alone she has no
good way to earn a
living for her and
her children.

We want to mention that there is a role reversal in
the sequel to the Iliad, the Odyssey, where our hero
Odysseus is delayed in his journey home from the
Trojan War when is held hostage and compelled to
sleep with several goddesses, including the seven
years he was forced to be the paramour for the
goddess Calypso.

Jan Brueghel the Elder - Odysseus and Calypso, 1616

Summary of Events in the Iliad By Homer

Why did the Greeks sail to Troy, and battle the
Trojans for ten long years before prevailing?
They fought for the return of Helen of Troy, whom
the prince Paris had kidnapped from the court of
King Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon.

Helen was the most beautiful woman in Greece, she
had many suitors from all over Greece, and before
Menelaus was chosen, all the suitors swore an oath
to defend Helen's marriage, so when Paris
kidnapped her, all the Greek kings sailed to Troy to
rescue Helen from the Trojans.

The Abduction of Helen,
with Aphrodite
directing, by Francesco
Primaticcio, 1539

Abduction of
Helen, ceiling
fresco,
Venetian, mid-
18th century

The gods were immortal, but they were not omnipotent, nor
were they omniscient, but they could be wounded, though their
wounds could always be healed at Mount Olympus. It is clear in
the Iliad that the gods take a great interest in kings and princes
and great warriors and are particularly interested in the events of
the Trojan War. Many mighty mortal warriors in the Iliad, like
Achilles, have a god for their mother, or sometimes their father.
In the Iliad, the gods come to earth, sometimes in disguise, to
visit this mortal or that, or even fight in the battle next to their
favored mortal combatants.

Dispute between
Poseidon and
Athena, by
Piouchat, 2015

Are the gods also interested in the affairs of the ordinary
little man, the farmer, the slave, the poor man? Not so
much. Little people may offer sacrifices to appease the
gods, to save them from the capriciousness of the weather
and war and life, but nobody thought the Greek gods
would listen to them. The closest we come is the Roman
stoic philosopher Dio Chrysostom, who says we should
sacrifice to the gods whether we think it does any good or
not because it is a good thing to do.

Raphael, Council of the gods, painted 1517

The Iliad is beloved for its memorable and touching scenes, as well as
depicting the glory of the warriors of both sides locked in a bitter
struggle.
Since the Trojan War was started when the Trojan Prince Paris, egged on
by the goddess Aphrodite, kidnapped Helen, the most beautiful woman
in the world, wife of the Greek Menelaus, brother of King Agamemnon,
the two armies decided that the contest would be decided by a duel
between Menelaus and Paris. But when Paris is beaten, he is whisked off
the battlefield by the goddess Aphrodite to the bed of his captured wife,
Helen, who despises him for his cowardice. The Olympian gods are split
on who should win the war.

The Love of
Helen and
Paris, by
Jacques-Louis
David, 1788,
Louvre, Paris
Helen of Troy,
by Leighton,
1865

When Hector enters Troy to retrieve his brother
Paris, Homer sings of the bittersweet meeting on the
walls of Troy between Hector, his wife Andromache,
and his son Astyanax who is terrified of his warrior
helmet. She begs her husband to quit the war to
save his family, she senses fate is against their family,
that perhaps her husband will be killed in battle, she
will be enslaved by the victors, with her infant son
facing an uncertain fate.

Hector greets Andromaca and Astyanax,
His wife and his son, by Francisco Hayez, 1800’s
Hector Censuring Helen & Paris, by Hendrickx, 1820

Early in the Odyssey, we have the catalog of ships
and men, which likely serves the same role as the
genealogies of the Old Testament. Many of the cities
mentioned are on the Eastern Peloponnesian coast
and had been long abandoned when the Iliad was
written down. There are also accounts of individual
battles, these highlight both the glory and the futility
of war, and of the struggle of Troy.

“But the son of Cronus, Zeus, stole Glaucus’ wits away.
He traded his gold armor for bronze with Diomedes,
the worth of a hundred oxen for just nine.”

With their champion warrior, Achilles, sitting out the
conflict, the Trojans gained ground on the
battlefield, and the Greeks built a palisade to protect
their camp and their ships. An embassy of Odysseus,
Ajax, and Phoenix are sent to the camp of Achilles to
convince him to return to the battle, their
arguments are both memorable and unpersuasive.

Jean-Auguste-
Dominique Ingres -
Achilles Receiving the
Ambassadors of
Agamemnon, 1801

In another scene, Achilles discusses his dilemma with
his mother, the goddess Thetis, and she reveals his
fate: that if he fights, he will die in battle a hero
whose deeds are sung by the bards, commemorating
his valor, but if he stays out of the battle, he will grow
old living in obscurity in Greece. Achilles views this
war as futile and meaningless.

Thetis Immerses
Son Achilles in
Water of River
Styx, by Antoine
Borel, 1700's

The fighting goes back and forth, but finally the
Trojans breach the palisades guarding the Greek
camp, and even reach the Greek ships, seeking to
torch them. The best friend and lover of Achilles, the
young Patroclus, persuades Achilles to lend him his
armor if he will not join the battle himself. Menelaus
returns all of Achilles’ plunder, including his beloved
concubine Briseis, but he has no enthusiasm for war.

Thus inspired, the Greeks drive the Trojans back to their
city walls. Patroclus, ignoring the advice of Achilles, is
killed by Hector near the walls of Troy, who strips the
body of the armor of Achilles, but the Greeks succeed in
preventing the Trojans from capturing his corpse.

The Greeks and the Troyens claiming the Body of Patrocles, Antoine Wiertz, painted 1844

At the death of his friend Patroclus, Achilles’ roar of
grief is so loud that even his goddess mother Thetis
hears it at the bottom of the sea. Achilles vows to
avenge the death of Patroclus by killing Hector on
the battlefield, even though he knows this will seal
his fate as well.

Briseis mourns
death of
Patroculus,
best friend of
Achilles, by
Julien-Michel
Gué, 1815

Protected by Ares, Achilles Overwhelms Hector
Painted 1815, Antonio Raffaele Calliano

His mother Thetis persuades the god Hephaestus to
forge new armor for Achilles, including an animated
shield that depicts the martial heritage of Greece.
Armed with this godly armor, Achilles refuses to eat
until the Greeks are victorious, he fights like a
madman, angering a river god when he fills his river
with the bodies of the Trojan dead he has slain.

Thetis receiving armor
for Achilles from
Hephaestus,
Peter Paul Rubens
1577-1640

Fury of
Achilles, by
By Charles
Antoine
Coypel, 1737

But after Achilles kills Hector, stripping his body of
his original armor, he shows hubris, angering the
gods when he pulls Hector’s body around the walls
of Troy behind his war chariot, denying him a decent
burial.

Achilles dragging the dead body of Hector in front of the gates of Troy, by Franz Matsch, 1892

The ghost of Patroclus visits Achilles in a dream,
imploring him to provide him a proper funeral so he
can find rest in the Underworld. Achilles complies,
buries Patroclus, and holds funeral athletic games in
honor of his friend Patroclus, giving prizes to the
Greek winners. Instead of dragging Hectors body
around the walls of Troy, he now drags the body
around the grave of Patroclus.

Games in honor of Patroclus during his funeral, Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, 1790

Near the end of the Iliad is when King Priam of Troy,
accompanied by the god Hermes in disguise, bravely
enters the enemy camp to ask for the body of his
son Hector, grasping the knees of Achilles. The Iliad
ends with the burial of Hector and the mourning of
the Trojans.

Priam with
Achilles,
Chartran,
1876
Andromache
mourns
Hector,
Jacqeus-Louis
David, 1783

Pyrrhus and
Andromache before
Hector's Tomb, by Johan
Ludwig Lund, 1800’s
The Iliad ends with:
“And so the Trojans
buried Hector,
breaker of horses.”

The Greeks, hearing this ending, know that after the walls
of Troy are breached, that Queen Andromache will be
enslaved, and her son Astyanax will be thrown from the
walls of Troy to his death.

Hector fearfully tells his wife and queen:
“There is nothing, nothing beside your agony
when some brazen Argive hales you off in tears,
Wrenching away your day of light and freedom!
Then far off in the land of Argos you must live,
laboring at a loom, at another woman’s beck and call.”
Andromache in Captivity by Frederic Leighton (c. 1886)

The Odyssey remembers how the Greek warriors were admitted into the
walls of Troy in the belly of the wooden Trojan horse, and how at
nightfall the Greeks opened the gates of the city and burned Troy,
massacring many of the residents, even violating the temples at whose
altars the Trojans fled. Helen of Troy suspected the ruse, walking around
the Trojan horse, trying to goad the Greeks into revealing their presence.
You might ask, was Helen on the side of the Greeks, or on the side of the
Trojans? Early in the Iliad, there is a touching scene on the walls of Troy,
where the father of Hector asks her to point out the Greeks she knew in
her youth. The gods were offended by the hubris of the victorious
Greeks, it would be many years before they found their way home.

The Burning of Troy, Abraham Bloemaert, painted 1793

The Odyssey is the tale of the adventures of Odysseus as
he and his crew wandered the known world for a decade,
which meant that he returned home after an absence of
twenty years. Over a hundred suitors, greedy for his
castle, were hounding his wife Penelope to choose one of
them to marry and threatening the life of his son. The
Odyssey ends with Odysseus sneaking back into his own
palace pretending to be a beggar, and finally slaying the
hundred suitors with help from his son, some loyal
servants, and the goddess Athena.

This Penguin Classics version of the Iliad includes an
excellent introduction that covers further many of the
topics we have discussed in this video. You can easily skip
through the lists of the ships, but the battle scenes I found
interesting. Personally, I find the Iliad a joy to read.
Although the Iliad is usually translated in verse, the
Odyssey, although it was composed in verse in Greek, is
usually translated as prose in English, as it takes the format
of a modern novel. We recommend you read it cover to
cover, so you don’t miss anything.

Likewise, the Tales of the Northwest is a fascinating read about a
culture in another time and place and is one of the most genuine
of the Indian narratives, allowing the Indians speak for
themselves without excessive interpretation by the narrator.
We recommend that you listen to Professor Elizabeth Vandiver’s
Great Courses lectures on the Iliad and the Odyssey, which will
enable you to notice many details you would otherwise skip over.
Many of her observations are repeated by other Great Course
lecturers who discuss these classics, including the Masterpieces
of Greek Literature, which means she is not an original
researcher, but she is an excellent lecturer.

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