Blogger 21- Benson Lu - Period 1- 12/3/20 Day A - Freshman 2021

Blogger #21 - Benson Lu - Period 1 - 12/3/2020 Day A - Freshman 2021


Aim: How can an understanding of Greek Myths and Heroes prepare us for our examination of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey?


Do Now: THINK/PAIR/SHARE

With a partner, brainstorm and list qualities that you feel belong to a “hero”. Then create a unified, working definition of “hero” to share with the class.

Our class concluded that a Hero is someone who puts others' needs before their own. A Hero seems to always have superhuman powers that they use to overcome difficulties and obstacles with courage and bravery.

-One student responded that even though Heroes have superhuman-like powers, they are still humans which make them possess flaws. These flaws might bring difficulties and problems for the hero as he moves along his journey.

-Another student stated that a hero is somebody that faces many challenges and obstacles whether it is a villain or a life threatening event. However, the heroes always tend to defeat or overcome these problems with heroic qualities.

List of Qualities that I feel belong to a Hero


Bravery


Courage


Kindness


Care


Talented


Righteous


Determined

Class Discussion- “What (if anything) do you already know about Greek heroes and Greek mythology?”

As a class, we discuss that we know the gods and goddess in Greek Mythology and that they controlled different aspects of the world. For example, Zeus is the king of gods that controls lightning, and the sky, Poseidon who is the brother of Zeus and is the god of the oceans, and Hades who is the older brother of both Zeus and Poseidon, and he is the god of the underworld. We also discuss that there are many Greek Heroes in Mythology. According to the Percy Jackson Series, we know that there are many demigods who are the children of gods and mortals. Some of these Demigods became heroes, For example, Percy Jackson. He is the son of Poseidon and in the novel he clears his father’s accusation for stealing the lightning both from Zeus by returning it back to his uncle, Zeus. He is worthy to be a hero since he was brave and courageous as he passed through many difficult situations and he underwent this journey for helping another person.

-One student mentioned the myth medusa. This myth was about a mortal woman who seduced the god, Poseidon with her beauty. However the goddess, Athena was jealous of that woman and turned her into a monster that had snakes in place of her hair. This monster was medusa, the famous gorgon that turn all man that gaze into her eyes into stone.

-Another student talked about Hercules and Perseus. Perseus was the brave and courageous hero that slaughtered the gorgon, Medusa with the help of Athena. Hercules is the mortal son of Zeus and he had to complete 12 labors for Mycenaean king Eurystheus which was ordered by the Goddess Hera. He possesses many heroic qualities like strength, courage and intelligence. With these qualities, he was able accomplish many of these labors. For example, he was able to slay the hydra, kill the nemean lion, and capture the Cretan bull.

Example of Myths and Oral Stories

Medusa- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9pr2Xxaagw

Story Of The Olympians Gods And Many Greek Myths- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri-AoKE42rw


The Gods And Religious Customs

The Greek believed in polytheism which meant that they believed in many gods and goddesses. The gods and goddesses are believed to be interested in human life and they themselves have similar human characteristics. This belief is essential since it made more people believe in gods and goddesses since they had similar characteristics that the people can connect and relate to. If these god and goddesses were described as different entities that have extraordinary and magical powers, then humans wouldn’t worship or believe in them since they don’t have anything similar or relatable. In Greek, worshiping god and goddesses were crucial to survival and everyday life. As a result, the Greek had many temples and sacred places where people could worship and pray to their gods. In addition, the Greek also worshiped heroes that had accomplished honorable tasks and people that had made huge contributions to the country . Therefore many towns and cities in Greek are named after various heroes, honorable military leaders, and historical figures.









Oral Tradition

The Greeks place down their stories and myth orally which greatly preserve and increase the popularity of these myths and stories. Since not everyone in the past had privileges to learn how to read text, the oral stories and myth help those people remember these myths and stories that they pass down to their generations. These oral myths and stories were also a form of entertainment for the Greeks.

What is an Epic?

• An epic is a long, narrative poem about a national or legendary hero.
• As previously stated, Ancient Greece
• produced two epics:
• The Iliad and The Odyssey (900-700 B.C.)
• Both written by Homer

What Makes a Poem EPIC?

• They begin “in medias res” (in the middle of things)- uses a flashback to explain important action that occurred before the story
• Flashback: the epic hero recounts his adventures in a scene that interrupts the sequence of events in a narrative to relate earlier events
• Has a vast setting, covers many nations (and the underworld)
• Features lengthy, formal speeches
• Contains divine interventions—THE GODS!
• Features heroes that embody the values and morals of the civilization

Class Discussion- Why would an author/storyteller choose to use these elements?

Our class discussed that an author/storyteller would choose to use the foreshadow since they want to further develop or provide more information about a character or place.. In addition, the author might include heroes that “embody the values and morals of the civilization.” This helps further support that the heroes are the protagonist in the story and contribute to the idea that heroes are always righteous. Containing divine intervention in a literary also makes the story or text more interesting and intriguing. Divine intervention means that a god or goddess would perform a miracle. This might make the story interesting since it breaks past the limitations and restrictions meaning that the things proven impossible might become possible. For example, death, when someone is about to die in the story, the element of divine intervention might prevent


that person from dying and bringing him/her back to life.

-One student responded that by giving knowledge of the past of a person or setting, the reader can better understand the person’s characteristic and the present condition of a setting. The reader can also better understand the plot by knowing about the events that took place.

What Makes A Hero Epic?

• Superhuman qualities (stronger/braver than others)
• Still human, so has a flaw/weakness
• Must conquer many difficult tasks
• On a quest for something of great value
• (to him or his people)
• Villain(s) try to keep the hero from his quest
• Physically beautiful

Etymology of the word “hero” & its overuse in the modern era


Our ancestral heroes first appeared in the oral storytelling tradition. They were superhumans, almost gods, and the actions they took were mostly in the best interest of humankind. The dictionary traces the word's [hêrôs]meaning from "a being of godlike prowess and beneficence" to "a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage or ability" during the Homeric period of ancient Greece.

By the Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1911, the word had come to be applied "generally to all who were distinguished from their fellows by superior moral, physical or intellectual qualities." As a result, scholars argue: “[it is difficult to] grasp the ancient Greek concept of hero and now go beyond the word's ordinary levels of meaning in casual contemporary usage.”

Today we sometimes toss the word "hero" around without thinking much about it. We use it to name TV shows. We speak of a Hollywood celebrity as our childhood hero. Every parent is a hero. Every journalist is a hero. Every American is a hero. Every working woman is a hero. Every police officer, firefighter, and soldier is a hero without question or regard for what they do or have done or are prepared to do. The list goes on.

Some argue that the overuse of the word "hero" is to such an extent that it doesn't really mean anything anymore. According to common parlance, almost nobody isn't a hero. It mirrors the classic injunction that "saying that everyone is special is another way of saying that no one is." If we use the word so much as to devalue it, we make it impossible to describe and understand real heroism, the rare, superhuman kind. So the question has been asked, has the word "hero" been so overused that it's losing its meaning?

Summary- The original meaning of hero refers to someone who possesses superhuman power and usually completes deeds for the good of others. They also possess attributes of courage, bravery and determination during their journey. However, the meaning of hero has shifted in modern times. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica of 191, Hero refers to anyone who has “superior moral, physical, intellectual qualities.” As a result, many people are simply referred to as heroes, for example, firefighters, police, and soldiers. People argue that the word hero has been overused in modern day and it would eventually make the word useless and devalued. This would cause people to not fully understand heroism since they are referring to anyone that has some hero attributes as a hero.

Team Collaboration


1) Draw your own conclusion on this argument. Do you agree or disagree with the concept that the word “hero” has become overused? Why or why not

Our group agreed that the word hero has become overused since our definition of hero in modern times has shifted from the past. For example, in the past the hero is someone who has a super human power which means that they possess powers that normal people don't have. However we used the term, hero, on someone that has or did something that someone else wouldn’t do or don't have but doesn’t mean that other humans are not capable of doing that. Since with hardwork and determination one can be able to achieve superior intelligence and physical attributes. This only means that that person is righteous, brave, courageous but it doesn’t mean that he is a hero in terms of the past definition. As a result modern heroes can't be deemed as the original hero since they don't have superhuman powers. In addition, a Hero is someone who underwent many obstacles and difficulties and accomplished many hard deeds. Meanwhile modern heroes only have to perform one or two honorable deeds and they are believed to be a hero. As a result our group agrees that the Hero has become overused since it is easily used on a person and it doesn’t include the original definition of a hero.


2) When we create heroes in fiction, we almost can't help but give them superhuman powers because what a hero does to be a hero is something which seems like people should be incapable of doing. It is something truly “other”.


a. Compare some of today’s superheroes with the original definition of “hêrôs”.


b. Do you think, as a modern society, we are searching for a “superhuman” hero similar to the Ancient Greeks, despite our overuse of the term? Why or why not?



A) Some of today’s superheroes are police officers and firefighters. Police officers are deemed as a superhero since they bravely and courageous step into situations that might be life threatening. By accomplishing these hard situations, it proves them worthy to be part of the original definition of hero since he “conquers many difficult tasks.” Even Though police might be shown as having superior moral and physical attributes for being brave and courageous. However these are not superior moral and physical attributes since anyone has the ability to be brave and courageous but they don't want to. As a result a police officer can’t be deemed as the original definition of Heros. Firefighters had the same courage and bravery as police officers and they also overcame many difficult tasks. Similar to a police officer, their definition of superhero is still different from the original one. Since anyone can also have the same bravery and courage as firefighters to jump into a burning house but they don't want to. Therefore it makes the moral and physical attributes of firefighters not superior since anyone is capable of doing so.

-One student responded that some modern day heroes are Spiderman, Ironman, and Batman. They can be referred to as heroes since they have heroic qualities and they use these qualities to help others in need. For example, Spiderman uses his superhuman like powers to defeat Venom for the sake of the people. Batman uses all his gadgets to defeat all the villains despite the dangers he might get into. In addition, each of these superheroes have flaws. For Spiderman, he is very selfish at the beginning and decided not to stop the thief which caused his uncle to be murdered. On the other hand, Batman doesn't have any superpowers which causes him to use advanced gadgets to fight off villains. Meanwhile, Ironman had a sharpel that penetrated his chest and he needed an electromagnet to keep himself alive. Therefore modern superheroes are similar to superheroes of the past. They both have heroic qualities that they use to overcome many obstacles and they are all human that have flaws.


B) I think in modern society, we are somewhat but not really searching for a”superhuman” hero similar to the Ancient Greeks despite our overuse of the term. Since modern superheroes also have to have a talent or accomplish difficult tasks like original superhumans in Ancient Greek. However modern heroes don't need to have superior or superhuman attributes like the Greeks, they just need to show honorable moral, physical, or intellectual attributes.

-One student responded with..., in modern society, we are searching for superheroes that are similar to the ancient Greeks. Despite our misuse, We are still looking and searching for heroes that possess the same heroic qualities of the ancient Greeks. They need to express bravery and courage while they overcome their obstacles. In addition, these superheroes need to be like everyone else and have flaws so people could relate and resonate with them. Furthermore, in both the modern world and ancient greek we strongly relate superheroes to people that are willing to lend their hand to others in need despite the risk of losing their life.

Reflection:

In today’s lesson I learned the difference between a normal poem and an epic. An epic is a poem but it narrates a story about an honorable hero. In an Epic, there are foreshadowing about a past event or the main characters. In addition there is divine intervention in an epic which means that there are higher entities that perform miracles in an Epic. Also the setting of an Epic spans massively meaning that there are many environments and places where the character would travel to. This is important to my education since it will help me understand the structure and format of our next literary text “The Iliad and Odyssey” since it is also Epic which means that it would have these elements in it. As a result we will be prepared to encounter these elements in the Iliad and Odyssey and understand why the author had used these elements. I also learned the true meaning of a hero. The original meaning of a hero is a person with superhuman qualities or superior moral, physical, or intellectual qualities, but also possess flaws. In addition they overcome many difficult tasks and obstacles along their quest to help others or for themselves. This is important since in modern society, we are used to believing that a hero is simply a person who has accomplished one or two honorable deeds. By knowing the true definition of hero, I can be able to distinguish real and incredible heroes in further literary text like the “Iliad and Odyssey.”