Blogger #22- Nadine Pedzich- Period 5- 12/9/20- Cycle B- Freshman Lit 2021
Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Do Now:
"The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference."
- Henry Miller
We started off our lesson by reading this quote by Henry Miller, and analyzing it as a class, trying to interpret it in our own words. We then chose to either agree or disagree with the sentiment being expressed, having to explain our reasoning.
My response:
This quote means that a normal person does average things, while a hero does things that benefits all. They do things that the ordinary man wouldn't do. I agree with the sentiment being expressed because that is exactly the difference between a man and a hero. Heroes do what is needed and they act upon things that need to be acted up upon.
Class responses:
The ordinary man only carries out the motion of everyday life, while a hero takes initiative. A hero does something extraordinary.
An ordinary man is proactive, and the hero is reactive.
A hero's life is involved in action. If one doesn't have the opportunity to take initiative, doesn't mean they’re not a hero.
After we were done discussing, we moved on to spirit reading the story, “The Golden Apple of Discord.” https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d8eiyHU891pI78cH-3w7EQJx-8XZ3p3Z&authuser=1
The goddess Eris, mad that she wasn't invited to a celebration with the rest of the gods, throws an apple, that reads, “the fairest.” The three goddesses, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera, reach for the apple, and start fighting over it. Zeus gives Paris, a seemingly trustworthy man, the task to make the decision. Each of the goddesses bribe Paris, and Paris accepts Aphrodites bride of acquiring the most beautiful human to be his lover. This woman turns out to be Helen of Sparta. Paris then goes to Sparta, stealing Helen from King Menelaus, starting The Trojan War. This leads to the fall of Troy, which was prophesied to be Paris’s fate in the beginning of the story.
We then answered and discussed these three questions:
How do the gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities?
What is the role of prophecy and fate in “The Golden Apple of Discord” ?
How does xenia play a role in King Menelaus’ treatment of Paris?
A). How is this ironic?
The author shows the gods and goddesses with human qualities like envy and taking part in frowned upon actions, like bribery. The gods are not shown as perfect beings, which relates to one of our previous lessons discussing how they were given flaws that humans can relate to. Eris, who threw the apple in the first place, created the whole Trojan war out of spite. The gods also showed competitiveness, for example in Ares, and in the three goddesses competing for the apple. These goddesses also conveyed jealousy, and desire. Zues also couldn't make decisions, and chose self preservation- he didn't want to put himself in a bad situation, so he made Paris make the decision of choosing which goddess was the fairest.
Before we answered this question, we spoke on the difference between prophecy and fate- Prophecy is a message from the gods, and is more foretold than inevitable, more like a prediction, while fate is what is destined to happen, an inevitability.
Paris was prophesied that he was going to be the one to destroy the city of Troy. For a time in the story, it didn't seem that though that would play out, however when we learn that he would acquire Helen of Sparta, this all seems to change. This led to the Trojan War, which was the downfall of Troy, proving that the prophecy made about Paris was true, and it was fate.
We skipped this question for some time, and then answered it once we learned what xenia was, a couple slides later.
King Menelaus takes in Paris because of the concept of xenia, or hospitality, prominently used in Greece. However, Paris then takes Helen, Menalaus’s wife, away. Menalaus never saw this coming, making it ironic that he was so nice to Paris, which then backfired.
As a class, we watched this video, which went further in depth on the story of “The Golden Apple of Discord,” and The Trojan War.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euD0fqeI_9o&ab_channel=AncientHistoryGuy
Next, we discussed the difference between a promise and an oath, saying:
Oath is stronger because it's more so legally binding, while a promise isn't as serious. You can break a promise, but not really an oath. Unfortunately, there is the popular phrase, “promises are made to be broken,” which signifies just how flimsy a promise really can be, however an oath is intended never to be broken.
The next word we discussed was xenia, and we watched a video to further understand how this played into Greek religion and culture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYQRIQtnvII&ab_channel=GreekMythComix
Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and hosts.
The Greek god Zeus is sometimes called Zeus Xenios in his role as a protector of guests. He thus embodied the religious obligation to be hospital to travelers.
Many stories cautioned mortals that any guest should be treated as a potentially disguised god or goddess and helped to establish the idea of xenia as a fundamental Greek custom.
We then spoke about the Trojan War, and the main character of “The Odyssey,” Odysseus.
These are some main points from the slides:
The Trojan War
Paris, Prince of Troy, had sailed to Sparta to seize Helen
King Menelaus of Sparta treats him as an honored guest (xenia)
Aphrodite is true to her word and makes Helen fall in love with Paris. Paris takes Helen and they sneak off in a ship together to head back to Troy.
The Greeks attack Troy
Odysseus in the Trojan War
Odysseus (main character in the Odyssey) was one of the heroes of the Trojan War
Known not only for his strength but also for his cunning (he is a trickster)
It was Odysseus’ idea to construct the Trojan horse and try to break the 10 year stalemate of the war
He helped to lead the Greeks to victory
Great soldier of the war
The Odyssey is the account of Odysseus’ journey home after the war.
The Trojan Horse
Greeks constructed a giant wooden statue of a horse (a symbol of Troy) which they present to the city as a “gift”
BUT there are Greek soldiers hiding in the horse
Once inside the city, they wreak havoc by destroying the temples, slaughtering children, and enslaving the women
Troy is utterly destroyed.
Thanks to Odysseus the Greeks are victorious in the war
We spoke about examples of “The Trojan Horse,” in modern day society, like the Trojan Horse computer virus, a virus that disguises itself as something else, and when you click it, your computer gets a virus. This is just like how the Greeks invaded Troy, for they disguised themselves as a gift, but then attacked the city of Troy, winning the war.
As a class, we then discussed the importance of Homer’s epics. His famous epics, “The Iliad,” and “The Odyssey,” were shown in schools, to teach people about Greek virtues, like honor, bravery, xenia, intelligence, ect. It also taught people some major faults in Greek culture, like disrespecting the gods, lack of hospitality, and hubris.
Important facts discussed about these epic poems:
Iliad is the primary model for epic of war
Odyssey is the primary model for epic of the long journey
The Odyssey was the sequel to the Iliad (900 and 700 BC)
The Iliad focuses on the days toward the end of the Trojan War (mid 1200s BC)
The Odyssey focuses on one of the soldiers who fought in the Trojan War returning home 19 years after the war—Odysseus
The Iliad and the Odyssey together were considered sacred to the Greeks—much like the Bible to many people today.
Tale of Odysseus’ wanderings during the ten years following the Trojan War
Deals with the adventures he has to overcome as he tries to make his way home to Ithaca, Penelope, and Telemachus, whom he has not seen since Telemachus was just born.
He leaves Troy with 12 ships and approximately 720 men.
He does not encounter military opponents, but monsters and enchanting women who try to keep him from his wife.
The class read more about the two famous poems, connecting it to the way an epic poem is typically written, and finding out the subject of the poems:
The first lines of an ancient epic poem typically offer a “capsule summary” (a shortened version of a written work) of the subject of the poem. The first lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey conform to this pattern. We find the poet's own statement about the subject of the Iliad in the original Greek poem's very first word: Anger. The song of the Iliad is about the anger, the doomed and ruinous anger, of the hero Achilles. So also in the Odyssey, the first word, Man, tells the subject of the poem.
Extra Enrichment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9sqOL1JEYw&ab_channel=SeeUinHistory%2FMythology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2pCwxCX2as&ab_channel=TheBritishMuseum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynh-awirDyE&ab_channel=SeeUinHistory%2FMythology
Reflection:
Through this lesson, I learned about the story of “The Golden Apple of Discord,” and more about Greek gods, culture, and literature. I was taught about the virtues important to Greece, like xenia, intelligence, and bravery, which can be seen through a hero like Odysseus in “The Odyssey.” I learned about this epic poem, and the story of the Trojan War, and how Odysseus led Greece to victory, by using a cunning war tactic, the Trojan horse. I learned about this to further my understanding of epic poems, like “The Odyssey,” and “The Iliad,” for they are big parts of literature, and Greek culture. I will use what I have learned when we further analyze these two epic poems, both written by Homer. I will also be able to use what we have learned when in history class, for we are also discussing Greece, and The Trojan War.
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