Blogger #24, Rachel Rakhamimov, Period 5, 12/9/20, Day B, Freshmen 2021
Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Do Now: Think/Pair/Share
For the following quotation:
“The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference."
- Henry Miller
Interpret it in your own words
Then agree or disagree with the sentiment being expressed and explain why or why not.
My Do Now answer:
A hero is someone who acts upon something to achieve a goal. A normal person would involve themselves but would not act upon something like a hero would.
I agree with this sentiment because once you take action on something and try to make a greater change you are considered a hero.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euD0fqeI_9o&ab_channel=AncientHistoryGuy
Questions to keep in mind while reading “The Golden Apple of Discord”
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?
How is this ironic?
1) The gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities. These qualities include competitiveness, desire, and self preservation. The goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena were fighting for the prize of the Golden Apple which presents competitiveness. As for desire, Ares had the desire to win the bull fight.
2) The role of prophecy and fate in “The Golden Apple of Discord” is what led to the Trojan war. Due to the prophecy of Paris’s birth , Pari’s parents banished him. Paris grew up to be a shepherd who had to choose which goddess out of three to give the golden apple to. He chose Aphrodite and in return received the love of Helen of Sparta. This led to Helen leaving her husband which caused the Trojan War which was fate.
3) Xenia plays a role in King Menelaus’ treatment of Paris because it made him be kind to Paris and treat him well. This is ironic because the King treated Paris like an honored guest but Paris did the opposite and stole his wife.
Class Discussion
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 host.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYQRIQtnvII&ab_channel=GreekMythComix
The Trojan War
-Spartan King Menelaus’ wife Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships) left him for the young Prince Paris of Troy.
-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
-Because all of Helen’s suitors took an oath, they are now obligated to help Menelaus go to Troy to take her back (they swore to respect and protect her marriage regardless of who was chosen as the husband)
-The Greeks attack Troy
Odysseus in the Trojan War
-Odysseus (main character in the Odyssey) was one of the heroes of the Trojan War
-Odysseus knew from a prophecy that if he went to Troy it would take him a very long time to return home, but as one of Helen’s previous suitors he had sworn an oath to protect her
-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
Odysseus Hero of The Odysseus
-Wife: Penelope
-Son: Telemachus
-Great soldier of the war
-Originally tried to get out of going to the war—pretended he was crazy
-Came up with the strategy of using the Trojan Horse which would successfully lead to Troy’s collapse.
-The Odyssey is the account of Odysseus’ journey home after the war.
-Another hero that you may have heard of, Achilles, died in the final year of the war.
-Greek forces were victorious
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”
-Take their ships a mile away to look as though they had given up
-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
Importance of Homer’s Epics
-The Iliad and the Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek virtues.
Values: honor, bravery, hospitality—"xenia", intelligence, respect for the gods, loyalty to home and family
Major faults: disrespect for the gods, lack of hospitality, excessive pride—"hubris"
-Iliad is the primary model for epic of war
-Odyssey is the primary model for epic of the long journey
What IS this story-Odyssey?
-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.
-Neither books were originally written down. Both were originally recited orally.
Three Major Plot Strands
1) Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’ wife and son as they await his return (called the Telemachy)
2) 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.
3) Merging of the strands when Odysseus returns to Ithaca and joins forces with his son, Telemachus, to destroy their enemies.
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.
Reflection
“What did I learn? Why did I learn it? How will I use what I learned?”
In this lesson, I learned about The Odyssey and The Iliad and more about the Trojan War. This information is important to learn because it brought me a better understanding of Greece and its history. This information will help me improve in my writing and knowledge of Greek literature when involving Greek history and culture in my future learning experiences. Overall, this lesson was very useful and will help me a lot in the future.
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