Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and The Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Do Now:
The Do Now was a discussion to be held with the entire class. It was about the following quote by Henry Miller: “The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference.”
Henry Miller, an American author.
The first part of the discussion was interpreting the quote in your own words. What does it mean in simpler terms? Generally, it means that the most people let themself be a small part of society and watch the world around them without influencing it. Normal people are impacted by the world around them rather than the other way around. However, a true hero is someone who makes a difference in the world. They would help and take action despite the trouble in order to better people’s lives.
The second part of the discussion consisted of having decide if you agree or disagree with the quote and provide reasoning. Everyone who voiced their opinion agreed with the sentiment; a hero is someone who is admired for their courage and noble qualities that help other people, which is what the quote is portraying. Heroes take action to make change; they are not bystanders like most others.
Afterwards, students began to read The Golden Apple of Discord taking turns. We had to consider the following questions while reading:
How do the gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities?
The gods have qualities of greed, pride, and selfishness. They feel guilty for leaving Paris as a baby alone to die. They also fall in love and have dreams.
What is the role of prophecy and fate in The Golden Apple of Discord?
Fate is changed because of Eris’s role, the goddess of chaos and misery. This happens when she brings the golden apple, stringing along her bad luck. In the story, the prophecy of Paris bringing disaster to the kingdom proves to be true. The golden apple is what led to the catastrophic Trojan War.
How does xenia play a role in King Menelaus’ treatment of Paris? How is this ironic?
Xenia, which is a term we discussed in class, was the custom or low of offering protection and hospitality to strangers. You can tell by the fact that the opposite term would be xenophobia. As Ms. Peterson explained, people were afraid of their guest being Zeus or someone important, so they had to treat them as if they were a god. Against the idea of xenia, in which Menelaus should be kind to everyone, he starts a war to take the queen back. This happens when Paris steals Helen away.
An image explaining xenia.
We were then shown a video that explains and helps visualize the whole story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euD0fqeI_9o
Team Discussion:
After the students were able to fully understand all aspects of the story, we had to examine two words: promise and oath.
A promise is a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen. An oath is a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior.
After being explained this, we were to consider and discuss the different denotative and connotative emphasis of these two words. Also, we had to show how they differ.
A promise is much more casual than an oath because there is no consequence of breaking it, so it could be used more lightly. An oath is much more serious because of the possible consequences. In Greek mythology, the figure of Horkos personifies the curse that will be inflicted on any person who swears a false oath.
Xenia:
Starting from this point, we took turns reading slides. The slide about Xenia read:
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 host.
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.
This text helped explain the idea of xenia in The Golden Apple of Discord.
We were then provided with a YouTube video that explains the concept.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYQRIQtnvII&ab_channel=GreekMythComix
We were told to only watch the first 1:32.
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
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
A statue of Odysseus.
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
The Trojan Horse is now often used as symbolism for something misleading because it does not show its true intent, such as Trojan horse malware.
The class ended before we could get to the second part of the lesson, but here is the information.
Aim: Why is it important to understand background knowledge of the Odyssey?
At this point, we were to learn about the importance of Homer’s epics and how they showcased important ideas for Greece.
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
About 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.
The Three Major Plot Strands:
Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’ wife and son as they await his return (called the Telemachy)
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.
Merging of the strands when Odysseus returns to Ithaca and joins forces with his son, Telemachus, to destroy their enemies.
Summaries of both epics:
The last slide provided enrichments:
Eris: The Goddess of Discord and Strife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9sqOL1JEYw&ab_channel=SeeUinHistory%2FMythology
How and why the Trojan war started
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2pCwxCX2as
Zeus and the Myth of Hospitality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynh-awirDyE
Reflection:
The lesson helped students understand the main story and themes of the Iliad and the Odyssey. A lot of the lesson was about the Trojan war, explaining how it started and how it related to the themes of The Golden Apple of Discord. One of the important ideas mentioned was xenia, which was the custom of hospitality, which will be important to know for when we learn more about the Odyssey.
This day helped me learn about context behind the start of the Trojan war as well as its relation to Odysseus, which is the character the Odyssey focuses on. Generally, this lesson provided an important basis of our future lessons to the epic.
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