Blog #11, Will Corwin, Period 2, 4/21/21, Day A

 Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?

Do Now: Whole Class Discussion

For the following quotation:

"The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference."

- Henry Miller

Some students said how the hero is the one who leads and the ordinary people follow. Others said that anyone can be a hero and lead others.

We are now instructed to read “Apple of Discord” while keeping in mind these following questions:

1. How do the gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities?

The gods feel hope and guilt for leaving the baby to die, and they also have dreams and feel love.

2. What is the role of prophecy and fate in “The Golden Apple of Discord”?

This prophecy is connected to the fate of Troy: its downfall.

3. How does xenia play a role in King Menelaus’ treatment of Paris? 

1. How is this ironic?

Menalaus is supposed to be gentle and caring for everyone, but he

actually starts a war to get his queen back.

TEAM DISCUSSION

Promise	Oath
a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.	a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one's future action or behavior.
Consider the different denotative and connotative emphasis of these two words.  How do they differ?

The class concluded that an oath is more serious than a promise. A promise is made in good faith, but an oath is a promise never to be broken.

Xenia is the Greek goddess of hospitality.

• 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.

The Trojan War started because King Menelaus’ wife Helen left him for the prince who asked for love from the goddesses, Prince of Troy.

• Paris, Prince of Troy, had sailed to Sparta to seize Helen, who falls in love with him.

• Aphrodite 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.

Odysseus was one of the heroes in this war. He was known for being a trickster. He made the Trojan horse and led the Greeks to victory. 

• 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.

• At first, he tried to get out of going to war by pretending he was mentally unstable.

The Trojan Horse was a giant

wooden statue of a horse made by the Greeks to be offered as a “gift.”

• The statue was just a hollow statue with Greek soldiers hiding inside.

• Once the horse was pushed inside the city, the soldiers all showed themselves and attacked everything they could see. They enslaved women and killed children.

• The Greeks win the war.

Aim: Why is it important to understand the background knowledge of the Odyssey?

The Importance of Homer’s Epics

• The Iliad and the Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek virtues, such as honor, bravery, hospitality—"xenia", intelligence, respect for the gods, loyalty to home and family.

• It was not all positive, because these teachings disrespected the gods, showed lack of hospitality, and established excessive pride—"hubris."

• Iliad is the primary model for the epic of war.

• Odyssey is the primary model for the epic of the long journey.

The Odyssey is actually the sequel to the Iliad. 

Iliad - Days toward the end of the war.

Odyssey - The story of the Trojan Horse and of Odysseus.

These stories were first taught orally, and were written down later.

Three Major Ideas

• Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’ wife and son as they await his return.

• Story of Odysseus' wanderings during the Trojan war.

• Story of how Odysseus returns and fights his enemies with his son, Telemachus.

Summaries of The Iliad and The Odyssey

The Iliad	The Odyssey
Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus’ anger, doomed and ruinous, that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss and crowded brave souls into the undergloom... Translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1974)	Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1961)
Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians, hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes... Translated by Richmond Lattimore (1951)	Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven to far journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel. Translated by Richmond Lattimore (1965)
Rage — Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls. . . . Translated by Robert Fagles (1990	Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. Translated by Robert Fagles (1996)

Wrap-Up

Today, I learned about the story and themes of both the Odyssey and the Iliad. This included Xenia, the concept of hospitality. This lesson forced me to learn about Greek ideas and beliefs and compare them to my own and the beliefs of others today.

Further Reading:

Eris: The Goddess of Discord and Strife - Mythology Dictionary #05 - See U in History (Fixed) [2:28]

How and why the Trojan war started [3:22]

Zeus and the Myth of Hospitality (Philemon and Baucis) Greek Mythology Ep. See U in History [3:54]