Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Today’s Lesson
The Do Now from today’s lesson read as follows:
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION:
For the following quotation: “The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference.”
Henry Miller
Interpret in your own words.
Then agree or disagree with the sentiment being expressed and explain why or why not.
We started off class by discussing with one another the above aspects of the quote. We came to a mutual agreement that the quote was displaying this idea that any ordinary person can be involved in a certain situation, however, it is those who chose to take action, regardless of whether or not they will benefit from the outcome, who are heroes. We also all decided that we agree with this quotation because it really exemplifies the selflessness that all heroes habit.
On the second slide, we were presented with three questions to consider while we read “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?
We then read “Apple of Discord” alternating who reads and watched a YouTube video further explaining what we read to be sure we had a precise understanding of the text and fully comprehended what we read.
Links:
The Trojan War : Part One : The Apple of Discord [6:37]
Quick Summary:
The Golden Apple of Discord was created by Eris, the Goddess of Discord. Zeus had thrown a wedding on Mount Olympus for Thetis the sea nymph and mortal Peleus. After Eris found out that she was not invited, she crashed the wedding and threw the apple inscribed with the word “kallisti” or “for the fairest”. The goddesses all fought over the apple, but it came down to Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. They asked Zeus to decide who received the apple and he told them that Paris of Troy was to choose the fairest. Each of the goddesses offered him a gift for the apple. Hera offered him the chance to be the king of Asia and Europe. Athena offered him wisdom and to become the world’s greatest warrior. Aphrodite offered him the love of Helen of Sparta, who was married to King Menelaus. Paris of Troy gave the apple to Aphrodite. After Paris kidnapped her, Aphrodite kept her promise and gave him the love of Helen of Sparta. King Menelaus and Helen’s former suitors refused to rest until she was found. All due to the Golden Apple of Discord, the Trojan War had begun.
After this, we had a team discussion over the denotative and connotative emphasis of the words “Promise” and “Oath”. We ultimately came to the conclusion that ”Oath” has a stronger denotative and connotative emphasis in comparison to “promise” as promises exist to either follow through with a certain action or provide reassurance/hope to those in need. While oaths are similar to promises but can result in detrimental consequences if broken. Promises are more “friendly” and tend to be broken with little to no direct consequences while oaths are much more serious and will result in terrible things if broken, not a loose term.
On the next slide we reviewed the meaning of “Xenia”, which 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.” We also reviewed the origin and the fact that Zeus is sometimes called Zeus Xenios is 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. After this, we watched the first 1:32 of a video which further explained this term.
Link:
What is XENIA? Greek Myth Comix explaining Homeric literature [4:41]
We then took time to read the next 5 slides which discussed major points and characters in the war. Here is what was displayed on each slide:
First Slide: 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.
Second Slide: The Trojan War (Continued)
Because all of Helen’s suitors took an oath, they are now obligated to help Menelaus go to Troy and take her back (they swore to respect and protect her marriage regardless of who was chosen as the husband).
The Greeks attack Troy.
Third Slide: 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.
Fourth Slide: Odysseus Hero of the Odyssey
Wife: Penelope
Son: Telemachus
Great soldier of the war
Originally tried to get out of going to 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.
Fifth Slide: 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 next slide described the importance of Homer’s Epics which is that 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 the epic of the long journey.
The slide after detailed the background of the Odyssey:
Sequel to the Iliad (900 and 700 BC)a
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 slide was a continuation of the previous one:
**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 the 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.
We then discussed how 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 and how the first lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey conform to his pattern.
The next slide then provided examples of this:
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]
Reflection of the day’s lesson:
In this lesson, I learned about “The Golden Apple of Discord” and how this event triggered the Trojan War. I also learned the meaning of “xenia”, the Trojan War, how Odysseus played a role in the war, the Trojan Horse, the background of the Odyssey, what the importance of Homer’s Epics is, and how the first lines of an ancient epic poem typically offer a “capsule summary”. After this lesson, it is clear that a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhanced my understanding of the Odyssey because it provided essential information which strengthened my comprehension of it. I learned all of this because these are necessary aspects of literature that I will need to have a firm understanding of for future lessons. I will use this information to have a greater comprehension of what we will be learning in the future because I already have a strong foundation of knowledge regarding these topics. The way the lesson was structured offered a lot of resources to confirm my understanding of each topic and I feel incredibly confident in my knowledge and feel as if I can easily explain everything learned today to another one of my peers. This lesson required no writing and was built off conversations, reading, and watching videos. Overall, I greatly enjoyed it and feel that by having lessons like this where we do minimal note-taking and focus on discussing our opinions and reading texts aloud to one another is far more beneficial to our learning experience. I’m incredibly excited to see how all of this will play a role in our next class and what we will be learning about later on.
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