Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
As previously discussed, the term, “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.
Therefore, based on your understanding of the term, how important do you believe this attribute or behavior is to exemplify? Why?
In the Do Now, we were discussing the importance of xenia back then and even in today’s society. I believe that xenia was important back then because you would want to create a good relationship with all of your guests. Good relationships could help you in return because if you were in a situation where you needed help, they might consider helping you. If you have created so many enemies, they won’t even consider helping you. Xenia is also extremely important in today’s society because you should be nice and respectful to all people. Being respectful and having manners is just something that everyone should be able to do involuntarily. In the class discussion, Gabriel spoke first. He claimed that back then it was important to have xenia because a guest of yours could be a god. You wouldn’t want to anger a god or make them feel uncomfortable. It’s still important now because you should be polite and nice to everyone. The second person to answer was Daniel P. He said that it is important to have xenia now because the people that you do invite to your homes are either friends or acquaintances. If you don’t treat them with xenia then they might not want to have a relationship with you anymore. They might not want to come back to your home or just stop contacting you for that reason. The next person to answer was Allison. She gave this quote “treat others the way you want to be treated.” She said that this quote was relevant to xenia in today’s society and in the past because you would always want to treat someone with respect and in return get the same respect.
A Youtube Video explaining Xenia
CLASS DISCUSSION
Reflect on the heroes you have encountered throughout your life, in various forms: literature, movies or TV. Identify any weaknesses the hero(es) may have, and explain how it impairs their ability.
The person to answer this question was Mariah. She said that Superman had a weakness of kryptonite. My answer to this question was iron man and his weakness for breaking his suit. He’s suit is made with nanotechnology and if it breaks he is powerless compared to the heroes.
Homeric Similes
Epic similes in The Odyssey, also known as Homeric similes, give Homer’s narrative depth and force. Homeric simile, also known as Epic Similes, are elaborate comparisons, consisting of many lines, between two different objects using “like”, “as”, “so”, or “just so”. It is a comparison made between something unfamiliar or strange to the audience and something that is more familiar to them. We often use short similes in everyday speech, like the example, “She’s tough as nails.” A Homeric Simile, however, is used to redirect the reader’s attention in unexpected, humorous, gruesome or heroic ways. (from the slides)
Homeric similes are much longer than regular short similes. It grabs the reader's attention by having random humor, or gruesomeness. This helps the reader get a deeper understanding because it gives the reader a visual. Homer uses this technique because it uses objects that we are familiar with for comparison so that we can understand and get a visual of the context.
A Youtube Video about Homeric Similes for a deeper understanding
What is Foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen. They are usually considered to be ominous, warning signs, or signs of bad things to come. Foreshadowing can take many forms and be accomplished in many ways, with varying degrees of subtlety. However, if the outcome is deliberately and explicitly revealed early in a story (such as by the use of a narrator or flashback structure), such information does not constitute foreshadowing. (from the slides)
Foreshadowing is a literary technique where the outcome of the story is hinted at the beginning of the story. Many times the hints are of bad things that will happen. Foreshadowing is used to create suspense and excitement in a story. Foreshadowing can be confused with prediction. The major difference is that foreshadowing is told to you directly by the text. It is also predicting something bad that will happen.
A Youtube video about Foreshadowing
Another video about foreshadowing
What is Hubris?
Hubris is a Greek term meaning excessive pride or over-confidence (think arrogance)
Can cause the character to disregard reality or offend the gods, often leading to their downfall
A character flaw often seen in the heroes of classical Greek tragedies
Committing hubris was very much looked down upon in Ancient Greece
(from the slides)
Hubris is a term that means conceited or cocky that comes from Greek. This character trait is considered a flaw or weakness in a character. Most of the time, this leads the character to a bad place where they downgrade. For example, Caesar led himself to downfall because of his hubris.
What is Tragic Flaw (AKA: Hamartia)?
Tragic Flaw: A trait in a character that often leads to their downfall. In Greek Mythology, the trait of Hubris is often used . (from the slides)
The Cyclops
In “The Cyclops” book 9 of “The Odyssey”, Odysseus tells a story about getting stranded on an island named “Land of the Lotus Eaters” with the cyclops, Polyphemus. They get trapped in a cave because Polyphemus places a giant boulder on the cave opening. Odysseus offers Polyphemus liquor after he ate some of Odysseus’ men. The cyclops asks for Odysseus’ name. He said that his name was “Nohbdy” to hide his identity. The cyclops then gifts Odysseus with a gift. The gift was that he would be eaten last compared to the rest of his crew. They then had a brilliant idea of sharpening a spike and stabbing the cyclops. Once the cyclops realizes what had happened to him, he starts crying and screaming for help. The other cyclops’ asks why he's making such loud noises and he answers with “nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me, Nohbdy’s ruined me!” The cyclops didn’t think there were any people in there so he just removed the boulders to see Polyphemus. Odysseus and the surviving men were able to use the sheeps to hide and get out of there.
Group Discussion
We didn’t have time to complete this activity as a class but these are my answers.
Based on your understanding of foreshadowing, review lines 153-156. How is foreshadowing
used, and what exactly is being foreshadowed?
Foreshadowing is used here to show that something bad will happen. They had brought wine because they felt that they would need it. He states that he felt it in his bones. It states “all outward power, a wild man, ignorant of civility.” This is foreshadowing the cyclops. In addition, this isn’t told like a flashback so it is foreshadowing. This is to help create suspense and excitement in the reader.
2) What heroic qualities does Odysseus display thus far?
(Heroic Qualities: Intelligence/Resourcefulness, Strength, Bravery and loyalty, Weakness)
What does the fact that he doesn’t want to attack the Cyclops reveal about his character?
Odysseus displays intelligence. He was able to come up with the idea of naming himself “nohbdy” which sounds like nobody. This would then help him escape. He also used the spike to stab Polyphemus in the eye which also helped him escape. He doesn’t want to attack the cyclops because he needs him to get out of his situation. This further supports that Odysseus was intelligent.
3) Refer to line 232-243. How does Homer use figurative language to create imagery? (identify examples and explain their effect)
They used the Homeric similes to create visuals. The visuals are a great example of imagery because you get to visualize the scene. For example, it states “caught two in his hands like squirming puppies.” This scene is describing how Polyphemus catches Odysseus’ men to eat. It’s hard to understand what they are talking about because we’ve never seen a cyclops choosing and eating humans. The use of Homeric simile helps us understand and see what exactly Polyphemus is doing.
4) How should we judge the heroic qualities of Odysseus based on his actions with the cyclops?
Odysseus is not much of a hero because he did lead his men into getting eaten. He is pretty smart for thinking about ways to get out but his hubris did lead them there in the first place. Overall, he did a good job leading his men out but he led them in there because of his hubris which wasn’t very smart of him.
5) Contrast Polyphemus’ values and the values of Odysseus (hospitality [xenia], respect for the gods, protections for his men).
Can you identify any qualities/characteristics that both Odysseus and Polyphemus share?
If Odysseus represents civilization, and Polyphemus represents nature, what do you think Homer is saying about the relation of man to nature?
i. Can you see potential dangers (that are becoming increasingly evident, especially in the modern era) in this position taken by Homer?
Odysseus values xenia. He respects the gods and his men deeply. Polyphemus values his father, Poseidon. Polyphemus doesn’t have xenia and doesn’t have men to protect. They both have hubris. They are conceited and self-centered. If Odysseus represents civilization and Polyphemus represents nature, Homer is trying to say that nature is not caring and lives for itself. Civilization on the other hand does care about other people but isn’t as strong as nature. Even though nature is much stronger than civilization, civilization will still take over because people are smarter. The potential dangers in this position taken by Homer is that civilization is going against nature. This is extremely bad because our home is made out of nature. If we continue to destroy it like we are now, we won’t have a home anymore.
As previously discussed, the story is told through flashback (Odysseus is revealing the past events of his journey), therefore, how has Polyphemus’ curse impacted the course of Odysseus’ future.
Polyphemus’ father is the god of the sea, Poseidon. He had prayed that Odysseus would have a difficult trip home. He wanted his trip home to be long and dark.
Reflection
In this lesson, I learned about all the Greek literary devices. Things like Homeric similes, hubris, and xenia. Homeric similes compare two things and give a visual. They are also able to create understandable imagery. Hubris is a character trait that usually leads to the downfall of characters. People with hubris act cocky and conceited. I also learned how to appreciate Greek mythology and literature. I previously have never read Greek literature and studied Greek mythology but now I’m more interested in learning more. Greek literature is very meaningful and has many lessons to learn. Some theme or lesson I learned today is not to be egotistical. Both characters learn their lesson because they both face consequences. This type of writing is very different from English literature and probably different from around the world. Today’s lesson made me more curious about other cultures' literature because they are all so meaningful. I also got curious about Odysseus and Polyphemus compared to civilizations and nature, respectively. Overall, I really enjoyed this lesson. I will definitely be reading more into Greek literature.
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