Aim: How does The Odyssey, Book X further enhance our understanding of Odysseus’ plight; through his journey as a hero?
Do Now: Describe a time when you, or someone you know, felt something had to be done out of obligation (a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment). Tell the outcome. (WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION)
Darren started the discussion by saying he feels obligated to do his homework. The outcome is that he won’t get a failing grade. Sophia continued the discussion by saying she feels obligated to go to the doctors. Ayad said he feels obligated to take care of his disabled brother. Mrs.Peterson added on by saying she’s an only child and she feels heavily obligated to take care of her parents even though they don’t live together. She also said in public transportation, we would feel obligated to give up our seat to an elderly, disabled, or a pregnant woman. Bernice said keeping promises is also considered an obligation.
Epithets:
● An epithet is an adjective or a descriptive phrase that expresses a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.
● Homer repeatedly describes many of his characters or objects in his story with the same phrase.
● Epithets are a common element of epic poems that let the reader easily identify the character or object (similar to a nickname!)
● One character or object can be given many different epithets
The Odyssey, Book X
Epithets Examples:
Odysseus:
● "The great tactician"
● This term creates the image of Odysseus as being intelligent, and probably comes from his
being the initiator of the idea for the "Trojan horse."
● ”The man of twists and turns"
Athena:
● "The clear eyed goddess"
● This helps the reader imagine that Athena is alert, and wise - farseeing.
Sunrise:
● “Rosy Fingered Dawn”
Zeus:
● “Son of Cronos”, “Who marshalls the thunderclouds”
Why do you think Homer may use epithets?
Willson said he thinks Homer uses epithets to keep track of the characters and keep the rhythm to fit the meter and make sure that it rhymes since he writes in poetry form.
Group Discussion
How does Odysseus and his men find themselves faced with a plethora of problems?
Evaluate the types of problems that they face. Can you assess if Odysseus’ men are solely to blame for their problems, and does Odysseus appear to be the constant problem-solver? Or can you provide some other explanation for what’s at hand?
In the breakout room, my group said that Odysseus and his men found themselves in a lot of trouble because his men opened the bag that the wind god gave him so they were blown back to the island. We believe that Odysseus was the one to blame since he didn’t tell his men about the bag. If he had told them, they wouldn’t have opened it in the first place.
How does Circe’s Island compare to the Land of the Lotus Eaters?
How does her actions towards the men compare to the actions of the Lotus Eaters?
Can one treatment be deemed as worse than the other? Why/Why Not?
My group thinks that Circe’s Island compares to the Land of the Lotus Eaters since they both didn’t want Odysseus and his men to leave. Circe put drugs in food that turned Odysseus’s men into pigs and the Lotus Eaters used flowers that made people forget their home and loved ones.
“There I stood, at the gate of the goddess of the lovely tresses, and I called to her and she heard my voice. She came out straight away to open the shining doors, and invited me to enter. I did so, with a troubled heart” (Odysseus Tells His Tale: Encountering Circe)
Describe the “deal” Odysseus strikes with Circe, as well as her response/instructions.
How does he feel about her directives? The
Why is Odysseus’ heart “sore” and “troubled”? What does this reveal about his character?
Has he been faithful?
The “deal” that Odysseus striked with Circe was that he would sleep with her and in return, she must turn his men back to normal, never harm his men again, and tell him the way back to Ithaca. Odysseus had not been faithful to his wife since he slept with another woman.
4. Consider the “Do Now” topic of “obligation.”
a. In which instances does Odysseus demonstrate his actions are motivated through “obligation” and not through some other force or factor?
b. Consider the fact that a role-reversal occurs when Odysseus’ men remind him, after a year, that it’s time to return home. Does this change your view of his “obligation”? Why/Why Not?
Before class ended, my group said Odysseus demonstrated that his actions were motivated by obligation when he had to sleep with Circe. Odysseus was obligated to change his men back to normal and bring them back home, but the obligation was broken when Odysseus chose to stay when they could’ve left earlier.
Reflection
In this lesson, I learned that epithet is an adjective or a descriptive phrase that expresses a quality of the character or thing mentioned in the story. Epithets help readers easily identify a character or object. For example, “the clear eyed goddess” is an epithet that Homer used to describe Athena as wise and alert. This lesson was short and simple compared to the past lessons. We went over the slides and went into breakout rooms to discuss the questions for the rest of the period.
Enrichments
The Odyssey by Homer | Book 1 Summary and Analysis [3:03]
The Odyssey by Homer | Book 2 Summary and Analysis [2:41]
The Odyssey by Homer | Books 3-4 Summary and Analysis [3:00]
The Odyssey by Homer | Book 5 Summary and Analysis [1:58]
The Odyssey by Homer | Books 6-7 Summary and Analysis [1:56]
The Odyssey by Homer | Book 8 Summary and Analysis [2:04]
The Odyssey by Homer | Book 10 Summary and Analysis [2:31]
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