Blogger #19 - Edward Novodvorsky - Period 1 - 5/4/2021 - Day A

Aim: How does The Odyssey, Book X further enhance our

understanding of Odysseus’ plight; through his journey as a hero?

Before looking over the class discussion, we looked at examples of our Odyssey Mini-Postcard project. In short, the project would involve us making two very creative postcards about a location visited by Odysseus in the Odyssey; for example, we could make the project about the land of the Cyclops, Cythera(the Lotus island), or Aeaea(the land of Circe). The front of the postcard has to feature an illustration of the location, while the back would have 1-2 paragraphs, which explains what happened to Odysseus on his journey and what his thoughts are. These paragraphs you should write in the first-person. The examples which Ms. Peterson showed the class were very creative and beautiful-almost like an actual postcard from the Odyssey! They provided me with plenty of ideas on how to do this project.

Do Now: WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION

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.

Now, we went onto the class discussion! The students had to describe a time when one of us felt something that had to be done out of obligation. An obligation is a duty or a commitment-it describes a person who is morally or legally bound to do something. Personally, I have not experienced something that had to be done out of obligation, which means I stood silent for this certain question. However, Julianna did answer! While I don’t really remember her exact answer, I do remember how Jules talked about how an obligation can almost bind people together, and I definitely agree looking back on it.




If I would have answered in class, I would have mentioned how obligation exists when there is a choice to do what is morally good and what is morally unacceptable. This is in perfect relation to what we read in the Odyssey. Odysseus followed Hermes’s instructions by drinking a potion which would allow him to resist the poison Circe had laced in her food and drinks she served to Odysseus’s men. Following that, Circe promises to not harm Odysseus’s men AND tell them how to get back to Ithaca in exchange for Odysseus to sleep with Circe. Odysseus, in fact, remains their one year. I believe that Odysseus does the morally right thing when giving his obligation to Circe-he offers himself to her in exchange for the safety of himself and his men. It is morally good, and that is part of the character who Odysseus is-sometimes arrogant, sometimes foolish, but in the end, he tries to redeem himself and do the right thing. 

Following the opening class discussions, we moved on to the term known as “epithets.”

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

To watch a video about epithets, you can click on the link below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgnTmWSi-lc

Following our introduction to epithets, we moved onto a discussion question:Why does Homer frequently use epithets?

I did volunteer to answer this question in class, as did Emily and John. All of us said the same thing but in different ways-Homer uses epithets to describe the characters in the story. By calling Odysseus “a great tactician”, as it describes his chief trait. Homer refers to Athena as “sparkling-eyed”, as that describes her character-full of wisdom, beauty, and fight. By calling Zeus someone who “marshalls the thunderclouds”, we acknowledge that Zeus is a powerful god who controls the skies. By referring to Zeus as the “son of Cronos”, we know that he is a very powerful being, seeing as Cronos, his father, was also powerful -Kronos was the king of the Titans, and Zeus is the king of the gods. From further research, I found out that an epithet can be repeated, which was definitely present in the Odyssey. To sum my answer up, epithets create a rhythm in a story by their constant repetition, and that epithets can be used to describe important characters in a story.

Epithets Examples: 

Odysseus: 

• "The great tactician"

• This term creates the image of Odysseus as being intelligent,

• comes from 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”

After discussing epithets, we moved on to our group discussion. In the group discussion, we answered questions about what we read in Book X and our opinions on the topic. However, before we look at the questions, I would like to quickly summarize what was written in Book X of the Odyssey.

Summary of the Odyssey Book X:

Odysseus and his men sailed on from Polyphemus's island and their adventures in book 9 and landed at Aeolia, the home of Aeolus, where they stayed for a month. Aeolus, master of the winds, gave Odysseus a pouch that contained all of the winds that would have driven their ship off course. According to Aeolus, the remaining winds will help guide them back home to Ithaca. Ten days later the ship was so near Ithaca that they could see the island. While Odysseus slept his men, believing there was gold or other riches inside, discovered the pouch full of winds and accidentally unleashed them, bringing on storms that sent them off course again. Odysseus and his men were forced to row their ship. They reached a land inhabited by giant cannibals, the Laestrygonians. The cannibals attacked them from the cliffs, throwing rocks, spearing Odysseus's men and devouring them. Only Odysseus’s ship survived. After Odysseus and his remaining men escaped, they sailed to the island of Aeaea, where the goddess Circe, daughter of Helios, lives. She fed a few of Odysseus's men a potion that turned them into pigs and made them forget their memories. To escape, Odysseus called upon Hermes. Hermes advised Odysseus to find a plant(moly) that would counteract Circe's potion and render him immune. He also advised Odysseus on how to overpower Circe should she attack. Odysseus and his men stayed on Circe's island for a year but grew increasingly restless. During this time Elpenor, one of the men, died in a drunken fall from Circe's roof. Circe told Odysseus to travel to the Land of the Dead to speak to the prophet Tiresias.

For the full text of the Odyssey Book X, click on the link below:

https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Odyssey10.php

After that quick overview, I move back to the lesson and begin to talk about the group discussion.

GROUP DISCUSSION

For the group discussion, we had to discuss 6 questions with our team members. Sofia, Eleanor, and I had a very good discussion about these questions. All of us felt that we gained a lot from looking over the questions in detail. Here are those 6 questions, followed by my short answers to them.

1. 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?

 Odysseus and his men find himself placed with a plethora of problems after Odysseus’s men betray him and release the wind from the bag. While Odysseus sometimes is the cause of the problems, he is usually the one that figures it out. The catalyst for all of this is Poseidon cursing Odysseus and his men.

2. 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?

Circe’s Island compares to the Land of the Lotus Eaters by the fact that both the lotus people and Circe attempt to hold Odysseus and his men captive. Circe does it in a deceptive way-luring the men with food, but having a drug inside the food. This turns them into pigs. The Lotus Eaters attempt to lure Odysseus in with flowers that will control you. There is no one better attempt.

3. Describe the “deal” Odysseus strikes with Circe, as well as her response/instructions.
How does he feel about her directives?
Why is Odysseus’ heart “sore” and “troubled”? What does this reveal about his character?
Has he been faithful?

The deal with Odysseus and Circe was that Odysseus would sleep with Circe, and in return, Circe would give Odysseus the path back to Ithaca. Odysseus does this to help his men, but he remains for a year. This is non-faithfulness to his wife, as he could’ve left earlier, but he didn’t. However, he knows that he has to sleep with her to help his men and return to Ithaca. This does reveal that he has a good heart, and that he wants to get home safely.

For this question, Ms. Peterson added a reference comment: Sometimes clarification is needed that Odysseus is instructed to “sleep” with Circe. This usually turns into a debate about whether or not he is being faithful or not since Hermes instructed him to do it. Hermes is known for trickery so it can even be debated if Odysseus truly had to do it or not. But Circe (and Calypso) are important references and context for when we encounter Penelope later on. And the multiple references in Book X of his heart being sore or him being troubled by what he had to do can provide enough context that he was not doing it out of love, but out of duty for his men.

4. Consider the “Do Now” topic of “obligation.”
In which instances does Odysseus demonstrate his actions are motivated through “obligation” and not through some other force or factor?
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?

Sleeping with Circe demonstrates Odysseus’s actions are motivated by obligation-he had to to turn to Ithaca. I believe that in a year, Odysseus’s obligation is broken. The whole obligation is about Odysseus sleeping with Circe-that was broken the minute he overstayed. Technically, he did not have an obligation to return home, as he stayed there.

5. Hermes has a reputation for “trickery.” Consider that he is the one who informed Circe that Odysseus would be coming, as well as he advised Odysseus as to how to “best” Circe with her magic potions and wand. Do you believe that Hermes has used his “trickery” on one or both of them? Why/Why Not?
Given this information, do you believe that Odysseus had to go through with the “deal” with Circe? Why/Why Not?



It is safe to say that Hermes used trickery on Circe. By giving Odysseus the potion, he would trick Circe into giving him food and thinking that he will become a pig-this inevitably failed. Technically, Odysseus still had to go through the deal with Circe, as his men could not do the same. By staying with Circe, he could return to Ithaca, and he could ensure the safety of his men.

6. Based on your understanding of Epithets and their use, identify some epithets in Book X or from previous readings:

By calling Odysseus “a great tactician”, as it describes his chief trait. Homer refers to Athena as “sparkling-eyed”, as that describes her character-full of wisdom, beauty, and fight. By calling Zeus someone who “marshalls the thunderclouds”, we acknowledge that Zeus is a powerful god who controls the skies. By referring to Zeus as the “son of Cronos”, we know that he is a very powerful being, seeing as Cronos, his father, was also powerful -Kronos was the king of the Titans, and Zeus is the king of the gods.

REFLECTION

Where to begin? This was a pretty simple lesson compared to our other ones, as we didn’t watch any in-class videos, didn’t do any in-class reading, and didn’t go over any homework. However, we still learned a lot. The first part of the lesson discussed epithets. As mentioned earlier, an epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned. For example, calling Odysseus “the great tactician” is an example of an epithet. I believe that epithets are a very unique way of describing people or objects, as they are descriptive metaphorical devices which can definitely help boost a writer’s text. In the second part of the lesson, we looked at the group discussion questions, which I found to be very interesting and unique to answer. I used my knowledge of Book X to answer these questions, and I felt that I gained a good understanding of the topic-at-hand. 

We learned these topics and discussed them to gain a greater understanding of Odysseus’s plight and journey as a hero. We learned how Odysseus is a bravehearted person by intaking Hermes’s plant in an attempt to save his crew. He isn’t afraid to get into situations where he might die, which we see in Book 9 with Polyphemus and Book X with the Laestrygonians. He is also deceptive, much like the sea that he travels on. Odysseus manages to deceive Circe into thinking that he could turn into a pig, and then uses his cunning wit along with Hermes’s information to receive Circe’s information. We learn how Odysseus isn’t afraid to risk the lives of others to protect his close confidants and himself on his ship, as we see with Polyphemus and the Laestrygonians. I also believe that Odysseus can make relationships with other people, as we see in his conversations with Aeolus. He definitely is a very unique character.

I believe that I can use this lesson to gain a further understanding of the Odyssey and Homer’s meaning when writing this epic. I can now understand what Odysseus is going through when traveling across the islands, looking to get back home to Ithaca. Hopefully, when reading the Odyssey further on, I can better understand the struggle that Odysseus is going through and the literary devices inside the epic. I will definitely be using epithets in my future writing as well, as I find them unique and interesting.

I have read parts of the Odyssey before in my life-for example, I am very familiar with the stories about Polyphemus, Circe, the Lotus Island, and Charybdis and Scylla. However, I haven’t really read these stories in the detail we are reading them in class, and I am definitely enjoying it! Thank you so much for reading and have a great day!

ENRICHMENT VIDEOS:

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]