Aim: How does Odysseus' strategic leadership further characterize him as an epic hero in "The Sirens" episode of Homer's Odyssey?
Do Now: What are some of the cultural traditions we use to honor the dead?
One cultural tradition we use to honor the dead mentioned by Kelly is burying the dead with money. This is used to bring good luck in the afterlife of the dead. In greek mythology, this money was used to pay Charon to bring them to the palace of Hades. If the dead person wasn’t buried with money, their spirit would have to wander the underworld for 100 years. I wrote down that my family goes through cremation during funerals. Cremation is the final step of a funeral and it is the burning of the dead body. In my culture, this sends the body to heaven for the spirit to have. Randy mentioned a chinese tradition called Qingming day. This is the day where you sweep the graves of your ancestors.
Honoring and remembering the dead:
Greeks respected proper tradition and it was disrespectful not to give a proper burial.
If a person was not given a proper burial, their soul would be trapped in between the living world and underworld forever. They also had to give a coin to Charon to make it to the palace.
If someone forgot to give proper burial to someone important or someone they knew, they would be punished severely.
Land of the Dead:
Summary: The myth starts with Odysseus performing a ritual that Circe ordered him to to bring out the dead. Next, he meets a couple of people starting with Elpenor. Odysseus is tragic to see Elpenor in the land of the dead and Elpenor explains to Odysseus what happened to him. Odysseus promises Elpenor to give him a proper burial. Next Odysseus met his dead mother, Anticlea, who he grieves and cries over meeting. Last of all he meets, Tiresias, who tells him that Poseidon cursed him for blinding Polyphemus. Tiresias also tells Odysseus his fate and that he will eventually return home and fight off his wife’s suitors from his palace. He also tells him to appease Poseidon with a sacrifice. He warns Odysseus that he will face much suffering if he touches Helio’s flock.
Questions:
As Odysseus prepares to meet the dead he says, “Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead, / vowing to slaughter my best heifer (cow) for them…” (line 555-556). What can be inferred about ancient Greek beliefs concerning death and the afterlife from these lines?
The Greeks took death and the afterlife seriously because there was a process that had to be done to successfully go to the afterlife without repercussion. Odysseus vowed to slaughter his best cow for the dead.
Discuss Elpenor's request to Odysseus (lines 598-608).
What details does he want Odysseus to remember about his burial?
How does this reflect the Greek ritual of death?
I said that Elpenor requested that Odysseus gave him a proper burial with the oar he used to be stuck in the pile of rocks to signal where he was buried so that he doesn’t need to wait 100 years to go to the afterlife. This reflects the Greek ritual of death by showing how serious the proper burial of someone is to let them live in peace (if they didn’t do bad things in life).
3. How does Odysseus react to seeing Elpenor (Lines 580-585)?
a. How does he react to Anticlea (his mother) (Lines 614-619)?
b. What characteristics of Odysseus do we see displayed in this scene?
I said Odysseus felt pity for Elpenor because he didn’t realize that he didn’t get a proper burial, he didn’t even know he died, and promised that a proper burial would happen. He reacts to Anticlea/ his mother with grief and sadness, but he held her off because he wanted to get in the presidente of Tiserias (the prophecy guy). The characteristics Odysseus shows is that he does care about the people he lost(grief, sadness, promises), but in this moment, for him it was more important to find Tiserias and continue his journey.
4. Although not a god, Tiresias has been endowed with the power of prophecy. Consider the following advice Tiresias gives to Odysseus regarding the remainder of his journey home: “One narrow strait may take you through his blows: denial of yourself, restraint of your shipmates.”
How does Tiresias advise (counsel) Odysseus with his leadership, as well as his handling of his men for the upcoming challenge?
In addition, what instructions does Tiresias give Odysseus in order to quell Poseidon’s rage?
I said Tiserias warned Odysseus about the challenge that he was going to face because of Poseidon still being mad about Odysseus blinding his son. He also instructed him to make a fair sacrifice to Poseidon to call his wrath.
Aim: How does Odysseus' strategic leadership further characterize him as an epic hero in "The Sirens" episode of Homer's Odyssey?
Sirens:
Sirens lure sailors to their death with their song.
After hearing the song they are led to the wandering rocks where they crash their ship and die.
Sirens are described as half-bird and half-human.
The Sirens:
Summary: The Sirens sing songs of desire and they promise wisdom and knowledge. Odysseus wanted to listen to the song but he could only do it alone. Circe told him to put earwaxes in his men's ears and to continue rowing until they were away from the sirens. As for Odysseus, he would be tied to the ship so he could listen to the siren but not get dragged away by their song. When Odysseus heard the siren’s song he yelled at his men to untie him and let him go follow the sirens. Perimedes and Eurylochus were two of his most loyal and trusted men. They held him down so he wouldn’t be able to go to the sirens. After that, his faithful men had successfully rowed him to shore.
Questions:
Why does Odysseus address his men “sore at heart”?
Odysseus addresses his men sore at heart because he knew there would be a great chance of all of them dying so he decided to tell the crew about the troubles that they would encounter.
What does an analysis of the Siren Song suggest about the idea of human flattery?
Why are we, as humans, susceptible to a figurative “Siren’s Call?”
How can the sirens represent both desire and distraction?
We as humans are susceptible to a figurative “sirens call” because we might see something that we really desire or want to achieve, but it ends up being a distraction, or something that will hinder you in the long run. For example, the sirens can be seen as something really good, but without looking into the consequences or thinking ahead, they could turn out bad.
Reflection:
In today’s lesson, we read and discussed “The Land of the Dead” and “The Sirens.” After discussing the Do Now, we learned about how Greek afterlife works and how proper burials and traditions were extremely important to Ancient Greek culture. We spirit read and thoroughly discussed “Land of the Dead”. In short, Odysseus meets some spirits which remind him of his past and set the way for his future. Next, we discussed Sirens which are half-bird/half-human creatures which sing sailors to their death. We read Odysseus’s story with the Sirens in which he decided to hear the song of the Sirens while his crew kept sailing to shore. Overall, I think each story has its own theme. For “Land of the Dead” I think the theme was that no matter what you must leave your past behind and look forward into the future because the sky's the limit. For “The Sirens'', I think the theme is that even through the most tempting bait, your loyal friends can help you pull through anything. Eventually, these two themes can have a huge impact at some point of everyones’ lives.
On top of that, this lesson, personally, brought back some of the Greek Mythology I had learned. For example, I know a ton about the Underworld from Rick Riordan’s “Greek Gods,” “Greek Heroes,” and other Percy Jackson books. They explain about Hades’ backstory on how he made the underworld, Orpheus and failure to save his wife from death and escape the underworld, and how Percy has to travel numerous times to the underworld to complete his quests. As I continue reading Odysseus’ stories, it slowly but surely starts to bring back my interest in Greek Mythology. It has also reminded me of why I fell in love with myths for a while. Myths always have epic climaxes and a strong message that is delivered. In conclusion, these stories definitely make me look forward to reading more of Odysseus’ stories.
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