Aim: How can we evaluate Odyssey’s leadership through his decision-making in his encounter with “Sylla & Charybdis” in Homer’s Odyssey?
Do Now:
Would you sacrifice one person in order to save five other people?
What would influence your decision if you had to make a choice according to “The Trolley Problem?” [1:38]
Our class watched a video about the Trolley Problem, which is an ethical dilemma thought experiment, originally developed by philosopher Philippa Foot in the mid-1900s.
The basic version of the Trolley Problem goes as follows:
A runaway train is heading towards five workers on a railway line. There is no way of warning them, but you’re standing near a lever that can direct the train towards an alternate track. However, there is one worker on the alternate track. You have two options:
Do nothing and allow the trolley to kill the five people on the original track
Pull the level, diverting the train to the alternate path, but killing the one worker
The video explains that when surveyed, most people would pull the lever, thus diverting the train and killing the one worker. The logic behind this choice is that more people are being saved 一 utilitarians agree with this viewpoint, believing that the sacrifice of one person is worth it because five people are saved instead. The video added a variation to the problem, in which the only way to save the five people would be to push a large person in front of the train. When asked whether they would push the person in order to save five people, less people said they would push the person. Although it was a similar concept (sacrifice one person to save five people), the variations in response provided insight into the thought process and morals of people.
Our class played Kahoot, which was based on the video we watched about the Trolley Problem. We were asked questions depending on variations of the Trolley Problem scenario. Some of the questions include:
Would you sacrifice one person to save five pregnant women?
Would you sacrifice your best friend to save five other people?
Would you sacrifice one person to save five murderers who escaped from prison?
Would you save a surgeon, who has the potential to save multiple lives in the future, at the expense of five other people?
After we completed the Kahoot, we had a class discussion, where we talked about our decisions and rationale for choosing the answers we selected during the Kahoot. Ayah shared that there were multiple factors that helped determine the choices she made during the Kahoot. For example, in the situation with the surgeon, Ayah mentioned that the surgeon will save other people’s lives in the future, and therefore, should be spared. Jerry discusses how killing the pregnant woman would harm at least 10 people, because of the babies that they are carrying. This means that by pulling the level, you are saving 10 lives, as opposed to saving the life of one non-pregnant person. Fiona brings up the fact that in some situations, it can be difficult to think logically, and instead our personal emotions will affect our decisions. For instance, in the best friend situation, Fiona says that she would save her best friend, even though it may not seem like the most logical choice in terms of the number of lives saved. The general consensus among the class is that we would not sacrifice our best friend for the sake of other people. Tuba mentions that if our best friend were to give permission for us to sacrifice them, then it might be appropriate, in order to maximize the amount of people that survive. Marooha added that she believes that we have an obligation to our families/loved ones to save them, because of our emotional and personal connections to them.
To learn more about utilitarianism, watch the video below:
Scylla & Charybdis
Our class read about the sea monsters, Sylla and Charybdis, who were mentioned in Book XII of The Odyssey. By learning about the two different monsters, we were able to better understand the decision Odysseus was faced with in The Odyssey 一 passing Sylla, whose six heads were each capable of seizing one of the men, OR Charybdis, who could drown his entire ship.
SCYLLA
In Greek mythology, there was a sea monster who lived underneath a dangerous rock, opposite the whirlpool Charybdis. She threatened passing ships.
Scylla was a nymph, daughter of Phorcys. The fisherman-turned-sea-god, Glaucus, fell madly in love with her, but she fled from him onto the land where he could not follow. Despair filled his heart. He went to the sorceress Circe to ask for a love potion to melt Scylla's heart. As he told his tale of love to Circe, she herself fell in love with him. She wooed him with her sweetest words and looks, but the sea-god would have none of her.
Circe was furiously angry, but with Scylla and not with Glaucus. She prepared a vial of very powerful poison and poured it in the pool where Scylla bathed. As soon as the nymph entered the water, she was transformed into a frightful monster with twelve feet and six heads, each with three rows of teeth. Below the waist her body was made up of hideous monsters, like dogs, who barked unceasingly. This description of Scylla is probably derived from the imagery of words associated with her name--namely, "hermit-crab" (Greek skyllaros), "dog" and "dog-shark" (skylax), and "to rend" (skyllô).
She stood there in utter misery, unable to move, loathing and destroying everything that came into her reach, a peril to all sailors who passed near her. Whenever a ship passed, each of her heads would seize one of the crew.
To learn more about Scylla, visit the link attached below:
CHARYBDIS
A female monster represented in the form of a whirlpool.
She was once a nymph-daughter of Poseidon and Gaia who flooded lands for her father's underwater kingdom; however, her life was changed after she stole Hercules' cattle.
As punishment, Zeus turned her into a monster. Three times a day, Charybdis sucks water in and vomits it out. This is believed to be how the Ancient Greeks imagined the changing of the tides throughout the day.
The Greeks had a verb “ekcha rubdizô” which meant to swallow like Charybdis. This verb was invented in order to describe those who were gluttonous.
She lived in a cave at one side of the Strait of Messina, opposite the monster Scylla, the two of them forming a dangerous threat to passing ships.
To learn more about Charybdis, visit the link attached below:
Book XII of The Odyssey (Scylla & Charybdis)
After learning about both sea monsters, we read two pages of Book XII, which talked about Odysseus’s decision to sail his ship through Scylla, as opposed to Charybdis.
Scylla & Charybdis PDF [2 pages]
WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION
After reading the section of The Odyssey about Scylla and Charybdis, we had a class discussion about Odysseus’s decision, and why we believed he chose to cross one monster over the other.
Kevin stated that he believed Odysseus crossed Scylla, as opposed to Charybdis, because Scylla was only able to harm six men. He mentioned that if Odysseus’s crew went towards Charybdis, they all would die, because Charybdis would sink their ship. Ayah related this situation to the Trolley Problem, because in both scenarios someone has to choose between two difficult decisions. Ultimately, most people, like Odysseus, would choose to save the greatest amount of people. In the case of choosing between Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus made the most logical decision by selecting the path that would ensure that more men would survive.
Circe’s Advice
We read about the advice that Circe offers to Odysseus, prior to his journey past Scylla and/or Charybdis. This helps us recognize why Odysseus made the decision that he made.
Circe tells Odysseus that he should pass Scylla and sacrifice six of his men, rather than risk the entire crew to Charybdis. Odysseus asks if he can escape Charybdis and then fight off Scylla to save the lives of all his men. Circe reprimands his stubbornness and informs him that Scylla is immortal.
Allusions
We learned about allusions, and the references popular culture makes to literary classics, such as The Odyssey.
People often allude to the story of Scylla and Charybdis when they are talking about the idea of “being caught between a rock and a hard place.” Our class was asked:
(1) What do you think “between a rock and a hard place” means?
(2) What does the idiom “to choose the lesser of two evils” mean?
Vallerie shared that these phrases meant, when presented with two unpleasant or difficult decisions, you have to choose the option that seems less disagreeable.
DEFINITION: Allusion is a brief and indirect reference within a literary work to a historical, literary, or Biblical character, place, or event, that is not explained. Allusions are not explained because writers intend the audience will recognize and understand the references they make, usually through prior experience. Allusions can help to create the mood, or contribute to the theme.
After learning about the definition of allusion, we were given images that referenced popular TV shows, movies, and books. We were asked to figure out what each image was alluding to.
This image on the left shows the Simpsons, but it is referencing a TV show called The Sopranos (image on the right).
The image on the left shows the characters of Family Guy, but it is alluding to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (image on the right).
For more information about allusions, visit the link attached below:
TEAMWORK
We were put into our breakout rooms, with the task of discussing and answering the following questions:
Imagine you are one of Odysseus’s men when he leads his crew to Scylla.
How do you feel about his decision to take you closer to Scylla?
Do you support his decision or not?
Also, Odysseus decides it would be best to not tell his men which route they are taking.
But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I
told them nothing, as they could do nothing.
Assess Odysseus’ decision.
Would you have wanted to know which route Odysseus was leading you?
Why or why not?
If you were the leader, do you think you would have made the same decision?
Why might Odysseus have opted to withhold this information from his men?
In my breakout room, we said that if we were one of Odysseus’s men, we would support his decision to pass by Scylla, although we would have been worried about whether we would be one of the six people to die. We also agreed that we would not have wanted to know which route Odysseus was leading us, because it would have caused us to worry about both possibilities, instead of the decision already being made for us. If I were the leader, I don’t think I would have told the crew which path I had chosen, because they might contradict me, or try to question my authority; that would have caused additional problems that might have made the journey more challenging. Our group thought that Odysseus opted to withhold information about which monster the ship was going to cross, in order to avoid a rebellion from his men, who might have had a preference for which path they wanted to take.
After talking about the questions in our breakout rooms, we all returned to the main meeting room in order to discuss what was said in our groups. Fiona shared what my group had talked about, in terms of supporting Odysseus’s decision, but also feeling nervous because our own lives would be at risk. Marooha shared that she would feel betrayed by Odysseus, because she felt that he was letting his men get killed. She added that while she wouldn’t support Odysseus’s decision, she would understand it, because she knew that was the best option that allowed the most people to survive. Jerry agreed with both Fiona and Marooha, and reiterated that both options were not ideal, but logically, it would be best to pass by Scylla because she could only kill six men. For Question 2, Ayah said that she wouldn’t have wanted to know which path Odysseus had chosen, because it might have given her a false sense of hope, knowing that Odysseus chose to pass Scylla. Ayah also said that, if she were the leader, she would have told the crew what her decision was, so that they could have some desire to live. In response to the final part of Question 2, Ayah observes that Odysseus did not tell his men about his decision, because it would have caused them to become scared, or do something foolish to prevent them from crossing Scylla. Eddy added on that it was better that Odysseus did not tell his men, because they would have acted out of fear of dying, which would have caused more chaos.
Wrap-Up
The wrap-question that we were presented with was: How does the story of Scylla & Charybdis correlate to the “Trolley Problem” we encountered in the Do Now?
Ayah actually responded to this question in the Whole Class Discussion, when she mentioned that in both the Trolley Problem and Scylla & Charybdis, one had to choose between two unfavorable choices. In the Trolley Problem, you had to choose between allowing the train to kill five people, or pulling the lever to divert the train, but deliberately killing one person. In the story about Scylla & Charybdis, Odysseus had to choose between passing through Scylla, who could kill six of his men, or crossing Charybdis, who could possibly wipe out his entire ship.
To learn more about the relationship between the “Trolley Problem” and Scylla & Charybdis, visit the link attached below:
Reflection
What did I learn?
Through this lesson, I learned about the decisions Odysseus had to make on his journey, and what those choices reflected about his character. I learned that protecting his men, and helping to return them safely to their homes, was important to Odysseus, because as their leader, he felt responsible for them. I also was able to connect Odysseus’s decision to the ethical dilemma presented in the “Trolley Problem”, in which one must make a difficult choice between two unfavorable options. The “Trolley Problem” forced me to think about my own values and decision-making skills, in regards to what I would choose in that specific situation. For the most part, I believe that the choice that saves the most people is the best decision, however, there are often complications when your emotions are involved. This lesson also taught me the definition of allusion, and how I can find examples of them in popular culture, such as TV shows, movies, and books.
Why did I learn it?
I learned about Odyssey’s decision to pass by Scylla, ultimately saving more of his men, because it helped me to understand his personality and his perspective, as he continues his journey to Ithaca. Understanding Odysseus’s character is important, because it helps me empathize with him, as well as comprehend the severity of his situation. Gaining insight into his decision also caused me to recognize how his character is perceived from the beginning of The Odyssey to the later parts of his voyage. In the beginning, I thought Odysseus was egotistic, and was willing to sacrifice his men in order to save himself. However, now I realize that the lives of his men are valuable to him, and I acknowledge the struggles he is facing in getting them home.
Our class learned about the “Trolley Problem” in order to reflect on our rationale and reasoning for making the decisions we make. For many of us, we determined our choice based on what we thought was the logical decision, meaning that the most lives were saved 一 this is an utilitarian viewpoint. Sometimes though, our personal experience or emotional connection can alter our decision, making us choose an option that may not save the most lives.
I think we learned about allusions, so we can recognize them in our daily lives, including when we’re watching TV, reading a book, or listening to music. Allusions are prevalent throughout our daily lives, and are often used in popular culture. By being able to understand them, we can appreciate the greater meaning, or significance it plays in our lives and our entertainment. By learning about allusions, we will also be able to observe references made to The Odyssey, and the relevance behind those allusions.
How will I use what I learned?
I will use what I have learned about Odysseus as we continue to read The Odyssey in order to understand his future decisions, and how that will affect the outcome of his journey. As Odysseus continues his trip home, he will face many more obstacles, which might cause his reactions and priorities to change. By understanding his decisions now, I will be able to gain insight into his character arc as he begins to lose even more of his companions. This will help my overall comprehension of The Odyssey, and the lasting effects it had on the main character.
I will use the insight I have gained from the “Trolley Problem” to assess my decisions in the future, as well as understand what kind of person I am. As someone who tends to think logically in most situations, I think that in the future, I will continue to weigh the pros and cons of each choice, and ultimately decide using those variables.
I will use what I have learned about allusions to recognize them in my daily life, including in TV shows/movies that I watch, the music that I listen to, and the books that I read. For example, if a character in a movie is an allusion to a historical or Biblical person, I will be able to understand the reference and the significance behind it. This will not only help me realize what is being referenced, but it will also help me better understand culturally relevant people, places, and objects.
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