Aim: How can we evaluate Odysseus’ leadership through his decision-making in his encounter with “Scylla and Charybdis” in Homer’s Odyssey?
Do-now: Would you sacrifice one person in order to save five other people?
For the do-now, we were introduced to the Trolley Problem and variations of it. The original Trolley Problem scenario goes like this: a runaway trolley is headed towards 5 workers on a railway line. You are unable to warn them, but you can operate a switch that could change the direction of where the trolley is heading. On the other railway, there is one worker on it. Most people would pick to save the five workers, and sacrifice one. However, when the situation is modified, people tend to change their minds. The Trolley Problem was designed to test if moral decisions were affected by only outcomes or also by the way you achieve the outcome. To learn more about the Trolley Problem, watch this short video.
After watching the video, Mrs. Peterson had our class do a Kahoot poll based on the Trolley Problems and variations of it. These scenarios included:
The original Trolley Problem
The 5 people are runaway killers
The 5 people are pregnant women
The 1 person is your best friend
The 1 person is a world-class surgeon
After taking the Kahoot, Mrs. Peterson asked us to share our decision making process for each of the situations. My classmate Owen began the discussion, saying that the people who were on the trolley tracks should have already accepted the risk that they might be hit. Then, Daniel shared his opinion, telling us that he made the decision of who to save based on how valuable to society or to himself. After that, Byron expressed his thoughts, stating that he always pulled the switch and saved the track with the 5 people, except for the last one(which had the surgeon), where he did not pick. He told us he had a hard time deciding because he was not sure if the surgeon would help the other 5 people if he saved him/her. Next, I shared my process, which was to always pull the switch, saving the 5 people on the first track, except for when the 5 people were runaway killers. Cody shared a similar thought process, pulling the switch to save the track with 5 people. Meiqi jumped in the conversation, agreeing with Daniel’s decision process.
This do-now led right into our lesson, letting us feel how Odysseus felt when he had to choose between Scylla and Charybdis in Book XII of the Odyssey. He also had to choose between 2 unfavorable situations, and somehow determine the best outcome.
Context:
Before reading about Odysseus’ encounter with Scylla and Charybdis, we read about the origins of these monsters. There are many different adaptations of these stories, each one with a slightly different interpretation of how each monster looked. The adaptations we read in classes portrays them as sea nymphs who were cursed, turning into the monsters they are.
Scylla: Scylla is a female sea monster that lives underneath a rock on one side of a narrow strait, opposite of Charybdis. She was the daughter of Phorcys, ancient sea-god of the hidden dangers of the deep. She was a very beautiful nymph, which was why Glaucus, a fisherman-turned-sea-god, was passionately in love with her. However, she did not feel the same about Glaucus, and fled to somewhere he could not follow. In despair, he sought Circe, a sorceress, for a love potion to seduce Scylla. After hearing Glaucus' love journey, Circe was in awe and fell in love with him herself. She tried to seduce him, but Glaucus didn’t bat an eyelid at her. Enraged and jealous, Circe poured a powerful poison into the water Scylla bathed in. When the nymph went to bathe, she transformed into a terrifying monster, with 12 feet and 6 heads, each with 3 rows of teeth. Below her waist, her body was made of hideous monsters like dogs, who barked incessantly. She was unable to move, and in agony. Any ship who passed by her would have 6 of their men taken by each of her heads. For more information on her, here is an in-depth video.
(Pictures above: left, Phorcys; right, Scylla and Glaucus)
(Pictures above: left, Scylla changed by Circe; right: Scylla monster form)
Charybdis: Charybdis is a female sea monster who took the shape of a whirlpool. She was the daughter of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Gaia, the personification of Earth. She flooded lands for Poseidon’s underwater kingdom. When she stole one of Heracles’ cattle, she was punished by Zeus, and turned into a monster. Three times a day, she sucks water in and regurgitates it out. This was how the Greeks explained sea tides. Together, she and Scylla were a dangerous threat to ships passing Messina Strait. For more information on her, here is an in-depth video.
Pictures above: left, Charybdis, as a nymph; right, Charybdis, as a whirlpool monster)
After learning about the origin of these 2 monsters, our class spirit read an excerpt from The Odyssey. It tells of Odysseus’ dilemma, choosing between two dangerous monsters. Mrs. Peterson asked us to consider why he would choose one monster over the other while we read the story.
Here is a summary of the story: Odysseus told his men to steer towards Scylla, without telling them Scylla was there, as he knew they were going to be helpless even with the information. Unfortunately, the crew has to confront both Scylla and Charybdis. While Odysseus’ crew was struggling to stay out of Charybdis’ reach, Scylla swooped down, grabbing six of his men, and devouring them. Odysseus and his remaining crew escape, and reach Thrinacia, the island of Helios, the sun god.
(Picture above: Odysseus’ ship going through Scylla and Charybdis)
After reading the passage, Mrs. Peterson asked us to share our thoughts on why Odysseus chose Scylla over Charybdis. Zihan started the discussion, saying that since Charydis was the daughter of Poseidon, who Odysseus had already angered, Odysseus would not pick her. I agreed with Zihan. Justin shared his reasoning, saying that with Scylla, there were 6 guaranteed deaths, but with Charybdis, it was not certain, and the whole ship could have been swallowed. After this discussion, Mrs. Peterson revealed to us that it was Circe who advised Odysseus to choose Scylla.
Circe’s Advice:
When Odysseus returns to Aeaea, island of Circe, he gives Elpenor a proper burial. Circe offers him advice on his journey, about the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. She advises him to steer his ship to Scylla and only lose 6 men, rather than go to Charybdis, where he risked losing his entire crew. Odysseus, not wanting to lose any more of his men, asks Circe if he could escape Charybdis and fight off Scylla, escaping with all his men. Circe rebuked his foolish plan, telling him that Scylla was immortal. She tells him the only ship to survive without any casualties was the Argo.
The Argo was a ship sailed by Jason and the Argonauts. It was constructed using wood from Mount Pelion. The Argonauts sailed from Iolcos, Thessaly to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece in order to make Jason’s uncle, Pelias, surrender his unrightful crown. The heroes on board included Heracles, Orpheus, and Peleus, father of Achilles. The ship was designed by Athena herself. The prow of the vessel was made from Dodona oak, and as a result had magical properties: it could speak prophecies. For more information, you can watch this video and this video, or read this article.
(Picture above: Jason and the Argonauts)
After hearing about Circe’s advice to Odyessus, Mrs. Peterson explained to us about allusions. Allusions are an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference. They could be referring to a historical, literary, or biblical character, place or event. They are used by authors to create a mood or contribute to a theme. In layman's terms, they are a quick reference to something else, that could only be understood if you know what that something else is.
Types of Allusions:
Biblical- referring to the Bible or a religious work
Classical- referring to Classical Literature
Literary- referring to another literary work
Historical- referring to an event in history
Popular shows, like Family Guy and The Simpsons, contain many allusions throughout the show. Here is an example we watched in class, which was an allusion to the musical The Sound of Music. If you had not seen the musical, that scene would have been meaningless. Here is an article talking about allusions in The Simpsons. Here is one of the allusions in Family Guy.
After talking about allusions, Mrs. Peterson asked us about the meaning of the allusions “being caught between a rock and a hard place “and to choose the lesser of two evils”. I said that the first allusion meant a dilemma with 2 equally unfavorable outcomes or situations. My classmate Justin explained the second one, saying it meant choosing the less terrible outcome from two terrible outcomes.
Finally, our class discussed the passage on Scylla and Charybdis through the point of view of Odysseus and his men. My classmate Kelly began the conversation, stating that if she was one of Odysseus’ men, she would have been scared of what Odysseus chose, but also respect and follow his decision because he is the leader. Ayah agreed with Kelly. I jumped in, and said that if I was Odysseus, I would have done the same choice as him: not tell the men my decision. If I told the men which monster they were heading to, they might start panicking, and all would go wrong.
Reflection
This was one of the most interesting we had so far. Not only did we get to learn about the hard choices that Odysseus made in his journey, but we also learned about allusions. I learned that allusions are practically everywhere. For example, in meme culture, there are a ton of memes that are referencing different historical, literary, or biblical characters, places, shows, or events. Even Homer’s Odyssey is still referenced to today: it is the namesake of Super Mario Odyssey. I will use this knowledge of allusions to make my writing more rich, as well as enjoy books/shows more.
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