Notes from classroom discussions on the Odyssey
Epic Simile
An epic simile (a "Homeric simile") extends a simile with elaborate descriptive details that can fill several lines of verse-
Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all the sea is in an uproar. (Iliad, 2: 200/229)
The Greeks return to the assembly with a sound like the thunder of surf
Epithet
[from the Greek epithetos- "attributed, added"]
An alternate name or expression; a descriptive term (word or phrase) accompanying or occurring in place of a name. Example: Odysseus, wiliest of the Greeks
Athena
-Pallas (Παλλάς Pallás)
-gray-, bright-eyed
-whose shield is thunder
-hope of soldiers
-tireless one
Calypso
-beautiful nymph
-softly-braided nymph
Odysseus
-resourceful, man of many resources
-much-enduring (πολύ-τλᾱς polú-tlās)
-great-hearted (μεγαλ-ήτωρ megal-ḗtōr)
-sacker of cities (πτολι-πόρθιος ptoli-pórthios)
-master mariner
-mastermind of war
-hotheaded
-man of action
-the great teller of tales
-man of pain
-that kingly man
-Raider of Cities
-The great tactician
-third-born of the gods
Ancient Greek Cuture: 6 Important Ancient Greek Values
The Odyssey contains 6 major themes/lessons that are demonstrated throughout the work:
1. Respect for the Olympian gods and goddesses
2. The importance of home and family
3. Acts of courage/strength/leadership
4. Concern for the welfare of others
5. Displays of intelligence, curiosity, and cleverness
6. Obedience to leaders
____________________________________________________________________________________________
11/30/11 Notes:
Odysseus’ adventures so far:
-He and his fleet of 12 ships leave Troy
-They go to Ismarus, the land of the Cicones, allies of the Trojans. The Greeks plunder the settlement until Odysseus orders them to withdraw; drunk, the men become mutinous and don’t listen.
-The Cicones’ army returns and kill 72 men. The rest flee to the ships and the journey continues. (What is the lesson? Always listen to your leader!)
-The Land of the Lotus Eaters: Upon arrival in an unfamiliar land, Odysseus sends out 3 scouts. They do not return, as they have been given an addicitve plant to eat that makes them forget their cares, worries, and home.
-O. finds them and forces them, wailing, back to the ships. (Lesson? Don’t lose sight of home / goals!)
-O. and his fleet next arrive at the island of the Cyclops Polyphemus, a son of the sea god Poseidon
____________________________________________________________________________________________
12/1/11:
The 6 elements of civilization missing from Cyclopes culture:
Law
Education
Government
Military
Agriculture
Tradition
The Odyssey: New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son
Curse (n): a formula or charm intended to cause misfortune to another.
(v):to wish or invoke evil, calamity, injury, or destruction upon.
After blinding Polyphemus and escaping, Odysseus’ “hubris,” or sinful pride and arrogance, prompts him to mock the injured Cyclops. This incident causes Polyphemus to pray to his father, the god Poseidon, for assistance. In doing so, the Cyclops curses Odysseus.
Elements of the curse:
I.-Odysseus will never reach home;
or
II.-If Odysseus is fated to return home some day,
A. that day will be a long time from now and his journey will be full of suffering
B. all of his men will die
C. he will return to see trouble in his own household
Idiotes - an individual interested only in his/her private affairs, assumed to be ignorant, unskilled and vulgar
-The Cyclopes are savage barbarians, contrasted with the cultured and civilized society the ancient Greeks valued.
-Polyphemus' brute strength is no match for Odysseus' guile
-Odysseus foreshadows his method of escape when describing the entrance of the rams to the cave ("by some sheep-herding whim - / or a god's bidding")
-Examples of Odysseus' pride:
· Odysseus assumes Zeus has favored him in his escape (ll. 398-399)
· Odysseus brags of his true identity during the escape (ll. 424-428)
-The pride of Odysseus (hubris) leads to the suffering of himself and his companions
Hubris
The Greek word for ‘insolence’ or ‘affront’, applied to the arrogance or pride of the protagonist in a tragedy in which he or she defies moral laws or the prohibitions of the gods. The protagonist's transgression or hamartia leads eventually to his or her downfall, which may be understood as divine retribution or nemesis. Hubris is commonly translated as ‘overweening (i.e. excessively presumptuous) pride’.
“sinful pride”
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12/2/11
Ancient Greek Culture:
6 Important Ancient Greek Values
The Odyssey contains 6 major themes/lessons that are demonstrated throughout the work:
1. Respect for the Olympian gods and goddesses
2. The importance of home and family
3. Acts of courage/strength/leadership
4. Concern for the welfare of others
5. Displays of intelligence, curiosity, and cleverness
6. Obedience to leaders
The Adventure of the Cyclops - What clever things does Odysseus do?
-He splits up the fleet, leaving 11 ships safely behind
-He takes only 12 fighters with him to the cave, leaving the other men from his ship safely at the ship
-He lies to the cyclops and tells him he and his men are the sole survivors of a
Aeolus, King of the WInds
-O. arrives, feasts and tells stories 30 days
-when he leaves, A. does two things:
1. puts most of the winds in a bag to be opened back on Ithaca
2. leaves only the west wind blowing (to send them east)
-for 10 days, O stays awake and steers boat
-once he sees I., he takes a nap
-the men think he is cheating them $$$, they open bag
-O. and fleet blown back to A., who refuses to help – (curse)
-Lesson -> (obedience) Don’t be greedy!
Adventure of Laestrygonians
-after leaving Aeolus x2, O. and co. travel 6 days
-arrive at Lamus; fleet enters the harbor, O. wisely stays outside
-he sends scouts, a scout is eaten by a giant cannibal
-an alarm is raised, 1000s of other giants arrive
-ships and men are destroyed
-O. ship and crew are spared, they escape
Circe
-the men land on Aeaea; smoke is visible rising above the forest
-Eurylochus leads platoon to Circe’s house; his men are turned to pigs
-Odysseus is sworn to protect his men and must try to rescue them; he is saved by Hermes’ advice and magical plant
-Circe’s magic fails on Odysseus; they go to bed, she changes the men back
-Ody. lingers there for a year, his men ask to leave; Circe tells him he must go to Underworld to get advice from the dead prophet Teiresias.
-Elpenor falls off of roof and breaks neck
The Underworld
-voyage to Underworld has several lessons/themes
-Teiresias warns O. to stay away from the cattle of the sun
-O. sees his mother (whom he thought was still alive); she details the situation in Ithaca
-Elpenor asks to be properly buried (RESPECT THE DEAD
-Agamemnon explains how he died (TEST YOUR WIFE; DO NOT TRUST HER)
-Achilles says it is better to be a servant among the living than a dead king
-O. and co. return to Circe and then leave for home.
-Circe warns about Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis; gives advice on how to pass them.
The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis
· All the monsters are portrayed as female:
Sirens - two sea nymphs, who are part woman, part bird, whose beautiful singing lured sailors to their deaths
Scylla - a six headed monster, who was once a rival of Circe
Charybdis - a monster that alternately swallows the waters around it in a whirlpool, then spews them back in a geyser
· The encounter with the Sirens demonstrates some of Odysseus' heroic traits:
guile - the beeswax ear plugs
curiosity/valor/pride- he alone will listen to the Sirens' song
· The Sirens represent temptation, and false promises
· The encounter with Scylla and Charybdis demonstrates:
-Odysseus' leadership
-his ability to make difficult decisions
-his concern for the welfare of his men
· "Caught between Scylla and Charybdis" means being caught between two equally bad choices
12/19
The Cattle of Lord Helios
Poseidon's wrath and Polyphemus' curse:
· the gods deliberately lure Odysseus' men out to sea to destroy them
· the last of Odysseus' men are killed
· Odysseus loses his ship and his crew. His raft washes up on Ogygia, and he spends 7 years with Calypso
· Odysseus credits Zeus with his survival
Odysseus and Eurylochus are compared as leaders
· both are able to lead men, but Eurylochus leads men to ruin and death
· Eurylochus is motivated by selfishness; he is disobedient to his own leader, and disrespectful to the gods.
· while Odysseus prays to the gods for salvation, Eurylochus plots to slaughter Helios’ cattle
Gods’ Interference
Storms trap them on island
Odysseus prays but is made to fall asleep
Helios threatens to take sun to Underworld; Zeus convinces him to stay
Storms end to lure men away from island
Lightning from Zeus destroys boat.
Signs from the gods
· the gods send a grim warning to the crew
· the dead cattle move and have voices. The crew walks and talks, but has already been marked for death. They are already dead, like the cattle.
Scylla and Charybdis, Part II
-Current draws Odysseus back
-Raft is swallowed, he hangs an entire day above the whirlpool until raft is ejected.
-O. paddles raft by Scylla, who has been distracted by Zeus
-O. washes up on the shore of Calypso’s island, Ogygia
Penelope, the Faithful Wife
Archetype (n) 1. an original model from which other similar things are patterned
2. an ideal example of a type
Penelope is the archetype of the faithful wife:
· waited 20 years for Odysseus' return
· spent 4 years weaving and unweaving a burial shroud to deceive the suitors – she told them she would select one of the suitors to marry once it was completed, but secretly removed some stitching every night so the task was never complete
Penelope displays concern for the welfare of others, the importance of family, strength of character, courage, and guile.
· Penelope's kind treatment of the beggar is contrasted with the suitors' rude behavior
· despite her situation, she is still concerned with "the realm's affairs" (ll. 125)
· Penelope is able to trick the suitors for years until she is betrayed by her own maids
In an epic simile Odysseus compares Penelope's reputation to that of a good king ruling over a prosperous land (ll. 95-102)
Death in the Great Hall
Odysseus accuses the suitors of four crimes:
1) Plundering his home
2) Seducing his maids
3) Courting his wife
4) Contempt for the gods
Odysseus presents their crimes as charges; his actions are therefore just, because he is carrying out a sentence upon them, not mere vengeance.
Odysseus, with Telemachus, Emaeus, and Philoetius (and Athena's favor) slaughter all 108 suitors, and all of the disloyal maids and servants.
The Trunk of the Olive Tree
Eurycleia, Penelope's nurse, recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his foot, which he got from the tusk of a wild boar.
Odysseus built their home around the trunk of a great trunk from an olive tree. This trunk formed one of the legs of the bed Odysseus built for he and Penelope. Penelope tests the stranger by telling him the bed will be moved from her room. Odysseus flies into a rage, and passes the test.
The longing of Odysseus for Penelope is compared in an epic simile to the longing of a ship-wrecked man for the shore. Homer carefully shows both the heroic and the human, qualities of Odysseus.
An epic simile (a "Homeric simile") extends a simile with elaborate descriptive details that can fill several lines of verse-
Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all the sea is in an uproar. (Iliad, 2: 200/229)
The Greeks return to the assembly with a sound like the thunder of surf
Epithet
[from the Greek epithetos- "attributed, added"]
An alternate name or expression; a descriptive term (word or phrase) accompanying or occurring in place of a name. Example: Odysseus, wiliest of the Greeks
Athena
-Pallas (Παλλάς Pallás)
-gray-, bright-eyed
-whose shield is thunder
-hope of soldiers
-tireless one
Calypso
-beautiful nymph
-softly-braided nymph
Odysseus
-resourceful, man of many resources
-much-enduring (πολύ-τλᾱς polú-tlās)
-great-hearted (μεγαλ-ήτωρ megal-ḗtōr)
-sacker of cities (πτολι-πόρθιος ptoli-pórthios)
-master mariner
-mastermind of war
-hotheaded
-man of action
-the great teller of tales
-man of pain
-that kingly man
-Raider of Cities
-The great tactician
-third-born of the gods
Ancient Greek Cuture: 6 Important Ancient Greek Values
The Odyssey contains 6 major themes/lessons that are demonstrated throughout the work:
1. Respect for the Olympian gods and goddesses
2. The importance of home and family
3. Acts of courage/strength/leadership
4. Concern for the welfare of others
5. Displays of intelligence, curiosity, and cleverness
6. Obedience to leaders
____________________________________________________________________________________________
11/30/11 Notes:
Odysseus’ adventures so far:
-He and his fleet of 12 ships leave Troy
-They go to Ismarus, the land of the Cicones, allies of the Trojans. The Greeks plunder the settlement until Odysseus orders them to withdraw; drunk, the men become mutinous and don’t listen.
-The Cicones’ army returns and kill 72 men. The rest flee to the ships and the journey continues. (What is the lesson? Always listen to your leader!)
-The Land of the Lotus Eaters: Upon arrival in an unfamiliar land, Odysseus sends out 3 scouts. They do not return, as they have been given an addicitve plant to eat that makes them forget their cares, worries, and home.
-O. finds them and forces them, wailing, back to the ships. (Lesson? Don’t lose sight of home / goals!)
-O. and his fleet next arrive at the island of the Cyclops Polyphemus, a son of the sea god Poseidon
____________________________________________________________________________________________
12/1/11:
The 6 elements of civilization missing from Cyclopes culture:
Law
Education
Government
Military
Agriculture
Tradition
The Odyssey: New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son
Curse (n): a formula or charm intended to cause misfortune to another.
(v):to wish or invoke evil, calamity, injury, or destruction upon.
After blinding Polyphemus and escaping, Odysseus’ “hubris,” or sinful pride and arrogance, prompts him to mock the injured Cyclops. This incident causes Polyphemus to pray to his father, the god Poseidon, for assistance. In doing so, the Cyclops curses Odysseus.
Elements of the curse:
I.-Odysseus will never reach home;
or
II.-If Odysseus is fated to return home some day,
A. that day will be a long time from now and his journey will be full of suffering
B. all of his men will die
C. he will return to see trouble in his own household
Idiotes - an individual interested only in his/her private affairs, assumed to be ignorant, unskilled and vulgar
-The Cyclopes are savage barbarians, contrasted with the cultured and civilized society the ancient Greeks valued.
-Polyphemus' brute strength is no match for Odysseus' guile
-Odysseus foreshadows his method of escape when describing the entrance of the rams to the cave ("by some sheep-herding whim - / or a god's bidding")
-Examples of Odysseus' pride:
· Odysseus assumes Zeus has favored him in his escape (ll. 398-399)
· Odysseus brags of his true identity during the escape (ll. 424-428)
-The pride of Odysseus (hubris) leads to the suffering of himself and his companions
Hubris
The Greek word for ‘insolence’ or ‘affront’, applied to the arrogance or pride of the protagonist in a tragedy in which he or she defies moral laws or the prohibitions of the gods. The protagonist's transgression or hamartia leads eventually to his or her downfall, which may be understood as divine retribution or nemesis. Hubris is commonly translated as ‘overweening (i.e. excessively presumptuous) pride’.
“sinful pride”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/2/11
Ancient Greek Culture:
6 Important Ancient Greek Values
The Odyssey contains 6 major themes/lessons that are demonstrated throughout the work:
1. Respect for the Olympian gods and goddesses
2. The importance of home and family
3. Acts of courage/strength/leadership
4. Concern for the welfare of others
5. Displays of intelligence, curiosity, and cleverness
6. Obedience to leaders
The Adventure of the Cyclops - What clever things does Odysseus do?
-He splits up the fleet, leaving 11 ships safely behind
-He takes only 12 fighters with him to the cave, leaving the other men from his ship safely at the ship
-He lies to the cyclops and tells him he and his men are the sole survivors of a
Aeolus, King of the WInds
-O. arrives, feasts and tells stories 30 days
-when he leaves, A. does two things:
1. puts most of the winds in a bag to be opened back on Ithaca
2. leaves only the west wind blowing (to send them east)
-for 10 days, O stays awake and steers boat
-once he sees I., he takes a nap
-the men think he is cheating them $$$, they open bag
-O. and fleet blown back to A., who refuses to help – (curse)
-Lesson -> (obedience) Don’t be greedy!
Adventure of Laestrygonians
-after leaving Aeolus x2, O. and co. travel 6 days
-arrive at Lamus; fleet enters the harbor, O. wisely stays outside
-he sends scouts, a scout is eaten by a giant cannibal
-an alarm is raised, 1000s of other giants arrive
-ships and men are destroyed
-O. ship and crew are spared, they escape
Circe
-the men land on Aeaea; smoke is visible rising above the forest
-Eurylochus leads platoon to Circe’s house; his men are turned to pigs
-Odysseus is sworn to protect his men and must try to rescue them; he is saved by Hermes’ advice and magical plant
-Circe’s magic fails on Odysseus; they go to bed, she changes the men back
-Ody. lingers there for a year, his men ask to leave; Circe tells him he must go to Underworld to get advice from the dead prophet Teiresias.
-Elpenor falls off of roof and breaks neck
The Underworld
-voyage to Underworld has several lessons/themes
-Teiresias warns O. to stay away from the cattle of the sun
-O. sees his mother (whom he thought was still alive); she details the situation in Ithaca
-Elpenor asks to be properly buried (RESPECT THE DEAD
-Agamemnon explains how he died (TEST YOUR WIFE; DO NOT TRUST HER)
-Achilles says it is better to be a servant among the living than a dead king
-O. and co. return to Circe and then leave for home.
-Circe warns about Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis; gives advice on how to pass them.
The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis
· All the monsters are portrayed as female:
Sirens - two sea nymphs, who are part woman, part bird, whose beautiful singing lured sailors to their deaths
Scylla - a six headed monster, who was once a rival of Circe
Charybdis - a monster that alternately swallows the waters around it in a whirlpool, then spews them back in a geyser
· The encounter with the Sirens demonstrates some of Odysseus' heroic traits:
guile - the beeswax ear plugs
curiosity/valor/pride- he alone will listen to the Sirens' song
· The Sirens represent temptation, and false promises
· The encounter with Scylla and Charybdis demonstrates:
-Odysseus' leadership
-his ability to make difficult decisions
-his concern for the welfare of his men
· "Caught between Scylla and Charybdis" means being caught between two equally bad choices
12/19
The Cattle of Lord Helios
Poseidon's wrath and Polyphemus' curse:
· the gods deliberately lure Odysseus' men out to sea to destroy them
· the last of Odysseus' men are killed
· Odysseus loses his ship and his crew. His raft washes up on Ogygia, and he spends 7 years with Calypso
· Odysseus credits Zeus with his survival
Odysseus and Eurylochus are compared as leaders
· both are able to lead men, but Eurylochus leads men to ruin and death
· Eurylochus is motivated by selfishness; he is disobedient to his own leader, and disrespectful to the gods.
· while Odysseus prays to the gods for salvation, Eurylochus plots to slaughter Helios’ cattle
Gods’ Interference
Storms trap them on island
Odysseus prays but is made to fall asleep
Helios threatens to take sun to Underworld; Zeus convinces him to stay
Storms end to lure men away from island
Lightning from Zeus destroys boat.
Signs from the gods
· the gods send a grim warning to the crew
· the dead cattle move and have voices. The crew walks and talks, but has already been marked for death. They are already dead, like the cattle.
Scylla and Charybdis, Part II
-Current draws Odysseus back
-Raft is swallowed, he hangs an entire day above the whirlpool until raft is ejected.
-O. paddles raft by Scylla, who has been distracted by Zeus
-O. washes up on the shore of Calypso’s island, Ogygia
Penelope, the Faithful Wife
Archetype (n) 1. an original model from which other similar things are patterned
2. an ideal example of a type
Penelope is the archetype of the faithful wife:
· waited 20 years for Odysseus' return
· spent 4 years weaving and unweaving a burial shroud to deceive the suitors – she told them she would select one of the suitors to marry once it was completed, but secretly removed some stitching every night so the task was never complete
Penelope displays concern for the welfare of others, the importance of family, strength of character, courage, and guile.
· Penelope's kind treatment of the beggar is contrasted with the suitors' rude behavior
· despite her situation, she is still concerned with "the realm's affairs" (ll. 125)
· Penelope is able to trick the suitors for years until she is betrayed by her own maids
In an epic simile Odysseus compares Penelope's reputation to that of a good king ruling over a prosperous land (ll. 95-102)
Death in the Great Hall
Odysseus accuses the suitors of four crimes:
1) Plundering his home
2) Seducing his maids
3) Courting his wife
4) Contempt for the gods
Odysseus presents their crimes as charges; his actions are therefore just, because he is carrying out a sentence upon them, not mere vengeance.
Odysseus, with Telemachus, Emaeus, and Philoetius (and Athena's favor) slaughter all 108 suitors, and all of the disloyal maids and servants.
The Trunk of the Olive Tree
Eurycleia, Penelope's nurse, recognizes Odysseus by the scar on his foot, which he got from the tusk of a wild boar.
Odysseus built their home around the trunk of a great trunk from an olive tree. This trunk formed one of the legs of the bed Odysseus built for he and Penelope. Penelope tests the stranger by telling him the bed will be moved from her room. Odysseus flies into a rage, and passes the test.
The longing of Odysseus for Penelope is compared in an epic simile to the longing of a ship-wrecked man for the shore. Homer carefully shows both the heroic and the human, qualities of Odysseus.
