Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Unlike other lessons, today we started the class off with Ms. Peterson showing us some samples of the poem anthology project students have done previously. As she was showing us the projects to open our mind to the various format and styles the project can be in, and also to clarify any possible confusions or questions we may have.
Things to keep note of/ Reminders:
Under classwork and material, there is a “Poetry & Anthology Success Criteria” google doc that may be useful to use as a checklist.
You have an option to turn a google doc or google slide into a pdf but it is not necessary.
The table of content should have a page number and after the cover.
The cover should not have a page number.
The introduction is after the table of contents.
Specify the type of poem after the title both on the table of contents and the page/slide of the poem.
Reflection is not a conclusion. The conclusion is for scientific essays and reflection is taking into consideration the thoughts and process of completing the project.
Annotations can be separate following a clean version of the extended metaphor but should be listed at the table of contents.
Footnote is at the bottom of a page and your notes would just be notes.
The orientation of the slides could be changed so it’s vertical like a page.
The cover page should not be in the table of contents.
The background could be your image for the poem as long as it is appropriate with the poem.
In Google Docs, the extended metaphor and annotation can be placed side by side by using a table with 2 columns and simply edit the border of the table later by changing the color.
The extended metaphor should have a rhyme scheme that you came up with.
Similar to the previous lesson, today’s lesson is just a discussion with nothing we have to write, in an attempt to allow us more time to complete the project.
Do Now
The Do Now is a discussion of the quote "The ordinary man is involved in the action, the hero acts. An immense difference." by Henry Miller. We are asked to interpret the quote, put it in our own words, and state whether we agree or disagree with the quote. Samuel started the discussion by stating that he thinks the quote means that when something bad is happening the person that actually does something, rather than just standing by is the hero. Aiden followed by stating that a normal person is just caught up in the situation while the hero is the one standing up and partaking in making the decision to change the situation. Jonathan answers that a normal person is impacted by the situation and a hero is going to change the situation. Alyssa believes that you can become a hero if you act upon the situation or cause instead of just standing by and watch the event happening. Andrew disagrees and believes that a hero doesn’t necessarily have to change the event, but that a hero would change itself to adapt to the event instead of staying the same. He ended by saying, “A hero is a leader.” Joel ended the discussion by stating that the purpose of this quote is to draw a line between a hero and an ordinary person.
After the discussion, we spirit read through “The Golden Apple if Discord”, while keeping 3 questions in mind as we will answer them afterward. The link to the pdf is provided below as it is the lesson and also in the syllabus. https://drive.google.com/file/d/10WRhQq6o7JqrK36B6g16Mjx26jDyscCn/view
Tips for reading some of the names in the pdf
Agelaus can be read as a-gell-laus or age-lei-ous.
Menelaus is read with the ending -laus similar to the word blouse.
Tyndareus can be read as tin-dar-ius with the stress on the -ar.
Discussion
1. How do the gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities?
In our discussion, we brought up petty greed, selfishness, and want to have the title to keep up their name. Another quality is pride since they already believe that they fit the name of being the fairest without any confirmation. Ms. Peterson added with a quality of jealousy.
2. What is the role of prophecy and fate in “The Golden Apple of Discord”?
Eris is the goddess of chaos and misery so although she brought the golden apple which should be a good thing but instead it still leads to chaos and misery. Ms. Peterson clarified that to answer this answer, we have to answer what is the prophecy, what is fate, and their role in order to understand the difference. We learned in the story that there is a prophecy on how Paris will bring a disaster to the kingdom. To avoid the prophecy, he is put in the woods, but fate comes in and helped Paris to be rescued. This allows the prophecy to come true.
Then we watched a video to fill in the gaps of the story that the pdf did not cover. The link to the video is provided below.
The image I provided shows how the black shadow is prophecy and fate and how they are controlling the plot of the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euD0fqeI_9o&ab_channel=Ancient
After watching the video, Ms. Peterson gave us a reminder that in the beginning, we have two gods that wanted to marry Thetis but didn’t after knowing that their son will be stronger than them. At the end of the story, we will see how prophecy once again came true. We didn’t answer the third question.
Team discussion
We discussed that there is a huge difference in the connotation between promise and oath. A promise is causal and used every day. There is no consequence of breaking a promise. An oath on the other hand is more serious and binding than a promise. In court, you would be making an oath and not a promise. There are consequences to breaking an oath so you rarely hear someone breaking an oath. If an oath is ever broken, they never have a good ending. This is the reason why the suitors have to help King Menelaus retrieve his queen.
Xenia
“Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity, and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship.” It can be understood as a practice to always treat guests with hospitality as there is always a possibility where the guest can be a god or goddess in disguise. Therefore the Greek god Zeus is also referred to as Zeus Xenios with his role of protecting the guests.
https://youtu.be/oYQRIQtnvII
The link I provided is to a youtube video that explains the concept of Xenia in more detail. Fill free to watch it if you have any confusion. It is 4 minutes long.
Trojan War
There are a couple of things to keep in mind for the Trojan war.
Spartan King Menelaus’ wife Helen left him for the young Prince Paris of Troy.
Paris, Prince of Troy, had sailed to Sparta to seize Helen, but King Menelaus of Sparta treats him as an honored guest due to the xenia the greek practice and him not knowing the purpose Paris has come with.
Aphrodite is true to her word and makes Helen fall in love with Paris. Paris takes Helen and they sneak off in a ship together to head back to Troy.
All of Helen’s suitors took an oath, therefore they are obligated to go to Troy and help Menelaus retrieve his queen.
The Greeks attack Troy
This is an image of the trojan horse. It is a trick that Odysseus had played on Troy. There are soldiers hiding in the horse and destroyed Troy at night and caught them off guard.
By here the class ended and Ms. Peterson assigns the rest of the lesson to be readen by ourselves in our own time to have a better grasp and understanding of the Odyssey.
Reflection
I had learned the difference between a promise and an oath. I had learned Xenia which is a greek practice of always greeting the guest with hospitality. I had learned about the story of the golden apple and how the gods and goddesses are portrayed in the story. I have a better understanding of how fate and prophecy play a role in greek mythology. I also learned about the Odyssey. I learn the difference between a promise and an oath because it is critical to understanding the story and why some characters have no right to refuse upon a thing they had put an oath to. I learned about Xenia because it is something that is in greek mythology which would be important to understand the relationship between the host and the guest and to understand the actions between characters when they are in that relationship. I learned about prophecy and fate because they play a huge role in greek mythologies and it would be hard to understand the story fully without noticing the role both of them play in the story. I learned about the Odyssey because it is a very important story to which will enhance my understanding of greek mythology and my comprehension of other literature. I often enjoy reading greek mythologies but before this lesson, I never truly understood the plot and why some characters act the way they do. I will use the knowledge and what I learned in this lesson to apply to future comprehension of Greek mythologies and other Greek literature. After this lesson, I revisited the other greek mythologies I had read previously and was able to spot the role that prophecy and fate plays. It makes me wonder how many details and parts of the story I had missed or not understand when I was reading it before this lesson. I inspired me to reread the greek mythologies I had read before and fully understand the plot and characters better.
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