Aim: How can a concise understanding of both an epic poem and the Iliad enhance our reading of the Odyssey?
Do Now: Have a whole class discussion for the following quotation:
"The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense
difference." - Henry Miller. 1) Interpret it in your own words,
2) Then Agree or disagree with the sentiment being expressed and explain why or why not.
For the do now discussion the class contributed their own opinions on the idea that “an ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts.” Based on everyone's responses, it’s safe to say that everyone agreed with the quote. Heroes have courage and chase the action, trying to make a difference to help everyone, while an ordinary man is someone who gets swept into the hero’s pursuit, hence becoming an involuntary involved participant. The difference is that one chose to be in the action to help while the other had no say in the manner and got caught up in it.
Following the discussion we read an excerpt about the story of the Apple of Discord.
The myth implies the rumored cause of the trojan war, which is the war preceding
the storyline of the epic poem, the Odyssey. After the spirit reading of the myth
we had another brief class discussion based on these two questions.
How do the gods and goddesses in the story display human qualities?
What is the role of prophecy and fate in “The Golden Apple of Discord” ?
Most answers to the first question revolved around the fact that gods and goddesses are capable of displaying some of humans most dominant qualities. Those would include jealousy, pride, and flattery all exhibited in three goddesses when they wanted something.
For the second question, the conclusion drawn by the class was that prophecies are right, and therefore the fate they proclaim will come true. The son Paris, who was born to Queen Hecuba and King Priam was said to be the downfall of Troy. The son miraculously lived, and thus came the day where he would anger the Spartans which started a war between the two cities leading to Troy’s destruction. To further our understanding of the event that supposedly led to the Trojan war we watched a short video that recapped the story and introduced some more details.The Trojan War : Part One : The Apple of Discord [6:37]
Next, the class split up into teams/pairs to discuss the denotative and connotative emphasis on the words ‘promise’ and ‘oath’ and how they differ. I discussed with Milana
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. The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest hosts.
The Greek god Zeus is sometimes called Zeus Xenios in his role as a protector of guests. He thus embodied the religious obligation to be hospital to travelers.
Many stories cautioned mortals that any guest should be treated as a potentially disguised god or goddess and helped to establish the idea of xenia as a fundamental Greek custom.
We watched a video to get a further graspo of the concept as it will come up multiple times again in future lessons.What is XENIA? Greek Myth Comix explaining Homeric literature
Now knowing the definition and context of xenia, we were able to answer the last question about the “Apple of Discord”.
3) How does xenia play a role in King Menelaus’ treatment of Paris? How is this ironic?
King Menelaus welcomed Paris unaware of his plans, because of the custom of xenia. The gesture turned out to be ironic as because of him inviting Paris, the shepherd was able to steal away King Menelaus’ wife.
After the introduction of the myth we went into the details of the Trojan war, who Odysseus was in relation to the Trojan War, and the infamous trojan horse infiltration.
Trojan War:
Spartan King Menelaus’ wife Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships) left him for the young Prince Paris of Troy.
Paris, Prince of Troy, had sailed to Sparta to seize Helen. King Menelaus of Sparta treats him as an honored guest (xenia)
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
Because all of Helen’s suitors took an oath, they are now obligated to help Menelaus go to Troy to take her back (they swore to respect and protect her marriage regardless of who was chosen as the husband)
The Greeks attack Troy.
Additional resources on the war:
Ancient Troy: The city and the legend.
Odysseus- Hero of the Odyssey:
Odysseus (main character in the Odyssey) was one of the heroes of the Trojan War
Odysseus knew from a prophecy that if he went to Troy it would take him a very
long time to return home, but as one of Helen’s previous suitors he had sworn an oath to protect her
Known not only for his strength but also for his cunning (he was a trickster)
It was Odysseus’ idea to construct the Trojan horse and try to break the
10 year stalemate of the war, which would successfully lead to Troy’s collapse.
He helped to lead the Greeks to victory
Wife: Penelope, Son: Telemachus
Great soldier of the war
Originally tried to get out of going to the war—pretended he was crazy
The Odyssey is the account of Odysseus’ journey home after the war.
Another hero that you may have heard of, Achilles, died in the final year of the war.
Detailed Odysseus Q and A
The Trojan Horse:
Greeks constructed a giant wooden statue of a horse (a symbol of Troy)
which they present to the city as a “gift”
Take their ships a mile away to look as though they had given up
BUT there are Greek soldiers hiding in the horse
Once inside the city, they wreak havoc by destroying the temples,
slaughtering children, and enslaving the women
Troy is utterly destroyed.
Thanks to Odysseus the Greeks are victorious in the war
Importance of Homer's Epics:
The Iliad and the Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek virtues.
>Values: honor, bravery, hospitality—"xenia", intelligence, respect for the gods,
loyalty to home and family
>Major faults: disrespect for the gods, lack of hospitality excessive pride—"hubris"
Iliad is the primary model for epic of war
Odyssey is the primary model for epic of the long journey
The Odyssey:
Sequel to the Iliad (900 and 700 BC)
The Iliad focuses on the days toward the end of the
Trojan War (mid 1200s BC)
The Odyssey focuses on one of the soldiers who fought in the Trojan War
returning home 19 years after the war—Odysseus
The Iliad and the Odyssey together were considered
sacred to the Greeks—much like the Bible to many
people today.
Neither books were originally written down. Both were originally recited orally.
Three major Plot Strands in the Odyssey:
Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’ wife and son as they await his
return (called the Telemachy)
Tale of Odysseus’ wanderings during the ten years following the Trojan War
Deals with the adventures he has to overcome as he tries to
make his way home to Ithaca, Penelope, and Telemachus,
whom he has not seen since Telemachus was just born.
He leaves Troy with 12 ships and approximately 720 men.
He does not encounter military opponents, but monsters and
enchanting women who try to keep him from his wife.
Merging of the strands when Odysseus returns to Ithaca and
joins forces with his son, Telemachus, to destroy their enemies.
Poetic Craft in the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey:
The first lines of an ancient epic poem typically offer a “capsule summary” (a shortened version of a written work) of the subject of the poem.
The first lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey conform to this pattern.
We find the poet's own statement about the subject of the Iliad in the original Greek poem's very first word: Anger. The song of the Iliad is about the anger, the doomed and ruinous anger, of the hero Achilles. So also in the Odyssey, the first word, Man, tells the subject of the poem. If we look at the translated examples below, we can see in the paraphrased beginnings of both the Iliad and the Odyssey that the rules of the poet's craft extend beyond the naming of the main subject with the first word. In the original Greek of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, the first word announcing the subject - Anger, Man - is followed by a specially chosen adjective setting the mood - doomed anger, many-sided man - to be followed in turn by a relative clause that frames the story by outlining the plot - the doomed anger that caused countless losses and woes, the many-sided man who wandered countless ways.
Reflection on the lesson:
This lesson I learned a lot more about the Trojan war. It’s ironic because we hadn’t covered this topic in history, yet I learned the key points in ela. The class read and analyzed the myth of the “Apple of Discord” and its impacts on Troy and Spata, the Trojan war. I also learned about some important terms such as xenia which is going to be a popular custom when we dive deeper into the story of the odyssey. In addition, I learned about the importance of Homer’s epics and the values they teach and the poetic structure they contain. In general, this lesson held a lot of information that we had to get through by understanding epic poems and the Iliad in order to prepare for our reading of the Odyssey. We learned about the context of the Trojan war and Odysseus’ relationship to it, as that is the character the Odyssey will follow surrounding the journey back home from the war. And in order to make sense of the present, what would happen on the journey, I as a reader would have to know the past that led up to this point. This lesson provided an understanding of the Trojan War and Homer’s epic, specifically the Odyssey, and I believe I will revisit this lesson in the future when we start analyzing the Odyssey to reference the context provided.Enrichment sources:
Eris: The Goddess of Discord and Strife - Mythology Dictionary #05 - See U in History (Fixed) [2:28]
How and why the Trojan war started [3:22]
Zeus and the Myth of Hospitality (Philemon and Baucis) Greek Mythology Ep. See U in History [3:54]
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