DEATH IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY - Freshman Lit 2022
Blogger #28
Armaan Singh
Period 2
11/1/21
Aim: How does the episode of "The Land of the Dead" further our understanding of Odysseus as the epic hero?
Do Now: What are some of the cultural traditions we use to honor the dead? Consider your culture and/or religion - What do you and your family do in order to mourn the passing of a loved one? How might these traditions be observed in order to honor fallen warriors & soldiers?
In my culture/religion, the family typically cremates the dead, since there is a belief that the spirit lives on, although the physical body might be gone. After cremation, that spirit takes on new forms and may even reincarnate. Based on what Irene mentioned in our discussion, in China, ceremonies are performed and one prepares for the afterlife by burning paper. We also discussed how in American society, we hold funerals to honor fallen soldiers, with American military personnel holding a coffin covered in an American flag to symbolize a member’s loyalty and service all the way up until death.
Death & The Underworld
Hades is the god of the Underworld
After the Olympians won over the Titans, Zeus took the sky, Poseidon became lord of the sea, Hades governed the Underworld along with Persephone, his wife
His area was known as the kingdom of the dead
It had 3 different territories
Tartarus - unfair and criminal souls were sent here - where there would be punished for eternity
Aspondylus - neither major crimes nor achieved glory - was an area of oblivion - souls had no purpose
Elysian fields - for souls of heroes, for fiar and honored people
People who performed major feats with courage and honor ended up here and achieved permanent happiness
It was not enough to die, the body had to have a coin between the teeth or on the eyes
The coin was the fare for Cheran, the ferryman
The god Hermes would take the soul to Acheron, where Cheran would transport souls that gave him the coin as payment
The unburied souls or those who did not have coin would have to wander for 100 years before they could cross it
The souls were assessed by 3 judges to determine where they would go
Swearing to Styx - was the most sacred vow of the Greek world
Greek feared not only punishments after death, but also being forever forgotten
Honoring & Remembering The Dead
The Greeks emphasized proper burial of the death
Without it, souls would wander between the worlds of the living and the underworld
Just as important was continual honoring of the dead, not honoring those who had died was considered disrespectful
Land of the Dead
Summary:
Circe tells Odysseus he must go to Hades’ kingdom, where he will visit the blind, omniscient prophet Tiresias. 5
When Odysseus arrives in the Underworld, Elpenor’s spirit is also there (Elpenor is one of Odysseus’ crew members).
Elpenor had fallen off Circe’s roof and pleads to Odysseus for a proper burial. Odysseus, in reply, promises to give Elpenor a complete burial so that his soul will be in peace in the Underworld.
Odysseus also notices that his mother, Anticlea, is in the Underworld, which brings him sadness to realize that his mother had passed while he has been on his voyage. Odysseus presses onwards determined to find Tiresias, who will tell him how to get home.
The Prince of Thebes (Tiresias) greets Odysseus, telling him that his voyage will be a difficult one, as Poseidon makes his journey difficult after Odysseus killed his son Polyphemus.
He also tells Odysseus to stay away from the cattle of Helios, god of the Sun. Otherwise, Odysseus will lose all his companions, only to come home to a woman who is with other men. Odysseus will act in rage, killing all those other men.
Finally, he predicts that Odysseus will reach a land where there is no sea. Tiresias recommends Odysseus to perform sacrifices to appease Poseidon. In his old age, Odysseus will die at the hands of the water.
Key Vocabulary:
ignoble (adj) - dishonorable, shameful
assuage (verb) - to calm, to mollify, to lessen
Questions:
As Odysseus prepares to meet the dead he says, “Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead, / vowing to slaughter my best heifer (cow) for them…” (line 555-556). What can be inferred about ancient Greek beliefs concerning death and the afterlife from these lines? From these lines, it can be inferred that the Greeks were highly superstitious and particular about death and rituals associated with death/burial. Here, Odysseus vows to sacrifice his best cow before she gives birth and cut the cow into pieces on an altar fire, in honor of the dead among his crew. In addition, he promised to sacrifice the blackest, finest lamb for Tiresias. Thus, these ritualistic practices/traditions indicate that the Greeks took death seriously and wanted people’s lives to be commemorated even after they were gone.
Discuss Elpenor's request to Odysseus (lines 598-608). What details does he want Odysseus to remember about his burial? How does this reflect the Greek ritual of death? Elpenor implores Odysseus to remember him and mourn his death so that he does not have to face the punishments of the gods. In addition, he requests that his body and his gear be burned, and a cairn (monument) is built with his oar to mark it for other men to see. Odysseus vows to fulfill this promise for Elpenor, which again reflects the importance of death and funerary rituals in Greek culture. The Greeks generally valued honor, so when men died, they felt it was incredibly important to give them a proper burial and to venerate the dead via their memories.
How does Odysseus react to seeing Elpenor (Lines 580-585)? How does he react to Anticlea (his mother) (Lines 614-619)? What characteristics of Odysseus do we see displayed in this scene? Odysseus is quite astonished and cries out in pity when he sees Elpenor in the Underworld since Elpenor had arrived even faster than the rest of the crew in the Black Lugger. Elpenor replies by stating that his bad luck caused him to tumble off Circe’s roof, falling to his death, and after Elpenor pleads to Odysseus to bury him properly, Odysseus wholeheartedly agrees to put Elpenor’s soul to rest. When he sees the soul of Anticlea, his mother, on the other hand, Odysseus is deeply pained and tries hard to fight back his tears. He realizes that while he has been away, his mother has passed in his absence. He is sad that he had not had the opportunity to mourn her, but he presses onwards nonetheless. This suggests that Odyseuss is a very strong, determined individual. Even the death of his mother does not cause him to falter, which indicates that once Odysseus has set his eyes on a goal, he will achieve come what may.
Although not a god, Tiresias has been endowed with the power of prophecy. Consider the following advice Tiresias gives to Odysseus regarding the remainder of his journey home: “One narrow strait may take you through his blows: denial of yourself, restraint of your shipmates.”How does Tiresias advise (counsel) Odysseus with his leadership, as well as his handling of his men for the upcoming challenge? In addition, what instructions does Tiresias give Odysseus in order to quell Poseidon’s rage? Tiresias advises Odysseus to continue to be a strong leader for his men, as Poseidon will certainly make their journey on the sea difficult because he is upset about the death of his son, Polyphemus. He warns Odysseus that neither he nor his men should succumb to greed and hunger when it comes to the cattle of Helios. If any of those cattle are harmed, it will mean destruction and death for all the men and a lonesome life for Odyseuss, who will come home only to see that his life has been intruded upon and he has become an outsider in his own home. In terms of mitigating Poseidon’s rage, Tiresias tells Odysseus to make sacrifices of a ram, bull, and a great buck boar., in addition to performing hetacombs (slaughtering 100 cattle at a time) for all the other Gods.
A FOIL is a character who contrasts with another character. How does the character of Eurylochus serve as a FOIL to Odysseus in Book X? Eurylochus serves as a foil to Odysseus in Book X, because he represents temptation and deceit, in contrast to Odyseus’ character, who displays bravery and great restraint as a leader. Eurlyochus causes Odysseus’ men to eat the cattle of Helios, although this is exactly what Tiresias warns Odysseus against in his prophecy. This causes immense destruction of the ship and the death of all men in the crew. Eurlyochus behaves selfishly and gives into temptation, which is the exact opposite of the actions that Odysseus engages in. Even upon seeing his dead mother, Odysseus managed to continue on to seek Tiresias, because he knew the fate of his crew depended on it. Eurylochus, in contrast, gave in for his selfish interests, thinking that it would be better to die at hte hands of the Gods than through starvation, despite knowing the devastating consequences that could ensue. In that sense, Eurlyochus serves as a foil to Odysseus, highlighting Odysseus’ qualities as a good leader who puts the interests of his crew before his own.
REFLECTION:
After today’s lesson, I learned about the extreme importance of rituals concerning death and the afterlife in the Greek faith. I had not realized the importance of proper burial in terms of ensuring that souls were put to rest and reached a favorable destination in the Underworld overseen by Hades. We learned about this in the context of Book X in the Odyssey, as we observed how the different souls of Elpenor, Anticlea, and Tiresias were present. We also reflected on Odysseus’ reaction to these souls demonstrates that he is a determined, yet honorable individual who respects those around him and values his crew above all. In that sense, he displays great leadership qualities and abides by the Greek tradition in valuing the proper burial of his crewmates. In terms of applying this knowledge, I find this lesson to be highly relevant to the real world. The Greeks highly valued death, and the same can be said about other cultures who believe that rituals performed after death determine outcomes in the afterlife. My own religion, Sikhism, is an example of this, as we believe cremation is needed to return the soul to the Earth and allow a person to spiritually live on and take on other life forms. Keeping the information from this lesson in mind, I will have a more open-minded understanding of other cultures and their specific death rituals. Just as important as these rituals is the need to keep those who have passed in memory, as a way of remembering and celebrating their actions while alive. It’s interesting how in Western cultures, we avoid discussions of death and see talking about death as taboo or inappropriate, but how other cultures place such a heavy emphasis on death and death-related traditions. In a sense, death is the foil to life, and this lesson certainly reminded me to view death from a new angle as it exists independently, not just as a culmination to life.
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