Thursday, April 23, 2015
"The Iliad" Educational Video And Heroic Elements
What significant idea presented within The Iliad Educational Portal Link Video helps you establish a better understanding of the Heroic Elements: Heroic, Hubris, Guest/Host
(Xenia)? Why? Please explain and defend your thinking using
references to the video's content. This blog response is due by
2:30p.m. today.
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16 comments:
I think that I now better understand a hero's hubris because of the video. The video explains how prideful heroes can get. In the Odyssey, the video is saying that there would be no Odyssey if Odysseus hadn't angered the cyclops so much, who is Poseidon's son. Odysseus couldn't pass up the chance to boast about his cleverness to the cyclops when he was out of harms way and that hubris cost him ten more years away from his family and home.
I think I understand the guest/host relationship. The video explains that Xenia is governed by Zeus and said that hospitality should be offered to traveling strangers. In the guest/host relationship, the guest and host gain a lot from each other. But due to the Trojan war the guest/host relationship was violated when Paris ran off with Helen.
The video explains xenia which is a law that you most offer hospitality to strangers. This pushed people to travel because they were guaranteed a home. Unfourtunatly this is how Paris was easly stole Helen. Since Paris broke the heroic code it lead to the war.
The video is explaining how the young Paris used the concept of Xenia to snag the young girl by the name of Helen. It showed the guest/host relationships were pretty strong until Paris decides to break it. So that is why most of the host/guest relationships are pretty bad.
This video helped me to understand the importance of the guest host relationship. The video explained that the Trojan War started because Paris did not uphold the guest host code. It also explained Xenia, and how it not only benefits the guest, but the host as well, because they get information from the outside world. The whole myth proves just how important the guest host relationship was to them.
From this video, I have gained a greater understanding of guest-host relationship. I find it interesting that the relationship between guest and host is so sacred that it will stop two enemies from fighting each other or start a war. While we don't value this concept much today, in Greece, it meant everything to the Greeks and Trojans, something worth dying for.
Without guaranteed hospitality, no one would travel at all as the world is so dangerous without monsters and bandits and what not. Because Paris violated the law of Xenia by stealing Menelaus' wife, Helen, when he was a guest in Menelaus' home. I never understood why Xenia was a thing in Greece, but after the video explained the dangers of Greece outside city walls and how no one would travel without the guarantee of shelter and safety at some point in their journey I completely understand. I just don't understand why Greeks didn't build villages outside city walls with taverns and inns like the Europeans did.
Before this video I thought that the guest/host relationship was a not very important idea in Greek mythology, but now I know how relevant and important it is. The Iliad repeatedly shows the importance of this relation ship. The story tells that the war begins because of this Xenia and the peace formed later on in the story is also because of Xenia which means that Xenia is just as important, if not more, than being a hero. The story also shows the wrath of Achilles is fueled by his heroic and hubris qualities. His quest is to earn eternal glory and fame while possibly violating Xenia. At the end of all this, the question I have is what is the relationship between Xenia and being a hero?
It helped top explain to me how the gust host relationship work. How both the gust and the host profet and how there are certain rules that follow these relationships.
The video explains that they would let each other stay in their homes and how much this had helped such as when the two men were going to fight but instead since they found out that their grandfathers were a guest and host to each other then they stopped the fight and traded suites. They liked when they could let someone stay in their home because they got information from the outside. So the Guest Host or Xenia was very important in this time.
The video talks of two ideas. The first great folly is when men, like Paris, violate Xenia. If Paris had not been a guest in Menelaus' house, perhaps the Trojan war would not have started.
The other folly is hubris, pride. Achilles wants to prove himself a great hero so the gods will make him immortal like them. But his pride gets in the way and he goes too far in his anger. He fights ferociously at Troy and goes too far after killing Hector. Achilles' wrath does more to hurt him than it does to help him.
After watching the video, I understood the heroic code better, along with concept of the host/guest code. It explained Xenia which meant that where ever you go, you must offer hospitality to strangers- which forced people to go places having guaranteed a place to stay. The guest/host code was strong until Paris decided to break it after being betrayed by his guest.
I now have a better understanding of the guest/hero and hubris because of the video we watched in class. I learned how heroes are very prideful and want to be loved by the people. Also they feel the need to have power. Odyssey needed to express his happiness about is smartness to the cyclops.
The video better helped me to understand xenia, or the guest/host relationship. It shows why the war was started -- not only was Menelaus' wife stolen from him, but the heroic code was broken in the taking of Helen from him.
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