Monday, April 24, 2017
"The Iliad? The Odyssey?" What Do We Think?
With reference to The Iliad/Odyssey Video, what did it make you
contemplate regarding archetypal patterns? Homecoming? Pride? The hero?
Divinities? Heroic Code? Guest/Host? Hubris? Other? Please quote from
either text or the video. Please complete this blog response during
class on April 25th.
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19 comments:
Trojan horse was saw a bearing Greek gift, but was a gift bearing gifts. Something of deception.
When voyaging home the pattern that occurs are chaos such as the cyclopes and Poseidon controlling the sea and the the hard times and sea storms that occurred while traveling.
Suffering makes mortals more admirable compared to a god since they do not know suffering and it makes people like Odysseus more great compared to a god.
Odysseus brings the word odyssey and that means divine and also the word for life, which basically what it shown through out the myth.
I think that there is a heroic code and pride. You need to prove that your strong in order to have your identity. Odysseus wanted to get home, to see his wife, but it took 10 years for him to get back. He was offered immortality, but he declined the offer because he didn't want to be known as a god. Life without suffering is better than anything else.
WE see a massive theme of homecoming, infact the Odyssey is all about Odeseus coming home. Also, it highlights the heroic flaw, Odeseus was extremely prideful. Odeseus also discovers what it means to be human. We fight for life, which disataches the gods, almost makes them lesser, because our stories end, we have to fight to live. This want is still apparent today, a prominent example being Apollo 13, whose docking ship is is names, you guessed it, The Odyssey.
The video made a connection to Indian Jones movie how he was not strong and smart just like Odysseus. The Homecoming relates to when solders come home and stuff like that.This video talks about how the journey of Apollo 13 relate to Odyssey how it was a journey. "that was a odyssey" (quote from the video). The video also talked about how Odysseus was the least expected to be the hero and step up and was the hero. The video also talked about some flaws Odysseus. Odysseus was the only one to survive out of all the ships. Zeus was involved in this myth. I think Odysseus does follow the heroic code because he survived and got through all the tests. Overall the video explained this myth very well with different connections.
Patterns seen from the video is how Odyseus shares similar characteristics with previous heroes seen with how he is brave and strong and very much human. This can be seen with Odyseus and his trials and how all characters seen had to overcome some trials to achieve a certain goal. Odyseus connects to the heroic code when he yells his name to the cyclops after poking his eye out. Gods justify human actions, share smiliar aspects with humans involving lying and distrust, however they don't grow old or suffer. The Iliad/Odyssey continue to show the importance the gods/goddesses and their role in life. Athena plays an important role with Odyseus when she warns Odyseus about the dangers in his kingdom. Athena can be seen in most heroic stories and the role she plays in helping. Pride tends to be an issue with the characters. Involving the Guest/Host seen in the story, Odyseus goes against this with his/his crew terrible manners ending with a terrible outcome.
The video of the history behind The Iliad and The Odyssey, it challenges how the typical hero is portrayed through the eyes of Odysseus. He embodied the true human nature, having ego and the will and want to be recognized for who he was and what he had done. But unlike most heroes who seek immortality or worldwide renown, Odysseus passed up the opportunities for immortality as the consort of a Goddess, opting to take the pain and suffering of common life. It shows a nearly selfless part of the hero, while he still does care about furthering himself, he only wants to get home to his wife after nearly 10 years at sea.
The Guesthost relationship is shown in the Cyclops - he treats his guests badly. heroic pride is shown in Odysseus' character, also homecoming is a big factore - Odysseus was away from home for 20 years and finally comes back.
This video shows the pattern of almost a Karma that catches up to everyone. When there is pride there will be humiliation, when there is a victory there is justice. When people are rude then they are punished. It shows the power of immortality and how people are almost more empowered by our suffering. This story is mixing power and magic with tragedy and love. They show Odysseus going through different trials and tests and each time he is offered a way away from home and a way to be immortal but he always chooses to sufferer because he believes that you cannot live if you do not suffer. Odysseus is always being given choices. The homecoming of this story is incredible because he comes home as a beggar because then he shows that he is the king and he makes an entrance by completing the challenge given by his wife. Everyone is shocked by how a "beggar" or the unforeseen hero ended up being the hero. It is a story of hope and living and when we are on our death bed we want to be a person who says "I really lived" not wishing you could do so much more. This story is also showing how much we see wars between different Gods and who the Gods favor. We see the guest/host relationship in the story as Odysseus when he is on some of his adventures and he has to be careful and respectful because he may be punished for his rude and disrespectful behavior.
There is a heroic code that takes place in this story, where Odysseus wants to suffer for a bigger purpose. while coming home he also encounters many hardships with the cyclopes. Odysseus in some sense could be compared to the greatness of a god, because he shows the heroic character of an immortal god.
The Discovery Education Video, The Iliad/Odyssey, many metaphors and ideas are integrated into the famous story of the hero Odysseus. Odysseus was known to be a different hero from those told of in the past: he was very human, with human emotions portrayed within his decisions throughout his journey. However, this often gets him into trouble. For example, when he yells his name to the Cyclops in order to gain ownership of his heroic deeds (rather than being known as “no man”), he is punished by Poseidon to sail many difficult years at sea before returning home. The video suggests that in some ways Odysseus is more powerful and heroic than the greek gods, as the suffering and dangers he experience teach him lessons that are powerful in his future decision making. Within the story, there are metaphors for the actions of the heros. For example, the sailors are turned into pigs for their swine-like behavior as guests. There is also a great importance placed on choosing between difficult choices, seen when Odysseus has to choose between the whole ship being crushed by Charybdis or six of his men being devoured by Scylla. Overall, The Iliad/Odyssey was an impactful piece of greek literature that depicted a new, “human” type of hero who shaped the world as we know it today.
I thought The Odyssey was like Daoism, saying that we make harmony with nature and harmony with nature. I don't think he was too much of a hero because a lot of gods helped him and a lot of men helped him. A pattern I saw was that, none of these heroes change. They have one goal and stick to it even going against monsters that no one has ever beat.
The history of The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer makes me think back to my childhood when I first heard some Greek myths and learned about this journey. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus is seen as a hero even though he does end up sacrificing his men to get back to his home. He could've gone through the whirlpool however then everyone would have died. Not telling his men that 6 of them were going to be taken was not heroic but it was better than giving them the option between everyone dying and only 6 dying because it allowed his men to not live in fear of the future. Odysseus embodies the characteristics of a hero when he blinds the cyclopes and travels all the way back to his home to find his wife. He seems like a common man however he pushes himself towards greatness throughout his journey.
-Zach Miller
Odysseus is the archetype of a typical hero. He forgoes the hero's journey and learns from his flaws. Many times Odysseus's pride gets in the way, especially when he is attempting to bring honor to his name. Odysseus is fighting for pride, glory, and honor to find him when he arrives home. He declined even immortality because he feared he would be associated with a god. Odysseus truly embodies a hero in that he goes on a long journey to find himself in order to come back home and receive recognition.
TJ Avery
Homecoming is a strong emotion in everyone, especially us mortals. Completing a long dangerous journey, and then coming back triumphantly. Odysseus seemed to have a lot of help on his journey home, the myth says he lost his entire crew by the time he made it back to Greece. He had a lot of help from them and without his crew, he would have died. He seems to be the most prideful hero I have seen yet, instead of abandoning Polyphemus' island he stayed to deal a blow to the cyclops. Also, when he was leaving he shouted his name back to the cyclops, bringing Poseidon's wrath down on him and his crew, it seems as though he sees his crew as expendable tools.
There's a lot of homecomings when it comes to heros. Because the you can't be a hero without a huge journey. There's a lot of pride in homecoming. Even in real life homecomings are essential, when our troops come home we celebrate for them. Heros need to come home eventually, and when they don't, it hurts. Like with apollo 13 they couldn't come home. And there family's had to mourn. People fight for life, when Odysseus was offered immortality he didn't take it because he realized that immortality would be more like an eternal death.
i think the iliad and he odyssey are two important interesting myths with good meaning behind them. very good stories of courage and bravery.
One of the patterns I see is that when Odysseus’ shows his ego, such as when he faces the cyclops, the Gods/Goddesses spite him by prolonging him from returning home. All Hero's are guided or punished by the Gods on their journeys. Odysseus went through a lot of hardships such as losing his men, facing a cyclops or being stuck on an island full of women. Throughout his challenges, his works hard to return home and prove himself to the God/Goddess’ that he is a worthy hero. In the end after 20 years he reunites with his wife after he dresses as a beggar and completes the challenge that is announced.
With the heroic code the odyssey touches often on the Guest/host dynamics. Such as when odysseus
The host vs guest dynamics, when him and his men meet the cyclops and eats odyssey men, which leans odysseus to stab the cyclops eye with a sharp log. When the enraged cyclops trys to blindly to take revenge, odysseus runs away and because he went by the name of “no man” he screams out his true name with every title he could think of him having. Showing the heroic code hubris and demanding of honor but this comes to bite him back, because the cyclops father is poseidon and he curses Odysseus to wander the seas for causing harm to his son. Later on odysseus and his men as guest acts rude at a magics Circe table. She in turns turns his men into pigs, but the gods make him immune to her spell.
Continuing with the hero's code he suffers, since we as humans pay a price that’s gods can. Hes offered many times to stay and not go home, but he teaches us that living as human and suffering in that is better than stay and living forever. He always given choices, between two lessees of the to evils. That survival itself is choices of two bad options. When Cyloss offers immortality to him, but he refuses it and still stays on her island. Because he still follows the code of guest and host when it comes from divine. He proves the the day goes to the strongest ones when it comes to him finally returning home and he’s given the irony of being the king treated like rudely when dressed as a beggar. Which breaks the honor of guest and host, in the end he wins his wife back and his crown.
Odysseus displays the heroic code by working through hardship and challenge with bravery. He also is easy to sympathize with for his human characteristics. For example, the emotion he feels is easy for readers to relate to. Homecoming is an example of this, because returning to something familiar is a strong emotion all humans feel.
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