Odyssey Test
1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words) After reading excerpts from "The Odyssey," I know a lot more about Greek culture, values, and religion. I now know many of the gods and goddesses the Greeks worshiped, such as Athena, Poseidon, and Zeus. The people believed that the gods helped them do everything in life, from sailing across the sea to driving the oxen through the fields. They were very big on making offerings to the god. If they did not sacrifice a ram, or other animal, when the gods helped them do something, the gods would turn their wrath towards them. The main plot of "The Odyssey" was that because Odysseus did not thank Poseidon, the sea god, for his help during the war, his voyage home was filled with hardships.
Around the time of The Odyssey, the Greeks obviously had many kingdoms in their country. Each had it's own king and queen, and lands. Odysseus was king of Ithaca, an island nation. Menelaus was also a king in the region. Others were mentioned. They all had lands, and citizens under them. A reason for so many kingdoms may be that most of these were island kingdoms, and could not easily be controlled from the mainland.
The Odyssey portrays people of the time as mostly strong warriors and workers. The wars described are all bloody and very long. It took 10 years for Odysseus to conquer Troy, and thousands of men were lost on both sides.
The fact that 20 years passed between Odysseus' leaving and returning emphasizes the extreme patience of the Greeks. There are few women in this day and age who would wait for a man 20 years, even though the man was believed dead.
2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)Much of the language used in The Odyssey is very memorable. The violence included is also hard to forget. "
But Odysseus aimed and shot Antinous square in the throat and the point went stabbing clean through the soft neck and out- and off to the side he pitched, the cup dropped from his grasp as the shaft sank home, and the man's life-blood came spurting from his nostrils- thick red jets-" resonates clearly with me (Homer). I will probably remember the point of that paragraph long after I have forgotten the name of Polyphemus, the Cyclops.
The amazing amount of detail in the book is flabbergasting. If most of the detail were cut out, The Odyssey would be less than half as long. The details, like the soft neck and thick red jets help the reader envisage the story, as if it was happening before their eyes.
3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words) The Odyssey is a great work of literature, and is still taught 3000 years after its writing. It is one of the greatest examples of the common plot of almost every work of fiction. A hero goes on a quest to save someone or accomplish something, there is a female figure who he must return for, there are several confrontations, etc. Most stories follow these steps, along with some others. The Odyssey is no exception, Odysseus goes to conquer Troy, then must battle sea monsters and sirens to return home to see his wife. He ends up fighting all the suitors, and coming out victorious.
Along wit the fact that it is used to teach common plots, the fact that it is 3000 years old, and is still being taught, contributes to the fact that it is taught. If a work of literature could stay popular for 3000+ years, it must be good. Good enough to be read by the next generation, and the next. For these reasons, The Odyssey will most definitely be a part of the world of fiction for thousands of years more.
4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?When I think of Homer, I think of someone who was socially, no more than the beggar he portrayed Odysseus as in the end of The Odyssey. However, beneath the raggedy clothing and dirty face, was be a man with a great mind, not unlike Odysseus when undisguised. I think of Homer as an older man, between 50 and 70 in age, who had great memorization skills and, when his memory failed him, a great talent for improvising and making things up on the spot. I think he was a great talker, he could keep an audience captivated for hours at a time. He was also very spiritual and believed that all of what he told could possibly have happened.
5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?In the Odyssey, a person is expected to make offerings to the gods before or after a great event. If one did not do so, that person was usually punished by the gods for not showing the proper respect.
Also, men were not supposed to be cowards, and were expected to fight when challenged, or be considered a weak coward. Women were not supposed to challenge men or show disrespect, rather, the would do what was asked of them.
6. How does the poem represent mortal women? Since Penelope is the most important woman in the Odyssey, what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)In the Odyssey, the different mortal women were examples of several stereotypes. Penelope was a devoted wife who waited patiently for the man she loved, despite the temptations and obstacles put in her way. The faithless maidservants were women who broke the rules, and did not believe that any harm would come from it. Most of the women were beautiful and intelligent. They were women that any man would desire to marry.
7.How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs, and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?The gods and goddesses in Homer's Odyssey are, to put it frankly, full of themselves. They show off their power and make it well known that they are superior to all other beings. They demand constant offerings from the mortals. If these ceremonies are not performed, the gods become angry and use their powers to keep the mistake from happening again. Poseidon punished Odysseus for ten years because he had angered him.
The gods in The Odyssey openly appear to people, and influence events with their powers. There is no debate over if the gods exist or not, as there is in almost every religion today. Simply, if you did not believe in the gods, you were punished by the gods, which usually served as a wake-up call, the message being,
"We, gods, exist, you ignorant fool!"
