For Tuesday: Morales, Classical Mythology, Chapters 5-6

NOTE: I posted the Paper #3 assignment below this one in case you lose your copy, or simply want to reference it. Our readings from Morales are designed to complement this assignment and help you see The Odyssey in a slightly different light. 

Answer TWO of the following for Tuesday's class:

Q1: Many women scholars have understandably wanted to abandon classical myth and its related literature altogether, finding it too enmeshed in patriarchal values and misogynist discourse. However, as Morales explains, many scholars and writers are also engaging in what she terms "psychic activism" (95). What does this mean, and how would this enrich the myths and works we do have? How might this help us read Homer, for example?

Q2: Morales explains in Chapter 5 that Freud viewed myths as "case studies, from which he draws conclusions about men's universal experiences" (74). Why might this be a fruitful way to use myth...and what are also its limitations? Why, too, was his approach more suited to men than to women?

Q3: According to Chapter 6, what are some of the reasons (we think) that ancient Greece, Rome, and Renaissance Europe were so obsessed with depicting rape in mythology? Does every culture think about 'rape' the same way? And how could a myth change the way (or normalize the way) we think about it as a culture?

Q4: Somewhat related to Q1, the psychotherapist Joseph Schwartz wrote that "we are now too mature to rely on the Greeks for our narratives" (79). Despite this, we continue to think in terms of the Greeks even in our popular culture, as movies such as Wonder Woman demonstrate. Why might it be premature to claim that we've outgrown myths? What might be the consistent appeal to myths in a world as technologically advanced as the 21st century? 

Paper #3: Abandoning the Gods

“Mortals! They are always blaming the gods/For their troubles, when their own witlessness/Causes them more than they’re destined for!” (Book 1)

INTRO: The Odyssey uses the gods even more explicitly than does The Iliad, with Athena, Hermes, Poseidon, and numerous lesser gods inserting themselves into the story and either saving—or damning—Odysseus and Telemachus. However, for all their involvement, they don’t really do anything that couldn’t happen without their involvement. Odysseus could get lost on his way back home simply because of bad weather and poor navigation; Telemachus could decide to seek his father without Athena’s encouragement; and Odysseus lust after Circe and leave Calypso without Herme’s blessing. What if the gods are simply more an excuse or an explanation of what goes inside a mortal’s head? Especially when that mortal is an obscure “man of twists and turns” like Odysseus?

PROMPT: For your Third Paper, I want you to discuss how the poem would change if we took the gods out entirely. While Circe and Calypso are immortal, they’re not gods in the same way that Athena and Zeus are, so they can stay in. Just think about people Odysseus and Telemachus actually interact with, especially since when they speak to the gods, it’s always through an intermediary. Discuss a few passages that would change in some significant way without the presence of the gods. How would we read these passages differently? How might they complicate or contradict the story as told either by the poet-narrator or Odysseus himself? Again, you don’t have to talk about EVERYTHING that changes, but choose a few passages and CLOSE READ them: show us how removing the god makes us see different possibilities in the story.

SOURCES: Using Morales’ Classical Mythology will be helpful here, since she reminds us that “we [can] read the myth as emblem rather than narrative” (9).  Since the gods are never consistent from poem to poem (or story to story), that suggests that could be a creation of the poet to explain the world around them. So how do these ‘god symbols’ reflect the emotions and psychology of the heroes they influence? Why might we read Athena as some aspect of Odysseus’ own personality, for example? ALSO, you might consider that Odysseus, as the narrator for much of the poem, might be inserting the gods into the story to cover his own tracks. He does occasionally lie and misrepresent facts when he takes over…

REQUIREMENTS:

• No page limit, but have a true conversation with the poem: think, be creative, and play with the words.
• Quote and close read a few passages from the poem; don’t rely on summary or paraphrase.
• Use Morales or Graziosi (or both) as secondary sources in your discussion—and quote them, too!
• DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 16^th BY 5pm!

 

Blog Response #5: The Odyssey, Books 8.9.10 & 11

 Be sure to read the next four books (or get as close as you can), and watch the video below (16 minutes). The response question is at the end as usual, but you need to listen for it, since I don't write it on the Powerpoint. However, I think you'll catch it pretty easily. Enjoy! 

For Tuesday: The Essential Odyssey, Books 1,4, 5 & 6 (see below)

For next Tuesday, be sure to read Books 1, 4,5 & 6 from The Essential Odyssey, though there are NO QUESTIONS to answer. However, I've given you a few ideas below which you might consider as you read, and one of these will be used as an in-class response on Tuesday's  class (hint, hint!). Otherwise, try to enjoy the break and enjoy this exciting book--you might like it even more than The Iliad (or at all, if you didn't like that book). 

* Why does Athena take the form of Mentes, an old family friend, rather than simply appearing to Telemachus in her natural form? Is Telemachus (or others) fooled by the disguise? What might this suggest about the gods' relationship with mankind, and how might it relate to what we read in The Iliad? Do the gods seem to have more interaction with mortals here, or less?

* Book 4 is fascinating in that it imagines Helen of Troy living back with her husband, Menelaus, after the Trojan War. How does the poem depict Helen at this stage of her life? Does this sound like the same woman who defied Aphrodite and Paris? Who spoke at Hector’s funeral pyre? Or is it a different character by a different author?

* In the ancient world, good manners/customs are as important as looking good or noble. Though Athena often paves the way for Odysseus and Telemachus, their manners often save the day, and make others accept them and/or render them aid. What seems to be the definition of 'good manners' in Homer's Greece? What qualities/actions did they expect men and women to display in public? 

* Calypso is yet another "evil woman" in ancient literature, though Homer offers a much more nuanced portrait of her motives. How does she compare to Helen of Troy in Book Four, particularly in her response to the gods to release her hold on Odysseus? Again, you might consider whether or poet is a "man" or a "woman" in writing this (I'm speaking generally--meaning only, are they more sympathetic to a woman, or more judgmental). 

* Odysseus proves quite clever in defeating the cyclops, Polyphemus, but he ultimately loses this adventure. What is his fatal flaw in this encounter, and how might it tie in with the theme of the work in general? Where else have we seen men 'fail' in the same way? 

* In general, how is Odysseus depicted as a ruler and a hero in these books? Is he also a royal tyrant, a greedy ruler, like Agamemnon? Or more of a selfish, hubristic hero like Achilles? How might his adventure with the cyclops illustrate his essential nature, and is this how an Achilles would have acted?

For Spring Break: The Odyssey, Books 1,4,5,6

Obviously, no class next week! Be sure to start reading The Odyssey for the week we return, Books 1, 4, 5, & 6. I won't give you any questions over Spring Break (how decent of me!), but I will give you some bullet points to consider to help you as you read. We'll discuss these points in class next week. But be sure to read, since you don't want to fall behind once we return--we'll have to pick up the pace because there's only a few weeks left!

Here's some highlights from this week's class:

ACHILLES: UNIQUE OR COMMON? 

• Page 58(Graziosi): The Iliad practices the “Poetics of Inclusion”: only tells one part of the story, but hints at the entire thing...we can see a much larger world just behind the curtain, even though it's not all explored or even mention 
• Page 60: BIG—even the quick victims have a history, a story; he could have told us more 
• Every death is a LOSS! Even the most minor character leaves a body, a history, a family; every man has a mother and a father--many have wives and children. Achilles can't see that (until Priam). 
• Page 51: he ISN’T special—look at what everyone suffered! Priam especially, but also Andromache, Helen, etc.

THE OLDEST THEME IN LITERATURE: TRYING TO CHEAT DEATH

• Page 52: THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH—can anger bring back the dead? Achilles is a lot like Gilgamesh 
• Page 53: PTSD—like war veterans, goes through despair and rage: why the poem is about “menis” (rage)
• Page 49: he is a mortal man: gifts won’t help him; they won’t extend his life or bring back others –nothing as precious as life itself (50)
• NOT A GOD—but a mortal; so can’t be Apollo. He only has a few years to enjoy his life, and money can't buy him more. Apollo doesn't need life, and can't die, so all he has is money and sacrifices to enjoy. 

THE DATE OF ONE’S FATE

• Page 66: We all believe we shall die "whenever"; but Hector knows exactly when—and has to act accordingly
• Page 69: Andromache’s plea—to offer an alternative fate for Hector, which he refuses 
• Page 70: Shame and glory—his main motivators (her pain will become his future glory)
• Page 73: His death—ALONE, though he always cared for the community (they abandon him at the end—his people, and the gods)
• Page 56: WOMEN get the last word: people can only flourish if they look after each other.

Blog Response#4: Graziosi's Homer, Chapters 5-7

 Here's a shortish blog video for Chapters 5-7 of Graziosi's Homer: A Very Short Introduction. We'll talk more about these chapters in class, but the video below highlights one or two very important points I don't want you to miss. And of course, don't forget to leave a COMMENT below!