Western literature week 5

ÀOdyssey

he Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature; the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia.

The poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myths), king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres (Greek: Μνηστῆρες) or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.

öCharacter of Odysseus

Odysseus' name means "trouble" in Greek, referring to both the giving and receiving of trouble—as is often the case in his wanderings. An early example of this is the boar hunt that gave Odysseus the scar by which Eurycleia recognizes him; Odysseus is injured by the boar and responds by killing it. Odysseus' heroic trait is his mētis, or "cunning intelligence": he is often described as the "Peer of Zeus in Counsel". This intelligence is most often manifested by his use of disguise and deceptive speech. His disguises take forms both physical (altering his appearance) and verbal, such as telling the Cyclops Polyphemus that his name is Οὖτις, "Nobody", then escaping after blinding Polyphemus. When asked by other Cyclopes why he is screaming, Polyphemus replies that "Nobody" is hurting him, so the others assume that "If alone as you are [Polyphemus] none uses violence on you, why, there is no avoiding the sickness sent by great Zeus; so you had better pray to your father, the lord Poseidon" The most evident flaw that Odysseus sports is that of his arrogance and his pride, or hubris. As he sails away from the island of the Cyclopes, he shouts his name and boasts that nobody can defeat the "Great Odysseus". The Cyclops then throws the top half of a mountain at him and prays to his father, Poseidon, saying that Odysseus has blinded him. This enrages Poseidon, causing the god to thwart Odysseus' homecoming for a very long time.

ö Telemachus

Telemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books of the Odyssey focus on Telemachus's journeys in search of news about his father, who has yet to return home from the Trojan War, and are traditionally given the title the Telemachy.

ö Penelope

In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, who is known for her faithfulness to Odysseus while he is absent, despite having many suitors.

Her name has traditionally been associated with marital faithfulness, and so it was with the Greeks and Romans, but some recent feminist readings offer a more ambiguous interpretation. Her character is beyond what was available to most women at the time, and she is considered a match for Odysseus due to her immense strength, warmth and intelligence.

ÀHector

In Greek mythology, Hector was a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, who was a descendant of Dardanus and Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the heir apparent to his father's throne. He was married to Andromache, with whom he had an infant son, Scamandrius (whom the people of Troy called Astyanax). He acted as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, "killing 31,000 Greek fighters", offers Hyginus. During the European Middle Ages, Hector figures as one of the Nine Worthies noted by Jacques de Longuyon, known not only for his courage but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed, Homer places Hector as peace-loving, thoughtful as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and without darker motives. James Redfield writes of Hector as a "martyr to loyalties, a witness to the things of this world, a hero ready to die for the precious imperfections of ordinary life."

ö Greatest warrior of Troy

According to the Iliad, Hector did not approve of war between the Greeks and the Trojans.

For ten years, the Achaeans besieged Troy and their allies in the east. Hector commanded the Trojan army, with a number of subordinates including Polydamas, and his brothers Deiphobus, Helenus, and Paris. By all accounts, Hector was the best warrior the Trojans and all their allies could field, and his fighting prowess was admired by Greeks and his own people alike.

Diomedes and Odysseus, when faced with his attack, described him as what Robert Fagles translated as an 'incredible dynamite', and a 'maniac'.

           ´Achilles VS Hector

Quiz of THE ODYSSEY

1.     In Penelope’s archery contest, through how many axes must Odysseus fire his arrow?

(A) two

(B) eight

(C) twelve

(D) thirty

2.     Which plant makes the sailors forget their desire to return home?

(A) Lotus

(B) Poppy

(C) Lethe-root

(D) Hemlock

3.     How does Athena disguise herself to make preparations for Telemachus’s journey?

(A) As a beggar

(B) As Antinous

(C) As Mentor

(D) As Mephistopheles

4.     Who is Argos?

(A) The master of the winds

(B) Penelope’s chief suitor

(C) The Cyclops

(D) Odysseus’s old dog

5.     Who first finds Odysseus on the island of Scheria?

(A) Telemachus

(B) King Alcinous

(C) Nausicaa

(D) Circe

6.     Who has an affair with Eurymachus?

(A) Melantho

(B) Penelope

(C) Circe

(D) Helen

7.     Menelaus is king of which city?

(A) Pylos

(B) Argos

(C) Athens

(D) Sparta

8.     Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus based on what distinguishing feature?

(A) A scar on his leg

(B) His cunning

(C) The sound of his voice

(D) His “noble bearing”

9.     How is Odysseus able to listen safely to the Sirens’ song?

(A) He has his men bind him to the ship’s mast.

(B) Athena makes the Sirens appear ugly to him.

(C) He eats a lotus flower, rendering him unable to swim to the Sirens’ island.

(D) He isn’t; he plugs his ears with wax as the ship passes the Sirens’ island.

10.   Who begs Odysseus to bury him?

(A) Laertes

(B) Polyphemus

(C) Elpenor

(D) Achilles

11.   Of what did Odysseus’s mother die?

(A) Grief

(B) Drowning

(C) Old age

(D) Starvation

12.   How old is Telemachus at the start of the epic?

(A) Early thirties

(B) Early teens

(C) Early twenties

(D) Late forties

13.   What happens to the disloyal maids after they clean the blood from the great hall?

(A) They are hanged.

(B) They are forgiven.

(C) They are whipped.

(D) They are dismissed from the palace.

14.   What does Tiresias warn Odysseus not to harm on his voyage?

(A) The eagle of the Moon

(B) The serpent of the Seas

(C) The cattle of the Sun

(D) The badger of the Mountains

15.   Who kills Antinous’s father?

(A) Eumaeus

(B) Odysseus

(C) Telemachus

(D) Laertes

16.   In about what year was the Odyssey composed?

(A) C.E. 1590

(B) 700 B.C.E.

(C) 200 B.C.E.

(D) 1200 B.C.E.

17.   Who transforms Odysseus’s sailors into pigs?

(A) Calypso

(B) Athena

(C) Poseidon

(D) Circe

18.   Odysseus left Penelope bound for what city?

(A) Orinda

(B) Athens

(C) Sparta

(D) Troy

19.   Which goddess often assists Odysseus and Telemachus, and speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus?

(A) Calypso

(B) Athena

(C) Circe

(D) Melantho

20.   Why does Poseidon despise Odysseus?

(A) Odysseus does not respect the sea.

(B) Odysseus and his men attacked him.

(C) Odysseus tricked him with a disguise.

(D) Odysseus blinded his son.

21.   Which two characters provide a point of comparison for Odysseus and Telemachus?

(A) Athena and Zeus

(B) Poseidon and Proteus

(C) Helen and Menelaus

(D) Agamemnon and Orestes

22.   Who does Zeus send to rescue Odysseus from Calypso?

(A) Hermes

(B) Athena

(C) Poseidon

(D) Nausicaa

23.   What did Ajax do to bring disaster upon the homecoming Greek fleet?

(A) He ate all of the army’s remaining rations.

(B) He murdered sheep.

(C) He led the fleet between Scylla and Charybis.

(D) He raped Cassandra.

24.   What gift does Telemachus accept from Menelaus?

(A) A monkey

(B) A chariot and team of horses

(C) A silver mixing-bowl finished with a lip of gold

(D) A band of goats

25.   How long does Odysseus spend on Calypso’s island?

(A) One year

(B) Seven years

(C) Ten years

(D) Three years