Crucial Odyssey Questions
Before class Monday, August 28, please post one question about Homer's Odyssey -- something that you really want to know about the epic before we complete our discussion and have to write about it. It would expedite the discussion process if you would review your classmates' comments before you come to class.
posted by T Sale at 9:38 AM
7 Comments:
What are the character's beliefs regarding responsibility? Do they blame fate for everything that happens to them, taking no responsibility, or do they accept the consequences of their actions?
My group on Friday spent quite a bit of time discussing the role women play in the book. It is apparent to us that the women who saved/helped Odysseus don't really receive credit for that. Does Homer do this on purpose, or is the behind-the-scenes role of women merely culture of his time?
I'm still having a hard time understanding the role of the Gods in The Odyssey. If Athena is always saving Odysseus, then is he really that heroic to begin with? Do the Gods ultimately have complete control over the humans?
Throughout our discussions, we have talked about most of the major characters, the role of the gods, and the meanings of the gender differences, but it still seems like something is missing. What was Homer's purpose for writing The Oddessy? Was it simply to pass on a history, or what is he trying to teach us that translates from the ancient Greek culture to ours?
If the suitors were not in the wrong for courting Penelope (since they believed Odysseus had been dead for 20 years), then why did they have to be punished for acting within their rights? Why couldn't they have just relinquished their courtship of Penelope when Odysseus returned?
In the last two books of The Odyssey, the phrase, “So much is due the dead,” is repeated by both the suitors to Agamemnon (450) and Laertes to the stranger (454). Given the Greeks belief in the gods and in no hell, why is this idea important to the characters in the story?
Ok--
This is sort of a simple/perhaps obvious question, but I have been thinking about it and I am a little confused.
What exactly is the climax of the epic? Does it even have one because it is such a long poem with so many details and stories? Are there more than one? I don't know.
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