DOCSLIB.ORG

Odysseus, Athena, Nausicaa, Alcinous, A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Odysseus, Athena, Nausicaa, Alcinous, A / . Book VII Reading Guide — Scene: lhe island of Scheria, land of the Phaeacians. Characters: Odysseus, Athena, Nausicaa, Alcinous, Arete I low are the Phaecians portrayed in the opening lines otthe book? (p. 179, lines 5, 12) What qualities is Arete known for? (p. 181) What does the description of Alcinous’s palace suggest about the Phaeacians’ relationships with the gods? (p. 182-183) I low does Odysseus approach Arete? (p. 184) l-low does Alcinous act as a host? (p. 185-186) What decision does Aicinous make about aiding Odysseus’s voyage home? (p. 189) “Calypso” “Nausicaa” Mv name is Calypso I \valkcd the ocean daily \nd I have lived alone I prayed to every deity I live on an island linallv the ocean gave me \nd I waken to the dawn \vhat it should never take away A long rime ago I watched him struggle with the sea You were just like a god I knew that he was drowning You stepped out from a cloud And I brought him into me but by the ftrst thing you said Now today I knew I’d never share your bed Come morning light lie sails away Couldn’t we possibly be each other’s? After one last night Isn’t there a somewhere to be lovers? I let him go. Why did you have to be for another? Why can’t I come with you as a lover? My name is Calypso My garden overflows ! walk back long the ocean Thick and wild and hidden I watch where your footsteps have been Is the sweetness there that grows Should I trust the gods of destiny My hair it blows long or throw myself into the sea? As I sing into the wind My name is Calypso Couldn’t we possibly be each other’s? And I have lived alone Isn’t there a somewhere to be lovers? I live on an island \Vhy did you have to be for another? [tell of nights Why can’t I come with you as a lover? Where I could taste the salt on his skin Salt of the waves And of tears And though he pulled away I kept him here for years I let him go. My name is Calypso I have let him go In the dawn he sails away To be gone forever more And the waves will take him in again But hell know their ways now I will stand upon the shore With a clean heart And my song in the wind The sand will sting my feet And the sky will burn It’s a lonely time ahead I do not ask him to return I let him go I let him go “Nausicaa” by (lass Wave compared to F lomer page 172 176, lines I 48273 1. \Vhat is your impression of Nausicaa from the text? 1rom the Song? Do YOU believe the song to be an accurate representation of Nausicaa? Why or why not? 2. Flow much influence does Athena have in the Odysseus’s reception at Scheria? I low is the role of the gods portrayed in the song? How do the two compare? 3. Why do the Phaecians believe Odysseus to be a God? What transformations do we see in the text? Do you believe he has transformed since his first appearance in the epic? Fishbowl Discussions Calypso” by Suzanne Vega compared to I lomer (page 157-159, tines 164- 251) 1. \Vhat is your impression of Calypso from the text? lrom the song? Do you believe the song to be an accurate rcpresenraon of Calypso? \Vhy or why not? 2. Is the relationship between Calypso and Odysseus mutual? According to the text? The song? 3. What does the imagery of day and night in both Vega’s song as well as the text say about Odysseus’s relationship with Calypso? ook VIII Reading (;mde Scene: lhc island of Scheria, land of the Phaeacians. (Tharacters: Odysseus, ;\thena, Nausicaa, \lcinous, Arete, I)emodocus, Laodamon, Broadsea, I lephestus, j\rcs, \phrodite, Apollo, Hermes Who is Demodocus? (p. 192) I low does Odysseus react to the bard’s [list song? (p. 194) \Vhat games are played at the festivities? (p. 195) What does Laodamas say to Odysseus to convince him to join the games? How does Odysseus react? (p. 195-197) flow does Odysseus prove himself in the games, and how does Alcinous respond? (p. 197-199) Ixp1ain 1he Love ot \res and \phroditc Crowned with I1o\vers as sung by the bard. (p. 200203) Why does Odysseus respect Demodocus? (p. 207) What is the bard’s final song? how does Odysseus react? (p. 208) Book IX Readini Guide Scene: [he island oScheria, land of the Phaeacians where Odysseus tells his journeys of the Land of the Cicones, the Land of the Lotus haters, and the Island of the Cyclops Characters: Odysseus, Polvphemus the Cyclops (son of Poseidon) Part 1: lines L343 flow does Odysseus reveal his identity to the Phaeacians? What does he say? (p. 212) What occurs at the Land of the Cicones? (p. 212213) What effect does the lotus flower have on Odysseus’s crew? (p. 214) How does Odysseus describe the Cyclops and how their society functions? (p. 215) What does Odysseus’s crew suggest upon entering the cave of the Cyclops? (p. 218) How does Odysseus approach the Cyclops and ask for xenia? (p. 219-220) How does the Cyclops react? What does he do to Odysseus and his crew? (p. 220-221) Part 11: lines 344—630 [low do Odysseus and his crew success uIlv blind the Cyclops? (p. 222-224) kxplain how Odysseus’s way with words’ is depicted in the chapter. Why does Odysseus say his name is nobody’ and how does this trick help Odysseus and his men escape? (p. 224) How do Odysseus and his men sneak out of the cave after the Cyclops has been blinded? (p. 224- 225) What does Odysseus do upon hoarding the ship and setting off to sea that risks the lives of him and his crew? What does this reveal about Odysseus’s character? (p. 226-228) \Vhat does Polyphemus do after learning that it was Odysseus who had blinded him and that he and his crew escaped? (p. 228).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • From the Odyssey, Part 1: the Adventures of Odysseus
    from The Odyssey, Part 1: The Adventures of Odysseus Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald ANCHOR TEXT | EPIC POEM Archivart/Alamy Stock Photo Archivart/Alamy This version of the selection alternates original text The poet, Homer, begins his epic by asking a Muse1 to help him tell the story of with summarized passages. Odysseus. Odysseus, Homer says, is famous for fighting in the Trojan War and for Dotted lines appear next to surviving a difficult journey home from Troy.2 Odysseus saw many places and met many the summarized passages. people in his travels. He tried to return his shipmates safely to their families, but they 3 made the mistake of killing the cattle of Helios, for which they paid with their lives. NOTES Homer once again asks the Muse to help him tell the tale. The next section of the poem takes place 10 years after the Trojan War. Odysseus arrives in an island kingdom called Phaeacia, which is ruled by Alcinous. Alcinous asks Odysseus to tell him the story of his travels. I am Laertes’4 son, Odysseus. Men hold me formidable for guile5 in peace and war: this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim. My home is on the peaked sea-mark of Ithaca6 under Mount Neion’s wind-blown robe of leaves, in sight of other islands—Dulichium, Same, wooded Zacynthus—Ithaca being most lofty in that coastal sea, and northwest, while the rest lie east and south. A rocky isle, but good for a boy’s training; I shall not see on earth a place more dear, though I have been detained long by Calypso,7 loveliest among goddesses, who held me in her smooth caves to be her heart’s delight, as Circe of Aeaea,8 the enchantress, desired me, and detained me in her hall.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ODYSSEY of HOMER Translated by WILLIAM COWPER LONDON: PUBLISHED by J·M·DENT·&·SONS·LTD and in NEW YORK by E·P·DUTTON & CO to the RIGHT HONOURABLE
    THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER Translated by WILLIAM COWPER LONDON: PUBLISHED by J·M·DENT·&·SONS·LTD AND IN NEW YORK BY E·P·DUTTON & CO TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE COUNTESS DOWAGER SPENCER THE FOLLOWING TRANSLATION OF THE ODYSSEY, A POEM THAT EXHIBITS IN THE CHARACTER OF ITS HEROINE AN EXAMPLE OF ALL DOMESTIC VIRTUE, IS WITH EQUAL PROPRIETY AND RESPECT INSCRIBED BY HER LADYSHIP’S MOST DEVOTED SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BLANK VERSE BOOK I ARGUMENT In a council of the Gods, Minerva calls their attention to Ulysses, still a wanderer. They resolve to grant him a safe return to Ithaca. Minerva descends to encourage Telemachus, and in the form of Mentes directs him in what manner to proceed. Throughout this book the extravagance and profligacy of the suitors are occasionally suggested. Muse make the man thy theme, for shrewdness famedAnd genius versatile, who far and wideA Wand’rer, after Ilium overthrown,Discover’d various cities, and the mindAnd manners learn’d of men, in lands remote.He num’rous woes on Ocean toss’d, endured,Anxious to save himself, and to conductHis followers to their home; yet all his carePreserved them not; they perish’d self-destroy’dBy their own fault; infatuate! who devoured10The oxen of the all-o’erseeing Sun,And, punish’d for that crime, return’d no more.Daughter divine of Jove, these things record,As it may please thee, even in our ears.The rest, all those who had perdition ’scapedBy war or on the Deep, dwelt now at home;Him only, of his country and his wifeAlike desirous, in her hollow grotsCalypso, Goddess beautiful, detainedWooing him to her arms.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concealed Threat of Odysseus to the Phaeacians
    Danger and Deferral: The Concealed Threat of Odysseus to the Phaeacians The Phaeacian episode of the Odyssey clarifies Odysseus as a hero of homecoming and hospitality, despite his fame as city destroyer and wandering hero. However helpful the Phaeacians may be in Odysseus‟ nostos, they become apparent victims of Poseidon's wrath as foretold in Nausithous‟ prophecy, wherein their island is to be covered by a great mountain (Od. 8.569 et alia; μέγα δ᾽ ἧμιν ὄρος πόλει ἀμφικαλύψειν) as a result of their painless conveyance of strangers (Od. 8.566, πομποὶ ἀπήμονές). The verb ἀμφικαλύπτω is heavily associated with recurrences of this prophecy but remains unconnected to the related and unexplored contexts of Odysseus‟ arrival to Scheria and Demodocus‟ introduction of Odysseus by way of the Trojan horse. I argue that a phraseological confluence of destructive images alerts the traditionally astute audience that Odysseus, not Poseidon, presents the greater danger to Scheria. Moreover, this destructive expectation is characteristically suspended and deferred by the poet in the unresolved conclusion of the Phaeacian episode, leaving the audience to question Odysseus‟ heroic identity, a revelation that is developed and delayed up to the poem‟s telos. The verb ἀμφικαλύπτω, for its implication in the destruction of the Phaeacians, lies at the intersection of two complex interpretive issues: Homeric theodicy and manuscript variation. In terms of theodicy, critics, both ancient and modern, have debated the appropriateness of the seemingly honorable Phaeacians‟ annihilation (Friedrich 1989, Allan 2006), and a significant manuscript variant attributed to Aristophanes of Byzantium at Od. 13.158 even suggests an alternate negation of the destruction (Friedrich 1989, Nagy 2002, Marks 2008).
    [Show full text]
  • The Faculty Advisor to the Student Writing the Thesis Wishes to Claim Joint Authorship in This Work
    WILLIAMS COLLEGE LIBRARIES Your unpublished thesis, submitted for a degree at Williams College and administered by the Williams College Libraries, will be made available for research use. You may, through this form, provide instructions regarding copyright, access, dissemination and reproduction of your thesis. _ The faculty advisor to the student writing the thesis wishes to claim joint authorship in this work. In each section, please check the ONE statement that reflects your wishes. 1. PUBLICATION AND QUOTATION: LITERARY PROPERTY RIGHTS A student author automatically owns the copyright to his/her work, whether or not a copyright symbol and date are placed on the piece. The duration of U.S. copyright on a manuscript--and Williams theses are considered manuscripts--is the life of the author plus 70 years. _ I/we do not choose to retain literary property rights to the thesis, and I wish to assign them immediately to Williams College. N",vnohllO the in no a s1lldent \,vo.rk: the studerv \VCHIJd} bO\Vevcf) need conLJct the in this case to also per'missir)D to sltilatlOn arose, the Archivcs wou!d be in had _I/we wish to retain literary property rights to the thesis for a period of three years, at which time the literary property rights shall be assigned to Williams College. Selectmg this the amhor a years to make use the in m><:o,mltI2 ,II/we wish to retain literary property rights to the thesis fer~ea of __":Y'88:F&;-Qf­ until my death, whichever is the later, at which time the literary property rights shall be assigned to Williams College.
    [Show full text]
  • Close Reading of Book Nine, “In the One­Eyed Giant’S Cave,” Pp
    Book Nine Handout The events in Books Nine through Twelve are flashbacks being told to the Phaeacians by Odysseus himself. The events of these books reveal how the trials Odysseus faces develop his character from the end of the Trojan War through his time with the Phaeacians. Activity 1: Text Structure One feature of the epic is beginning in the middle of the story (in medias res). Study the graphic below so that you will ​ ​ understand the text structure. What is the effect of Homer’s choice concerning how to structure a text and the events within it? ​By beginning in the middle of things, the reader’s interest is piqued. It seems strange that such a famous warrior should be crying for home. Knowing how Odysseus’s men ended up creates suspense, compelling the reader to continue in the story. Activity 2: Close Reading of Book Nine, “In the One­Eyed Giant’s Cave,” pp. 211­214 Read the opening passage of Book Nine, which is reprinted for you below. Some lines have been removed, but the line numbers follow the original text. Follow the instructions below as you annotate: 1. For your first reading, define the terms that have been bolded for you. Write a synonym or definition directly above the bolded word. 2. For your second reading, use a handbook of mythological terms, the glossary of terms in the back of your text, or the Internet to look up background information for the shaded terms. Write the explanation directly above the term. 3. Finally, use the questions on the right side of the text to guide you as you record your insights and impressions about the text.
    [Show full text]
  • Hephaestus the Magician and Near Eastern Parallels for Alcinous' Watchdogs , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:3 (1987:Autumn) P.257
    FARAONE, CHRISTOPHER A., Hephaestus the Magician and Near Eastern Parallels for Alcinous' Watchdogs , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28:3 (1987:Autumn) p.257 Hephaestus the Magician and Near Eastern Parallels for Alcinous' Watchdogs Christopher A. Faraone s ODYSSEUS enters the palace of the Phaeacian king he stops to A marvel at its richly decorated fa9ade and the gold and silver dogs that stand before it (Od. 7.91-94): , ~,t: I () \, I , ")" XPVCHLOL u EKanp E KaL apyvpEoL KVVES l1CTav, C 'll I 'll ovs'" ·'HA-.'t'aLCTTOS' ETEV~" EV LuVL?1CTL 7rpa7rLUECTCTL oWJJ.a <pvAaCTCTEJJ.EvaL JJ.EyaA~TopoS' ' AAKWOOLO, a'() avaTOVS'I OVTaS'" KaL\ aYl1pwS'')',' l1JJ.aTa 7raVTa.I On either side [sc. of the door] there were golden and silver dogs, immortal and unaging forever, which Hephaestus had fashioned with cunning skill to protect the home of Alcinous the great­ hearted. All the scholiasts give the same euhemerizing interpretation: the dogs were statues fashioned so true to life that they seemed to be alive and were therefore able to frighten away any who might attempt evil. Eustathius goes on to suggest that the adjectives 'undying' and 'un­ aging' refer not literally to biological life, but rather to the durability of the rust-proof metals from which they were fashioned, and that the dogs were alleged to be the work of Hephaestus solely on account of their excellent workmanship. 1 Although similarly animated works of Hephaestus appear elsewhere in Homer, such as the golden servant girls at Il. 18.417-20, modern commentators have also been reluctant to take Homer's description of these dogs at face value.
    [Show full text]
  • Authoritative Response, Homeric Irony, and the Peril of a Missed Language Cue 1
    This article belongs to a special issue of Oral Tradition published in honor of John Miles Foley’s 65th birthday and 2011 retirement. The surprise Festschrift, guest-edited by Lori and Scott Garner entirely without his knowledge, celebrates John’s tremendous impact on studies in oral tradition through a series of essays contributed by his students from the University of Missouri- Columbia (1979-present) and from NEH Summer Seminars that he has directed (1987-1996). http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/26ii This page is intentionally left blank. Oral Tradition, 26/2 (2011): 493-520 “Stricken to Silence”: Authoritative Response, Homeric Irony, and the Peril of a Missed Language Cue 1 Andrew E. Porter The Formula The formula2 “Thus he spoke, but they in fact all were stricken to silence” (ὣς ἔφαθ’, οἳ δ’ ἄρα πάντες ἀκὴν ἐγένοντο σιωπῇ)3 occurs sixteen times in Homer4 and has received significant treatment in a number of recent studies focusing on its referential force. Its “connotative level of signification” (Kelly 2007:6) has been projected in part for the Iliad, and important themes and functions have been suggested. Silvia Montiglio (1993:175-78) has considered the formula’s meaning within the Iliad both etymologically and more generally, and found that it suggests “une rupture anormale,” “la déchirure” of the normal communication process. John Miles Foley has linked the formula in the Iliad with the speech that precedes it, since “each initial speech proposes or reports a radical, usually unexpected action” (1995:13) that promises either the winning or losing of kleos. Foley’s research further demonstrates that the 1 I wish to thank my anonymous external reviewers along with Casey Dué, Scott Garner, David Mulroy, and Kevin Muse for their remarks on earlier drafts of this article.
    [Show full text]
  • Aeschylus, with an English Translation by Herbert Weir Smyth
    HANDBOUND AT THE THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY EDITED BY ^* ' 'T ' E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. T. E. PAGE, mti-.d. W. H. D. ROUSE, Lirr.D. AESCHYLUS II AESCHYLUS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY HERBERT WEIR SMYTH, Ph.D. ELIOT PROFESSOR OF GREEK LITERATURE IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY IN TWO VOLUMES II AGAMEMNON LIBATION-BEARERS EUMENIDES FRAGMENTS LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN NP:vv YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS MCMXXVI 2-2>.(I.S^ Printed in Great Britain. CONTENTS OF VOLUME II AGAMEMNON THE LIBATiON-BEARERS 155 EUMENIDES 269 FRAGMENTS 374 INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 522 (i ata slip, Aesch. — Vol. II. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS TO VOL. I Additions to the List of Editions (p. xxxi ff.).—All the plays : 1853-54, Buckley. 1920-25, Mazon. Choe- phoroe : 1729, Oxford. 1774, Foulis press. 1776, Vollborth. Eumenides : 1901, Barnett. 1901, Plaistowe (w. prose translation). Persians ; 1847, Paley. Undated, Haydon. Prometheus : 1887, Plaistowe and Masom (w. prose trans- lation). 1900, Plaistowe and Mills (w. prose translation). Seven against Thehes : 1847, Paley. 1897 (1900), Plaistowe (w. prose translation). — Additions to the List of Translations. Agamemnon : 1823, Boyd (prose). 1839, Fox. 1846, Sewell. 1848, Anon. 1880, Anon, (prose). 1886, Students of the Univer- sity of Sydney (prose). 1888, Anon, (prose). 1890, Cooper (Oresteia). 1893, Campbell (Oresteia, prose). 1900(1911), Sixth Form Boys of Bradfield College. 1919, Davis. 1920, Ellis. 1920, Murray. 1920, Trevelyan (Oresteia). 1921, Robinson in " The Genius of the Greek Drama." Choephoroe, Eumenides : 1890, Cooper (Oresteia), 1893, Campbell (Oresteia, prose). 1920, Trevelyan (Oresteia). 1923-25, Murray. Persians : 1829, Palin. 1855, Wood (prose). 1873, Staunton.
    [Show full text]
  • A View of the Odyssey
    Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 1983 Volume II: Greek and Roman Mythology A View of The Odyssey Curriculum Unit 83.02.02 by Anna K. Baker I plan to teach Homer’s Odyssey to a high school English class on an intermediate-advanced level. I teach at High School in the Community, where students are divided according to ability, interest and, at times, maturity rather than by grade level. I expect to have in my class sophomores, juniors, and seniors and perhaps a scattering of freshmen. The purpose of this unit is to help students see themselves in the mirror that mythology holds up to us all. Times have changed and so has the pace of our lives; but people are confronted by the same basic choices today as when Homer decided to put the story of the wanderings, tribulations, and homecoming of Odysseus into his own words. Students who study this great epic poem which tells a fundamental myth of our civilization will read of witches, cannibals, and monsters as well as of Olympian gods, human princesses, and dead spirits out of the underworld. These students will also read a story about human beings, Odysseus, Telemachus, Penelope, and Nausicaa, as well as about others who have experienced many of the same difficulties around growing up, making choices and becoming mature that people of today experience as they leave their childhood and enter the world of adolescence and adulthood. Today’s high school students are faced with a world that presents ever more complex choices: for example, careers, family, morality, and so forth.
    [Show full text]
  • S Mythological Network
    RESEARCH ARTICLE The Odyssey's mythological network Pedro Jeferson Miranda1, Murilo Silva Baptista2, Sandro Ely de Souza Pinto1* 1 Department of Physics, State University of de Ponta Grossa, ParanaÂ, Brazil, 2 Institute for Complex System and Mathematical Biology, SUPA, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom * [email protected] Abstract In this work, we study the mythological network of Odyssey of Homer. We use ordinary sta- a1111111111 a1111111111 tistical quantifiers in order to classify the network as real or fictional. We also introduce an a1111111111 analysis of communities which allows us to see how network properties shall emerge. We a1111111111 found that Odyssey can be classified both as real and fictional network. This statement is a1111111111 supported as far as mythological characters are removed, which results in a network with real properties. The community analysis indicated to us that there is a power-law relation- ship based on the max degree of each community. These results allow us to conclude that Odyssey might be an amalgam of myth and of historical facts, with communities playing a OPEN ACCESS central role. Citation: Miranda PJ, Baptista MS, de Souza Pinto SE (2018) The Odyssey's mythological network. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0200703. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0200703 Editor: Satoru Hayasaka, University of Texas at Austin, UNITED STATES Introduction Received: April 3, 2018 The paradigm's shift from reductionism to holism stands for a stepping stone that is taking researcher's interests to the interdisciplinary approach. This process is accomplished as far as Accepted: July 2, 2018 the fundamental concepts of complex network theory are applied to problems that may arise Published: July 30, 2018 from many areas of study.
    [Show full text]
  • World of the Hero: Homer's Odyssey
    World of the Hero: Homer’s Odyssey Pavlos Avlamis [email protected] FOCUS: The contrast between the civilised, human, Greek world (Ithacan books 13-24, and ‘Telemachy’ 1-4) and the world of the ‘adventures’ (bks 5-12) This is a central conceptual and structuring device in the poem, attention to which helps enrich appreciation of: • Literary technique (structure, plot, language) • Cultural context • Characterisation and ‘heroism’ [The above three intersect with a variety of OCR’s aims for WotH] I will: 1. Set up the contrast between civilisation and its opposite in the poem. 2. Show some ways in which the Odyssey’s fictional worlds have been contextualised from the external context of the poem (cultural context) and from within the poem (plot, poetics). 3. Suggest further reading (electronic access to selections of material to follow). The Odyssey is divided between three worlds: 1. The ‘wild’, uncivilised world of the adventures ‘out there’ (bks 5: Calypso/Ogygia, and bks 9-12: the adventures between the storm that follows the departure from Troy and Odysseus’ arrival on Ogygia) 2. The civilised Greek world of Ithaca and other cities (Pylos, Sparta) in books 1-4 and 13-24. 3. The in-between world of the Phaeacians (bks 6-9 and beginning of 13) which combines elements of both worlds and is at once both a familiar community and a strange one. The Phaeacians transport Odysseus from the mythical world to human reality. What makes the world of the adventures non-human? • physically monstrous characters (Scylla, Cyclopes, etc), • lack of agriculture • no sacrifices • no cooking – cannibalism [think: Polyphemus] • no hospitality (think: Polyphemus, but also the suitors back home [reversal]) The story of the Odyssey: Man returns from war but his boat is blown away by storm.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture 37 Welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology
    Lecture 37 Welcome to LLT121 Classical Mythology. When last we left our heroes, the Homeric heroes of the Trojan War, which was really fought right around 1200 BC, I was discussing the concept of nostos or return home. I was being hassled. I was being haxed. I was being brutalized emotionally and intellectually by somebody who took exception to my remark that nobody actually won the Trojan War. Nobody did. Oh yeah, the Greeks got to sack the city, all right. There’s no denying that. Look at what happened to the Greeks when they went home. Let’s take Agamemnon, for example. What happened to him? He got killed. By who? That is pretty bad. What happened to his wife? Their son killed her. That was all right, because he’d killed her. Nope, he’s no winner. Menelaus—Mr. Helen—he actually did get back together with Helen. He took Helen back. They got on a ship and they were going to sail back to ancient Greece, but they were blown away by a storm and wound up living for seven years in ancient Egypt. I say ancient Egypt because even to the ancient Greeks, ancient Egypt was very, very ancient. Nestor made it home in one piece, too. Does anybody have a guess why Nestor made it home in one piece? Okay, go on and build on that thought, Jeremy. Well, yes and no. Oh, give me a break. Go back home. That isn’t bad. It isn’t right, either. I think, in his heart of hearts, Homer empathized with the old guy who talks just about forever.
    [Show full text]