Odyssey Analytical Discussion
Books 11 & 12 Book 11 The Kingdom of the Dead The Journey to the Underworld
• Archetypes relating to death • Archetypal ritual for the summoning of the dead Encounter with Elpenor
• Summary of encounter • What Greek cultural concept does this encounter reflect? • Motif – temptation, monster, or folly/recklessness? Encounter with Tiresias • Background of Tiresias • The Prophecy – What does it echo? – What will the rest of Odysseus’s journey involve? – What must he do? – What, essentially, does Tiresias warn against? Encounter with Anticleia
• Summary of the encounter • Relationship between Odyssey and Anticleia – What can we conclude? • How does this encounter characterize Odysseus? Think about the characteristics of an epic hero. The Rest of the Underworld Reads like a “who’s who” of dead Greek people
Catalog of Women Catalog of Men – Tyro In the Underworld, Odysseus – Antiope learns of many of the other – Alcmena Achaean heroes who either – Jocasta never made it home or didn’t – Chloris make it home for long. – Leda – Agamemnon* – Iphimedeia – Achilles* – Phaedra – Patroclus – Procris – Antilochus – Ariadne – Ajax* – Clymene – Minos – Maera – Orion – Eripyhte – Tityus • The intermezzo on pp. 260- – Tantalus 262 reflects the Greeks’ oral – Sisyphus culture and provides – Heracles (Hercules) symmetrical structure to Book * = significant encounter 11. Encounter with Agamemnon
• How does Agamemnon’s state now contrast with his state when Odysseus last saw him? Why is this significant? • What can be taken away from what he says about wives and women? • Upon whom does Agamemnon lay blame? What does this reflect? Encounter with Achilles
• Concepts of nostos and kleos • What does Achilles say about nostos and kleos ? (lines 550-560) • How might this relate to the rest of the epic? Underworld Overview
• What do the first three major encounters have in common? The second three? • Remember what an encounter with the Underworld signifies archetypally. How does this apply to Odysseus? Book 12 The Cattle of the Sun Circe’s Instructions
• Relation to Tiresias’s prophecy • What is Circe’s opinion of how Odysseus should handle these situations? What is revealed about her by this? The Sirens
• Summary of events • Motif – temptation, • What do we make of monster, or Odysseus’s actions folly/recklessness? here? • Metaphorical meaning – restraint, knowledge of life’s risks, lack of control Scylla and Charybdis • Summary of the event • Epic simile – p. 279 • Motif – temptation, monster, or folly/recklessness? • Metaphorical meaning – difficult decisions, “being caught between a rock and a hard place” • What can we learn about dealing with difficult decisions based on Odysseus’s experience of being caught between a whirlpool and a six-headed, man-eating monster? • Evaluate Odysseus’s leadership based on this event. How do we perceive his leadership? Thrinacia – Helios’s Cattle
• Summary of events • Role of Eurylochus and his rationale • Imagery • Motif – temptation, monster, or folly/recklessness? • Metaphorical meaning – respect for authority and law • What can we learn about the Greeks’ perception of the relationship between the individual and law/authority? • Evaluate Odysseus’s leadership based on this event.