Ancient Greek’s regarded hospitality with great importance in their culture. Being a good host was a reflection of power, as well as a form of honoring the gods, especially Zeus—who was associated with xenia. Xenia extended past hospitality rather it was a form of proper behavior between individuals, both host and guest. This mutual trust helped establish and create bonds. These bonds were often created through eating; food was associated with bonding and power, eating was seen as a luxury and a form of honoring the gods and themselves.…
Odyssey Journal #1 Summary: Calypso, The Sweet Nymph Odysseus starts off stuck on Calypso’s island and has been stuck there for 10 years. Athean goes to Zeus and convinces him to let Odysseus go. Athena is able to convince Zeus so he sends Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, to go tell Calypso to release Odysseus. Calypso releases Odysseus, Odysseus becomes immediately cheerful.…
Dorothy Parker and Homer use a great deal of visual imagery in their respective poems, “Penelope” and The Odyssey. However, both poets have disparity in using their imagery. In “Penelope”, Dorothy Parker heavily implies that Penelope viewed Odysseus’ journey as a danger-free voyage. An example of visual imagery portrayed in “Penelope” is in lines 4 and 5, when Penelope is under the impression that, “He [Odysseus] shall ride the silver seas/ He shall cut the glittering wave”(Parker 4-5).…
Somewhere in 8th century ancient greek, Homer, a greek author and poet wrote one of the greatest adventure stories of all time: The Odyssey. From then on, The Odyssey has been told, revamped, and reimagined a thousand times over. O Brother, Where Art Thou? A 2000 adventure film was produced based off the great old greek tale, receiving several awards.…
Both Homer’s epic The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song” underscore the enchanting but deadly temptation of the alluring, mythical Siren’s. While both poems incorporate first-person points of view, their perspectives, as well as their tones, differ drastically. The former, making use of aggressive diction, and the latter, making use of subtle diction, shows the difference between objectivized and humanizing women and men. Although the tones of the passages are thoroughly different, the overall deception and ingenuity is used in both.…
Apollodorus’ Library is a reference work in which authors and poets can obtain information about Greek mythology to discuss in a paper or poem. Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a work of literature which contains many poems about Greek mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses would be a work of literature in which the author would get the small details of the god or goddess’s life from Apollodorus’ Library.…
Whenever culture is in consideration, one is either caring or copying. Brianna Fragoso, author of the article “Culture Appropriation Vs. Cultural Appreciation” on The Odyssey, discusses the contentious line bordering appropriating and appreciating aspects of respective cultures by using rhetorical strategies to develop an educated argument about this controversial issue. It is crucial to comprehend both positions of the issue since it reflects into matters of racism, political correctness, and representation of an entire nation. Therefore, the meaning of cultural appropriation is to adopt elements of one culture by members of another culture, whereas cultural appreciation is to establish the intelligent understanding of said element and all…
It was not a stranger they were looking for, but their very own sister. Karen Russell wrote a short story called “Haunting Olivia”, and it is about the death of a young girl and her grieving brothers. Wallow and Timothy go to Gannon’s Boat Graveyard whenever they get the opportunity because they are looking for their sister, Olivia. Gannon’s Boat Graveyard is a place where people come to leave their abandoned boats. Each time they go they wear diabolical goggles.…
In the Odyssey women are normally seemed to be not as strong and hold significantly less power than their male counterparts. In essence it is historically proven that the males are the controllers and the females are in contrast, the controlled but one cannot simply forget that women are known to have exponential influences on the men around them. With that being said female sexuality seems to be dangerous and even fearful toward men which is why I feel like this is why Homer uses this “talent” that women have with their sexuality and multiples it within the story of the Odyssey in which he turns these influential powers and characteristics into goddesses. One can argue that men have this fear inside of them that they cannot control and this…
True love is very strong and can be rare. With the millions of people in the world there is that person that others know is their one true love. While true love appears in life,it can also exist in literature. In the epic “The Odyssey”, Odysseus and Penelope’s love stays true and pure even while he is away for so long. Penelope greatly misses and aches for Odysseus’ return even though she has the chance to marry again to one of the suitors.…
A hero is anyone who has the ability to express themselves. In the past, the definition of a hero was much more narrow than in the current day. Today, who a hero is depends entirely on perspective. A hero to one could be the enemy to another. This concept of what it takes to be a hero has changed as time went on.…
I found this section not only interesting, but despairing. One part I found intriguing was Juliet d’Orsey’s constant blaming of herself as being an unpleasant child. “Really! . . . Wasn’t I an awful child!” (Findley 154).…
Homer’s description of women in the Odyssey reveals the Greek’s notion of fear in women’s beauty and of the prevailing power of men over women. Throughout the plot female characters, namely Penelope, Circe, and the Sirens, are portrayed as dangers that men overcome and devices that emphasize men’s strength. In the Odyssey, beautiful women bring danger to men with their seductive powers. The Sirens, with their alluring voices, try to lure Odysseus and his men away from their journey (190) and toward their deaths.…
The first of these is seen when Henry alludes to the Odyssey, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” The reason he uses this allusion is to show that if the people of the convention do not ‘open their eyes’ to the impending conflict with the British, they will have to face the terrible consequences just as the sailors in the Odyssey did by listening to the siren’s song and ultimately sailing to their deaths or getting turned into pigs by the evil sorceress Circe. Later he goes on to say, “Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things with which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” Here he is probably echoing Jeremiah 5:21- “Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.”…
Often, individuals can find themselves enticed by appealing objects that can usually be lethal or deadly, much like Sirens. Sirens are mythical creatures that lure men with their captivating singing, ultimately forcing them to jump to their deaths. Their appearances are usually found in greek poetry like The Odyssey by Homer, or poetry with a more modern take on them, such as “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood. Both poems however, introduce readers to the Sirens with similar and different perspectives even though they are centered on the same subject. “Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood and The Odyssey by Homer both differ in their portrayals of the Sirens.…