Homer’s The Odyssey: The Afterlife
Reading Response Journal Entry #2
Part One:
In middle school and the first part of high school, I went through what I can only characterize as a Christian phase. However, in recent year I have substantially outgrown Christianity and in my opinion, mainstream religion altogether. As I see it, now I subscribe to agnosticism. I accept the fact that I have no power to know what the afterlife holds, and I never will so long as I am living. Some people describe agnosticism as a cop out, but it certainly is not. If anything, it is the ultimate form of humility, which is something that most religions value highly anyways.
In believing such, I spend any philosophical time I have pondering the “ideal” afterlife. As …show more content…
Instead, we see Odysseus gains his most knowledgeable experiences from his deceased comrades in arms. This sets the stage for Odysseus to truly step into his role as an epic hero. As an epic hero, Odysseus must complete a truly impossible task in order to fit the role. When Circe advises him to “come to the cold homes of Death” (Homer 399), we begin to see the makings of a truly epic hero since “no man has ever sailed to the land of Death” (Homer 400). No normal mortal would ever be able to accomplish such a feat, but Odysseus surpasses the bonds of normality. Odysseus is just a mortal who should be incapable of such extraordinary capabilities, but as an epic hero he “addressed the blurred and breathless dead” (Homer 402).
Another important interaction happens for Odysseus during his journey to Hades when he sees the shade of Agamemnon. Agamemnon suggests that in order to protect himself from those who would seek to harm him he should land his “ship in secret” when he arrives in Ithaca and to “give no warning” (Homer 414). This plants a seed of mistrust in Odysseus and we will see that he will take Agamemnon’s advice to heart when he finally reaches
Reading Response Journal Entry #2
Part One:
In middle school and the first part of high school, I went through what I can only characterize as a Christian phase. However, in recent year I have substantially outgrown Christianity and in my opinion, mainstream religion altogether. As I see it, now I subscribe to agnosticism. I accept the fact that I have no power to know what the afterlife holds, and I never will so long as I am living. Some people describe agnosticism as a cop out, but it certainly is not. If anything, it is the ultimate form of humility, which is something that most religions value highly anyways.
In believing such, I spend any philosophical time I have pondering the “ideal” afterlife. As …show more content…
Instead, we see Odysseus gains his most knowledgeable experiences from his deceased comrades in arms. This sets the stage for Odysseus to truly step into his role as an epic hero. As an epic hero, Odysseus must complete a truly impossible task in order to fit the role. When Circe advises him to “come to the cold homes of Death” (Homer 399), we begin to see the makings of a truly epic hero since “no man has ever sailed to the land of Death” (Homer 400). No normal mortal would ever be able to accomplish such a feat, but Odysseus surpasses the bonds of normality. Odysseus is just a mortal who should be incapable of such extraordinary capabilities, but as an epic hero he “addressed the blurred and breathless dead” (Homer 402).
Another important interaction happens for Odysseus during his journey to Hades when he sees the shade of Agamemnon. Agamemnon suggests that in order to protect himself from those who would seek to harm him he should land his “ship in secret” when he arrives in Ithaca and to “give no warning” (Homer 414). This plants a seed of mistrust in Odysseus and we will see that he will take Agamemnon’s advice to heart when he finally reaches