The Odyssey

1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words)

Greek culture was a lot different than our culture. For one thing women were treated differently than men. Women were not looked at as people of strength. Their daily tasks would probably include preparing the dinner for the men, washing clothes, and other common tasks. Men on the other hand did more physical labor such as hunting or building. I also noticed that a boy is considered a man once he has a beard. In our culture you become a man depending on your educational level. Once you leave college you are pretty much considered to be a man.
Also people were thought to be nothing compared to Gods and Goddesses. In the Odyssey Poseidon made Odysseus suffer so he would realize that man is nothing without the Gods. The people of today believe in one God and the people of Greece believed in many Gods. Also many people barely even believe in God today where as it was a sin to not believe in Gods in ancient Greece.
I noticed in the Odyssey that the Greeks were really obsessed with sex. On Odysseus' journey, he made love with two different Goddesses. I found this strange considering that he was so determined to get back to his wife because he claimed he loved her so much. It makes me wonder what the people of ancient Greece thought about this. Did they still believe Odysseus to be an honorable hero even after he broke his trust with his wife?

2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)

While I was reading the Odyssey I noticed that Odysseus seemed kind of mean and strict and was not the spitting image of a hero in my mind. I think this was because Greek culture was more strict than ours and the image of a hero has changed over time. A hero of today is looked at as a peaceful person that would not kill. Like for instance Superman never killed his enemies, he always spared their lives. In the Odyssey, Odysseus did not spare a single person until his son Telemachus told him to spare two men in the end.
I also noticed that Odysseus was not afraid to kill a woman. In books and movies today women are not often killed unless it's by the villian because people are offended by it. When I read how Odysseus killed the "unfaithful" women, I was surprised. The book acted as if this was a casual and courageous act.

3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words)

I think the Odyssey is still relevant because many of the basic themes are still relevant today. Odysseus left Ithica not because he wanted to but because he had to. He had to fight in Troy. This is true today. Many people leave their homes because they have to fight in a war and protect their country.
I think the main reason, though, is because it is such a great story and people look at Odysseus as a man of power and honor. He is almost considered to be a god. He is wise, smart, brave, strong, and handsome. The gods themselves believed this and Zues decided that it was not Odysseus' fate to die on his journey back to Ithica.
The Odyssey also has such a mysterious background. No one knows for sure who exactly wrote it but it is believed a blind man wrote the whole poem and then recited Odysseus' journeys in the middle of town squares. I think the Odyssey is still so well known because so many people are still trying to figure out if Odysseus and if it's author, Homer, even existed.


short answers

4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?

I picture him as an old blind man with ragged clothes and a powerful voice. People probably saw him as a crazy blind man yelling the verses in the streets, but I'm sure he was wise.

5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?

A comtemptible act was when the suitors come to Odysseus' palace and take over. They treat his home and all that live in it horribly. Also the cyclops eats Odysseus' men and also acts like a bratty little kid.

6. How does the poem represent mortal women? Since Penelope is the most important woman in the Odyssey, what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)

The mortal women in the odyssey don't seem to have much power over the men.The women seem to be betrayed as weaker than the men and are only there for the men's pleasure.

7.How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs, and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?

The gods have complete control over the mortals. The gods believe that men are nothing without them and punish those who do not respect them. Where as our god is believed to be a peaceful being who forgives all.