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20090901-11 The Odyssey, Books 13-16 (Group 2)

Page history last edited by kmdixon@... 14 years, 6 months ago

Summary

 

 

In today's lecture, we finished up the discussion from last Thursday about the many examples of Xenia found throughout books I, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X.  Xenia can be found in The Odyssey in both proper and improper instances (see Passages). Xenia mandates how civilized a group of people act based on the Greek culture.  Every time Odysseus arrived somewhere new, he wanted to find out if the place was civilized.  A factor to help determine this can be seen in an epithet appearing on pg.428, lines 228-29 where Odysseus asks if the people of the land are lawless or god fearing men.

Throughout today's lecture, we also furthered our analysis of Greek culture; comparing their values to those that relate to our own culture today.  Similar to our own culture, the Greeks valued normal family relationships (no incest), society, and democracy (especially the Athenian form of democracy).  Those that were different included: the use of prophecies (birds in particular), the common act of slave trading by pirates or raiders, the raising of slaves alongside the King's offspring, and the willingness of the host to perform Xenia even when his guest has done him an injustice.  Another common element of Greek culture that came up during this week's readings, was the role of women in Greek society.  Greek women played a much different role in Ancient Greek culture, and we see this through the depiction of Penelope.    

The final topic of the lecture was about the different forms of irony found throughout the epic.  The three types of irony include: situational, meaning there is a contrast between what is expected and the actual result, dramatic, meaning the audience knows something the characters do not, and verbal, meaning a character says the opposite of what it meant.

 *word count - 297

 

Passages

 

Passages that display Xenia:

 

"But come, stay longer, keen as you are to sail,

so you can bathe and rest and lift your spirits,

then go back to your ship, delighted with a gift,

a prize of honor, something rare and fine

as a keepsake from myself.  The kind of gift

a host will give a stranger, friend to friend." (Book I, lines 355-360)

 

In this passage we see Telemachus following proper Xenia by offering Athena, disguised as Mentes, a parting gift.

 

"Every stranger and beggar

comes from Zeus, and whatever scrap we give him

he'll be glad to get.  So, quick, my girls,

give our newfound friend some food and drink

and bathe the man in the river, wherever you find some shelter from the wind." (Book IV, lines 227-232)

 

In this passage we see Nausicaa offering Odysseus food, drink, and a bath which is proper Xenia for respect from a host to a guest.

 

"Oh I knew it!

Broadsea broke in, mocking him to his face.  I never took you for someone skilled in games,

the kind that real men play throughout the world.

Not a chance.  You're some skipper of profiteers,

roving the high seas in his scudding craft,

reckoning up his freight with a keen eye out

for home cargo, grabbing the gold he can!

You're no athlete.  I see that." (Book VIII, lines 183-189)

 

Here Broadsea calls Odysseus out and insults him for not participating in the Phaeacians' games.  Basically he is saying that he knew the Odysseus isn't a real man.  This is improper Xenia of respect from host to guest.  In reply Odysseus goes on a long rant, throws a discus farther than any other man and challenges all Phaeacians to the sports except Laodamas whom is his host which is a good example of respect from guest to host.  Book VIII, lines 190-265

 

There are numerous more examples of Xenia throughout the epic.

 

Book VII - pg 352 - Alcinous offers Odysseus a "silver-studded chair" next to him, displacing his own son, so that they may eat. (good example of H-G)

Book IX - pg 377 - The cyclops bashes two of Odysseus' men to death, then eats them. (bad example of H-G)

            - pg 260 - Odysseus' sole reason of coming to Polyphemus' cave was to retrieve a parting gift. (bad example of G-H)

 Book X - pg 384 - Aeolus allows Odysseus and his men a place to stay for a month, and also gives him a parting gift (good example of H-G, and parting gift)

            - pg 385 - Odysseus returns to Aeolus and is turned away. (bad example of H-G)

 

Passages on the civilization of a people:

 

"What are they here -- violent, savage, lawless?

or friendly to strangers, god-fearing men? (Book XIII, lines 227-228)

 

This is the epithet Homer uses that Odysseus asks pretty much everytime he lands in a new place when he questions if there are civilized men.

 

"And reached the land of the high and mighty Cyclops,

lawless brutes, who trust so to the everlasting gods

they never plant with their own hands or plow the soil...

They have no meeting place for council, no laws either,

each a law to himself, ruling his wives and children,

not a care in the world for any neighbor."Book IX, Lines, 118-128)

 

This passage compliments the above epithet that Homer uses so often.  The Cyclops are depicted as opposite of what civilized men should be.

 

"her husband, who prepared my crew a barbarous welcome.

Snatching one of my men, he tore him up for dinner-

the other two sprang free and reached the ships.

But the king let loose a howling through the town

that brought tremendous Laestrygonians swarming up

from every side-hundreds, not like men, like Giants!...

They speared the crews like fish

and whisked them home to make their grisly meal."

(Book X, lines 126-136)

 

The Laestrygonians do not show any sort of civilized behavior in accordance with the Greeks.  Their cannibalistic nature regarding Odysseus' crew is completely off base from the Greek way of thinking.

 

Another bad example of a civilized people according to the Greeks is Aeolus.  He has six daughters and six sons which he chooses to marry off to one another.  This act of incest is highly frowned upon by the Greek culture. 

 

Passages including a prophecy:

 

"Oh no -- my father's prophecy years ago. . .

it all comes home to me with a vengeance now!

He used to say Poseidon was vexed with us because

we escorted all mankind and never came to grief.

He said that one day, as a well-build ship of ours

sailed home on the misty sea from such a convoy,

the god would crush it, yes," (Book XIII, Lines 194-200)

 

This passage describes one of the examples about how there always happens to have been a prophecy told years ago whenever something bad happens.  The Pheaechians' ship is turned to stone.  King Alcinous quickly sacrifices 12 bulls to Poseidon and diconstinues his tradation of giving a safe voyage home to every stranger that comes his way.

 

"At his last words a bird flew past on the right,

a hawk, Apollo's wind-swift herald-tiht in his claws

a struggling dove, and he ripped its feathers out

and they drifted down to earth between the ship

and the young prince himself...

The prophet called him aside, clear of his men,

and grasped his hand, exclaiming, 'Look, Telemachus,

the will of god just winged that bird on your right!

Why, the moment I saw it, here before my eyes,

I knew it was a sign.  No line more kingly than yours

in all of Ithaca-years will reign forever!'"

(Book XV, lines 587-598)

 

This is just one more example of the way in which the Greeks looked at signs and believed in prophecies as an insinuation of the future. 

 

Passages including dramatic irony

 

"Never another master kind as he!

I'll never find one-no matter where I go...

it's longing for him, him that wrings my hear-

Odysseus, lost and gone!

That man, old friend, far away as he is..."

(Book XIV, lines 160-170)

 

Eumaeus does not know that it is in fact a disguised Odysseus to which he is professing his longing for Odysseus to come home.  Eumaeus goes on to speak highly of his blessed king Odysseus on page 443 while Odysseus is still disguised as a beggar.

 

"Straight to the prince he rushed

and kissed his face and kissed his shining eyes,

and both hands, as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

As a father, brimming with love, welcomes home

his darling only son in a warm embrace-"

(Book XVI, lines 16-20)

 

When Telemachus arrives at the Swineherd's door the Swinherd immediately flew to greet him with all the care and passion that a man would bestow on his own flesh and blood, when in actuality Telemachus' biological father was in the room as well.  Also, dramatically ironic because Eumaeus talked of how Telemachus had to escape death on his journey and does not know that this was actually true; Telemachus did indeed have to avoid being killed on his journey home after learning of his father's predicament.

 

And with those words Odysseus kissed his son

and the tears streamed dow his cheeks and wet the ground,

though before he'd always reined his emotions back.

But still not convinced that it was his father

Telemachus broke out, wild with disbelief,

"No, you're not Odysseus! Not my father!

Just some spirit spellbinding me now-

to make me ache with sorrow all the more."

(Book XVI, lines 214-220)

 

When Odysseus reveals who he really is to Telemachus, this is Telemachus' response. He does not believe Odysseus because he has been disguised by Athena. This is a good example of dramatic irony because Telemachus has no idea that his father has been disguised. Also, because Odysseus left when Telemachus was so young, Telemachus would not know what Odysseus looks like, so even doubting that Odysseus is who he says he is would be another example of irony.

 

Terms

 

1. Xenia: The hospitality rules governed between the guest/host relationships that was important to the Greeks.  It consisted of 3 rules:

                   1. Respect from host to guest

                   2. Respect from guest to host

                   3. Xenion: Host presented guest with  parting gift.

 

2. Zenith: The top of the curve, where Greek culture is said to reside.

 

3. Nadir: The bottom of the curve, the place of bad standards for living.

 

4. Irony: Three Types

          1. Verbal- when somebody says something that is the opposite of what they actually mean

          2. Situational- when something happens that is the opposite of what is expected to happen.

          3. Dramatic- when the audience knows what is happening but the character at present does not.

 

 

 

Comments (2)

Brian Croxall said

at 2:50 pm on Sep 4, 2009

This is a fine start to the semester's notes. You've covered most of what we discussed in class. I was a bit surprised that your summary didn't have more details or examples of how xenia is seen throughout the poem (after all, we spent a good portion of class looking at such examples). In the place of the examples were the basic rules of xenia. In some ways these belonged more to the previous day of class, but since it's such an important concept (and because we did put them on the board again) it's not bad that they are there. The specifics of how our cultures are similar or different don't matter nearly as much as observing that we are learning about the Greek culture through reading the poem. The summary might be easier to read if it were broken up into paragraphs, however.

The notes become shaky when we reach the passages. In the first place, you are only allowed to have 3 passages from the class discussion show up on the blog. Without exception we will read more than just three passages in class, but one of your tasks is to choose the three best ones. Or the three that, when combined with your summary, create the most complete picture of the day's work. (An advanced method for writing these notes is to use the passages to flesh out what you've talked about in the summary or even bringing in completely new points that you don't have space for in the summary). In the second place, your discussion of the passages needs to be more detailed. The purpose is not for you to tell me what is already there. Rather you should tell me more concretely why a particular passage is important.

The definitions are fine, except for the fact that we didn't discuss "zenith" or "nadir" in the 11:00 class. These were, however, perhaps added by someone from the 9:30 class and everyone in your group was reluctant to take them out as you might have missed the passages yourself.

Brian Croxall said

at 8:12 pm on Sep 11, 2009

I've just looked at the revised version of your notes. Not a whole lot was done and what was done was done solely by Katie. The summary is a bit easier to read now that it has been broken up into paragraphs and a few typos are fixed. But there have been no significant changes to it. Nor have there been changes to the passages or to the definitions.

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