1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Why teach The Aeneid?
As you might have guessed over the last posts that The Aeneid is very similar to the Odyssey and Iliad, so why should we teach it if it is so much like the two epics before it? Although the Aeneid does have common characteristics with Homer's works but it is also different. One main thing to remember is that there are definite teachable aspects of the epic that are important for our students today.
1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
2) Themes: Like the other texts I've gone over, there are themes that can be tied into our society. One of the themes is that of power. Virgil wrote his text in a time when Rome was just blossoming into a powerhouse empire. Caesar Augustus (Octavian) made himself a symbol of political power, ending the civil wars that started after Julius Caesar's death. Power of Rome is discussed in the text, such as when Jupiter and Aeneas's father predict that Rome will expand to the edges of the earth. The Aeneid argues that with great power comes great responsibility. You can easily have students translate this into a discussion about power today. What does it mean for a leader to be powerful? What about a country? Is peace a symbol of power? There are other themes such as warfare, duty, mortality, the past, and family that are all aspects of our global society today.
Again, this has been a crazy week, but next week should be a good one. I'm read The Metamorphoses by Ovid. Listen to this description. The Metamorphoses was written in approximately 8 CE. It begins with the story of the creation of the universe all the way to the death of Julius Caesar. There are multiple tales many readers know such as the one about Jason and the Argonauts, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Trojan War, Echo and Carcissus, the Minotar, Daedalus and Icarus, Hercules, Aeneas and Dido, the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda, and others. There is a common theme through all the stories: transformation. Through this common theme there is humor, pathos, death, and cruelty. As the text I have says, "Ovid reveals how the endless ebb and flow turn to stone, and is mirrored in the often paradoxical and always arbitrary fate of the poem's characters, both human and divine." I KNOW you're excited to hear about this one. Here's the schedule for the week:
7/1: History
7/2: Books I-III
7/3: Books IV-VII
7/4: Books VIII-XI
7/5: Books XII-XV
7/7: Final post
This is going to be a good week because I'm in Key West. I'll channel my inner Ernest Hemmingway and it will be magical. Get ready for the week!
Cassy
1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Aeneid
I apologize, again, for being away for five-ish days. It's been a long week coaching kids and helping run camp. I lost my voice, but my teams won the championship games. You can leave comments of congratulations if you'd like. While I was away, I hope you pondered about The Aeneid. This epic poem is essentially the Roman answer to the Iliad and Odyssey. The poem was written between 29 and 19 BCE. Virgil writes about the triumph of the Roman culture, the transformation of the devastation of Troy, and Aeneas's struggles and successes.
Since I've been gone all week, I'm going to give a short summary of the entire poem. I apologize for not giving this text the time it deserves, but such is life. The story takes place after the fall of Troy. The Trojan prince, Aeneas, leads a small group of survivors in search of a new home in Italy. As luck would have it for our epic heroes, as the group sails away, they are seen by the goddess Juno (Greek and Roman gods and goddess have a lot of similarities, but some differences as well. This link has a chart describing them both and which ones represented each other--i.e. Hera is Juno in Roman: Greek vs. Roman gods/goddesses). Juno doesn't like the Trojans because she carries a grudge. The Trojans are destined to become Romans, who will end up destroying Carthage, her favorite city. With the help of the god of winds, Juno has a storm force the Trojans to take refuge in Carthage.
Good thing the Trojans have Aeneas. His mom is Venus, who introduces him to Dido. Dido happens to be the gorgeous queen of Carthage and is recently widowed. Venus gets Amor (love) to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneas. That night, a feast is held in his honor. Aeneas tells Dido the story of how Troy was destroyed and his escape. His wife happened to die in the destruction of the city--which makes this affair rather convenient. Aeneas also talks about he and the other survivors' travels across the ocean and their encounter with many mythological creatures (kind of like Odysseus's story). The story ends with the death of Aeneas's father.
Aeneas and his band of survivors end up staying the winter in Carthage. During that time, he and Dido become a couple. Jupiter (who is the king of gods like Zeus) is a little worried that Aeneas won't complete his destiny of founding Rome. He sends the god Mercury to tell Aeneas he better start getting a move on it. Dido kills herself.
A storm forces the Trojans to land in a new city, Sicily, the place where they buried Aeneas's father a year before. The Trojan men hold athletic events to honor him (like Achilles did in the Iliad). While these sporting events are going on, the women are convinced by Juno to set the Trojan ships on fire. Aeneas realizes that everyone doesn't want to go to Italy like he does, so he leaves most of them in Sicily, only taking his VIP group. Their first stop is Cumae, in the Bay of Naples, where the prophetess Sibyl is. She takes Aeneas to the underworld, where he talks to his father and also sees the future Roman heroes, waiting to be born. He also sees Dido, but she refuses to talk to him.
Shaken up by what he sees in the underworld, Aeneas sails to Latium. The king of Latium, Latinus, has had a recent oracle tell him that his only child, Lavinia, must marry a foreign husband. Guess who that lucky guy is? Yes, Aeneas. One problem with this deal is that Latinus's wife wants their daughter to marry a local prince named Turnus. Juno, who is excited by this tiff, sends down Fury to make Latinus's wife and Turnus enraged. She then tricks one of Aeneas's men to shoot a deer kept as a pet by Latinus's gamekeeper. This starts a war between the Italians and the Trojans.
While the Italians are trying to find people to help them, the god of the River Tiber comes to Aeneas in a dream and tells him to make an alliance with the Arcadian King Evander. Aeneas does as he's told (we've seen what happens when you don't listen to gods/goddesses). Evander gives Aeneas some men, including his own son, Pallas. He also tells Aeneas to team up with the Etruscans. After Aeneas goes to speak to them, Venus gives him some armor made by the god Vulcan. It has scenes depicting the future of Rome.
As Aeneas is gone, Turnus attacks the Trojan fort, but can't capture it. That night, two Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus, try to break through the Italian lines to get to Aeneas, but they end up being killed. Two days later, Aeneas shows up with his new friends. In battle. Turnus kills Pallas. The next day, Aeneas and the Italians agree on a twelve-day truce to bury the dead, but like many truces, it's broken three days later. The following battle leads to the death of Camilla, a warrior queen who was allied with Turnus.
That evening, Turnus fights Aeneas one-on-one for Lavinia and the kingdom. The next day, before the fight begins, Turnus's sister, Juturna, who is a nymph, eggs on a Trojan soldier to throw a spear at the Italians. A new battle begins. After a lot of death and fighting, Aeneas and Turnus go at it. Aeneas wounds him and Turnus begs for his life. Aeneas considers it until he sees Turnus is wearing a belt he stole from Pallas. He then kills Turnus. That's the end, folks.
Since this week is so loopy, I'll make a long post on Sunday about why this text is important. If you've felt a little cheated (I don't blame you, since I've been gone), you should read it within the next few days before I post. The next post will hopefully make up for my absence. I apologize, for the last time.
Until then,
Cassy
Since I've been gone all week, I'm going to give a short summary of the entire poem. I apologize for not giving this text the time it deserves, but such is life. The story takes place after the fall of Troy. The Trojan prince, Aeneas, leads a small group of survivors in search of a new home in Italy. As luck would have it for our epic heroes, as the group sails away, they are seen by the goddess Juno (Greek and Roman gods and goddess have a lot of similarities, but some differences as well. This link has a chart describing them both and which ones represented each other--i.e. Hera is Juno in Roman: Greek vs. Roman gods/goddesses). Juno doesn't like the Trojans because she carries a grudge. The Trojans are destined to become Romans, who will end up destroying Carthage, her favorite city. With the help of the god of winds, Juno has a storm force the Trojans to take refuge in Carthage.
Good thing the Trojans have Aeneas. His mom is Venus, who introduces him to Dido. Dido happens to be the gorgeous queen of Carthage and is recently widowed. Venus gets Amor (love) to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneas. That night, a feast is held in his honor. Aeneas tells Dido the story of how Troy was destroyed and his escape. His wife happened to die in the destruction of the city--which makes this affair rather convenient. Aeneas also talks about he and the other survivors' travels across the ocean and their encounter with many mythological creatures (kind of like Odysseus's story). The story ends with the death of Aeneas's father.
Aeneas and his band of survivors end up staying the winter in Carthage. During that time, he and Dido become a couple. Jupiter (who is the king of gods like Zeus) is a little worried that Aeneas won't complete his destiny of founding Rome. He sends the god Mercury to tell Aeneas he better start getting a move on it. Dido kills herself.
A storm forces the Trojans to land in a new city, Sicily, the place where they buried Aeneas's father a year before. The Trojan men hold athletic events to honor him (like Achilles did in the Iliad). While these sporting events are going on, the women are convinced by Juno to set the Trojan ships on fire. Aeneas realizes that everyone doesn't want to go to Italy like he does, so he leaves most of them in Sicily, only taking his VIP group. Their first stop is Cumae, in the Bay of Naples, where the prophetess Sibyl is. She takes Aeneas to the underworld, where he talks to his father and also sees the future Roman heroes, waiting to be born. He also sees Dido, but she refuses to talk to him.
Shaken up by what he sees in the underworld, Aeneas sails to Latium. The king of Latium, Latinus, has had a recent oracle tell him that his only child, Lavinia, must marry a foreign husband. Guess who that lucky guy is? Yes, Aeneas. One problem with this deal is that Latinus's wife wants their daughter to marry a local prince named Turnus. Juno, who is excited by this tiff, sends down Fury to make Latinus's wife and Turnus enraged. She then tricks one of Aeneas's men to shoot a deer kept as a pet by Latinus's gamekeeper. This starts a war between the Italians and the Trojans.
While the Italians are trying to find people to help them, the god of the River Tiber comes to Aeneas in a dream and tells him to make an alliance with the Arcadian King Evander. Aeneas does as he's told (we've seen what happens when you don't listen to gods/goddesses). Evander gives Aeneas some men, including his own son, Pallas. He also tells Aeneas to team up with the Etruscans. After Aeneas goes to speak to them, Venus gives him some armor made by the god Vulcan. It has scenes depicting the future of Rome.
As Aeneas is gone, Turnus attacks the Trojan fort, but can't capture it. That night, two Trojan warriors, Nisus and Euryalus, try to break through the Italian lines to get to Aeneas, but they end up being killed. Two days later, Aeneas shows up with his new friends. In battle. Turnus kills Pallas. The next day, Aeneas and the Italians agree on a twelve-day truce to bury the dead, but like many truces, it's broken three days later. The following battle leads to the death of Camilla, a warrior queen who was allied with Turnus.
That evening, Turnus fights Aeneas one-on-one for Lavinia and the kingdom. The next day, before the fight begins, Turnus's sister, Juturna, who is a nymph, eggs on a Trojan soldier to throw a spear at the Italians. A new battle begins. After a lot of death and fighting, Aeneas and Turnus go at it. Aeneas wounds him and Turnus begs for his life. Aeneas considers it until he sees Turnus is wearing a belt he stole from Pallas. He then kills Turnus. That's the end, folks.
Since this week is so loopy, I'll make a long post on Sunday about why this text is important. If you've felt a little cheated (I don't blame you, since I've been gone), you should read it within the next few days before I post. The next post will hopefully make up for my absence. I apologize, for the last time.
Until then,
Cassy
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Why teach the Odyssey?
Apologies in advance for this week. I'm working a residential basketball camp (I can't pass up making money), so I'm taking a brief blogging hiatus. I work camp through Thursday, so I'll either catch up with The Aeneid on Thursday or Friday. If I blogged every day, I think I'd get about four hours of sleep, and no one wants to see me on four hours of sleep. The camp started today, which is why I'm so late. I'm going to have a short post (I'm sorry, again) about why to teach the Odyssey to your students in our modern society.
Obviously, the Odyssey is still important. I mean, we're teaching it almost 3,000 years after it was written. But why? Who cares? Well, you should (duh). The Odyssey is hard for students to grasp some times. This book was written to capture the imaginations of audiences and leave them in amazement. It's hard to do that sometimes when kids are surrounded by so much media: Internet, videogames, movies, and television. There are drawbacks in the narrative sequence. Many students have heard about Calypso and Circe, but don't really pay attention to the beginning portion when Telemachus is having to lament about the suitors taking over his house. Plotting might cause students to be put off by the time we get to the slaughter of the suitors. BUT YOU NEED TO STILL TEACH THIS. Here's a list of lesson plans, even a UbD (MY FAVORITE) lesson plan for teaching this. This is super, super helpful if you're struggling. Click the link for teaching help! Teaching Homer's Odyssey
The Odyssey teaches students about, again, the devastating effects of war. Think about how terribly Laertes, Telemachus, Penelope, and Odysseus's mother, even Odysseus himself. You can easy apply this to wars now, just like with the Iliad. The theme of growing up is present with Telemachus. How can this not be appropriate to high school students going to college? They have to deal with the hardships of not having parents around. Since I have to cut it short (it's almost midnight. I'm definitely not getting eight hours of sleep. Not good.), I'm going to leave you with some further reading on the applicability of the Odyssey.
For some further reading, the following link provides multiple articles about war and the Odyssey, the Odyssey's effect on history and Western culture, the similarities between the Odyssey and other novels. I recommend clicking it and reading it if you're interested in this. CLICK IT! NYtimes.com The Odyssey
Since I didn't live up to blogging expectations, I'm going to leave you with a short video that tells the story in 14 seconds (I think it's kind of cute).
Did you enjoy it? I thought so! Okay, remember! I won't be here again until Thursday maybe even Friday, depending on how Thursday goes. Don't be sad. Reread my other posts! I'm sorry again,
I'll be back,
Cassy
Obviously, the Odyssey is still important. I mean, we're teaching it almost 3,000 years after it was written. But why? Who cares? Well, you should (duh). The Odyssey is hard for students to grasp some times. This book was written to capture the imaginations of audiences and leave them in amazement. It's hard to do that sometimes when kids are surrounded by so much media: Internet, videogames, movies, and television. There are drawbacks in the narrative sequence. Many students have heard about Calypso and Circe, but don't really pay attention to the beginning portion when Telemachus is having to lament about the suitors taking over his house. Plotting might cause students to be put off by the time we get to the slaughter of the suitors. BUT YOU NEED TO STILL TEACH THIS. Here's a list of lesson plans, even a UbD (MY FAVORITE) lesson plan for teaching this. This is super, super helpful if you're struggling. Click the link for teaching help! Teaching Homer's Odyssey
The Odyssey teaches students about, again, the devastating effects of war. Think about how terribly Laertes, Telemachus, Penelope, and Odysseus's mother, even Odysseus himself. You can easy apply this to wars now, just like with the Iliad. The theme of growing up is present with Telemachus. How can this not be appropriate to high school students going to college? They have to deal with the hardships of not having parents around. Since I have to cut it short (it's almost midnight. I'm definitely not getting eight hours of sleep. Not good.), I'm going to leave you with some further reading on the applicability of the Odyssey.
For some further reading, the following link provides multiple articles about war and the Odyssey, the Odyssey's effect on history and Western culture, the similarities between the Odyssey and other novels. I recommend clicking it and reading it if you're interested in this. CLICK IT! NYtimes.com The Odyssey
Since I didn't live up to blogging expectations, I'm going to leave you with a short video that tells the story in 14 seconds (I think it's kind of cute).
Did you enjoy it? I thought so! Okay, remember! I won't be here again until Thursday maybe even Friday, depending on how Thursday goes. Don't be sad. Reread my other posts! I'm sorry again,
I'll be back,
Cassy
Friday, June 21, 2013
Technology and Teaching the Odyssey
I've been talking about visualization and the Odyssey. This reading comprehension strategy is especially useful because of the technology we have today. That's one of the big ideas I've been rambling about for three weeks now. Technology can help our students dive into a world where they might not be completely familiar with it, but there are teachable moments, even for our modern students. Today, I won't explicitly be talking about visualization, but you can see how it works in the video that is below. Please watch it. This video is about differentiation and visualization, two major components in students mastering knowledge.
You can see how this can be applicable to any text. You might notice that the students look like they're actually having fun (gasp!) while learning. I fully endorse this type of teaching. It's engaging, interactive, and takes advantage of the technology provided to us today to help students learn about one of the oldest pieces of literature that we have.
Let me know what you think! I'll post again on Sunday about why we should teach the Odyssey to our students today.
Cassy
You can see how this can be applicable to any text. You might notice that the students look like they're actually having fun (gasp!) while learning. I fully endorse this type of teaching. It's engaging, interactive, and takes advantage of the technology provided to us today to help students learn about one of the oldest pieces of literature that we have.
Let me know what you think! I'll post again on Sunday about why we should teach the Odyssey to our students today.
Cassy
The Odysseys: Summary of Books XIX-XXIV
Book XIX is called "The Meeting with Penelope and the Recognition by Eurycleia." Odysseus, who still is in the disguise of the beggar, orders Telemachus to get rid of the suitors' weapons, just like they planned. Telemachus tells Eurycleia to shut the women in their rooms while he does so. Telemachus and Odysseus remove the weapons together. Athena lights the way for them. Telemachus is moved by how much Athena has helped them both. Penelope is waiting in her room for Odysseus, the beggar. Penelope tells the beggar about her life without Odysseus and how she tricked the suitors, but now, she's about to marry one of them to get out of Telemachus's house and give him some peace. Odysseus tells Penelope about his fake life and about how he hosted Odysseus once (boy, that sounds like a confusing sentence out of context). Penelope gets excited when she hears Odysseus's name, but doesn't quite believe that he's alive. Odysseus says that Odysseus will be back today and Penelope weeps with joy. She offers him a bath, and he says he wants one from the oldest maid who has suffered as much as he has. Penelope gets Eurycleia, who was Odysseus's nurse when he was a child. She comments that he looks a lot like Odysseus, but says he gets that a lot. During the bath, Odysseus realizes he has a scar on his thigh that he got when he was a boy and knows that if Eurycleia saw it she would recognize him. She sees it and proceeds to freak out. Odysseus makes her promise to be silent about it, and she does (who would disobey Odysseus?). Penelope comes back and asks the beggar (Odysseus) to interpret a dream. He says that dream means death to all the suitors, but she doesn't believe him. She says she's going to have a contest tomorrow and whichever suitor wins she will marry. The contest is for them to string Odysseus's old boy and shoot it through 12 axe heads. Odysseus promises that Odysseus will be there (what a weird sentence). She still doesn't really believe him and heads to bed.
Book XX is "Before the Slaughter." Oh, how we missed the gore that was in the Iliad. Well, it's coming very soon. Odysseys is lying down outside Penelope's room, but can't sleep. He sees some female servants going to sleep with the suitors. He's angry but keeps his mouth shut. Athena comes down and gives him a pep talk about killing 100+ suitors. Odysseus wakes up at dawn and asks Zeus for an omen that affirms he should be home. Zeus hears and sends a thunderclap and it's a nice sunny day, no storm clouds present. A maid working in the fields hears the clap and knows Zeus must be listening. She prays that he hard work feeding the suitors will soon be over (trust me, it is). Back to Odysseus, he takes the thunderclap as a good sign. Telemachus orders a feast for the day because it is a holiday. Odysseus runs into Eumaeus and Philoetius and he asks them if Odysseus did return if they would fight on his side against the suitors. They both say they would. During the feast, Athena thinks it would be a good idea to get Odysseus worked up so she has the suitors taunt him. They do. The prophesier Theoclymenus said he saw the great hall dripping with blood. He tells everyone and all the suitors laugh at him.
Book XXI is titled "The Trial of the Bow." Penelope now takes the sacred bow off the wall and reminisces how Odysseus got it. She tells the suitors about the contest. Eumaeus and Philoetius cry because this means Odysseus isn't coming back and Antinous mocks them both. Telemachus is the first to try and string the bow, not because he wants to marry Penelope, but because he wants to prove his manliness. After four tries, it seems as though he is about to do it, but Odysseus signals for him not to. Telemachus hands the bow to the first suitor who absolutely cannot string it. Antinous asks for some supplies to help them string the bow, which is cheating. Eumaeus and Philoetius leave the hall and Odysseus chases after them, revealing himself. Meanwhile, other suitors are failing to string the bow. To delay his turn, Antinous tells everyone he'll string it after they eat. Odysseus asks if he can string the bow. Antinous says no, but Penelope scolds him and says he should try. Telemachus orders his mom to go to her room. He also tells Eurycleia to lock the women away and not come out, even if they hear battle noises. The beggar takes his time stringing the bow as the suitors make fun of him...until he strings it and shoots the arrow through the 12 axe heads. Telemachus moves towards Odysseus with his weapons. HE'S BACK!
Book XXII is "The Slaughter of the Suitors." Blood and gore time. Odysseus goes for Antinous first. He hits him in the throat with an arrow while he's drinking wine. The other suits scatter. Other suitors are killed and Telemachus runs to the storage room with the weapons to arm Eumaeus and Philoetius. The problem with that is Melanthius follows them to the room and quickly arms the suitors. Odysseus is none too pleased with that. Telemachus apologizes and all is forgiven. Eumaeus and Philoetius are ordered to rush after Melanthius and tie him up in the storage room. While they're away, Odysseus and Telemachus are cornered. Athena disguises herself as Mentor again and Odysseus recognizes who she is. He asks for help. She says they haven't proved that they need her assistance yet. She watches while her two mortals pick off suitors one by one. Finally, Athena shows her sign--a shield--in the air and the suitors realize Odysseus has help from the gods. They beg for mercy but Odysseus shows none. Once all the suitors are dead (yeah, the place is dripping with blood), Odysseus tells Eurycleia to get out the disloyal women. She asks Odysseus if he should change clothes because his are bloodstained, but he declines (wonder why). Out of the 50 maids, 12 are disloyal. He orders them to drag the bodies of the suitors outside. He then tells Telemachus to chop the disloyal maids into pieces, but Telemachus gives them the more dishonorable death of hanging. Odysseus then purifies the hall and reunites with the loyal servants.
Book XXIII, "The Recognition by Penelope," starts with Eurycleia going to get Penelope to tell her that Odysseus has returned and killed all the suitors. Apparently she didn't hear the bloodbath going on because she doesn't believe her. She then goes to see the suitors dead and thinks that some other hero, not Odysseus, has saved her. She says that if this man was really Odysseus, he would know their secrets. Odysseus smiles knowingly. He then tells everyone to keep the death of the suitors a secret because he killed all 100+ noblemen. He decides to tell all of Ithaca they're having a party that night. During the feast, Odysseus sits by Penelope. She says that he can sleep in the bed outside of Penelope's room that Odysseus carved. He's furious because that means someone moved the bed outside of the room. Apparently that was the secret. Penelope now knows the man is Odysseus and they make love and swap stories from the last 20 years. The next morning, Odysseus says he will visit his father, Laertes. Odysseus orders the women to lock themselves away incase potential avengers come from the town. Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius all go to see Laertes while Athena wraps them in a cloud of mist for protection.
Book XXIV is titled "Peace." Finally, right? While Odysseus is one earth, Hermes is leading the ghosts of the dead suitors to the Underworld. Achilles and Agamemnon talk about the Trojan War and Agamemnon talks about his murder. They then ask the suitors why they are all in the Underworld. One tells the entire story, and blames Penelope in the process (what??). Agamemnon is happy for Odysseus who has a faithful wife, unlike his. Back on earth, Odysseus finds Laertes in his garden. He decides to test his loyalty. After a bit, Odysseus proves who he is by showing his father the scar on his thigh. Back in town, everyone has heard about the slaughter at the hall. Some townspeople are angry, but a council is formed and the council says that the gods are on Odysseus's side and it would be a bad idea to kill him. But Antinous's father says that they should kill Odysseus. Athena asks Zeus if he wants more blood to be shed in revenge. Zeus says that Odysseus can only become king again if the people accept him. The men march to Laertes's house to fight Odysseus. There's a small skirmish and Antinous's father is killed. Athena comes down and tells Odysseus to stop the battle or Zeus will be mad. Both parties swear peace in front of Athena. Now, Ithaca is back to normal.
What a touching story, right? I'll have the next post out soon!
Cassy
Book XX is "Before the Slaughter." Oh, how we missed the gore that was in the Iliad. Well, it's coming very soon. Odysseys is lying down outside Penelope's room, but can't sleep. He sees some female servants going to sleep with the suitors. He's angry but keeps his mouth shut. Athena comes down and gives him a pep talk about killing 100+ suitors. Odysseus wakes up at dawn and asks Zeus for an omen that affirms he should be home. Zeus hears and sends a thunderclap and it's a nice sunny day, no storm clouds present. A maid working in the fields hears the clap and knows Zeus must be listening. She prays that he hard work feeding the suitors will soon be over (trust me, it is). Back to Odysseus, he takes the thunderclap as a good sign. Telemachus orders a feast for the day because it is a holiday. Odysseus runs into Eumaeus and Philoetius and he asks them if Odysseus did return if they would fight on his side against the suitors. They both say they would. During the feast, Athena thinks it would be a good idea to get Odysseus worked up so she has the suitors taunt him. They do. The prophesier Theoclymenus said he saw the great hall dripping with blood. He tells everyone and all the suitors laugh at him.
Book XXI is titled "The Trial of the Bow." Penelope now takes the sacred bow off the wall and reminisces how Odysseus got it. She tells the suitors about the contest. Eumaeus and Philoetius cry because this means Odysseus isn't coming back and Antinous mocks them both. Telemachus is the first to try and string the bow, not because he wants to marry Penelope, but because he wants to prove his manliness. After four tries, it seems as though he is about to do it, but Odysseus signals for him not to. Telemachus hands the bow to the first suitor who absolutely cannot string it. Antinous asks for some supplies to help them string the bow, which is cheating. Eumaeus and Philoetius leave the hall and Odysseus chases after them, revealing himself. Meanwhile, other suitors are failing to string the bow. To delay his turn, Antinous tells everyone he'll string it after they eat. Odysseus asks if he can string the bow. Antinous says no, but Penelope scolds him and says he should try. Telemachus orders his mom to go to her room. He also tells Eurycleia to lock the women away and not come out, even if they hear battle noises. The beggar takes his time stringing the bow as the suitors make fun of him...until he strings it and shoots the arrow through the 12 axe heads. Telemachus moves towards Odysseus with his weapons. HE'S BACK!
Book XXII is "The Slaughter of the Suitors." Blood and gore time. Odysseus goes for Antinous first. He hits him in the throat with an arrow while he's drinking wine. The other suits scatter. Other suitors are killed and Telemachus runs to the storage room with the weapons to arm Eumaeus and Philoetius. The problem with that is Melanthius follows them to the room and quickly arms the suitors. Odysseus is none too pleased with that. Telemachus apologizes and all is forgiven. Eumaeus and Philoetius are ordered to rush after Melanthius and tie him up in the storage room. While they're away, Odysseus and Telemachus are cornered. Athena disguises herself as Mentor again and Odysseus recognizes who she is. He asks for help. She says they haven't proved that they need her assistance yet. She watches while her two mortals pick off suitors one by one. Finally, Athena shows her sign--a shield--in the air and the suitors realize Odysseus has help from the gods. They beg for mercy but Odysseus shows none. Once all the suitors are dead (yeah, the place is dripping with blood), Odysseus tells Eurycleia to get out the disloyal women. She asks Odysseus if he should change clothes because his are bloodstained, but he declines (wonder why). Out of the 50 maids, 12 are disloyal. He orders them to drag the bodies of the suitors outside. He then tells Telemachus to chop the disloyal maids into pieces, but Telemachus gives them the more dishonorable death of hanging. Odysseus then purifies the hall and reunites with the loyal servants.
Book XXIII, "The Recognition by Penelope," starts with Eurycleia going to get Penelope to tell her that Odysseus has returned and killed all the suitors. Apparently she didn't hear the bloodbath going on because she doesn't believe her. She then goes to see the suitors dead and thinks that some other hero, not Odysseus, has saved her. She says that if this man was really Odysseus, he would know their secrets. Odysseus smiles knowingly. He then tells everyone to keep the death of the suitors a secret because he killed all 100+ noblemen. He decides to tell all of Ithaca they're having a party that night. During the feast, Odysseus sits by Penelope. She says that he can sleep in the bed outside of Penelope's room that Odysseus carved. He's furious because that means someone moved the bed outside of the room. Apparently that was the secret. Penelope now knows the man is Odysseus and they make love and swap stories from the last 20 years. The next morning, Odysseus says he will visit his father, Laertes. Odysseus orders the women to lock themselves away incase potential avengers come from the town. Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius all go to see Laertes while Athena wraps them in a cloud of mist for protection.
Book XXIV is titled "Peace." Finally, right? While Odysseus is one earth, Hermes is leading the ghosts of the dead suitors to the Underworld. Achilles and Agamemnon talk about the Trojan War and Agamemnon talks about his murder. They then ask the suitors why they are all in the Underworld. One tells the entire story, and blames Penelope in the process (what??). Agamemnon is happy for Odysseus who has a faithful wife, unlike his. Back on earth, Odysseus finds Laertes in his garden. He decides to test his loyalty. After a bit, Odysseus proves who he is by showing his father the scar on his thigh. Back in town, everyone has heard about the slaughter at the hall. Some townspeople are angry, but a council is formed and the council says that the gods are on Odysseus's side and it would be a bad idea to kill him. But Antinous's father says that they should kill Odysseus. Athena asks Zeus if he wants more blood to be shed in revenge. Zeus says that Odysseus can only become king again if the people accept him. The men march to Laertes's house to fight Odysseus. There's a small skirmish and Antinous's father is killed. Athena comes down and tells Odysseus to stop the battle or Zeus will be mad. Both parties swear peace in front of Athena. Now, Ithaca is back to normal.
What a touching story, right? I'll have the next post out soon!
Cassy
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Allusions in the Odyssey
I don't have time to go into much detail about the books today and visualization, but I wanted to leave you with a little something to make you happy. The Odyssey has had great influence on literature, movies, plays, and television. One of my favorite movies has many allusions of the Odyssey, O' Brother Where Art Thou. The following clip from YouTube shows the allusions between the two. It would be a great clip to show students one day, so they realize how ancient epics have had their influence on our modern society.
Sorry for being pressed for time, but I hope you enjoy this clip. It would be great for a mini-lesson!
Cassy
Sorry for being pressed for time, but I hope you enjoy this clip. It would be great for a mini-lesson!
Cassy
The Odyssey: Summary of Books XIII-XVIII
Today is going to be short, sweet, and to the point (hopefully) because I'm pressed for time. Apologies in advance.
Book XIII is titled "From Phaeacia to Ithaca." After Odysseus is done telling his tale, Alcinous tells him that he will make sure Odysseus will return to Ithaca with much wealth. They have a feast all the next day while Alcinous's men prepare ships for Odysseus, who is impatient to leave. That night, Alcinous's men row him to Ithaca and he actually makes it. They land on a rocky area of the island. Odysseus slept the entire trip so the men unload him and the treasures he brought. Poseidon obviously isn't happy that Odysseus made it home so he goes and tells Zeus that he needs to suffer more. Zeus pretty much tells him that he's a god and can do anything to mortals that he wants. Poseidon finds Alcinous's men's ship, who's about home, and promptly turns it into stone. It sinks. Athena sees what's going on and covers Odysseus in a mist while he sleeps. Odysseus wakes up and doesn't realize where he is. He thinks he's been deceived. Athena comes down and reveals herself. She tells him that she's had his back the whole time. Odysseus is happy about that. She assures him that he's in Ithaca. She helps Odysseus hide the treasure in a cave and they come up with a plan. She dresses him up like a beggar because who really wants to talk to a beggar? Then, she tells him to go talk to the pig herder and she flies off to tell Telemachus that Odysseus is home.
Book XIV is called "The Stay with Eumaeus." Odysseus shows up at the pig herder and is nearly attacked by dogs. The pig herder Eumaeus comes out and stops them. He welcomes Odysseus and offers him what little he has. He begins to talk about life without Odysseus, which hasn't been fun. Still disguised, Odysseus tries to tell him that Odysseus isn't actually dead and he will come back. Eumaeus doesn't really believe him and asks Odysseus to tell him about himself. Odysseus makes up a lie that's actually pretty similar to the truth and says that he saw Odysseus and he knows that he is on his way back home. This gives Eumaeus some hope. Eventually, they go to sleep and Eumaeus says he can give him shelter and food until Telemachus returns then he will help him to the palace.
Book XV, "Telemachus and Eumaeus" begins with Athena telling Telemachus to return to Ithaca immediately because Penelope is about to marry a suitor (this isn't true). She tells him to go to Eumaeus when he returns to Ithaca and Eumaeus will tell Penelope that Telemachus is back. At dawn, Telemachus gets some gifts and Helen interprets an eagle flying with a dead goose in its talons as a sign that Odysseus has returned and will kill the suitors. The day he is to leave, a man gifted with prophetic abilities approaches Telemachus to ask for a ride back to Ithaca. Telemachus says sure. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus tests Eumaeus's hospitality, but he prevails. He then asks about his father and mother. Eumaeus says Odysseus's father would like to be dead because he grieves because Odysseus is gone. We learn some background on Eumaeus and they spend the rest of the night chatting. Eventually, Telemachus gets to Ithaca and heads to Eumaeus's house.
Book XVI is titled "The Recognition by Telemachus." Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus's house where Eumaeus asks if Telemachus can house the beggar (Odysseus). Telemachus says their house is full of suitors right now, so he really can't have him over. Telemachus laments that he won't be able to oust the suitors. Odysseus encourages Telemachus, but Telemachus is still pretty negative about it. He sends Eumaeus to tell Penelope that he's returned, but tells him not to mention it to the suitors. Athena then pops out of nowhere and tells Odysseus to reveal himself to Telemachus. The father and son then have a happy reunion. Odysseus tells Telemachus the plan to get rid of the suitors: Athena will disguise him as a beggar again and he will head to distract the suitors while Telemachus locks their weapons away in another room. He tells Telemachus not to let anyone else know that he's back. The duo agrees to talk to the lady servants to see who is being loyal to Odysseus. They then send a runner to tell Penelope Telemachus has returned. Not a good move because then all the suitors find out. The suitors decide they must move fast to kill Telemachus. They aren't fazed by this new wrinkle in the plan then head to sleep when Eumaeus gets back.
Book XVII is "The Return of Telemachus to Ithaca." Telemachus wakes up and wants to go see Penelope. He tells Eumaeus to let the beggar go to town and beg for food. He gets home and orders Penelope to get cleaned up and pray to Zeus for favor against the suitors. The suitors are all lounging around, being their lazy selves. Odysseus and Eumaeus then head to town. They reach the royal hall and Eumaeus goes in first. Odysseus speaks first and sees his old dog perk up his ears. Odysseus sheds a tear for his dog, who was a puppy when he left, and how he is mistreated. As Odysseus speaks, the dog breathes his last breath, happy seeing his master again (more sad than Old Yeller). Telemachus enters the hall and pretends he doesn't know who the beggar is. The suitors mock the beggar (bad idea considering Athena said they're all about to die). Penelope comes down and asks the beggar about Odysseus he says that he'll talk with her later tonight.
Book XVIII is titled "The Fight of Odysseus and Irus." Irus, the regular beggar at the hall, sees Odysseus begging and says that the town isn't big enough for two beggars. Antinous eggs them on and they start to fight. Antinous says that if Odysseus wins, he will castrate and beat Irus. Odysseus tries to be merciful and only hits Irus once. Unfortunately, this is enough to break Irus's jaw. Athena puts Penelope asleep and makes her lovelier than she already is. Penelope then wakes up and has an alluring effect on the men. She doesn't realize it though, and chastises Telemachus for allowing fights to go on in their house. Penelope actually ends up flirting a little with the suitors after one says that she is beautiful. She tells them that no one has actually really courted her correctly; no one has given her gifts. Although she says this, no suitor stands up and offers her a gift because they've run off actually looking for gifts to give. They finally give her gifts and her maids help take them back. At night, there's a feast and one of suitors tries to fight with Odysseus, but someone stops them and says they have more wine to drink.
Because of time constraints, I won't be able to do a visualization post, but I think you guys get it. I apologize. Don't be mad. Tomorrow will be back to normal. I'll post about the final six books and have a visualization post, then Sunday I will have my final post.
My apologies again,
Cassy
Book XIII is titled "From Phaeacia to Ithaca." After Odysseus is done telling his tale, Alcinous tells him that he will make sure Odysseus will return to Ithaca with much wealth. They have a feast all the next day while Alcinous's men prepare ships for Odysseus, who is impatient to leave. That night, Alcinous's men row him to Ithaca and he actually makes it. They land on a rocky area of the island. Odysseus slept the entire trip so the men unload him and the treasures he brought. Poseidon obviously isn't happy that Odysseus made it home so he goes and tells Zeus that he needs to suffer more. Zeus pretty much tells him that he's a god and can do anything to mortals that he wants. Poseidon finds Alcinous's men's ship, who's about home, and promptly turns it into stone. It sinks. Athena sees what's going on and covers Odysseus in a mist while he sleeps. Odysseus wakes up and doesn't realize where he is. He thinks he's been deceived. Athena comes down and reveals herself. She tells him that she's had his back the whole time. Odysseus is happy about that. She assures him that he's in Ithaca. She helps Odysseus hide the treasure in a cave and they come up with a plan. She dresses him up like a beggar because who really wants to talk to a beggar? Then, she tells him to go talk to the pig herder and she flies off to tell Telemachus that Odysseus is home.
Book XIV is called "The Stay with Eumaeus." Odysseus shows up at the pig herder and is nearly attacked by dogs. The pig herder Eumaeus comes out and stops them. He welcomes Odysseus and offers him what little he has. He begins to talk about life without Odysseus, which hasn't been fun. Still disguised, Odysseus tries to tell him that Odysseus isn't actually dead and he will come back. Eumaeus doesn't really believe him and asks Odysseus to tell him about himself. Odysseus makes up a lie that's actually pretty similar to the truth and says that he saw Odysseus and he knows that he is on his way back home. This gives Eumaeus some hope. Eventually, they go to sleep and Eumaeus says he can give him shelter and food until Telemachus returns then he will help him to the palace.
Book XV, "Telemachus and Eumaeus" begins with Athena telling Telemachus to return to Ithaca immediately because Penelope is about to marry a suitor (this isn't true). She tells him to go to Eumaeus when he returns to Ithaca and Eumaeus will tell Penelope that Telemachus is back. At dawn, Telemachus gets some gifts and Helen interprets an eagle flying with a dead goose in its talons as a sign that Odysseus has returned and will kill the suitors. The day he is to leave, a man gifted with prophetic abilities approaches Telemachus to ask for a ride back to Ithaca. Telemachus says sure. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus tests Eumaeus's hospitality, but he prevails. He then asks about his father and mother. Eumaeus says Odysseus's father would like to be dead because he grieves because Odysseus is gone. We learn some background on Eumaeus and they spend the rest of the night chatting. Eventually, Telemachus gets to Ithaca and heads to Eumaeus's house.
Book XVI is titled "The Recognition by Telemachus." Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus's house where Eumaeus asks if Telemachus can house the beggar (Odysseus). Telemachus says their house is full of suitors right now, so he really can't have him over. Telemachus laments that he won't be able to oust the suitors. Odysseus encourages Telemachus, but Telemachus is still pretty negative about it. He sends Eumaeus to tell Penelope that he's returned, but tells him not to mention it to the suitors. Athena then pops out of nowhere and tells Odysseus to reveal himself to Telemachus. The father and son then have a happy reunion. Odysseus tells Telemachus the plan to get rid of the suitors: Athena will disguise him as a beggar again and he will head to distract the suitors while Telemachus locks their weapons away in another room. He tells Telemachus not to let anyone else know that he's back. The duo agrees to talk to the lady servants to see who is being loyal to Odysseus. They then send a runner to tell Penelope Telemachus has returned. Not a good move because then all the suitors find out. The suitors decide they must move fast to kill Telemachus. They aren't fazed by this new wrinkle in the plan then head to sleep when Eumaeus gets back.
Book XVII is "The Return of Telemachus to Ithaca." Telemachus wakes up and wants to go see Penelope. He tells Eumaeus to let the beggar go to town and beg for food. He gets home and orders Penelope to get cleaned up and pray to Zeus for favor against the suitors. The suitors are all lounging around, being their lazy selves. Odysseus and Eumaeus then head to town. They reach the royal hall and Eumaeus goes in first. Odysseus speaks first and sees his old dog perk up his ears. Odysseus sheds a tear for his dog, who was a puppy when he left, and how he is mistreated. As Odysseus speaks, the dog breathes his last breath, happy seeing his master again (more sad than Old Yeller). Telemachus enters the hall and pretends he doesn't know who the beggar is. The suitors mock the beggar (bad idea considering Athena said they're all about to die). Penelope comes down and asks the beggar about Odysseus he says that he'll talk with her later tonight.
Book XVIII is titled "The Fight of Odysseus and Irus." Irus, the regular beggar at the hall, sees Odysseus begging and says that the town isn't big enough for two beggars. Antinous eggs them on and they start to fight. Antinous says that if Odysseus wins, he will castrate and beat Irus. Odysseus tries to be merciful and only hits Irus once. Unfortunately, this is enough to break Irus's jaw. Athena puts Penelope asleep and makes her lovelier than she already is. Penelope then wakes up and has an alluring effect on the men. She doesn't realize it though, and chastises Telemachus for allowing fights to go on in their house. Penelope actually ends up flirting a little with the suitors after one says that she is beautiful. She tells them that no one has actually really courted her correctly; no one has given her gifts. Although she says this, no suitor stands up and offers her a gift because they've run off actually looking for gifts to give. They finally give her gifts and her maids help take them back. At night, there's a feast and one of suitors tries to fight with Odysseus, but someone stops them and says they have more wine to drink.
Because of time constraints, I won't be able to do a visualization post, but I think you guys get it. I apologize. Don't be mad. Tomorrow will be back to normal. I'll post about the final six books and have a visualization post, then Sunday I will have my final post.
My apologies again,
Cassy
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Visualizing Books VII-XII
These books are really, really interesting. I highly recommend reading them to get the full experience of Odysseus's story. SO MUCH HAPPENED. That's why I'm doing this post tonight, instead of with the first six books; so much action happened that it's easy to visualize. I love it. I love talking about it. And now, I'm going to love showing you some visualizing strategies for them. I'm going to discuss visualization techniques discussed in the Education World article found at the following link: Teaching Students to Use Visualization.
Modeling to the Students: Direct instruction is the first step. It's easy to begin with a scene in the Odyssey that something EPIC happened, like Achilles and his men blinding Polyphemus. Read a piece of the text that is very vivid.
"Blood bubbled round the heated thing. The vapor singed off all the lids around the eye, and even the brows, as the ball burned and its roots crackled in the flame. As when a smith dips a great axe or adze into cold water, hissing loud, to temper it,--for that is strength to steel,--so hissed his eye about the olive stake. A hideous roar he raised; the rock resounded; we hurried away in terror. He wrenched the stake out of his eye, all dabbled with the blood, and flung it off in frenzy" (112).
Graphic, right? After reading this quote, explain how you would use visualization with the passage. I would say, "As I read the passage, I thought about how much it hurts to even get a piece of dust in your eye. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have a stick go through your eye, especially one that was hot!" Something along those lines. Share with the kids. Tell them what you saw. I would even take it a step farther and show them a picture, so they can get it in their heads, too. Show them something like this:
Modeling to the Students: Direct instruction is the first step. It's easy to begin with a scene in the Odyssey that something EPIC happened, like Achilles and his men blinding Polyphemus. Read a piece of the text that is very vivid.
"Blood bubbled round the heated thing. The vapor singed off all the lids around the eye, and even the brows, as the ball burned and its roots crackled in the flame. As when a smith dips a great axe or adze into cold water, hissing loud, to temper it,--for that is strength to steel,--so hissed his eye about the olive stake. A hideous roar he raised; the rock resounded; we hurried away in terror. He wrenched the stake out of his eye, all dabbled with the blood, and flung it off in frenzy" (112).
Graphic, right? After reading this quote, explain how you would use visualization with the passage. I would say, "As I read the passage, I thought about how much it hurts to even get a piece of dust in your eye. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have a stick go through your eye, especially one that was hot!" Something along those lines. Share with the kids. Tell them what you saw. I would even take it a step farther and show them a picture, so they can get it in their heads, too. Show them something like this:
That will certainly get students' attention.
The next step is having students practice visualization. Read another passage, perhaps one about Circe turning the men into pigs. As you read, tell your students to close their eyes and imagine what the scene would look like. Tell them to make a movie in their head of what would happen. When you're done with the passage, ask students to share what they saw. It might be something like this:
The next step of the process is to have students share their visualizations. It is important for students to be collaborative and share different perspectives. Remind them that there may be different interpretations; everyone sees things differently. Have students compare and contrast images and why they might have came to different interpretations (good time for vocab). Praise students who have done well and encourage/help students who need more accurate displays of the text.
A fun step in this process is to encourage students to draw. Read them a passage and have them draw it out while you read.
"Meanwhile our staunch ship swiftly neared the Sirens' island; a fair wind swept her on. On a sudden the wind ceased; there came a breathless calm; Heaven hushed the waves. My comrades, rising, furled the sail, stowed it on board the hollow ship, then sitting at their oars whitened the water with the polished blades. But I with my sharp sword cut a great cake of wax into small bits, which I then kneaded in my sturdy hands. Soon the wax warmed, forced by the powerful pressure and by the rays of the exalted Sun, lord of all. Then one by one I stopped the ears of all my crew; and on the deck they bound me hand and foot, upright against the mast-block, round which they wound the rope; and sitting down they smote the foaming water with their oars. But when we were as far away as one can call and driving swiftly onward, our speeding ship, as it drew near, did not escape the Sirens, and thus they lifted up their penetrating voice..."
Have students draw while you read. You might be really impressed with what they come up with. Perhaps something like this:
Once you teach these steps, it's important to start using visualization in your classroom every day. Imagination is the key to innovation and creativity, which is important for students to learn in your classroom. Like I said yesterday, USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO HELP! These books are some of the most exciting ones in the entire story. Students will love them! Use visualization to help them see that this isn't just some boring text; it's enlightening to us, even today.
Tomorrow is Books XIII-XVIII. This week has gone by fast, hasn't it? Get rested and ready for tomorrow! Yay!
Cassy
The Odyssey: Summary of Books VII-XII
Book VII is titled "The Welcome of Alcinous." It sounds a lot better than the fighting we talked about in the Iliad, doesn't it? Way less blood. Nausicaa arrives at home and Odysseus walks through the town in a cloud of mist (provided by his guardian goddess, Athena) so the townspeople don't see him. Athena, if you've noticed she likes to get dressed up a lot, disguises herself as a small girl and talks to Odysseus. She tells him about Phaeacta and its rulers. The queen is Arete and the king is Alcinous. Remember that Odysseus is supposed to talk to the queen because she's in charge. They get to the palace and Athena removes the mist as Odysseus throws himself at Queen Arete's knees. It's pretty awkward for everyone and silence ensues until the king's oracle tells the king he hasn't been very hospitable to the beggar. Everyone then fusses over Odysseus and says there will be a feast in honor of him tomorrow. The king slyly asks if he's a god. Odysseus says no, but asks the king for ships to get home. Everyone seems pretty good with this except the queen. She's eyeing him and realizing that he's wearing clothes her daughter made. Knowing it's probably not best to lie, he tells the queen the whole story from Calypso to Nausicaa without revealing he's Odysseus. If you recall from the Iliad, Odysseus has a way with words and everyone is wowed by him. King Alcinous offers up Nausicaa's hand in marriage, but says it's okay if he just wants to go home. Odysseus says he better head back home and the king tells him that he will provide men to row the ships for him. What nice people! Then Odysseus heads to bed.
Book VIII is titled "The Stay in Phaeacta." The next day, Athena disguises herself again and tells the townspeople that a stranger has arrived and about the feast Alcinous is going to have for him. Athena then makes Odysseus look even more attractive and instills in him a desire to win any challenge put before him. At the feast, the king calls in his blind bard (kind of like Homer) and he recites a story about a fight between Odysseus and Achilles before the Trojan War started. Odysseus cries while he hears the story about himself, but hides his tears; only King Alcinous notices. The king then says there should be some sporting games so Odysseus can go home and brag about how athletic Alcinous's people are. Men play and the poet tells us who won (who cares, Odysseus isn't playing yet). Finally, the prince challenges Odysseus to play. Odysseus declines at first, until some guy says he doesn't look very athletic. Odysseus proceeds to throw a discus farther than anyone else and challenges the rest of the men. Alcinous decides to diffuse the situation with his blind bard telling more stories. After that, dancers come to entertain Odysseus. Later, Odysseus asks the bard to tell a story of himself and he starts to cry. The king then asks Odysseus to tell his story. This is where it becomes epic (haha, punny).
Book IX, "The Story Told to Alcinous--the Cyclops," starts off with Odysseus saying, "Yeah, I'm Odysseus." He begins his tale from the time they left Troy. He's going to be telling about travels of the past ten years; it's going to be long, my friends. He talks about Ithaca and how he was held captive by Calypso. He says that he never actually loved her, he was just pretending. He then tells the story about his life between Troy and Calypso. He tells about how he and his man landed near a town and plundered it. They killed the men and enslaved the women. Odysseus tries to get his men back to the ships but they are revolting because they are so hungry. Many Ithacans die plundering the city. A storm is sent and they wait 10 days before they leave. They then land on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. The island seems great until three of Odysseus's men eat the lotus flowers and forget absolutely everything and want to stay on the island for the rest of their lives. Odysseus rounds up his men, including the ones who ate the flowers, and sets sail again. They then land on the island of uncivilized Cyclopes. The Cyclopes have no idea how to do anything with the land; all they do is tend to sheep. Odysseus's men find a Cyclops's cave and they want to steal the things inside. Odysseus says no and that they should treat the Cyclopes like humans. They will wait and be gracious guests. The Cyclops comes back but doesn't want to be very hospitable. He puts a boulder over the entrance and asks Odysseus where they landed their ship. He says they didn't land one; they've been shipwrecked by Poseidon (FORESHADOWING). The Cyclops then proceeds to eat two of Odysseus's men then falls asleep. While the Cyclops is asleep, Odysseus pulls out his sword to kill him, but realizes that they can't move the boulder without the strength of the Cyclops. In the morning, the Cyclops eats more the Odysseus's men. During the day, Odysseus comes up with a plan and they sharpen a pole while the Cyclops is gone. When he returns, Odysseus offers him wine, telling him that his name is Noman. The Cyclops gets drunk and passes out. The men then stab him in the eye, blinding him. The Cyclops goes on a rampage and causes the other Cyclopes to ask him (we find out his name is Polyphemus, which we've heard his name before) who has tricked him and he keeps yelling, "Noman tricked me!" The other Cyclopes think that means Polyphemus is alone. They say make a prayer to his father Poseidon and all will be well. Polyphemus then takes the sharpened pole out of his eye then goes to sleep. Odysseus comes up with the second part of the plan and he ties his men and himself under Polyphemus's rams. Polyphemus lets them out, thinking that they are his rams. The men escape to the ship, but Odysseus can't help but taunt Polyphemus. The men all tell Odysseus to quit it, but he's on a roll. He then tells Polyphemus his name, his lineage, and where he's from. Polyphemus then tells Poseidon this and asks for help. Poseidon says Odysseus won't get home and if he does, he will lose all the men on his way back. The ship is then carried to sea as Polyphemus throws boulders at them.
Book X is titled "Aeolus, the Laestrygonians, and Circe." Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeolia, where Aeolus, god of the winds, lives. Aeolus asks Odysseus who they are and he tells them. Aeolus then asks to tell him about the Trojan War. They stay there for a month. When they leave, Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag of winds to carry them back home. They sail for nine days. Odysseus doesn't tell the men what's in the bag and they're curious (if you've seen the movie Seven, I always think of Brad Pitt yelling, "What's in the box?!). They decide to open it, thinking there might be treasure in it. Nope. Not treasure. The winds are released while Odysseus is asleep and blows them back to where they were nine days previously. Odysseus is distraught and rows back to Aeolus to ask for more winds. Aeolus realizes Odysseus must be cursed by the gods and refuses to help. The men go back to sailing, and in six days they land at the citadel of Lamos, Telepylus in Laestrygonia. When they arrive, Antiphates greets them, and ends up eating one of Odysseus's men. They quickly leave after that. They then arrive to the island of Aeaea, where Circe lives. Oh, Circe. Odysseus, a little smarter than last time, sends dozens of men to go searching the hall of Circe. She greets them kindly and everyone follows her except Eurylochus. He watches as Circe turns the men into pigs. Yes, the ones that oink. On the way to the men, Odysseus is greeted by Hermes. Hermes tells Odysseus of a plant called moly that will help protect him from turning into a pig. He then has to fight Circe from forcing him into a cage. When she breaks down, he has to agree to have sex with her if she vows to not do any magic on him. He follows all of Hermes instructions, down to the very last one. Circe then turns Odyssey's men back to men and invites them to stay, which they do...for a year. After a year, one of the men tells Odysseus he would rather enjoy returning home. He asks Circe for help to get home and says he won't be able to get to Ithaca until he talks to the blind prophet Teiresias. One problem, he's dead. Odysseus has to go the Underworld. The next day, they're on their way and Circe has disappeared, leaving animals to sacrifice so they can get into the Underworld.
Book XI is "The Land of the Dead." Odysseus and his men get to the Underworld, and after a few run-ins with people he knows, including his mother, Odysseus finds Teiresias. Teiresias drinks the blood of Odysseus's sacrifice and then speaks to him. He tells him not to eat the cattle at Thrinacian and that Odysseus will be the only man to survive the trip home. Teiresias says that when he gets home, he has to deal with the suitors in a pretty bloody fashion. When that's done, he has to make a sacrifice to Poseidon. Odysseus says great, but why is Mom here? Can I talk to her? Teiresias says yes, if she drinks the blood of your sacrifice. She does, and then tells him about the problems in Ithaca and how Telemachus has grown, Penelope is still loyal, and she, herself, died of loneliness. When she leaves, there are more dead people who want to talk to Odysseus. He makes them stand in line and talks to them. He first talks to some princesses. In the middle of the story, King Alcinous can't believe he actually talked to ghosts and Queen Arete decides when they send Odysseus off, it will be grand. They ask if Odysseus saw any of his Achaean friends while in the Underworld, and he sure did. Some of them were Achilles, Agamemnon, and big Ajax. Odysseus commends Achilles on being so honored and glorified while he lived that he assumes being dead is fun. Achilles says no, it's pretty terrible. He then sees some other cool people like Minos and Hercules. If you want to hear their backstories, read the text. He then leaves the Underworld after all the dead people drink the rest of his sacrifices.
Book XII is titled "The Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, and the Cattle of the Sun." The men then return to the island with Circe. She feeds them and gives them directions (and has sex with Odysseus). She tells them how to avoid the sirens. The Sirens will lure them in with their beautiful voices then kill him. She tells Odysseus no man has heard the call of the Sirens and lived to tell the tale. She says that they should plug their ears and tie themselves to the mast so they don't jump overboard and swim to the sirens. She then gives him two routes home. One is through Rovers, which are moving rocks and no ship can get through. The second option isn't much better. It has the Scylla, which is a sea monster with six heads that eats men, and Charybdis which is a whirlpool monster that sucks in and vomits the sea three times a day. Circe tells Odysseus that he should hug the cliff of Scylla to avoid Charybdis and sacrifice six men instead of losing the whole crew. He should also go threw as quickly as possible to make the monsters less angry. Last thing, she tells him not to kill any cattle or else he'll lose his whole crew. The next day, they set sail with a little help from Circe's winds. They first encounter the Sirens and Odysseus puts beeswax in his ears. The text has the full Siren song, but essentially they promise immortal knowledge in a sexy, sexy way. Once they make it safely away from the Sirens, they see Scylla and Charybdis and the men lose their oars because they are so frightened. Odysseus tries to encourage them by pulling out his sword and attacking Scylla, but then remembers he should go quickly through there. He does so, but loses six men. They go past the island of the Sun and Odysseus wants to sail by, but has been warned not to. They land and the men convince Odysseus to rest. Odysseus agrees but says not to touch the cattle. They try to leave in the morning, but a storm comes. It rains for an entire month, forcing the men to stay on the island. One day, as Odysseus is off praying, Eurylochus convinces the rest of the men to kill the biggest cow and eat it. Who doesn't want juicy steak? The Sun was furious and asked Zeus to avenge his cow. As the men set sail the next day, Zeus struck the ship with a lightning bolt and killed everyone but Odysseus. The bolt sent the ship back to Scylla and Charybdis and the only reason Odysseus survives is because he hold onto a tree-like thing on an island above Charybdis. Once she spits his ship back up, he gets a piece of wood and floats on it (kind of like Rose and Jack in the Titanic). The gods help him row past Scylla and Odysseus floats for nine days. After that, he lands on the island with Calypso and the rest is history. He's finally done with his epic tale.
Next post should be fun! Visualizing these books can provide a good time for you and students.
Cassy
Book VIII is titled "The Stay in Phaeacta." The next day, Athena disguises herself again and tells the townspeople that a stranger has arrived and about the feast Alcinous is going to have for him. Athena then makes Odysseus look even more attractive and instills in him a desire to win any challenge put before him. At the feast, the king calls in his blind bard (kind of like Homer) and he recites a story about a fight between Odysseus and Achilles before the Trojan War started. Odysseus cries while he hears the story about himself, but hides his tears; only King Alcinous notices. The king then says there should be some sporting games so Odysseus can go home and brag about how athletic Alcinous's people are. Men play and the poet tells us who won (who cares, Odysseus isn't playing yet). Finally, the prince challenges Odysseus to play. Odysseus declines at first, until some guy says he doesn't look very athletic. Odysseus proceeds to throw a discus farther than anyone else and challenges the rest of the men. Alcinous decides to diffuse the situation with his blind bard telling more stories. After that, dancers come to entertain Odysseus. Later, Odysseus asks the bard to tell a story of himself and he starts to cry. The king then asks Odysseus to tell his story. This is where it becomes epic (haha, punny).
Book IX, "The Story Told to Alcinous--the Cyclops," starts off with Odysseus saying, "Yeah, I'm Odysseus." He begins his tale from the time they left Troy. He's going to be telling about travels of the past ten years; it's going to be long, my friends. He talks about Ithaca and how he was held captive by Calypso. He says that he never actually loved her, he was just pretending. He then tells the story about his life between Troy and Calypso. He tells about how he and his man landed near a town and plundered it. They killed the men and enslaved the women. Odysseus tries to get his men back to the ships but they are revolting because they are so hungry. Many Ithacans die plundering the city. A storm is sent and they wait 10 days before they leave. They then land on the island of the Lotus-Eaters. The island seems great until three of Odysseus's men eat the lotus flowers and forget absolutely everything and want to stay on the island for the rest of their lives. Odysseus rounds up his men, including the ones who ate the flowers, and sets sail again. They then land on the island of uncivilized Cyclopes. The Cyclopes have no idea how to do anything with the land; all they do is tend to sheep. Odysseus's men find a Cyclops's cave and they want to steal the things inside. Odysseus says no and that they should treat the Cyclopes like humans. They will wait and be gracious guests. The Cyclops comes back but doesn't want to be very hospitable. He puts a boulder over the entrance and asks Odysseus where they landed their ship. He says they didn't land one; they've been shipwrecked by Poseidon (FORESHADOWING). The Cyclops then proceeds to eat two of Odysseus's men then falls asleep. While the Cyclops is asleep, Odysseus pulls out his sword to kill him, but realizes that they can't move the boulder without the strength of the Cyclops. In the morning, the Cyclops eats more the Odysseus's men. During the day, Odysseus comes up with a plan and they sharpen a pole while the Cyclops is gone. When he returns, Odysseus offers him wine, telling him that his name is Noman. The Cyclops gets drunk and passes out. The men then stab him in the eye, blinding him. The Cyclops goes on a rampage and causes the other Cyclopes to ask him (we find out his name is Polyphemus, which we've heard his name before) who has tricked him and he keeps yelling, "Noman tricked me!" The other Cyclopes think that means Polyphemus is alone. They say make a prayer to his father Poseidon and all will be well. Polyphemus then takes the sharpened pole out of his eye then goes to sleep. Odysseus comes up with the second part of the plan and he ties his men and himself under Polyphemus's rams. Polyphemus lets them out, thinking that they are his rams. The men escape to the ship, but Odysseus can't help but taunt Polyphemus. The men all tell Odysseus to quit it, but he's on a roll. He then tells Polyphemus his name, his lineage, and where he's from. Polyphemus then tells Poseidon this and asks for help. Poseidon says Odysseus won't get home and if he does, he will lose all the men on his way back. The ship is then carried to sea as Polyphemus throws boulders at them.
Book X is titled "Aeolus, the Laestrygonians, and Circe." Odysseus and his men land on the island of Aeolia, where Aeolus, god of the winds, lives. Aeolus asks Odysseus who they are and he tells them. Aeolus then asks to tell him about the Trojan War. They stay there for a month. When they leave, Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag of winds to carry them back home. They sail for nine days. Odysseus doesn't tell the men what's in the bag and they're curious (if you've seen the movie Seven, I always think of Brad Pitt yelling, "What's in the box?!). They decide to open it, thinking there might be treasure in it. Nope. Not treasure. The winds are released while Odysseus is asleep and blows them back to where they were nine days previously. Odysseus is distraught and rows back to Aeolus to ask for more winds. Aeolus realizes Odysseus must be cursed by the gods and refuses to help. The men go back to sailing, and in six days they land at the citadel of Lamos, Telepylus in Laestrygonia. When they arrive, Antiphates greets them, and ends up eating one of Odysseus's men. They quickly leave after that. They then arrive to the island of Aeaea, where Circe lives. Oh, Circe. Odysseus, a little smarter than last time, sends dozens of men to go searching the hall of Circe. She greets them kindly and everyone follows her except Eurylochus. He watches as Circe turns the men into pigs. Yes, the ones that oink. On the way to the men, Odysseus is greeted by Hermes. Hermes tells Odysseus of a plant called moly that will help protect him from turning into a pig. He then has to fight Circe from forcing him into a cage. When she breaks down, he has to agree to have sex with her if she vows to not do any magic on him. He follows all of Hermes instructions, down to the very last one. Circe then turns Odyssey's men back to men and invites them to stay, which they do...for a year. After a year, one of the men tells Odysseus he would rather enjoy returning home. He asks Circe for help to get home and says he won't be able to get to Ithaca until he talks to the blind prophet Teiresias. One problem, he's dead. Odysseus has to go the Underworld. The next day, they're on their way and Circe has disappeared, leaving animals to sacrifice so they can get into the Underworld.
Book XI is "The Land of the Dead." Odysseus and his men get to the Underworld, and after a few run-ins with people he knows, including his mother, Odysseus finds Teiresias. Teiresias drinks the blood of Odysseus's sacrifice and then speaks to him. He tells him not to eat the cattle at Thrinacian and that Odysseus will be the only man to survive the trip home. Teiresias says that when he gets home, he has to deal with the suitors in a pretty bloody fashion. When that's done, he has to make a sacrifice to Poseidon. Odysseus says great, but why is Mom here? Can I talk to her? Teiresias says yes, if she drinks the blood of your sacrifice. She does, and then tells him about the problems in Ithaca and how Telemachus has grown, Penelope is still loyal, and she, herself, died of loneliness. When she leaves, there are more dead people who want to talk to Odysseus. He makes them stand in line and talks to them. He first talks to some princesses. In the middle of the story, King Alcinous can't believe he actually talked to ghosts and Queen Arete decides when they send Odysseus off, it will be grand. They ask if Odysseus saw any of his Achaean friends while in the Underworld, and he sure did. Some of them were Achilles, Agamemnon, and big Ajax. Odysseus commends Achilles on being so honored and glorified while he lived that he assumes being dead is fun. Achilles says no, it's pretty terrible. He then sees some other cool people like Minos and Hercules. If you want to hear their backstories, read the text. He then leaves the Underworld after all the dead people drink the rest of his sacrifices.
Book XII is titled "The Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, and the Cattle of the Sun." The men then return to the island with Circe. She feeds them and gives them directions (and has sex with Odysseus). She tells them how to avoid the sirens. The Sirens will lure them in with their beautiful voices then kill him. She tells Odysseus no man has heard the call of the Sirens and lived to tell the tale. She says that they should plug their ears and tie themselves to the mast so they don't jump overboard and swim to the sirens. She then gives him two routes home. One is through Rovers, which are moving rocks and no ship can get through. The second option isn't much better. It has the Scylla, which is a sea monster with six heads that eats men, and Charybdis which is a whirlpool monster that sucks in and vomits the sea three times a day. Circe tells Odysseus that he should hug the cliff of Scylla to avoid Charybdis and sacrifice six men instead of losing the whole crew. He should also go threw as quickly as possible to make the monsters less angry. Last thing, she tells him not to kill any cattle or else he'll lose his whole crew. The next day, they set sail with a little help from Circe's winds. They first encounter the Sirens and Odysseus puts beeswax in his ears. The text has the full Siren song, but essentially they promise immortal knowledge in a sexy, sexy way. Once they make it safely away from the Sirens, they see Scylla and Charybdis and the men lose their oars because they are so frightened. Odysseus tries to encourage them by pulling out his sword and attacking Scylla, but then remembers he should go quickly through there. He does so, but loses six men. They go past the island of the Sun and Odysseus wants to sail by, but has been warned not to. They land and the men convince Odysseus to rest. Odysseus agrees but says not to touch the cattle. They try to leave in the morning, but a storm comes. It rains for an entire month, forcing the men to stay on the island. One day, as Odysseus is off praying, Eurylochus convinces the rest of the men to kill the biggest cow and eat it. Who doesn't want juicy steak? The Sun was furious and asked Zeus to avenge his cow. As the men set sail the next day, Zeus struck the ship with a lightning bolt and killed everyone but Odysseus. The bolt sent the ship back to Scylla and Charybdis and the only reason Odysseus survives is because he hold onto a tree-like thing on an island above Charybdis. Once she spits his ship back up, he gets a piece of wood and floats on it (kind of like Rose and Jack in the Titanic). The gods help him row past Scylla and Odysseus floats for nine days. After that, he lands on the island with Calypso and the rest is history. He's finally done with his epic tale.
Next post should be fun! Visualizing these books can provide a good time for you and students.
Cassy
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Visualizing The Odyssey
Today, I want to talk about visualizing. Our students today are engrossed by what's going on in Hollywood and the movies that celebrities make. There are so many TV shows and movies out that there have the students' undivided attention. Why not do the same for the Odyssey? So before my "why teach" post, I'm going to show how to use visualization with the text and how it connects to our modern student.
Visualization is one of the main reading comprehension strategies. By having students visualize, it makes a mental movie about the text they are reading. It also helps students connect with the text in memorable ways. The following link will lead you to an article about visualization, why it's important, and how to use it in your classroom: Visualization Information. It's a piece written for profession development that can be really useful in your classroom and adaptable to any text. I'm going to try to show you some ideas for connecting through these books using visualization.
Book I discusses the council of the gods, Odysseus's struggle home, and Telemachus' problem with the suitors.
Students having a hard time picturing the gods? (found at: Council of gods source)
This picture, albeit not from the Odyssey, connects with something the kids probably know--a Disney movie--and can help them picture what it might look like to have all the gods gathering to talk. It's very similar to a business meeting or family get-together.
Book II discusses the suitors of Penelope and Telemachus' confrontation with them and help from Athena. For a classic picture, try showing students this one. It can be found at the following link: Classical Penelope.
Book III is about Telemachus' feast and discussion Nestor. Do you think students can imagine what a mighty feast would be like to the ancient Greeks? Yeah, probably a little something like this picture (found at Harry Potter feast source). Students definitely have seen what a giant feast looks like; showing them this might give them some idea what it was like for Telemachus and his men.
Book IV is about Telemachus' meeting with Menelaus. It's important in that Telemachus finds out that Odysseus isn't dead. He's being held captive my Calypso. Students are bound to have seen Pirates of the Caribbean. They can start to picture who this woman is if you show them this (found at Calypso source) and they can begin to see how she can relate to the story. If students have a picture of who she is or what she looks like, they can connect to the text more.
Book V is important because it shows us Odysseus (finally) and how he gets off of Calypso's island. We also see how mad Poseidon is at Odysseus. The Percy Jackson books have become popular lately, so popular that there are movies about them and trust me, kids have seen them. Show them this picture (found at Poseidon source). By showing them this image of Poseidon, they'll 1) recognize someone they've seen before and 2) they'll begin to see that the gods are very human-like, not only in behavior, but appearance as well. This might help students understand that the gods can be temperamental.
Book VI is where Odysseus runs ashore and meets Nausicaa. It probably isn't hard for students to visualize, then giggle, about Odysseus washing ashore in the nude. Showing them this classical picture (Odysseus and olive branch source) might make them realize it's more than a scene where Odysseus has to cover up his manhood, but where he actually might be saved. He receives a lot of help from Athena.
This has been fun, finding pictures. There's also a video put out by Sparknotes that gives a summary of the first six books (it's below the text). Once you've made it through those with the kids, it might be cool to show them the video so they can see them in entirety and go over the plot.
Visualization is one of the main reading comprehension strategies. By having students visualize, it makes a mental movie about the text they are reading. It also helps students connect with the text in memorable ways. The following link will lead you to an article about visualization, why it's important, and how to use it in your classroom: Visualization Information. It's a piece written for profession development that can be really useful in your classroom and adaptable to any text. I'm going to try to show you some ideas for connecting through these books using visualization.
Book I discusses the council of the gods, Odysseus's struggle home, and Telemachus' problem with the suitors.
This picture, albeit not from the Odyssey, connects with something the kids probably know--a Disney movie--and can help them picture what it might look like to have all the gods gathering to talk. It's very similar to a business meeting or family get-together.
Book II discusses the suitors of Penelope and Telemachus' confrontation with them and help from Athena. For a classic picture, try showing students this one. It can be found at the following link: Classical Penelope.
Book III is about Telemachus' feast and discussion Nestor. Do you think students can imagine what a mighty feast would be like to the ancient Greeks? Yeah, probably a little something like this picture (found at Harry Potter feast source). Students definitely have seen what a giant feast looks like; showing them this might give them some idea what it was like for Telemachus and his men.
Book IV is about Telemachus' meeting with Menelaus. It's important in that Telemachus finds out that Odysseus isn't dead. He's being held captive my Calypso. Students are bound to have seen Pirates of the Caribbean. They can start to picture who this woman is if you show them this (found at Calypso source) and they can begin to see how she can relate to the story. If students have a picture of who she is or what she looks like, they can connect to the text more.
Book V is important because it shows us Odysseus (finally) and how he gets off of Calypso's island. We also see how mad Poseidon is at Odysseus. The Percy Jackson books have become popular lately, so popular that there are movies about them and trust me, kids have seen them. Show them this picture (found at Poseidon source). By showing them this image of Poseidon, they'll 1) recognize someone they've seen before and 2) they'll begin to see that the gods are very human-like, not only in behavior, but appearance as well. This might help students understand that the gods can be temperamental.
Book VI is where Odysseus runs ashore and meets Nausicaa. It probably isn't hard for students to visualize, then giggle, about Odysseus washing ashore in the nude. Showing them this classical picture (Odysseus and olive branch source) might make them realize it's more than a scene where Odysseus has to cover up his manhood, but where he actually might be saved. He receives a lot of help from Athena.
This has been fun, finding pictures. There's also a video put out by Sparknotes that gives a summary of the first six books (it's below the text). Once you've made it through those with the kids, it might be cool to show them the video so they can see them in entirety and go over the plot.
Naysayers: Why in the world did she do this? It doesn't seem important.
Let me tell you why, you negative Nancys. We live in a world where there's media at the click of a mouse. Why not use this to help students visualize what is going on? I guarantee after seeing pictures or watching video students have a better idea and memory of the plot and scene. If they see it, it might also help them to dissect the crucial moments of the text.
If you want some ideas of how to incorporate this in your classroom, go to this link: Visualization Strategies. They have a lot of useful ideas on how to make this and other visualizing activities work.
Tomorrow is Books VII-XII. It's pretty good stuff, let me tell you. Odysseus is a stud.
Remember. Visualize.
Cassy
The Odyssey: Books I-VI Summaries
Book I is titled "The Council of the Gods and the Summons to Telemachus." At the beginning of the book, the poet calls Muse to help recall the story of Odysseus (sounds familiar). The poet tells us that every other Achaean has made it home safely after the Trojan War except Odysseus. We learn that Poseidon is angry with Odysseus and is making his trip home rather difficult, so Poseidon isn't around while the others gods are holding council. Zeus talks about Aegisthus who was killed by Agamemnon's son Orestes. Aegisthus was having an affair with Agamemnon's wife while he was away killing Trojans and then he killed Agamemnon when he got home. Not a good move by Aegisthus because even Hermes told him not to do it or else. When a god says or else, you know you're probably going to die if you go against him. In Greek customs, Aegisthus had it coming when Agamemnon's ONLY son Orestes killed him. Athena, who doesn't care one bit about what's going on with Orestes, tells Zeus her heart is hurting for her favorite mortal, Odysseus. Zeus says he hasn't forgotten about Odysseus, but Poseidon is infuriated with him because blinded the eye of Poseidon's son, Polyphemus who was a Cyclops. Zeus says that Poseidon will soon get over his anger because all of the other gods like Odysseus so much. We find out that Calypso is holding Odysseus away as her personal sex slave, and Athena wants Zeus to send Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. Zeus tells everyone he is still in charge of the gods and that he won't send Hermes yet. Athena goes behind her father's back and goes to Ithaca (where Odysseus is from) disguised as Mentes, who was friend of Odysseus's. This brings us to Ithaca. There's a lot of suitors milling around, and we aren't told the reason just yet. Telemachus, who is Odysseus's son, greets the disguised Athena and welcomes her in his home. He prepares a banquet for her, highlighting the Greeks' firm belief in hospitality. Athena tells Telemachus not to be discouraged about his father and that he should still believe that he will come home soon. We are told that the suitors are there for Odysseus's wife, Penelope. Everyone believes that Odysseus is dead, so they've been lounging about his palace and eating his food along with trying to get with his wife. Athena tells Telemachus to go talk to Nestor then find King Menelaus. Before she leaves, Athena shows Telemachus a vision of his father, and then he realizes he's in the presence of a deity. Then, there is music sang about the Trojan War, which is a little awkward because Odysseus is supposedly dead because of the war. Penelope comes out of her room and asks the musician to sing something else, but Telemachus chastises her, saying many people died in the war. She admires his wisdom, then leaves. Telemachus then tells the suitors they must leave by dawn. They object, but then he goes to his room to sleep and ponder Athena's advice.
Book II, "The Assembly at Ithaca and the Departure of Telemachus," starts with Telemachus calling a meeting for the men of Ithaca, including the suitors. Aegyptius says that they haven't had a meeting since Odysseus left. Telemachus couldn't hold in his words after that rudeness. He says he's angry about the suitors eating all their food and being extremely lazy. One of the suitors, Antinous, speaks up and says that it's Penelope's fault they're all still here. He goes on to say that Penelope, as being queen, should have immediately married a man so Ithaca would have a king, but she stalled. He ends by giving an ultimatum: Penelope is exiled or she must choose a suitor. Before Telemachus can respond, Zeus sends two eagles to break up the meeting. One man reads this as a good omen, that Odysseus will return, while another says he's dead. Telemachus is tired of their babbling and arguing; he's going to sail to see Nestor. Mentor, a man of Ithaca, says they should have stood up and kicked the suitors out, but someone ends up hushing him up. Then the meeting is over. Telemachus then prays to the deity he saw the day before, and Athena hears him. She comes to him in the form of Mentor and tells him to pack provisions for a long camp. Telemachus then tells people to keep the trip a secret, especially from Penelope. While he's getting ready, Athena disguises herself as Telemachus and gets a crew ready. Athena then goes back to Telemachus as Mentor and tells him his crew, along with Athena-as-Mentor, is ready to go.
Book III is titled "At Pylos." The next dawn, Telemachus and his crew arrive at Pylos to see Nestor. The people are making sacrifices to Poseidon, which is wise since he is so cranky all the time. Telemachus is nervous about making a speech when he meets Nestor. The disguised Athena tells him not to worry because the gods favor him. Before he can make a speech, there is a feast held in honor of their arrival. Telemachus then makes his big speech and asks to hear news of Odysseus since Nestor fought alongside him. Of course Nestor talks forever, but he says some nice things about Odysseus and says that Telemachus takes after his father. Nestor does say that the army split after the war. Half went with Menelaus while the other half stayed with Agamemnon to give offerings to Athena. Odysseus went with Menelaus, but then turned back around because he wanted to support Agamemnon. Nestor then tells a long-winded story about Agamemnon, his murder, and his son's revenge. Eventually, Nestor tells Telemachus that he shouldn't stay away from home for long because the suitors will probably be pillaging the palace more. He then offers beds for Telemachus. Athena then reveals herself by turning into an eagle. Nestor is in awe that Athena is helping Telemachus, so the next day they make great sacrifices to her. Nestor then gives supplies and horses to Telemachus so he can go to Sparta.
Book IV is titled "At Lacedaemon." Telemachus and his crew find Menelaus and they're having a double wedding party. Menelaus talks a lot about how he misses Odysseus the most. Telemachus cries when he hears the fond words about his dad. Helen (yes, she was returned to Telemachus) tells Telemachus that he looks just like Odysseus. She then decides to drug them to make this all forget their grief. They spend the rest of the night telling wonderful stories about Odysseus. The next day, Menelaus asks Telemachus why he came. He explains the problem with the suitors and Menelaus goes on to tell of a story, and finally gets to the point where he says Odysseus is being held hostage by Calypso. Then, Telemachus gets ready to leave. Back in Ithaca, Antinous decides that the suitors should ambush Telemachus on his way back and kill him. A townsman hears this and tells Penelope. Penelope, who didn't know about the journey, is depressed by this idea. Athena hears Penelope's prayer to her then comes to her in a vision while she's sleeping to comfort her. She is disguised as Penelope's sister and tells her that Telemachus will be okay.
Book Vis called "The Raft of Odysseus." Finally some action with the protagonist right? I missed him. Athena is upset about Odysseus not being freed by Calypso, so she convinces Zeus to tell Hermes to go down and tell Calypso to let him go AND help him build a sturdy raft to leave in. Odysseus is getting a little antsy. He's been living on the island for seven years and wants to get home. Calypso greets Hermes with hospitality until he gives her the message. She says complains that immortal men can sleep with mortal women, but the immortal men get mad when immortal women sleep with mortal men. She makes a good point. Hermes lets her rant until she finally gives in. Calypso helps him build a raft and after five days sets him on his merry way home to Ithaca with provisions. All goes well until Poseidon sees Odysseus is out on the sea again. He sends a storm to drown him. Odysseus wishes that he would have died a glorious death in battle than being dishonored in the sea (kind of like Enkidu if you remember). A sea-nymph Ino hears Odysseus's cries and helps him. She gives him a veil that will protect him from drowning. He doesn't quite believe her when she leaves. Athena waits for Poseidon's storm to rage on, then blows some winds to help Odysseus's raft find land. After days, he finds land and Athena grants him rested sleep.
Book VI, "The Landing in Phaeacia," begins with Athena going into the city where Odysseus has landed. She's so helpful! She goes to the princess of the city's room, Nausicaa, and tells her it's time to start thinking about getting married. She tells the princess to go to the stream (where Odysseus had landed) and wash her wedding linens. When her party gets there, they start screaming when they see Odysseus--he's naked, only using an olive branch to cover up his manhood. Nausicaa falls in love. She gives Odysseus supplies to bathe himself and talks a long time about how her city is good at building ships. She tells him to follow her home and throw himself at the mercy of her mother, the queen, because whatever she says goes. He agrees and prays to Athena for good luck. We all know she hears him.
That was pretty short right? Next post is going to be nifty (I hope).
Until then,
Cassy
Book II, "The Assembly at Ithaca and the Departure of Telemachus," starts with Telemachus calling a meeting for the men of Ithaca, including the suitors. Aegyptius says that they haven't had a meeting since Odysseus left. Telemachus couldn't hold in his words after that rudeness. He says he's angry about the suitors eating all their food and being extremely lazy. One of the suitors, Antinous, speaks up and says that it's Penelope's fault they're all still here. He goes on to say that Penelope, as being queen, should have immediately married a man so Ithaca would have a king, but she stalled. He ends by giving an ultimatum: Penelope is exiled or she must choose a suitor. Before Telemachus can respond, Zeus sends two eagles to break up the meeting. One man reads this as a good omen, that Odysseus will return, while another says he's dead. Telemachus is tired of their babbling and arguing; he's going to sail to see Nestor. Mentor, a man of Ithaca, says they should have stood up and kicked the suitors out, but someone ends up hushing him up. Then the meeting is over. Telemachus then prays to the deity he saw the day before, and Athena hears him. She comes to him in the form of Mentor and tells him to pack provisions for a long camp. Telemachus then tells people to keep the trip a secret, especially from Penelope. While he's getting ready, Athena disguises herself as Telemachus and gets a crew ready. Athena then goes back to Telemachus as Mentor and tells him his crew, along with Athena-as-Mentor, is ready to go.
Book III is titled "At Pylos." The next dawn, Telemachus and his crew arrive at Pylos to see Nestor. The people are making sacrifices to Poseidon, which is wise since he is so cranky all the time. Telemachus is nervous about making a speech when he meets Nestor. The disguised Athena tells him not to worry because the gods favor him. Before he can make a speech, there is a feast held in honor of their arrival. Telemachus then makes his big speech and asks to hear news of Odysseus since Nestor fought alongside him. Of course Nestor talks forever, but he says some nice things about Odysseus and says that Telemachus takes after his father. Nestor does say that the army split after the war. Half went with Menelaus while the other half stayed with Agamemnon to give offerings to Athena. Odysseus went with Menelaus, but then turned back around because he wanted to support Agamemnon. Nestor then tells a long-winded story about Agamemnon, his murder, and his son's revenge. Eventually, Nestor tells Telemachus that he shouldn't stay away from home for long because the suitors will probably be pillaging the palace more. He then offers beds for Telemachus. Athena then reveals herself by turning into an eagle. Nestor is in awe that Athena is helping Telemachus, so the next day they make great sacrifices to her. Nestor then gives supplies and horses to Telemachus so he can go to Sparta.
Book IV is titled "At Lacedaemon." Telemachus and his crew find Menelaus and they're having a double wedding party. Menelaus talks a lot about how he misses Odysseus the most. Telemachus cries when he hears the fond words about his dad. Helen (yes, she was returned to Telemachus) tells Telemachus that he looks just like Odysseus. She then decides to drug them to make this all forget their grief. They spend the rest of the night telling wonderful stories about Odysseus. The next day, Menelaus asks Telemachus why he came. He explains the problem with the suitors and Menelaus goes on to tell of a story, and finally gets to the point where he says Odysseus is being held hostage by Calypso. Then, Telemachus gets ready to leave. Back in Ithaca, Antinous decides that the suitors should ambush Telemachus on his way back and kill him. A townsman hears this and tells Penelope. Penelope, who didn't know about the journey, is depressed by this idea. Athena hears Penelope's prayer to her then comes to her in a vision while she's sleeping to comfort her. She is disguised as Penelope's sister and tells her that Telemachus will be okay.
Book Vis called "The Raft of Odysseus." Finally some action with the protagonist right? I missed him. Athena is upset about Odysseus not being freed by Calypso, so she convinces Zeus to tell Hermes to go down and tell Calypso to let him go AND help him build a sturdy raft to leave in. Odysseus is getting a little antsy. He's been living on the island for seven years and wants to get home. Calypso greets Hermes with hospitality until he gives her the message. She says complains that immortal men can sleep with mortal women, but the immortal men get mad when immortal women sleep with mortal men. She makes a good point. Hermes lets her rant until she finally gives in. Calypso helps him build a raft and after five days sets him on his merry way home to Ithaca with provisions. All goes well until Poseidon sees Odysseus is out on the sea again. He sends a storm to drown him. Odysseus wishes that he would have died a glorious death in battle than being dishonored in the sea (kind of like Enkidu if you remember). A sea-nymph Ino hears Odysseus's cries and helps him. She gives him a veil that will protect him from drowning. He doesn't quite believe her when she leaves. Athena waits for Poseidon's storm to rage on, then blows some winds to help Odysseus's raft find land. After days, he finds land and Athena grants him rested sleep.
Book VI, "The Landing in Phaeacia," begins with Athena going into the city where Odysseus has landed. She's so helpful! She goes to the princess of the city's room, Nausicaa, and tells her it's time to start thinking about getting married. She tells the princess to go to the stream (where Odysseus had landed) and wash her wedding linens. When her party gets there, they start screaming when they see Odysseus--he's naked, only using an olive branch to cover up his manhood. Nausicaa falls in love. She gives Odysseus supplies to bathe himself and talks a long time about how her city is good at building ships. She tells him to follow her home and throw himself at the mercy of her mother, the queen, because whatever she says goes. He agrees and prays to Athena for good luck. We all know she hears him.
That was pretty short right? Next post is going to be nifty (I hope).
Until then,
Cassy
Monday, June 17, 2013
History of the Odyssey
The Odyssey is the tale of Odysseus after he and the Achaeans have sacked the city of Troy. It is essentially the sequel to the Iliad. As I discussed last Monday, there has been debate as to whether or not Homer was a single author or multiple. I won't go over that again because you can easily go back and examine the brief discussion of the Homeric Question. As far as the Odyssey, much like the Iliad, scholars debate on when it was written. Some place Homer in the late Mycenaean period, making the Trojan War recent history. Others argue that it was written later in the Archaic period. Modern scholarship shows that the details of the poem are between 750 to 700 BCE. Although scholars may debate on the date of authorship and the authorship itself, none argue that it is a text which had great influence on literature, especially in the West.
Before diving into the story, there are a few points that should be explained. First, the setting of the poem takes place in the Mycenaean period. It is 10 years after the Achaeans have defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War. The Mycenaean period ended approximately between 1200 and 1100 BCE.
Second, although the tale takes place in the Mycenaean period, there are details such as character, plot, and places which continued to develop a period of oral transmission that proceeded into the "Dark Age" of Greece, which was between 1100 and 800 BCE. During this time, there was an outside group of peoples who conquered most of the Mycenaean city-states. Their system of writing became lost.
Third, the Odyssey (along with the Iliad), were amongst the first pieces of literature written down when the Greeks established another system of writing. The Odyssey was written probably 20 to 30 years after the Iliad.
It is important to note that during the time period of the "Dark Ages," the texts had to be told orally by a bard. The bard would use language to become signifiers in the poem, which would remind him of his place in the story. Phrases such as "early, rosy-fingered dawn" and "earth-shaking Poseidon" are commonly used, as well as characters repeating word-for-word any message or description given them to repeat. One must remember that oral tradition, by nature, is fluid and ever-changing. We cannot assume that the text we have now is the exact same as the original tale of the Odyssey.
This week, I'm going to try a comprehension strategy to go along with it that should be pretty cool.
Get excited,
Cassy
Before diving into the story, there are a few points that should be explained. First, the setting of the poem takes place in the Mycenaean period. It is 10 years after the Achaeans have defeated the Trojans in the Trojan War. The Mycenaean period ended approximately between 1200 and 1100 BCE.
Second, although the tale takes place in the Mycenaean period, there are details such as character, plot, and places which continued to develop a period of oral transmission that proceeded into the "Dark Age" of Greece, which was between 1100 and 800 BCE. During this time, there was an outside group of peoples who conquered most of the Mycenaean city-states. Their system of writing became lost.
Third, the Odyssey (along with the Iliad), were amongst the first pieces of literature written down when the Greeks established another system of writing. The Odyssey was written probably 20 to 30 years after the Iliad.
It is important to note that during the time period of the "Dark Ages," the texts had to be told orally by a bard. The bard would use language to become signifiers in the poem, which would remind him of his place in the story. Phrases such as "early, rosy-fingered dawn" and "earth-shaking Poseidon" are commonly used, as well as characters repeating word-for-word any message or description given them to repeat. One must remember that oral tradition, by nature, is fluid and ever-changing. We cannot assume that the text we have now is the exact same as the original tale of the Odyssey.
This week, I'm going to try a comprehension strategy to go along with it that should be pretty cool.
Get excited,
Cassy
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Why teach the Iliad?
The Iliad is a story that is found in many high school and college curriculums, but why teach it to kids when they don't know who Homer is? Why teach it to kids who may have no interest in ancient Greek tales? The thing about this text, and every text for that matter, is that it is a living thing. It is applicable to lives; that's why they're still around. Literature tells us about the human condition.
While the Iliad has gods and concepts perhaps foreign to our modern students, it is also a perfect example of the devastating losses which come with war, and students know about war. With tensions rising in areas such as North Korea, war is discussed very often. War is bound up with humanity and obviously has been for centuries. There are no right or wrong answers as to why Homer ended the text the way he did, but when looking at it in terms of the destruction of warfare, it shows how Hector is stripped bare. The tale doesn't go into lengths to explain the reasons for starting the war or how it even ends, but the emotions which come out of it: rage, fury, loss, pain.
Charlotte Higgins wrote an interesting article in 2010 titled "The Iliad and what it can still tell us about war." The following paragraph is an excerpt from her writing that explains what the text can tell us about war today.
"Yet The Iliad still has much to say about war, even as it is fought today. It tells us that war is both the bringer of renown to its young fighters and the destroyer of their lives. It tells us about post-conflict destruction and chaos; about war as the great reverser of fortunes. It tells us about the age-old dilemmas of fighters compelled to serve under incompetent superiors. It tells us about war as an attempt to protect and preserve a treasured way of life. It tells us, too, about the profound gulf between civilian existence and life on the front line; about atrocities and indiscriminate slaughter; about war's peculiar mercilessness to women and children; about friendships and sympathies across the battle lines. It tells us of the love between soldiers who fight together. Most of all, it tells us about the frightful losses of war: of a soldier losing his closest companion, of a father losing his son"(Higgins's article can be found at the following link: The Iliad and what it can still tell us about war). Her article is very illuminating on warfare in the Iliad and how it resembles much like warfare today. I urge you to read it.
Students will connect with the text through the questioning I've discussed this week, but in the end, the ultimate question is, "So what?" Why do we put student through a book that many adults don't want to even pick up? To students who ask that question, one cannot simply say, "Because I said so," or "It's in the school district's curriculum." Those aren't good enough for our students nor should they be. Even if the language seems daunting and archaic or Nestor rambles on for 100+ lines about his glory days, students need to read this text. It's a poignant tale about the toll war takes. With things like Call of Duty or Halo at students' fingertips, they might not really understand what warfare or killing is really like. Homer tells us though. He explains the loss of life in such a way that one has to be affected by it.
The Odyssey is on the table for this next week. I have to work a basketball camp, but the posts will still come every day. The schedule resembles the same format from this previous week because Homer wrote another 24 books. Just a refresher, I'll let you know how it's going to go down.
6/17: History
6/18: Books I-VI
6/19: Books VII-XII
6/20: Books XIII-XVIII
6/21: Books XIX-XXIV
6/22: OFF
6/23: Final post
I enjoy Odysseus and I hope you guys will like my discussion of his tale.
Until tomorrow,
Cassy
While the Iliad has gods and concepts perhaps foreign to our modern students, it is also a perfect example of the devastating losses which come with war, and students know about war. With tensions rising in areas such as North Korea, war is discussed very often. War is bound up with humanity and obviously has been for centuries. There are no right or wrong answers as to why Homer ended the text the way he did, but when looking at it in terms of the destruction of warfare, it shows how Hector is stripped bare. The tale doesn't go into lengths to explain the reasons for starting the war or how it even ends, but the emotions which come out of it: rage, fury, loss, pain.
Charlotte Higgins wrote an interesting article in 2010 titled "The Iliad and what it can still tell us about war." The following paragraph is an excerpt from her writing that explains what the text can tell us about war today.
"Yet The Iliad still has much to say about war, even as it is fought today. It tells us that war is both the bringer of renown to its young fighters and the destroyer of their lives. It tells us about post-conflict destruction and chaos; about war as the great reverser of fortunes. It tells us about the age-old dilemmas of fighters compelled to serve under incompetent superiors. It tells us about war as an attempt to protect and preserve a treasured way of life. It tells us, too, about the profound gulf between civilian existence and life on the front line; about atrocities and indiscriminate slaughter; about war's peculiar mercilessness to women and children; about friendships and sympathies across the battle lines. It tells us of the love between soldiers who fight together. Most of all, it tells us about the frightful losses of war: of a soldier losing his closest companion, of a father losing his son"(Higgins's article can be found at the following link: The Iliad and what it can still tell us about war). Her article is very illuminating on warfare in the Iliad and how it resembles much like warfare today. I urge you to read it.
Students will connect with the text through the questioning I've discussed this week, but in the end, the ultimate question is, "So what?" Why do we put student through a book that many adults don't want to even pick up? To students who ask that question, one cannot simply say, "Because I said so," or "It's in the school district's curriculum." Those aren't good enough for our students nor should they be. Even if the language seems daunting and archaic or Nestor rambles on for 100+ lines about his glory days, students need to read this text. It's a poignant tale about the toll war takes. With things like Call of Duty or Halo at students' fingertips, they might not really understand what warfare or killing is really like. Homer tells us though. He explains the loss of life in such a way that one has to be affected by it.
The Odyssey is on the table for this next week. I have to work a basketball camp, but the posts will still come every day. The schedule resembles the same format from this previous week because Homer wrote another 24 books. Just a refresher, I'll let you know how it's going to go down.
6/17: History
6/18: Books I-VI
6/19: Books VII-XII
6/20: Books XIII-XVIII
6/21: Books XIX-XXIV
6/22: OFF
6/23: Final post
I enjoy Odysseus and I hope you guys will like my discussion of his tale.
Until tomorrow,
Cassy
Friday, June 14, 2013
Questioning the end of the poem
This post is going to be in the same vein as the previous ones about questioning. Discussion questions for these last books are ample.
When Achilles and Agamemnon end their quarrel, ask students why they did that? Would that have happened if the Achaeans were winning or if Patroclus didn't die? Did Achilles or Agamemnon take responsibility for the fight? Is it important they apologized? How does this affect the people who have already died because of their fight? To connect this moment with students and their lives, ask them if they've ever held a grudge that went on too far? What is the importance of apologizing?
With the death of Patroclus, students may not readily connect to the funeral games and why it may seem that the Achaeans are having fun (they're playing GAMES) after one of their beloved and best soldiers died. Ask students what they do to honor someone who has died. Can't a funeral be a celebration of life as well as mourning the person? Asking questions like this can draw connections to our lives today.
The end of the poem has a lot of unanswered questions. There's a lot of theories and speculation about why Homer did this. I'll discuss these on Sunday, but with students, it would be easy to see what they think. There is no wrong answer because Homer didn't leave us a right answer.
In hopes of not beating a dead horse, I kept today's questioning discussion rather short. Also, I'll be talking about the ending of the poem in conjunction of why we should teach it to our modern students. Enjoy your Saturday and check back in on Sunday to read the final post about the Iliad.
Cassy
When Achilles and Agamemnon end their quarrel, ask students why they did that? Would that have happened if the Achaeans were winning or if Patroclus didn't die? Did Achilles or Agamemnon take responsibility for the fight? Is it important they apologized? How does this affect the people who have already died because of their fight? To connect this moment with students and their lives, ask them if they've ever held a grudge that went on too far? What is the importance of apologizing?
With the death of Patroclus, students may not readily connect to the funeral games and why it may seem that the Achaeans are having fun (they're playing GAMES) after one of their beloved and best soldiers died. Ask students what they do to honor someone who has died. Can't a funeral be a celebration of life as well as mourning the person? Asking questions like this can draw connections to our lives today.
The end of the poem has a lot of unanswered questions. There's a lot of theories and speculation about why Homer did this. I'll discuss these on Sunday, but with students, it would be easy to see what they think. There is no wrong answer because Homer didn't leave us a right answer.
In hopes of not beating a dead horse, I kept today's questioning discussion rather short. Also, I'll be talking about the ending of the poem in conjunction of why we should teach it to our modern students. Enjoy your Saturday and check back in on Sunday to read the final post about the Iliad.
Cassy
The Iliad: Books XIX-XXIV Summaries
Six books left! Here's my mantra again: clear and concise.
Book XIX, "The Reconciliation," starts with Thetis bringing Achilles the armor Hephaestus made. She finds him crying over Patroclus's body. He asks her about Patroclus's body because it should start to disintegrate. She tells him not to worry and she proceeds to put stuff into him that will prevent his body from decaying. Achilles then goes out and says that he's done being mad at Agamemnon and he apologizes. Agamemnon apologizes too, and says he shouldn't have take Briseis. He promises to give Achilles that gifts he promised, but Achilles isn't worried about those, he just wants to fight. Odysseus says that they need to eat before they can go fight. He makes Agamemnon promise he hasn't slept with Briseis, get the treasure, and promise to be more fair in the future. Agamemnon complies, but Achilles doesn't want to hear any of it. He wants to go out and fight. Odysseus tells him they need a good meal so they can fight well. Everyone is eating except Achilles, who still refuses to eat. Zeus tells Athena to go give him divine food without him noticing. Achilles and everyone else gets ready for battle and he chastises his horses for leaving Patroclus in battle and says they must do better today. In that moment, Hera allows the horses to talk, and they tell him that no matter how fast they run, he will still die by the hands of a man and a god. The horses are then silent and Achilles heads to battle.
Book XX is titled "The Gods at War." Zeus calls the gods together and says that now that Achilles is fired up and ready to fight, the Trojans might fall before they're supposed to. He tells that gods that they can go and fight, but make sure things don't get out of hand. Hera, Athena, Poseidon, and Hermes are on the side of the Achaeans, while Ares, Apollo, and Artemis are on the Trojans' side. Apollo goes down and chides Aeneas. He eventually goads him into fighting Achilles. Hera is watching the whole thing and asks Poseidon if they should intervene. Poseidon says they should see how it plays out. The two soldiers confront each other and begin to fight. Achilles has the upper hand, and Poseidon tells Athena they should save Aeneas; it wasn't his fault Apollo talked him into believing that he could kill Achilles. Aeneas's story is told by Virgil in the Aeneid (which I'll discuss the last week of June). So, the gods save Aeneas and take him to the back end of the battle, telling him to stay there until Achilles is dead. Achilles isn't happy Aeneas was saved, but accepts it as an act of the gods. Apollo then tells Hector not to fight Achilles one-on-one because he'll die. Achilles is going on a rampage and eventually kills Hector's brother. Hector can't stay back after that. They fight each other, but the gods save Hector (for now). Achilles realizes this and goes on to kill more Trojans.
Book XXI is "The Struggle of Achilles and the River." Achilles pushes the Trojans to the River Xanthos. He drives half to the city and half into the actual river. He then dives in and starts slaughtering men, making the river red. Achilles kills one of the sons of King Priam and he laughs that the river will carry the body to the sea and he won't have a proper burial. This angers the river (yes, nature can be vengeful). Right now though, Achilles goes on killing people in the river. Finally, the river tells Achilles to stop filling it up with dead Trojans. Achilles says he'll stop filling the river up, but he won't stop killing Trojans. The river complains to Apollo, which Achilles overhears. Achilles gets angry then starts attacking the river. Not a good idea. The river then tries to essentially drown him. It looks pretty bad until Hera steps in. She asks Hephaestus (who is the god of fire) to help. Hephaestus then sets the corpses and field on fire to contain the river. The river says he's done trying to help the Trojans. The gods then all fight each other and complain. Eventually, they all withdraw from the battle. The Trojans are now on the defensive and must run into the city to save it from being sacked.
Book XXII is titled "The Death of Hector." Hector is on the outside of the city walls while his mom and dad (Priam) beg him to come inside. Hector doesn't listen and faces Achilles. For a moment, he considers offering Helen and treasure, but he realizes Achilles would just kill him anyway. When Achilles comes close though, Hector starts running away. He runs around the walls of Troy three times with Achilles chasing him. All the while, Zeus is wondering if he should let Hector live. Hera gets mad (surprise, surprise) and tells him that this is Hector's fate. Zeus says he realizes that and doesn't interfere. Zeus does weigh each guys' fate though, and Hector's is heavier. Athena then goes down to Achilles and tells him that he's about to win. She then goes to Hector in the form of his brother and says they should fight Achilles together. Hector think that's a good sign so he stops running. Hector stops and says they should promise that whoever kills the other won't mutilate the other's body and will give him back to his city to have a proper burial. Achilles says he's not going to promise that. After some gruesome details, Achilles kills Hector, but not before Hector predicts that Paris and Apollo will kill him. Achilles then taunts Hector as he's dying. He then lets the Achaeans defile Hector's body. Achilles does thank the gods for his victory though, so I suppose that's a somewhat redeeming quality. Hector's wife then gets news of his death and sees Achilles taking his body back to the Achaeans' ships. She predicts a grim future for her son since he has no father.
Book XXIII is "The Funeral Games for Patroclus." As they get back, Achilles commands his men to say their goodbyes to Patroclus. He then throws Hector's body by Patroclus's. He lies on the beach and falls asleep. Patroclus's ghost comes to him and says he needs to burn his body quickly because he can't be accepted into the underworld right now. He also says that he knows that Achilles is about to die and that their bones should be mixed together so they can be together in death as they were in life. The next morning, Achilles sets up the funeral for Patroclus. He leaves a lock of his hair in his dead friend's hand. He promises that he will feed Hector's body to wild dogs. Little does he know, Apollo and Aphrodite are keeping Hector's body protected. Meanwhile, Achilles burns Patroclus's body. The next day, he instructs his men to get his friend's bones and put them in an urn to bury, but not to bury them deeply because they will soon need to be taken out so to mix them with Achilles's bones. They aren't done though. The men are commanded to compete in funeral games to honor the dead. Achilles has prizes such as women, treasure, etc. The first competition is chariot racing. Diomedes wins and the rest complain about it being unfair. He divvies up the prizes and the next game is boxing. Epeios wins that. Then there is wrestling. Ajax and Odysseus end in a draw, so they both win. The next game is a race. Odysseus wins this. Then there is spear fighting, and Diomedes wins. Archery is next and Meriones wins that. Finally, there is spear throwing and a lot of guys compete but Achilles says that Agamemnon wins because he is the best. What fun games, right?
Book XXIV is titled "Priam and Achilles." Achilles can't get over his grief for Patroclus. He tries to defile Hector's body, but Apollo is protecting it. The gods want to send Hector back to Troy to get a proper burial. Athena, Hera, and Poseidon say no. The gods argue until Zeus steps in. He says that they'll have Thetis tell Achilles to give Hector back to Priam for a ransom. She goes and tells him and Iris sends a message to Priam and says that he must bring treasures to the Achaean ships. Priam gathers the treasure and Hermes leads them to Achilles. Achilles and Priam hang out while women fix up Hector's body. Achilles promises to hold a truce while the Trojans are mourning Hector's death. Priam says it should be 11 days and on day 12 they can resume fighting. Priam is then lead safely out of the Achaean camp by Hermes. The final lines of the book discuss Hector's funeral.
That's it. I know you're wondering about Achilles and the rest of the Trojan War. I'll talk about this on Sunday.
Until the next post,
Cassy
Book XIX, "The Reconciliation," starts with Thetis bringing Achilles the armor Hephaestus made. She finds him crying over Patroclus's body. He asks her about Patroclus's body because it should start to disintegrate. She tells him not to worry and she proceeds to put stuff into him that will prevent his body from decaying. Achilles then goes out and says that he's done being mad at Agamemnon and he apologizes. Agamemnon apologizes too, and says he shouldn't have take Briseis. He promises to give Achilles that gifts he promised, but Achilles isn't worried about those, he just wants to fight. Odysseus says that they need to eat before they can go fight. He makes Agamemnon promise he hasn't slept with Briseis, get the treasure, and promise to be more fair in the future. Agamemnon complies, but Achilles doesn't want to hear any of it. He wants to go out and fight. Odysseus tells him they need a good meal so they can fight well. Everyone is eating except Achilles, who still refuses to eat. Zeus tells Athena to go give him divine food without him noticing. Achilles and everyone else gets ready for battle and he chastises his horses for leaving Patroclus in battle and says they must do better today. In that moment, Hera allows the horses to talk, and they tell him that no matter how fast they run, he will still die by the hands of a man and a god. The horses are then silent and Achilles heads to battle.
Book XX is titled "The Gods at War." Zeus calls the gods together and says that now that Achilles is fired up and ready to fight, the Trojans might fall before they're supposed to. He tells that gods that they can go and fight, but make sure things don't get out of hand. Hera, Athena, Poseidon, and Hermes are on the side of the Achaeans, while Ares, Apollo, and Artemis are on the Trojans' side. Apollo goes down and chides Aeneas. He eventually goads him into fighting Achilles. Hera is watching the whole thing and asks Poseidon if they should intervene. Poseidon says they should see how it plays out. The two soldiers confront each other and begin to fight. Achilles has the upper hand, and Poseidon tells Athena they should save Aeneas; it wasn't his fault Apollo talked him into believing that he could kill Achilles. Aeneas's story is told by Virgil in the Aeneid (which I'll discuss the last week of June). So, the gods save Aeneas and take him to the back end of the battle, telling him to stay there until Achilles is dead. Achilles isn't happy Aeneas was saved, but accepts it as an act of the gods. Apollo then tells Hector not to fight Achilles one-on-one because he'll die. Achilles is going on a rampage and eventually kills Hector's brother. Hector can't stay back after that. They fight each other, but the gods save Hector (for now). Achilles realizes this and goes on to kill more Trojans.
Book XXI is "The Struggle of Achilles and the River." Achilles pushes the Trojans to the River Xanthos. He drives half to the city and half into the actual river. He then dives in and starts slaughtering men, making the river red. Achilles kills one of the sons of King Priam and he laughs that the river will carry the body to the sea and he won't have a proper burial. This angers the river (yes, nature can be vengeful). Right now though, Achilles goes on killing people in the river. Finally, the river tells Achilles to stop filling it up with dead Trojans. Achilles says he'll stop filling the river up, but he won't stop killing Trojans. The river complains to Apollo, which Achilles overhears. Achilles gets angry then starts attacking the river. Not a good idea. The river then tries to essentially drown him. It looks pretty bad until Hera steps in. She asks Hephaestus (who is the god of fire) to help. Hephaestus then sets the corpses and field on fire to contain the river. The river says he's done trying to help the Trojans. The gods then all fight each other and complain. Eventually, they all withdraw from the battle. The Trojans are now on the defensive and must run into the city to save it from being sacked.
Book XXII is titled "The Death of Hector." Hector is on the outside of the city walls while his mom and dad (Priam) beg him to come inside. Hector doesn't listen and faces Achilles. For a moment, he considers offering Helen and treasure, but he realizes Achilles would just kill him anyway. When Achilles comes close though, Hector starts running away. He runs around the walls of Troy three times with Achilles chasing him. All the while, Zeus is wondering if he should let Hector live. Hera gets mad (surprise, surprise) and tells him that this is Hector's fate. Zeus says he realizes that and doesn't interfere. Zeus does weigh each guys' fate though, and Hector's is heavier. Athena then goes down to Achilles and tells him that he's about to win. She then goes to Hector in the form of his brother and says they should fight Achilles together. Hector think that's a good sign so he stops running. Hector stops and says they should promise that whoever kills the other won't mutilate the other's body and will give him back to his city to have a proper burial. Achilles says he's not going to promise that. After some gruesome details, Achilles kills Hector, but not before Hector predicts that Paris and Apollo will kill him. Achilles then taunts Hector as he's dying. He then lets the Achaeans defile Hector's body. Achilles does thank the gods for his victory though, so I suppose that's a somewhat redeeming quality. Hector's wife then gets news of his death and sees Achilles taking his body back to the Achaeans' ships. She predicts a grim future for her son since he has no father.
Book XXIII is "The Funeral Games for Patroclus." As they get back, Achilles commands his men to say their goodbyes to Patroclus. He then throws Hector's body by Patroclus's. He lies on the beach and falls asleep. Patroclus's ghost comes to him and says he needs to burn his body quickly because he can't be accepted into the underworld right now. He also says that he knows that Achilles is about to die and that their bones should be mixed together so they can be together in death as they were in life. The next morning, Achilles sets up the funeral for Patroclus. He leaves a lock of his hair in his dead friend's hand. He promises that he will feed Hector's body to wild dogs. Little does he know, Apollo and Aphrodite are keeping Hector's body protected. Meanwhile, Achilles burns Patroclus's body. The next day, he instructs his men to get his friend's bones and put them in an urn to bury, but not to bury them deeply because they will soon need to be taken out so to mix them with Achilles's bones. They aren't done though. The men are commanded to compete in funeral games to honor the dead. Achilles has prizes such as women, treasure, etc. The first competition is chariot racing. Diomedes wins and the rest complain about it being unfair. He divvies up the prizes and the next game is boxing. Epeios wins that. Then there is wrestling. Ajax and Odysseus end in a draw, so they both win. The next game is a race. Odysseus wins this. Then there is spear fighting, and Diomedes wins. Archery is next and Meriones wins that. Finally, there is spear throwing and a lot of guys compete but Achilles says that Agamemnon wins because he is the best. What fun games, right?
Book XXIV is titled "Priam and Achilles." Achilles can't get over his grief for Patroclus. He tries to defile Hector's body, but Apollo is protecting it. The gods want to send Hector back to Troy to get a proper burial. Athena, Hera, and Poseidon say no. The gods argue until Zeus steps in. He says that they'll have Thetis tell Achilles to give Hector back to Priam for a ransom. She goes and tells him and Iris sends a message to Priam and says that he must bring treasures to the Achaean ships. Priam gathers the treasure and Hermes leads them to Achilles. Achilles and Priam hang out while women fix up Hector's body. Achilles promises to hold a truce while the Trojans are mourning Hector's death. Priam says it should be 11 days and on day 12 they can resume fighting. Priam is then lead safely out of the Achaean camp by Hermes. The final lines of the book discuss Hector's funeral.
That's it. I know you're wondering about Achilles and the rest of the Trojan War. I'll talk about this on Sunday.
Until the next post,
Cassy
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Questions on Questions in Books XIII-XVIII
Questions crop up throughout these books that can provide with real world connections for students (I hope you've realized that this book isn't so foreign to students as it might seem in the beginning).
Remember when Poseidon defied Zeus and helped the Achaeans? This is a prime time to discuss sibling relationships. Ask students what their relationships are with their siblings. Does birth order matter? How does this compare with Zeus and Poseidon? Students will, usually, open up with details about how the older sister got to sit in the front seat solely because she was older (that's how it is in my family to this day. I'm 21 and my sister is 17 and I automatically get the front seat when we go somewhere).
Patroclus's death is a moment in the text that students can identify with--not dying, but Achilles's reaction. Ask students if they have promised to do something in light of an unfortunate event happened. It could be something as simple as promising your parents that you'll clean your room so you don't get grounded again. Obviously that example isn't as extreme as avenging a friend's death, but students will understand the concepts once you prompt them to think about it in new ways.
The following link gives some good ideas of activities that promote questioning while reading: Questioning Activities. It discusses questioning the author, read-aloud think-aloud, think-pair-share, and more. It gives some good ideas that can be easily adapted to these six books.
Today was short, but I don't want to keep harping at you about how to use questioning in the text. I'm giving you prompts and ideas that you can use in your classroom. Questioning is highly important when trying to show students why the text matters to them. You might often hear kids say, "So what? Who cares if Patroclus died?" You can show students how this can relate to their lives. On Sunday, I'll discuss not only how this can relate to students' lives, but also to current events and why it is more important. But not to jump the gun, tomorrow is the final six books! Yay!
Until tomorrow,
Cassy
Remember when Poseidon defied Zeus and helped the Achaeans? This is a prime time to discuss sibling relationships. Ask students what their relationships are with their siblings. Does birth order matter? How does this compare with Zeus and Poseidon? Students will, usually, open up with details about how the older sister got to sit in the front seat solely because she was older (that's how it is in my family to this day. I'm 21 and my sister is 17 and I automatically get the front seat when we go somewhere).
Patroclus's death is a moment in the text that students can identify with--not dying, but Achilles's reaction. Ask students if they have promised to do something in light of an unfortunate event happened. It could be something as simple as promising your parents that you'll clean your room so you don't get grounded again. Obviously that example isn't as extreme as avenging a friend's death, but students will understand the concepts once you prompt them to think about it in new ways.
The following link gives some good ideas of activities that promote questioning while reading: Questioning Activities. It discusses questioning the author, read-aloud think-aloud, think-pair-share, and more. It gives some good ideas that can be easily adapted to these six books.
Today was short, but I don't want to keep harping at you about how to use questioning in the text. I'm giving you prompts and ideas that you can use in your classroom. Questioning is highly important when trying to show students why the text matters to them. You might often hear kids say, "So what? Who cares if Patroclus died?" You can show students how this can relate to their lives. On Sunday, I'll discuss not only how this can relate to students' lives, but also to current events and why it is more important. But not to jump the gun, tomorrow is the final six books! Yay!
Until tomorrow,
Cassy
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