Discussion Topics--Homer's Odyssey

In groups, pick one episode from The Odyssey to analyze. Explain what happens in that episode, what it means, and how it ties into the larger themes of the story. Also, compare and contrast how that episode is depicted in the movie as opposed to the book.

Choose from the following episodes. Reply to this post to tell which episode your group has chosen.

Calypso
The Cyclops
The God of the Wind
Circe
The Journey into the Underworld
The Final Battle

Consider some of the following issues in your response.

Odysseus’ heroic attributes—How do his heroic characteristics present themselves? Are they always strengths, or do they sometimes also cause problems?

The roles of women—What women are in the part of the story you’ve chosen? What kind of character or societal role do you see in them? Are they good, bad, strong, weak? How do they compare to Odysseus?

Dangers and temptations—What poses a bigger problem for Odysseus in this part of the story? Danger or temptation?

Ares: God of War

Ares is the Greek god of war. He is more of a savage - war god than a god of tactical war. Whenever he heard of war, he put on his helmet and headed to battle. It did not matter who won or lost as long as there was bloodshed. He is sometimes known as the father of victory. He is related to the Roman god of war Mars, although Ares is considered to be more hostile. When Mars was re-cast by the Romans, the word Mars meant Blood-Red Planet of War. Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera. In order for Ares to be conceived, Hera had to touch a flower that was unique to her. He was not well liked among most of the Olympian gods, including his mother and father. He was, however, honored by all the great warriors. Ares had a friend--well, more than a friend--in Aphrodite. They had affairs. They were once caught in an invisible net by Aphrodite’s husband. This revealed their affair to everyone.
He called Thrace his home, and he would retreat back there after his wars or whenever things were against him. Thrace is known for fierce people and battles against the tribes. The symbol that represents Ares is the spear. He is also associated with dogs and vultures.
During the Trojan War, Ares sided with the Trojans but was wounded by Athena. His lover, Aphrodite had to assist him. He was accompanied into battle by Eris, Hades, and his two sons, Deimos and Phobos. Ares rode into battle on his chariot being pulled by his horses, Flame and Terror. He saved Aeneas, Aphrodite’s son, from death.
Ares is the father of several children, two of which are Deimos, also personified as fear, and Phobos, who is personified as terror.
In today’s world, Ares plays an antagonist in video games such God of War and Spartan: Total Warrior. He is mentioned in many comics and a few movies. Ares is the name of a cruise missile targeting system used by the navy in the TV show NCIS.
I personally don’t see why the great warriors would honor him but at the same time hate and fear him. He was interesting to read about though. I thought it was neat how Hera had to touch a flower in order to become conceived with Ares. You would think by her touching a flower, Ares would be the opposite of what he really is.

For more information:

http://gogreece.about.com/cs/mythology/a/blmythares.htm


http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/ares.html


http://www.waltm.net/ares.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares


Kyle, Lindsey, and Brandon

Poseidon

By Robin, Kristin, and Brian

". . . mover of the earth and barren sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae . . . a tamer of horse and saviour of ships . . . " (Hymn to Poseidon from the Homeric Hymns)

Poseidon, a god of many names, was the Greek god of the sea and protector of all waters, both salt water and fresh. Also known as the god of horses and earthquakes, he was referred to by several other names which, being interpreted, meant "Earth-Shaker" or "Earth-Encircler". The Romans called him Neptune, which he is still at times mistakenly called. In a generous mood he created new islands and bestowed calm seas, but when angered would strike the ground with his three-pronged fish spear (trident), producing floods, earthquakes, storms, and shipwrecks. (He was also said to be the cause of certain mental diseases).

Poseidon was largely worshipped by ancient Greek fisherman who prayed to him for safe voyage, at times drowning horses and offering them as sacrifices. Being one of the major civic gods in several cities (Corinth, and many cities of Magna Graecia), he was second only to the goddess Athena in the Greek city of Athens.

The son of Cronus and Rhea, and one of the six Olympian gods, Poseidon was bequeathed the domain of the sea after Cronus and the Titans were defeated. There he reigns under the waves from his sea-floor palace of coral and gems. He rules with his wife, the nymph and ancient sea-goddesses Amphitrite, grandaughter of the Titan Oceanus. According to some myths, he rides across the waves on a chariot drawn by horses (hippocampus: horses that could ride on the sea), or dolphins.

Poseidon appears quite a few times in Greek literature in the epics of Homer (The Odyssey and Iliad) and Hesiod (Theogeny). He is the instigator of a large portion of Odysseus' woes in the Odyssey, persecuting him for blinding Poseidon's son, Polyphemus, the Cyclops. He also sent a sea-monster to ravage the countryside around Troy after the Trojan king refused to pay him his due for building the walls of the city. In yet another tale: Poseidon and Athena were challenged to a competition to see who could give the best gift to the Athenians - the victor winning the people's devotion. In some accounts, Poseidon created the horse, and Athena the olive tree; in other accounts, Poseidon made a salty spring to burst forth, flooding the land, and Athena once again created the olive tree. Whatever the case, Athena won, and the city Athens became her namesake. She became the patroness of Athens, where her temple, the Parthenon, still stands. (Angered at having lost, Poseidon retaliated by flooding the Attic Plain). Finally, as recounted in the Iliad, he also interfered to some extent in the war between the Greeks and the Trojans.

Nortoriously promiscuous, Poseidon had a least 27 partners (including his wife) which resulted in the birth of about 56(?) offspring - not all of them human. The most famous are the hero Theseus; Triton, the merman; Pegasus, the winged horse; and Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops. His most notable lovers (victims) were the goddess Demeter, Medusa, and King Minos' wife, Pasiphae, the mother of the Minotaur (half-man, half-bull). Known as a god of horses, Poseidon often changed into a steed (stallion) for these womanizing expeditions - hence the horse-like forms of the Pegasus, etc.

Additional fact: the Poseidon festival was celebrated in early winter.

Robin: I personally cannot see how anyone could worship a god of this sort. The only thing that sets him apart from humans is his immortality and magical powers. He is not really good or evil. I guess, in a way, he was created to be everything that a human could wish to be: powerful with the ability to have any woman he wanted.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/poseidon.html
Wikipedia
http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Poseidon.html
http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/poseidon.html
http://www.loggia.com/myth/poseidon.html
http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/gallery/poseidon_c.html
http://www.greekspider.com/greekgods/poseidon.htm

Aphrodite: goddess of love

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality. This love spoken of is not the romantic form but purely physical and sexual attraction.

Aphrodite’s Birth
The story of Aphrodite’s birth has taken two paths. Hesiod’s Theonogy states that she was born of Uranus alone. Uranus, Heaven, would not let his children play in the light, so his son, Cronus, castrated him and threw his testicles into the sea. This story is a Uranian story and links Aphrodite’s birth with the creation of the world. This story says that Aphrodite is one of the oldest divinities and that when the heavens and earth were created and separated she was created and has been here since the beginning of time.
The second story states that she is one of the younger divinities and this story is related to the Iliad by Homer. It states that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and the Titan goddess, Dione. This union was completely for physical satisfaction.
Her Powers
Aphrodite’s powers were unlike the powers of any other god or goddess. The most famous story that shows the strength of her powers is the story of Helen of Troy and Paris. In this story she indirectly causes the Trojan War. This story shows the power of love over human control. She helped all that didn’t incur her wrath. She helped Meilanion in the overtake of Atalanta. She gave him golden apples to distract the owner of this place and he was able to defeat them and give Atalanta to his wife. Aphrodite also wanted the Golden Fleece which her father had so she had her son, Eros; shoot Medea with an arrow so that he would fall in love with Jason, who resulted in the fall of her father, Aeetes.
She also used her powers to do harm to some. Those who tried to disrupt the natural attraction of love and sexuality were not friends of Aphrodite and she let them know this. Glaucus would not let his mares breed so she made the horses throw him from his chariot in a race, they then ate him. The Siren wanted to be virgins so she made them grow wings. She was insulted by six of Poseidon’s sons so she made them go insane and they gang-raped their mother. She also made the women of Astypalaea grow cow horns because they claimed to be more beautiful than her.
Her Sexuality
Aphrodite was known as a very promiscuous woman because of her liberal sexuality. Her powers were so strong that every god wanted her as their wife, even Zeus. She was a very proud woman and refused all of them. In anger Zeus made her marry Hephaestus, the lame smith-god. Aphrodite did not get mad and she did not want him to share her addiction to being unfaithful because of her respect for him. Her most famous affair was that with Ares, the god of war.
Our reaction to Aphrodite
Aphrodite may have had powers beyond our recognition but she is no different then the women of today. Not comparing her to the trashiest but Aphrodite’s story depicted her as a woman scorned. You crossed her and you had to deal with her wrath, she liked you and you were very fruitful. So the best bet of the ancient Greeks was to stay on her good side.
Informational links about the goddess of love:
www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/lombardiaphrodite/aphro
www.pantheon.org/articles/a/aphrodite.html
www.mythweb.com/gods/Aphrodite.html
www.messagenet.com/myths/bios/aphrodite.html

Apollo

Apollo, an oracular god, is the god of medicine. He also serves as the leader of the Muses and the director of their choir. Apollo not only dealt with the healing side of medicine he also brought the death-dealing plague.

Apollo is the sun of Zeus and Leto. His twin brother is Artemis. Apollo is most commonly associated with the lyre and the bow. During the Torjan War he shot arrows in the Greek encampment. These arrows were infected with the plague. Apollo did this in reaction to Agamemnon insulting Chryses, a priest of Apollo.

Apollo had numerous lovers, both male and female. He loved both goddesses and human princesses. All Apollos male lovers were younger than him. The reason for this was Apollo was the god of Palaestra. Palaestra was the gathering place for athletic youth. All the competitions and games were played in the nude. Many of these young lover's died "accidentally." You can read more about Apollos numerous lovers by clicking on the following link.

Apollo is most known in today's American culture for the space shuttle Apollo. This shuttle was name after the god. Appollo had great affect on Roman and Greek art. There are stories of musical contest that Apollo was involved in. He had an impact on many parts of life. To read more go to this link.

Zeus

Zeus was considered to be the god of the sky and the weather and his image appeared on most Greek coins. He became one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Zeus was the ruler of Olympus and a supreme god. He was known by many different names: Lord of the Sky, the Cloud-gatherer, the Rain-god and Zeus the Thunder. Zeus was child number six born to Cronos and Rhea because Cronos was afraid that one of his children would overthrow him, just like he overthrow his father, Uranus, he swallowed his five children-Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. This infuriated Rhea and when Zeus was born she tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock wrapped in blankets. Zeus is more powerful then any other god or even all the other gods combined. His power was not boundless, Zeus had no control over The Fate and Destiny. Zeus was subject to pleasure, pain, grief, and anger, but he was most susceptible to the power of Eros-love, which often got the objects of his desire in a lot of trouble with his wife, Hera. Zeus was mighty, glorious, awesome and wise, although he did show a certain degree of surprising foolishness and shame when it came to hidind his love affairs. Aside form the endless affairs Zeus was different from the other gods in that he did not participate in the arguments and the resulting petty scheming that made up the daily activities of other gods. Zeus was the guardian of political order and peace. The aegis is his breastplate- so glorious and at the same time awful to behold that no human could see Zeus in all his magnificence and survive. His weapon is , of course the thunderbolt which he hurled at whoever displeased him. The thunderbolts were fashioned for him the three Cyclopes who also were the deciding power in the battle with the Titans. His bird is the Eagle, his tree- the Oak. Dodona was his oracle. His will was revealed by the rusting of oak leaves which was interpreted by his priests.

For more information link to:
www.mythweb.com/encyc/gallery/zeus_c.html

Zeus

Zeus was considered to be the god of the sky and the weather and his image appeared on most Greek coins. He became one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. He was known by many titles: Lord of the Sky, the Cloud-gatherer, the Rain-god and Zeus the Thunder. Zeus was the sixth child born to Cronos and Rhea because Cronos was afraid that one of his children would overthrow him, just like he overthrow his father, Uranus, he swallowed his five children-Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. This infuriated Rhea and when Zeus was born she tricked Cronos into swallowing a rock wrapped in blankets. Zeus is more powerful then any other god or even all the other gods combined. Zeus was neither omnipotent nor omniscient. His power was not boundless, Zeus had no control over The Fate and Destiny. Zeus was subject to pleasure, pain, grief, and anger, but he was most susceptible to the power of Eros-love, which often got the objects of his desire in a lot of trouble with his wife, Hera. Zeus was mighty, glorious, awesome and wise, although he did show a certain degree of surprising foolishness and naiveness when it came to hiding his love affairs. When his worship spread to an area which already worshipped another god, some of that god's qualities as well as his wife or lover were transferred to Zeus. Aside form the endless affairs Zeus was different from the other gods in that he did not participate in the arguments and the resulting petty scheming that made up the daily activities of other gods. Zeus was the guardian of political order and peace. The aegis is his breastplate- so glorious and at the same time awful to behold that no human could see Zeus in all his magnificence and survive. His weapon is , of course the thunderbolt which he hurled at whoever displeased him. The thunderbolts were fashioned for him the three Cyclopes who also were the deciding power in the battle with the Titans. His bird is the Eagle, his tree- the Oak. Dodona was his oracle. His will was revealed by the rusting of oak leaves which was interpreted by his priests.

For more information link to:
www.zeus-publications.com/zeusgod.html

www.mythweb.com/gods/Zeus.html


BY: Enotris, Krista, Nicole, and Ashely