The path of suffering

Athene: I will tell you all the troubles you are ... destined to suffer in your well-wrought house; but you must, of necessity, endure all, and tell no one out of all the men and the women that you have come back from your wanderings, but you must endure much grief in silence, standing and facing men in their violence.

The message is to undergo suffering because it cant be avoided. Odysseus will just be delaying time until he can deliver some serious payback!

starvation

Eurylochos, in Odysseus’s tale: Listen to what I say, my ... companions, though you are suffering evils. All deaths are detestable for wretched mortals, but hunger is the sorriest way to die and encounter fate. Come then, let us cut out the best of Helios’ cattle, and sacrifice them to the immortals who hold wide heaven, and if we ever come back to Ithaka, land of our fathers, presently we will build a rich temple to the Sun God Helios Hyperion, and store it with dedications, many and good. But if, in anger over his high-horned cattle, he wishes to wreck our ship, and the rest of the gods stand by him, I would far rather gulp the waves and lose my life in them once for all, than be pinched to death on this desolate island.

Eurylochos considers starvation the worst death of all and prefers to commit a crime against the gods than suffer this fate. Which until now hasnt been mentioned, however because food is so important to the Greeks it isnt surprising

Athene: Hold back, men of Ithaka, from the wearisome fighting, ... so that most soon, and without blood, you can settle everything.

Athene maintains that justice doesn’t always need to end with fighting, which i belive is a good motto for Greek culture. However fighting often brings glory

They did bad things

Odysseus: Keep your joy in your heart, old dame; stop, ... do not raise up the cry. It is not piety to glory so over slain men. These were destroyed by the doom of the gods and their own hard actions...

Odysseus reminds Eurykleia that the suitors were not killed for personal pleasure, therefore, they should not rejoice at the fallen men.

Question of Justice

Odysseus: O son of Polytherses, lover of mockery, never speak ... loud and all at random in your recklessness. Rather leave all speech to the gods, since they are far stronger than you are. Here is your guest gift, in exchange for that hoof you formerly gave to godlike Odysseus, as he went about through the palace.

I think it is justice that Ktesippos receives death for throwing a cow’s foot at a beggar any ideas?

Gods rule all

Zeus: For his sake Poseidon, shaker of the earth, although ... he does not kill Odysseus, yet drives him back from the land of his fathers. But come, let all of us who are here work out his homecoming and see to it that he returns. Poseidon shall put away his anger; for all alone and against the will of the other immortal gods united he can accomplish nothing.


The way that Poseidon works under Zeus’ force is an example of fate and free will combined. While he must eventually allow Odysseus to go home, he gets to choose how long it takes and how much the man will suffer in the process. Similarly, Odysseus is going to suffer and eventually go home, but his actions along the way are a matter of choice. The question then is whether, with the end point decided, the path to get there matters at all.

Destiny!

Zeus: Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame ... on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given...

Zeus suggests that man does have some control over his own destiny, but does the Odyssey argue for this? hmm who knowsss

Sheeps can not beat me!

"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep lead by lions"

-Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 bce.)

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great, the king of Macedon who created one of the worlds largest empires in history. I think the quote is intresting but I dont agree with it. Perhaps its just me but if i was agaisnt an army of sheep I'd be relived, even if the lion leader guy could raise the spirits of his subjects there is only so much they can do. An army of lions even with a poor leader could still win from pure power. I see the message he is trying to portray and in many cases its true but a bit warped, such as the 300 spartans versus the 1,000,000 persians however its not the same situation. I belive he is correct to an extent.... however he could have chosen a diffrent animal to be a bit more convincing

LIFE

"I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 96% how i react to it."
- Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (235-183 bce.)
(Africanus was added after he defeated Hannibal in Cathage)

Scipio Africanus was a general in the Second Punic War agasint Carthage and was the statesman of the Roman Republic. I think this quote is intresting, because I agree with it. I think it all depends on if you consider the way you have been rasied as life or a reaction to life because if you act in a way because you were rasied that way that would be a reaction to life, therefor the majority of your life would be reactions. However if the way you were raised was already a reaction to life... then everything you do would be considered life, if you know what i mean.

I couldnt get a picture of him but his bust is carved in black stone to represent the people of africa he destroyed the other picture that I did get to work was him in armour ready to fight

Giant Nations with Giant Issues

"In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous"

-Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-117 ce.)

Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. I thought it was funny when I saw this because in law we had just talked about the size of the Roman Empire and thats why it had need for lawiers, because of the many laws. So I'd assume with an empire roughly two thirds of the United States you would have a need for many laws because of corruption, for a nation of 10 people 1 may be corrupt and a nation of 100,000 perhaps 100. So reading this quote wasnt suprising in any way but I did find it intresting.

Fear from within

" Fishes live in the sea, as men do on land: the great ones eat up the little ones"

- Pericles (495-429 bce.)

<-------(that guy)

This quote was written by Pericles, an influential statesman, orator and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age. This quote to me is a symbol of the times, by this point Athens was out of any major conflict and was moving its way into becoming a super power. Society wasnt as tightly knit as it was during the war with Persia, so this quote explains that people with power have no problems in getting rid of smaller players to keep them in the game, so to speak. I thought it was intresting that people have quotes like this so soon after major battles where the nation as a whole had to work together.

Be Victorious

“O Zeus and Zeus’s justice, O light of the sun, now, my friends, I shall be victorious over my foes: I have set my foot on the path”

This quote was in Medea 764-766, it’s about Medea creating plot to get back at her husband Jason who left her for another women. This quote however can be used to express any situation where you are in a mindset to get things done. It expresses the desperation that someone has when they are angry or embarrassed, the want to fix wrongs or get revenge.

Core values of a true hero

"Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves"
- Carol Lynn Pearson

this quote expresses the superficial idea that heroes are the ones that battle the bad guys and go on great journeys. However the last phrase is deeper in meaning. It explains that the hero isn’t going to battle the bad guy for himself, because after he is done his quest the hero finds something about himself. This goes down the core ideas and values of true heroes and reviles it in a way that only a true hero could express. the word treasure emphasizes the value of these characteristics that the heroes find within themselves. This is what makes a hero a hero, being able to do good with no incentive for anything in return but in return they learn something about themselves or get praise from others.

Folly of Greed: King Midas

King Midas's craving for wealth overpowered his basic needs (food, water, shelter) why did Midas make such a foolish wish?

The wish for wealth is a motivator for everyone, sometimes people choose to wish for wealth for self use or to impress others. In king Midas's case he wanted it because it made him feel powerful, he feels that every luxury can be purchased by gold. When Midas got his wish he realized that the most important things in life are not paid for by great wealth this is when Midas realizes that his wish was foolish for he gets rid of his basic needs to achieve power in the view of himself and others.