Comments on: A Primer on Greek Mythology: Part IV – The Odyssey and Applying What We’ve Learned

By: Coltyn

Coltyn — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 17:12:37 +0000

Might I point out that James Cameron had nothing to do with Prometheus, it was Ridley Scott. James Cameron is Titanic, Avatar, etc.

By: Jonny Gibaud

Jonny Gibaud — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:31:19 +0000

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By: Moses B

Moses B — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:57:30 +0000

Thank you, Derek.
Very helpful pointers.

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:17:02 +0000

Moses B: The best way to get a feel for the mindset of the ancients is to read their works. The Iliad and the Odyssey are both excellent examples. Also available are the works of the Playwrights, who often used daily life as their backdrops. Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Aristophanes.

For serious study, many begin with Walter Burkert and his book “Greek Religion.” More appropriate to your question might be “Greek Folk Religion” by Marten P. Nilsson.

By: Donald

Donald — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 01:45:57 +0000

I red this poem in college, gave the story a whole new meaning. Thought you might enjoy:

ODYSSEUS’S SECRET – Stephen Dunn
.
At first he thought only of home, and Penelope.
But after a few years, like anyone on his own,
he couldn’t separate what he’d chosen
from what had chosen him. Calypso, the Lotus-eaters, Circe;
a man could forget where he lived.
He had a gift for getting in and out of trouble,
a prodigious, human gift. To survive Cyclops
and withstand the Sirens’ song––
just those words survive, withstand, in his mind became a music
he moved to and lived by.
How could govern, even love, compete?
They belonged to a different part of a man,
the untested part, which never has transcended dread,
or the liar part, which always spoke like a citizen. The larger the man, though,
the more he needed to be reminded
he was a man. Lightning, high winds;
for every excess a punishment.
Penelope was dear to him, full of character and fine in bed.
But by the middle years this other life
had become his life. That was Odysseus’s secret,
kept even from himself. When he talked about return
he thought he meant what he said. Twenty years to get home?
A man finds his shipwrecks,
tells himself the necessary stories.
Whatever gods are––our own fearful voices
or intimations from the unseen order
of things, the gods finally released him, cleared the way.
Odysseus boarded that Phaeacian ship, suddenly tired
of the road’s dangerous enchantments,
and sailed through storm and wild sea
as if his beloved were all that ever mattered.

By: Moses B

Moses B — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 18:24:47 +0000

I loved the article, though it’s surely been 33 years or so since I cracked the Iliad or the Odyssey. I plan to rediscover them and read them to my 12 year old son.
One issue I never hear addressed is the true-to-life context of these classical Greek and Roman days when the vast majority of the people really believed (at some profound level) in the gods and their received narrative.
For instance, in the first three centuries AD many, many thousands of Christians were persecuted and given the death penalty for their ”offense” (largely) of atheism – not believing in ”the gods”.
This is a very difficult world for us moderns to try to wrap our minds around, accustomed as we are to treating these myths as idle tales for academic insights.
Can you help us get a feel for the mindset and worldview of the ancients who lived and died (or even killed) based on the gods and principles of these myths?

By: Ron Ross

Ron Ross — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:30:25 +0000

I read The Iliad and The Odyssey every few years just to keep the lessons learned close to heart and never too far away. I have lived and worked overseas going on 20 years now, mostly in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, or the Far East. As far as I can tell, no equivalents of The Iliad or The Odyssey for these men to learn from – at least not near as important.

> And we cannot forget the love and loyalty of Eumaeus, the swineherd. Enough to bring tears to a Man’s eyes.

By: Reuben A

Reuben A — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 06:15:05 +0000

I’m quite familiar with both the Odyssey and “Carry On My Wayward Son” and this was the first time I ever thought to bring them together! Thank you for making that song a little bit richer :-)

By: Aaron Brame

Aaron Brame — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 03:34:06 +0000

Thank you for the wonderful article. Being familiar with the epics of Homer is not merely a prerequisite for being a man, it’s a prerequisite for being a fully-formed human being.

I have a daughter named Calliope, the muse of epic poetry that is invoked in the first lines of both poems. And I have been lucky enough to teach Homer (as well as Virgil) to impressionable teenagers. And the results have always been satisfactory.

In fact, I recently made them make board games based on Odysseus’ travels. Nice work: http://bit.ly/ROrBNl

By: Ash

Ash — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 01:51:44 +0000

Great article!