Where to start. I've taken a little over 3 months off from the blog. But I have come back. I'll just give a very short review of "The Odyssey" to start.
What can I say? This is the classic adventure story. Filled with names and characters that many of us have heard all our lives. This story still keeps us on the edge of our seats to this day.
Amazing novel. Definite must read in my opinion. Still couldn't understand everything in it to my liking. All those Greek names are...well, they're all Greek to me.
That was my major failing: following the the characters. The main ones are easy. But the not-so-major characters just kept falling through the cracks in my mind. But who cares. Fun book.
I hope you get to reading and finishing it. And congrats to all those kids who had to who had to read it in high school and finished without the cliff notes. And shame on the teachers/schools who only assigned parts of this amazing literary masterpiece. It should be all or nothing.
Bye for now. Next we get to some Greek plays.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter [21-24]- Triumph and Homecoming
Hello there. This will be a very special post. Last night I was going to read just one chapter from "The Odyssey", but I just got sucked into reading the final four chapters. Good thing too. They all seemed to tie together like they could have been a single chapter anyway. So this will be one big post for all four. Plus, I finally finished the first volume of the Great Books. AWESOME!!
Chapter 21:
Now Penelope has Odysseus' old bow brought out for the competition that will decide whom Penelope will marry. The competition has individuals stringing the bow and then shooting an arrow through a row of twelve axes lined up. It's harder than it sounds. Telemachos couldn't even string the bow but neither could any of the suitors. The suitors want to call it a night so that they can resume tomorrow after offering sacrifice to Apollo who is an archer himself.
Odysseus takes the swineherd and the oxherd outside to test their loyalty to Odysseus. They pass with flying colors. Odysseus then reveals himself to them. They cry and hug before heading back inside where Odysseus asks for a chance with the bow. They suitors angrily refuse. How embarrassed would you be if a bum did something that you couldn't. Telemachos usurps his authority and gives the bow to Odysseus. Odysseus easily strings the bow and effortlessly shoots an arrow through the twelve axes.
Chapter 22:
The next arrow Odysseus shoots goes through a suitor's throat. He then reveals himself as Odysseus. Suitors beg pleading that the dead suitor was the only bad one. Odysseus launches another arrow. Telemachos releases his spear.
Odysseus then instructs Telemachos to get some extra weapons and armor for the swineherd and oxherd. He forgets to secure the door when he leaves the weapons storage. This leaves a treacherous servant the opportunity to sneaks weapons for the suitors. The second time he gets caught and tied up by the swineherd and oxherd. Now a tiny war is taking place in the palace. Athena comes down in the form of Odysseus' old friend, Mentor, to lend some encouragement to Odysseus and his partners. The battle soon ends.
Odysseus spares two men. The minstrel and a herald. Then the old servant, Eurklyeia, is summoned by Odysseus. He asks her to bring before him the unfaithful servant women. He has them clean up the bodies and the palace. Then they are all taken outside where Telemachos, in anger of their deeds against him and his mother during Odysseus' absence, hung them all in a disgraceful death. Then the unfaithful servant, Melanthios, has his nose, ears, and private parts fed to dogs while his hands and feet are chopped off in anger.
Odysseus requests brimstone, fire, and sulfur to purify his palace. He also asks for the faithful servants brought before him as well as his wife.
Chapter 23:
Eurklyeia makes all haste to Penelope to tell her the grand news. Penelope believe that the gods have made Eurklyeia mad. But Penelope is soon brought down. She, at first, does not believe Odysseus to be in front of her. They both sit calmly across from each other. Then Odysseus speaks of their current troubles. They just killed a good number a young men from powerful families. They are not going to be well liked once word reaches the families. So Odysseus instructs the minstrel to play as if there were a wedding taking place in the palace to throw off suspicion. And that they should leave for his father's farm to lay low. Now back to Penelope and Odysseus.
Penelope, after all those years, is still wary about whether or not this man before her is truly Odysseus. She gives a final test. She requests that Eurklyeia bring down Odysseus' bed for him to sleep in for the night.
Odysseus is highly offended at this request. He knows well that it is no easy task to move his bed. He built it himself. He know it's weight and construction by heart. He recounts how he carved and prepared the bed himself.
This is enough to finally convince Penelope. She throw her arms around him in joy. They then go to bed together. He gives her a quick summary of his journey home from Troy. Now he must make for his father's farm with Telemachos. He gives Penelope instructions to not take any visitors the next day.
Chapter 24:
Now we find ourselves watching as Hermes leads the dead suitors to Hades. They meet Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroklos, and Ais on the way. Agamemnon asks how so many young men have come to death. They recount Penelope's deceit all the way to Odysseus' revenge.
Now we come to Laetres', Odysseus' father, farm. Odysseus has the others go ahead inside so that he can spend some time with his father alone. Odysseus introduces himself as a stranger that entertained Odysseus some time back. After Laetres, with eyes full of tears, asks to hear about his son Odysseus can't take it and reveals himself before embracing his beloved father.
Now they all catch up over a meal. But back in town Rumor is spreading the news of the suitors' deaths. There is uproar over this. Antinoös' father is particularly irate over his son's death. He lead a small army of men to Laetres' farm to kill Odysseus. Once they get there, Odysseus and his companions are ready to fight. Even old Laetres is ready for battle. He actually throws the spear that kills Antinoös' father.
Now Athena persuades all the rest of the men to forget and forgive Odysseus. Odysseus is then reestablished as king. And they all live happily ever after. (I think)
Wow. That was fun. Better than the old "Wishbone" adaptation that I saw about 12 years ago. Who else used to watch "Wishbone"? It was a killer show for youngsters. I hope you have enjoyed this journey so far. We are 1/60th finished now. Yay!!! I'll write review for the Odyssey soon. Bye. ^_^
Chapter 21:
Now Penelope has Odysseus' old bow brought out for the competition that will decide whom Penelope will marry. The competition has individuals stringing the bow and then shooting an arrow through a row of twelve axes lined up. It's harder than it sounds. Telemachos couldn't even string the bow but neither could any of the suitors. The suitors want to call it a night so that they can resume tomorrow after offering sacrifice to Apollo who is an archer himself.
Odysseus takes the swineherd and the oxherd outside to test their loyalty to Odysseus. They pass with flying colors. Odysseus then reveals himself to them. They cry and hug before heading back inside where Odysseus asks for a chance with the bow. They suitors angrily refuse. How embarrassed would you be if a bum did something that you couldn't. Telemachos usurps his authority and gives the bow to Odysseus. Odysseus easily strings the bow and effortlessly shoots an arrow through the twelve axes.
Chapter 22:
The next arrow Odysseus shoots goes through a suitor's throat. He then reveals himself as Odysseus. Suitors beg pleading that the dead suitor was the only bad one. Odysseus launches another arrow. Telemachos releases his spear.
Odysseus then instructs Telemachos to get some extra weapons and armor for the swineherd and oxherd. He forgets to secure the door when he leaves the weapons storage. This leaves a treacherous servant the opportunity to sneaks weapons for the suitors. The second time he gets caught and tied up by the swineherd and oxherd. Now a tiny war is taking place in the palace. Athena comes down in the form of Odysseus' old friend, Mentor, to lend some encouragement to Odysseus and his partners. The battle soon ends.
Odysseus spares two men. The minstrel and a herald. Then the old servant, Eurklyeia, is summoned by Odysseus. He asks her to bring before him the unfaithful servant women. He has them clean up the bodies and the palace. Then they are all taken outside where Telemachos, in anger of their deeds against him and his mother during Odysseus' absence, hung them all in a disgraceful death. Then the unfaithful servant, Melanthios, has his nose, ears, and private parts fed to dogs while his hands and feet are chopped off in anger.
Odysseus requests brimstone, fire, and sulfur to purify his palace. He also asks for the faithful servants brought before him as well as his wife.
Chapter 23:
Eurklyeia makes all haste to Penelope to tell her the grand news. Penelope believe that the gods have made Eurklyeia mad. But Penelope is soon brought down. She, at first, does not believe Odysseus to be in front of her. They both sit calmly across from each other. Then Odysseus speaks of their current troubles. They just killed a good number a young men from powerful families. They are not going to be well liked once word reaches the families. So Odysseus instructs the minstrel to play as if there were a wedding taking place in the palace to throw off suspicion. And that they should leave for his father's farm to lay low. Now back to Penelope and Odysseus.
Penelope, after all those years, is still wary about whether or not this man before her is truly Odysseus. She gives a final test. She requests that Eurklyeia bring down Odysseus' bed for him to sleep in for the night.
Odysseus is highly offended at this request. He knows well that it is no easy task to move his bed. He built it himself. He know it's weight and construction by heart. He recounts how he carved and prepared the bed himself.
This is enough to finally convince Penelope. She throw her arms around him in joy. They then go to bed together. He gives her a quick summary of his journey home from Troy. Now he must make for his father's farm with Telemachos. He gives Penelope instructions to not take any visitors the next day.
Chapter 24:
Now we find ourselves watching as Hermes leads the dead suitors to Hades. They meet Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroklos, and Ais on the way. Agamemnon asks how so many young men have come to death. They recount Penelope's deceit all the way to Odysseus' revenge.
Now we come to Laetres', Odysseus' father, farm. Odysseus has the others go ahead inside so that he can spend some time with his father alone. Odysseus introduces himself as a stranger that entertained Odysseus some time back. After Laetres, with eyes full of tears, asks to hear about his son Odysseus can't take it and reveals himself before embracing his beloved father.
Now they all catch up over a meal. But back in town Rumor is spreading the news of the suitors' deaths. There is uproar over this. Antinoös' father is particularly irate over his son's death. He lead a small army of men to Laetres' farm to kill Odysseus. Once they get there, Odysseus and his companions are ready to fight. Even old Laetres is ready for battle. He actually throws the spear that kills Antinoös' father.
Now Athena persuades all the rest of the men to forget and forgive Odysseus. Odysseus is then reestablished as king. And they all live happily ever after. (I think)
Wow. That was fun. Better than the old "Wishbone" adaptation that I saw about 12 years ago. Who else used to watch "Wishbone"? It was a killer show for youngsters. I hope you have enjoyed this journey so far. We are 1/60th finished now. Yay!!! I'll write review for the Odyssey soon. Bye. ^_^
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 20- An Unpleasant Meal
Both Odysseus and his beloved queen have a troublesome night. Odysseus is unsure of victory against such a great number of suitors while Penelope wants to die rather than entertain a lesser man than her believed-to-be-lost husband.
Athena encourages Odysseus who, upon hearing his wife's distress, asks Zeus for a portent concerning the suitors. Zeus is quick to act with the sign of doom.
Dawn spreads herself again across the land of Ithaka. Odysseus and Telemachos meet with the swineherd and some others. Now to dinner. Athena makes sure that the suitors are especially rude so Odysseus won't loose any anger against them. A very rude suitor throws an ox hoof at Odysseus, who effortlessly dodges. This stirs Telemachos to much anger. He rebukes the suitor with harsh words and threats.
Then Telemachos is spoken against by a suitor speaking of Telemachos' treachery at preventing his mother from marrying a new man. Telemachos is insulted at this remark and quickly defends his intentions for his mother. But this only serves to create laughter among the suitors.
Then, unbeknown to the suitors, the walls bleed and darkness fills the room. The prophet, Theoklymenos, who Telemachos granted passage from Nestor's land, interpreted this as a sign of doom for the wretched suitors. But his words bolster the suitors laughter. He then storms out of the palace leaving the suitors to their fate.
Telemachos is then insulted for his choice of guests. He pays no attention. His mind is all on his father. The time is coming closer "for [the suitors] had first begun the wrongdoing."
Stayed to for another awesome post for "My Odyssey Through the Great Books." Bye. ^_^
Athena encourages Odysseus who, upon hearing his wife's distress, asks Zeus for a portent concerning the suitors. Zeus is quick to act with the sign of doom.
Dawn spreads herself again across the land of Ithaka. Odysseus and Telemachos meet with the swineherd and some others. Now to dinner. Athena makes sure that the suitors are especially rude so Odysseus won't loose any anger against them. A very rude suitor throws an ox hoof at Odysseus, who effortlessly dodges. This stirs Telemachos to much anger. He rebukes the suitor with harsh words and threats.
Then Telemachos is spoken against by a suitor speaking of Telemachos' treachery at preventing his mother from marrying a new man. Telemachos is insulted at this remark and quickly defends his intentions for his mother. But this only serves to create laughter among the suitors.
Then, unbeknown to the suitors, the walls bleed and darkness fills the room. The prophet, Theoklymenos, who Telemachos granted passage from Nestor's land, interpreted this as a sign of doom for the wretched suitors. But his words bolster the suitors laughter. He then storms out of the palace leaving the suitors to their fate.
Telemachos is then insulted for his choice of guests. He pays no attention. His mind is all on his father. The time is coming closer "for [the suitors] had first begun the wrongdoing."
Stayed to for another awesome post for "My Odyssey Through the Great Books." Bye. ^_^
Sunday, August 1, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 19- Nighttime Chat with the Queen
Hello. I've been absent for some time. Sorry about that. I've had some major distractions this past week. But that's all over now. Back to the story.
Now Odysseus and Telemachos store away the weapons so that the suitors can't use them when the time comes to fight. Now after they're done the suitors all go home and Odysseus goes to talk with Penelope.
She asks the normal questions. Then she asks the stranger to describe her husband because he claims to have seen him. It's safe to say the Odysseus does a pretty good job of describing himself. So well, in fact, that Penelope starts crying from the memory.
After much talking Penelope offers the stranger a bed, but he refuses. She gets him to agree to have his feet washed. The servant who washes his feet is Odysseus' old nanny. As she starts washing, she notices an old scar that Odysseus got during a boar hunt. Joy lights up her face as she see her lost master come home. He quickly quiets her and tells her to keep it secret.
Then Penelope asks the stranger to help her interpret a dream. There are twenty geese eating wheat. Then a eagle swoops down and kills them all. The eagle then takes perch a tells Penelope that it's Odysseus. This is what he'll do to the suitors once he returns.
Not too many ways to interpret that one. I think she was mainly confused as to whether or not this dream was true. Some come true while others don't. In her grief she still refuses to believe that Odysseus will come back.
She then decides to hold a contest the next day. Whoever wins shall receive her hand in marriage. Now they all sleep.
I really like this chapter as well. It feels good to get back to it. Let's hope that there aren't anymore big setbacks in the future. Bye.
Now Odysseus and Telemachos store away the weapons so that the suitors can't use them when the time comes to fight. Now after they're done the suitors all go home and Odysseus goes to talk with Penelope.
She asks the normal questions. Then she asks the stranger to describe her husband because he claims to have seen him. It's safe to say the Odysseus does a pretty good job of describing himself. So well, in fact, that Penelope starts crying from the memory.
After much talking Penelope offers the stranger a bed, but he refuses. She gets him to agree to have his feet washed. The servant who washes his feet is Odysseus' old nanny. As she starts washing, she notices an old scar that Odysseus got during a boar hunt. Joy lights up her face as she see her lost master come home. He quickly quiets her and tells her to keep it secret.
Then Penelope asks the stranger to help her interpret a dream. There are twenty geese eating wheat. Then a eagle swoops down and kills them all. The eagle then takes perch a tells Penelope that it's Odysseus. This is what he'll do to the suitors once he returns.
Not too many ways to interpret that one. I think she was mainly confused as to whether or not this dream was true. Some come true while others don't. In her grief she still refuses to believe that Odysseus will come back.
She then decides to hold a contest the next day. Whoever wins shall receive her hand in marriage. Now they all sleep.
I really like this chapter as well. It feels good to get back to it. Let's hope that there aren't anymore big setbacks in the future. Bye.
Monday, July 26, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 18- Iros is Irate
This was a rather interesting turn of events. A seasoned veteran of a beggar, Iros, doesn't like Odysseus moving in on his begging territory. He challenges him to a fight believing Odysseus to be an older man than he. But Odysseus easily takes care of him. Doesn't kill him though. He shows restraint.
Now the suitors toast to Odysseus' victory. Odysseus takes a liking to one suitor in particular who actually isn't that bad. He tries to convince him of the benefits of leaving. But he can't seem to leave. Athena has marked him for death or something like that.
Athena then encourages Penelope to go ask the suitors to give her gifts so she can choose one to marry. The suitors make their way outside to dance with music. Odysseus then gets into it with one of the suitors. He tries throwing a stool at him, but misses an hits another servant instead. Then Telemachos comes out to take control. Much to everyone's surprise.
That's it for this post. Actually....wait a minute. As a small side note: I bowled a 168 tonight. That's my personal best. I'm pretty happy. Who else likes to bowl? What's your best score? Hope to hear back from many people. Bye.
Now the suitors toast to Odysseus' victory. Odysseus takes a liking to one suitor in particular who actually isn't that bad. He tries to convince him of the benefits of leaving. But he can't seem to leave. Athena has marked him for death or something like that.
Athena then encourages Penelope to go ask the suitors to give her gifts so she can choose one to marry. The suitors make their way outside to dance with music. Odysseus then gets into it with one of the suitors. He tries throwing a stool at him, but misses an hits another servant instead. Then Telemachos comes out to take control. Much to everyone's surprise.
That's it for this post. Actually....wait a minute. As a small side note: I bowled a 168 tonight. That's my personal best. I'm pretty happy. Who else likes to bowl? What's your best score? Hope to hear back from many people. Bye.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 17- Please Sir, May I Have Some More
Hello there. I've spent pretty much all day wishing that I could be at Comic Con 2010 in San Diego. But I get to go to Dragon Con 2010 in Atlanta! Go Dragon Con! I had a blast last year. Now to the story.
Telemachos returns home to his teary eyed mother. Then Odysseus follows soon after with Euaimos. When they arrive Odysseus notices a dog. It's actually his dog. But no one has really been taking good care of it since he left for Troy. After Argos, the dog, sees his master, he dies. Kind of sad, right? Odysseus wipes a tear from his face for his lost companion.
Now Odysseus, still under the disguise of a beggar, goes to beg for food from the suitors so he can gain some intel on them. As he's doing this, he meets an extremely rude suitor who hits Odysseus with a stool.
Euaimos has a short discussion with Penelope concerning the beggar. Now she wants to speak with the beggar so that she can hear what he knows of her long absent husband. But Odysseus doesn't want the suitors to see him visiting with Penelope. So they will wait for the suitors to leave. Wait to see the stunning conclusion to their meeting next time on "My Odyssey Through the Great Books." Bye.
Telemachos returns home to his teary eyed mother. Then Odysseus follows soon after with Euaimos. When they arrive Odysseus notices a dog. It's actually his dog. But no one has really been taking good care of it since he left for Troy. After Argos, the dog, sees his master, he dies. Kind of sad, right? Odysseus wipes a tear from his face for his lost companion.
Now Odysseus, still under the disguise of a beggar, goes to beg for food from the suitors so he can gain some intel on them. As he's doing this, he meets an extremely rude suitor who hits Odysseus with a stool.
Euaimos has a short discussion with Penelope concerning the beggar. Now she wants to speak with the beggar so that she can hear what he knows of her long absent husband. But Odysseus doesn't want the suitors to see him visiting with Penelope. So they will wait for the suitors to leave. Wait to see the stunning conclusion to their meeting next time on "My Odyssey Through the Great Books." Bye.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 16- Father and Son
It was a good day today. Got to see an old friend. This friend has been trying to get into the army for about a year now. About time they let her in. She signed her contract sometime around 1:35 P.M. EST on July 23, 2010. There. Now that it's on record let's get back to the story.
Telemachos arrives at Eumaios' hut where Eumaios promptly offers for Telemachos to entertain Odysseus at his palace. Telemachos doesn't feel safe doing it with the suitors. Eumaios is then ordered to inform Penelope of Telemachos' return. But he his beat to the punch by one of Telemachos' men. Now the suitors talk of how to get rid of Telemachos since their first ambush plan has failed.
Back at the hut, Athena removes the guise from Odysseus. He and his son have a good cry over their reuniting. Now they must plan destruction for the suitors.
Time for the part that interested me. One of the suitors mentioned to Penelope how Odysseus sat him on his knee as a child. Also gave him meat and WINE! WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?! Giving a baby wine.
Most might just give it up to the barbarous culture of ancient Greece. Or their extreme ignorance of the harsh effects of alcohol. I personally don't take it as a big deal. We spend way to much time worrying. I believe that there are very few things that we should ever genuinely worry about. More people could take some advice and have a glass or two. Maybe it will calm them down.
Can't say what I would do with my kid. I don't have any. But there are enough people who would want to make sure that I never have a kid for the simple fact that I wouldn't consider it a big deal to give him a sip of wine.
Wow. Did I just become a bad father? Without even having kids. That takes some talent. I'll just argue the antioxidant benefits of wine to the whiners. My kid will grow up stronger than yours because I'm not such a wuss about alcohol. If they become alcoholics, I might have to think up an apology. And get money for rehab. I know who I'll ask for donations.
What is your stance on alcohol consumption? Let me know. Tell your friends. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Telemachos arrives at Eumaios' hut where Eumaios promptly offers for Telemachos to entertain Odysseus at his palace. Telemachos doesn't feel safe doing it with the suitors. Eumaios is then ordered to inform Penelope of Telemachos' return. But he his beat to the punch by one of Telemachos' men. Now the suitors talk of how to get rid of Telemachos since their first ambush plan has failed.
Back at the hut, Athena removes the guise from Odysseus. He and his son have a good cry over their reuniting. Now they must plan destruction for the suitors.
Time for the part that interested me. One of the suitors mentioned to Penelope how Odysseus sat him on his knee as a child. Also gave him meat and WINE! WHAT IS THIS INSANITY?! Giving a baby wine.
Most might just give it up to the barbarous culture of ancient Greece. Or their extreme ignorance of the harsh effects of alcohol. I personally don't take it as a big deal. We spend way to much time worrying. I believe that there are very few things that we should ever genuinely worry about. More people could take some advice and have a glass or two. Maybe it will calm them down.
Can't say what I would do with my kid. I don't have any. But there are enough people who would want to make sure that I never have a kid for the simple fact that I wouldn't consider it a big deal to give him a sip of wine.
Wow. Did I just become a bad father? Without even having kids. That takes some talent. I'll just argue the antioxidant benefits of wine to the whiners. My kid will grow up stronger than yours because I'm not such a wuss about alcohol. If they become alcoholics, I might have to think up an apology. And get money for rehab. I know who I'll ask for donations.
What is your stance on alcohol consumption? Let me know. Tell your friends. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 15- Eumaios' Origin
Let's see. What happened? Athena tells Telemachus to return to Ithaka. After receiving many kingly gifts from Menelaos he and Nestor's son ride off to Nestor's palace. When they get close, Telemachos requests to be let off near his ship for he cannot afford to waste anymore time in Nestor's lavish and inevitable hospitality.
Once near his ship Telemachos is begged for passage by a fleeing prophet from Argos, Theoklymenos. He is fleeing for committing manslaughter back in Argos. Telemachus lets the prophet on his ship to travel to Ithaka. I don't think I would want a murderer on my ship. But I suppose Telemachos knows what he's doing.
Back on Ithaka Odysseus tests Eumaios' hospitality resulting in an extended visit for the long absent king. Eumaios then explains his origins and how he came to live in Ithaka.
This was the most interesting part of the chapter to me. He was originally the son of the king. One day Phoenician sailors came to his country. They made the acquaintance of a Phoenician women who had been stolen away from her country and had been sold to the Eumaios' father. The Phoenician sailors offered her passage back to her homeland in Sidon. She quickly accepted and offered to pay with whatever gold she could grab on her way out as well as the kings son, Eumaios, to whom she was the nurse.
A year passes and they call for the women. She grabs what she can in addition to Eumaios. He sails with the Phoenicians until they sell him to Laertes, Odysseus' father, who then raises him as his own along with his daughter. And for those who are wondering, the women who stole Eumaios died on the trip. Struck down by Artemis.
Now Telemachos returns home. He sends the prophet Theoklymenos to be in the care his faithful companion Peiraios. Theoklymenos also interprets a falcon flying overhead as a sign that Odysseus family shall remain rulers of Ithaka.
Pretty cool chapter. Wait for another one tonight. Bye.
Once near his ship Telemachos is begged for passage by a fleeing prophet from Argos, Theoklymenos. He is fleeing for committing manslaughter back in Argos. Telemachus lets the prophet on his ship to travel to Ithaka. I don't think I would want a murderer on my ship. But I suppose Telemachos knows what he's doing.
Back on Ithaka Odysseus tests Eumaios' hospitality resulting in an extended visit for the long absent king. Eumaios then explains his origins and how he came to live in Ithaka.
This was the most interesting part of the chapter to me. He was originally the son of the king. One day Phoenician sailors came to his country. They made the acquaintance of a Phoenician women who had been stolen away from her country and had been sold to the Eumaios' father. The Phoenician sailors offered her passage back to her homeland in Sidon. She quickly accepted and offered to pay with whatever gold she could grab on her way out as well as the kings son, Eumaios, to whom she was the nurse.
A year passes and they call for the women. She grabs what she can in addition to Eumaios. He sails with the Phoenicians until they sell him to Laertes, Odysseus' father, who then raises him as his own along with his daughter. And for those who are wondering, the women who stole Eumaios died on the trip. Struck down by Artemis.
Now Telemachos returns home. He sends the prophet Theoklymenos to be in the care his faithful companion Peiraios. Theoklymenos also interprets a falcon flying overhead as a sign that Odysseus family shall remain rulers of Ithaka.
Pretty cool chapter. Wait for another one tonight. Bye.
"The Odyssey": Chapter 14- More Pigs
Now Odysseus arrives at the house of his servant, Eumaios the swine herder. He gives Odysseus--remember that Odysseus is under the guise of an unknown vagabond-- warm welcome after saving him from being ripped apart by dogs. They talk and Odysseus creates an intensely detailed false account of his journey that brought him to Ithaka. They feast and sleep.
That's the chapter. Not much huh. But still fun. It was interesting how detailed Odysseus was with his false account. He even went so far as to create the circumstances under which this false identity of his was born. This man really can weave a tangled web of deceit.
I've been worrying lately about these posts not being as good as I want them to be. I realized that even if they're not Pulitzer prize winning material they serve the purpose of recording the fact that I actually read everything. At least they do for me. Everyone else can question whether or not a just read tiny summaries off the internet.
This is still fun. I think I might need to pick up the pace though. I'm about a chapter-a-day out of laziness. Maybe I can try about two-a-day for a while. At least for "The Odyssey." It should help me get to Plato and Aristotle faster. I'm really eager to start some philosophy.
I'm pretty much done for tonight. Hope everyone is still enjoying. Bye.
That's the chapter. Not much huh. But still fun. It was interesting how detailed Odysseus was with his false account. He even went so far as to create the circumstances under which this false identity of his was born. This man really can weave a tangled web of deceit.
I've been worrying lately about these posts not being as good as I want them to be. I realized that even if they're not Pulitzer prize winning material they serve the purpose of recording the fact that I actually read everything. At least they do for me. Everyone else can question whether or not a just read tiny summaries off the internet.
This is still fun. I think I might need to pick up the pace though. I'm about a chapter-a-day out of laziness. Maybe I can try about two-a-day for a while. At least for "The Odyssey." It should help me get to Plato and Aristotle faster. I'm really eager to start some philosophy.
I'm pretty much done for tonight. Hope everyone is still enjoying. Bye.
Monday, July 19, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 13- Home at Last
This was a really long chapter considering how little was actually going on. Not bad. Just a little long. Maybe. Whatever.
The Phaiakans finally return Odysseus home, but he was asleep the entire time. The lay him and his treasures on the ground and sail off. Then Poseidon, being the mean old Earth Shaker he is, decides to punish the Phaiakans for helping Odysseus. When they come in sight their people Poseidon turns the ship to stone sinking them to the ocean floor. King Alikoöns isn't looking to help just anyone get passage back home after this incident. Wonder if this is why we don't pick up hitchhikers these days. Hmmmmmmm.....
Oh well. Odysseus wakes up. Athena puts a mist over his eyes which brings him to believe the Phaiakans dropped him in the wrong place. But soon enough Athena comes and lifts the mist from his eyes. Now they plan the death of the suitors who are ruining Odysseus' household. Now Odysseus is off, in the guise of a beggar, to meet one of his old servants.
That's it for this chapter. These posts have to get more interesting sooner or later. Let's hope sooner. Fingers crossed. Bye. ^_^
The Phaiakans finally return Odysseus home, but he was asleep the entire time. The lay him and his treasures on the ground and sail off. Then Poseidon, being the mean old Earth Shaker he is, decides to punish the Phaiakans for helping Odysseus. When they come in sight their people Poseidon turns the ship to stone sinking them to the ocean floor. King Alikoöns isn't looking to help just anyone get passage back home after this incident. Wonder if this is why we don't pick up hitchhikers these days. Hmmmmmmm.....
Oh well. Odysseus wakes up. Athena puts a mist over his eyes which brings him to believe the Phaiakans dropped him in the wrong place. But soon enough Athena comes and lifts the mist from his eyes. Now they plan the death of the suitors who are ruining Odysseus' household. Now Odysseus is off, in the guise of a beggar, to meet one of his old servants.
That's it for this chapter. These posts have to get more interesting sooner or later. Let's hope sooner. Fingers crossed. Bye. ^_^
"The Odyssey": Chapter 12- Demon's, Demon's, and More Demons
Wow. This was an amazing chapter. And pretty scary as well. This chapter brings us to the end of Odysseus' story of his journey from Troy to Kalypso.
Odysseus and his crew return to Circe's island where she tells Odysseus of the danger he and his men will face to return home. They also bury one of their men who died on the island. I left this out of earlier posts; but one of there men, a younger one, got a little too drunk one night and accidentally slept on Circe's roof. In the morning he took a bad step and dropped from the roof to his death.
Now they set sail. Odysseus warns them of the first danger. The Sirens. The seductive enchanters of men doomed to never return home. Odysseus takes Circe's advice and places wax in his men's ears so they won't hear. But he has himself tied to the mast so that he may listen without fear of following the enchanting melody.
Not much happened with them though. They sail past. That's about it. But here comes the scary part. Skylla and Charybdis. They must sail past these two "demons." Charybdis is a terrible monster who sucks down the water and vomits it back up three times everyday. Skylla has six terrifying head that reach down to pull men to a horrific death by her wretched teeth. And she is enshrouded in smoke that never dissipates. You also never see Charybdis. It's seems to be most terrifying when you can't see it.
Odysseus chooses not to tell his men of the dangers here for fear they might lose all strength in their fear. He has them sail close to the rock where Skylla rests. Almost instantly, six men are lost. Odysseus hears their pitiful, wretched cries for help. They all mourn and keep on there path.
Now they arrive at Thrinakia. Odysseus warns them not to slaughter Helios' animals. They agree so long as Circe's provisions last. Then they get stuck there for a month by a storm. Food doesn't last forever. They falter and slaughter Helios' live stock when Odysseus is away. Helios isn't happy. He threatens to no longer light the world of mortals if he doesn't receive reparations. Zeus agrees to punish them.
After they set sail it's not a long wait until Zeus punishes them. All but Odysseus drift away in the powerful ocean. He grabs onto what's left of the his boat and drifts with the sea.
This is another really scary part. He is carried back to Skylla and Charybdis. He gets pulled towards Charybdis as she swallows the ocean around her. He quickly grabs the branch of the fig tree growing from the rock above the ocean. Now he watches as what's left of his ship is swallowed into the black nothing of Charybdis.
That's scary as anything right there. Hanging by a tree branch while you look down to see nothing. A monster you can't see under the dark waters of the ocean. Fearful that you might see a horrific figure appear from the abyss below you.
But thankfully Odysseus is lucky. Charybdis vomits back out the water with the remains of Odysseus ship. The gods protect him against Skylla who then doesn't take any notice of him. Now he makes his way woefully towards Kalypso's island.
Here is where his tale of the journey from Troy to Kalypso ends. Just wow. I can't wait to see what else happens as he heads home again. I think this chapter did for sailing what "Jaws" did for swimming. This man had a terrifying and woeful journey. He deserves to get home.
Hope you enjoyed as always. Bye.
Odysseus and his crew return to Circe's island where she tells Odysseus of the danger he and his men will face to return home. They also bury one of their men who died on the island. I left this out of earlier posts; but one of there men, a younger one, got a little too drunk one night and accidentally slept on Circe's roof. In the morning he took a bad step and dropped from the roof to his death.
Now they set sail. Odysseus warns them of the first danger. The Sirens. The seductive enchanters of men doomed to never return home. Odysseus takes Circe's advice and places wax in his men's ears so they won't hear. But he has himself tied to the mast so that he may listen without fear of following the enchanting melody.
Not much happened with them though. They sail past. That's about it. But here comes the scary part. Skylla and Charybdis. They must sail past these two "demons." Charybdis is a terrible monster who sucks down the water and vomits it back up three times everyday. Skylla has six terrifying head that reach down to pull men to a horrific death by her wretched teeth. And she is enshrouded in smoke that never dissipates. You also never see Charybdis. It's seems to be most terrifying when you can't see it.
Odysseus chooses not to tell his men of the dangers here for fear they might lose all strength in their fear. He has them sail close to the rock where Skylla rests. Almost instantly, six men are lost. Odysseus hears their pitiful, wretched cries for help. They all mourn and keep on there path.
Now they arrive at Thrinakia. Odysseus warns them not to slaughter Helios' animals. They agree so long as Circe's provisions last. Then they get stuck there for a month by a storm. Food doesn't last forever. They falter and slaughter Helios' live stock when Odysseus is away. Helios isn't happy. He threatens to no longer light the world of mortals if he doesn't receive reparations. Zeus agrees to punish them.
After they set sail it's not a long wait until Zeus punishes them. All but Odysseus drift away in the powerful ocean. He grabs onto what's left of the his boat and drifts with the sea.
This is another really scary part. He is carried back to Skylla and Charybdis. He gets pulled towards Charybdis as she swallows the ocean around her. He quickly grabs the branch of the fig tree growing from the rock above the ocean. Now he watches as what's left of his ship is swallowed into the black nothing of Charybdis.
That's scary as anything right there. Hanging by a tree branch while you look down to see nothing. A monster you can't see under the dark waters of the ocean. Fearful that you might see a horrific figure appear from the abyss below you.
But thankfully Odysseus is lucky. Charybdis vomits back out the water with the remains of Odysseus ship. The gods protect him against Skylla who then doesn't take any notice of him. Now he makes his way woefully towards Kalypso's island.
Here is where his tale of the journey from Troy to Kalypso ends. Just wow. I can't wait to see what else happens as he heads home again. I think this chapter did for sailing what "Jaws" did for swimming. This man had a terrifying and woeful journey. He deserves to get home.
Hope you enjoyed as always. Bye.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 11: One Weird Reunion
Hello there. Time to continue Odysseus' story. I'll skip some details for this chapter. The basic are: Odysseus and his crew arrive near Hades. They perform the sacrifices as instructed by Circe. A bunch of dead people gather around, but Odysseus holds them off until he can speak with Tiresias the prophet.
Good news! Odysseus will make it home, but he might have to endure a whole lot of suffering to get there. We already know that's happened. And the prophet warns Odysseus to avoid harming the animals he will find in Thrinakia. They belong to Helios. If they harm the animals only Odysseus will make it home. I wonder what will happen. I'm on the edge of my seat.
Now that Tiresias has spoken Odysseus will let others spirits near him. Among them are his mother, Agamemnon, Achilles, and Aias. Apparently Aias is their because he killed himself after losing a fight with Odysseus over Achilles armor. A bit of an over-reaction.
He probably had the longest conversation with Agamemnon. Agamemnon recounts his death at the treachery of his wife and her lover. This was the interesting part also. Agamemnon claims a stigma over all women for his wife's treachery.
Good news! Odysseus will make it home, but he might have to endure a whole lot of suffering to get there. We already know that's happened. And the prophet warns Odysseus to avoid harming the animals he will find in Thrinakia. They belong to Helios. If they harm the animals only Odysseus will make it home. I wonder what will happen. I'm on the edge of my seat.
Now that Tiresias has spoken Odysseus will let others spirits near him. Among them are his mother, Agamemnon, Achilles, and Aias. Apparently Aias is their because he killed himself after losing a fight with Odysseus over Achilles armor. A bit of an over-reaction.
He probably had the longest conversation with Agamemnon. Agamemnon recounts his death at the treachery of his wife and her lover. This was the interesting part also. Agamemnon claims a stigma over all women for his wife's treachery.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 10- Men Are Pigs!
Now Odysseus continues his big adventure story. He and his men travel from Polyphemos' island to the home of Aiolos, Ruler of the Winds. He is very hospitable. He even gives Odysseus a bag containing wind. Odysseus can now use the winds to direct his ships towards Ithaka.
They actually come in sight of their beloved homeland, but his men become suspicious and greedy with Aiolos' gift. The open it believing it to be gold and silver. They get blown all the way back to Aiolos' home. Now he's not quite so hospitable. He knows the gods are angry with Odysseus. They don't have the same warm welcome.
But wait...it gets worse. They row to the land of Laistrygonia. And we have giants! A guy gets eaten, and then all but Odysseus' ship gets crushed with rocks.
Now to the coolest part. Aiaia. Home to Circe, a witch goddess. Odysseus sends a good number of men to explore the land. They happen across Circe's home. One man stays out cause he's suspicious. But she seems nice. Even offers them wine. Then all the men who drank wine turn into pigs. What?!?! And not just the pigs that men normally turn into after a few drinks. A little redundant, right? Men turning into pigs. They become full-blown pigs. Little tails, snouts and everything.
The suspicious guy flies back to tell the horrible tale. Now Odysseus goes to get his men back. Along the way Hermes meets our hero and tells him how to defeat Circe. Also gives him something that will negate the effects of her wine.
Odysseus arrives, and is offered the wine. Once she sees that he's not turning, he lunges at her with his sword. She quickly backs down and supplicates Odysseus.
Now we come to the most interesting part of the chapter. She asks him to bed so that "lying in the bed of love, [they] may have faith and trust in each other." Is this what sex meant to ancient Greeks? A sign of trust? I have come to agree that sex should be the ultimate sign of trust, love and faith between two people. And yet...most people have sex only to have their partners betray them a couple months down the road.
What happened to the sacredness of sex? I know we love it. I know that it seems to be something that we are a little too obsessed with. So why do we seem to hold it in such high regards, but simultaneously treat it like a dime-a-dozen activity? Let me know what you think. Back to the story.
Odysseus agrees only if she promises not to plan anymore evil against him. She did try to change him into a pig. Afterward, his men get changed back into humans, and he and all his men live with Circe for a full year. Drinking and eating to their pleasure. Pretty sweet deal. Very worth almost permanently becoming a pig.
But after a while, everyone wants to go home. Circe informs them that they must ask a blind prophet in Hades to give them directions. Here we go again.
Hope you enjoyed. Goodnight. Bye.
They actually come in sight of their beloved homeland, but his men become suspicious and greedy with Aiolos' gift. The open it believing it to be gold and silver. They get blown all the way back to Aiolos' home. Now he's not quite so hospitable. He knows the gods are angry with Odysseus. They don't have the same warm welcome.
But wait...it gets worse. They row to the land of Laistrygonia. And we have giants! A guy gets eaten, and then all but Odysseus' ship gets crushed with rocks.
Now to the coolest part. Aiaia. Home to Circe, a witch goddess. Odysseus sends a good number of men to explore the land. They happen across Circe's home. One man stays out cause he's suspicious. But she seems nice. Even offers them wine. Then all the men who drank wine turn into pigs. What?!?! And not just the pigs that men normally turn into after a few drinks. A little redundant, right? Men turning into pigs. They become full-blown pigs. Little tails, snouts and everything.
The suspicious guy flies back to tell the horrible tale. Now Odysseus goes to get his men back. Along the way Hermes meets our hero and tells him how to defeat Circe. Also gives him something that will negate the effects of her wine.
Odysseus arrives, and is offered the wine. Once she sees that he's not turning, he lunges at her with his sword. She quickly backs down and supplicates Odysseus.
Now we come to the most interesting part of the chapter. She asks him to bed so that "lying in the bed of love, [they] may have faith and trust in each other." Is this what sex meant to ancient Greeks? A sign of trust? I have come to agree that sex should be the ultimate sign of trust, love and faith between two people. And yet...most people have sex only to have their partners betray them a couple months down the road.
What happened to the sacredness of sex? I know we love it. I know that it seems to be something that we are a little too obsessed with. So why do we seem to hold it in such high regards, but simultaneously treat it like a dime-a-dozen activity? Let me know what you think. Back to the story.
Odysseus agrees only if she promises not to plan anymore evil against him. She did try to change him into a pig. Afterward, his men get changed back into humans, and he and all his men live with Circe for a full year. Drinking and eating to their pleasure. Pretty sweet deal. Very worth almost permanently becoming a pig.
But after a while, everyone wants to go home. Circe informs them that they must ask a blind prophet in Hades to give them directions. Here we go again.
Hope you enjoyed. Goodnight. Bye.
"The Odyssey": Chapter 9- This Chapter's About Nobody
Wow. Great chapter. This chapter is simple. Odysseus recounts part of his journey after he left Troy. And we find out why Poseidon is so angry with him.
We start with his Odysseus' men sacking the Kikonians' city. The Kikonians call there friends and drive Odysseus and his men away. Then they find their way to an island inhabited by the Lotus-Eaters.
It's simple. You eat the Lotus fruit and nothing else matters. You don't want anything else. It's nothing really bad so to speak. You just don't care about anything else. It really sucks if you're like Odysseus and his men though. Just wanting to get home. But thankfully only three of Odysseus' men actually ate the Lotus fruit. They were dragged back to the ship and locked up. They set sail again.
Now we are at one of Odysseus' greatest stories. The mighty cyclops Polyphemos. They come to they island and Odysseus' ship breaks off from the pack to explore. They find the cave of Polyphemos. They wait around for the cyclops. He acts nice enough when he finds them. But then turns mean and eats two of them. This happens two more times.
Finally Odysseus comes up with his brilliant plan. He gets Polyphemos drunk with really good wine that he "picked up" from the Kikonians. He tells Polyphemos his name is Nobody. And then, after Polyphemos passes out, Odysseus and his men plunge a large, fiery stake into his eye. Now Polyphemos cries out for help by yelling, "Nobody is killing me." So all the other cyclops just don't care.
But we have a problem. Polyphemos sits at the entrance to his cave with wide-spread arms to feel anything that moves past him. Thankfully Odysseus is really smart. He rounds up the sheep and has his men hide underneath them. The sheep carry them all out safely the next morning. Brilliant!! And they get to keep the sheep. That is total pwnage right there. Now they sail off. But not before Odysseus gets a bit too prideful and calls out his name to Polyphemos. Now Polyphemos asks his daddy, Poseidon, to hurt Odysseus. And now we know why Poseidon is so angry with Odysseus.
That's about it for this chapter. No great insights or ideas with this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the summary none the less. Goodbye.
We start with his Odysseus' men sacking the Kikonians' city. The Kikonians call there friends and drive Odysseus and his men away. Then they find their way to an island inhabited by the Lotus-Eaters.
It's simple. You eat the Lotus fruit and nothing else matters. You don't want anything else. It's nothing really bad so to speak. You just don't care about anything else. It really sucks if you're like Odysseus and his men though. Just wanting to get home. But thankfully only three of Odysseus' men actually ate the Lotus fruit. They were dragged back to the ship and locked up. They set sail again.
Now we are at one of Odysseus' greatest stories. The mighty cyclops Polyphemos. They come to they island and Odysseus' ship breaks off from the pack to explore. They find the cave of Polyphemos. They wait around for the cyclops. He acts nice enough when he finds them. But then turns mean and eats two of them. This happens two more times.
Finally Odysseus comes up with his brilliant plan. He gets Polyphemos drunk with really good wine that he "picked up" from the Kikonians. He tells Polyphemos his name is Nobody. And then, after Polyphemos passes out, Odysseus and his men plunge a large, fiery stake into his eye. Now Polyphemos cries out for help by yelling, "Nobody is killing me." So all the other cyclops just don't care.
But we have a problem. Polyphemos sits at the entrance to his cave with wide-spread arms to feel anything that moves past him. Thankfully Odysseus is really smart. He rounds up the sheep and has his men hide underneath them. The sheep carry them all out safely the next morning. Brilliant!! And they get to keep the sheep. That is total pwnage right there. Now they sail off. But not before Odysseus gets a bit too prideful and calls out his name to Polyphemos. Now Polyphemos asks his daddy, Poseidon, to hurt Odysseus. And now we know why Poseidon is so angry with Odysseus.
That's about it for this chapter. No great insights or ideas with this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the summary none the less. Goodbye.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 8- Games and Pranks and Traps (OH MY!)
Alkinoös calls an assembly of men. They agree to help Odysseus get home. They have games in his honor. One guy starts talking badly about Odysseus, and Odysseus shuts them all up by showing them up in the games. Back to the king's palace for some feasting and singing. Not bad.
This chapter was a lot more fun than it sounded. In my "summary" I did skip some details. The was an amazing singer named Demodokos. He sang beautiful songs of the Trojan War and the lustful affair of Ares and Aphrodite. Which brings me to my favorite part of the chapter.
The affair between the two is definitely interesting. Ares picked the wrong goddess to cheat with because her husband is Hephaistos. After he finds out, he constructs an elaborate trap for the two lovers. After Hephaistos feigns a trip away from his house the two almost instantly spring his beautifully wrought device. Then Hephaistos invites all the gods and goddess to laugh at them as they're caught in his inescapable trap. And there is much laughter. How embarrassing.
It was quite interesting what happened after the affair had been revealed in such a beautiful fashion. There was talk of Ares paying the "adulterer's damage." Now there's something we could use nowadays. When spouses cheat, there should be a form of recompense. Is there no honor? Probably not. Especially not in adultery.
The government treats it as a contracted business deal anyway. Where are the damages when the contract is breached?!?! Probably won't happen though. If it did, there would be more cases than you could shake the Supreme Court at. And there would be a good number of broke men.
And just to clear it up. Some might argue that there is recompense when the contract is "breached," but I'm not speaking of settlements in divorce courts. The couple stays together and the "outsider" pays the damages-fee. I wonder if that system would start to boarder on prostitution? Hmmm... Whatever. Let me know what you think. Do you like the recompense idea? I hope you enjoyed that rousing tale as much as I did. Goodnight. And Good Bye.
This chapter was a lot more fun than it sounded. In my "summary" I did skip some details. The was an amazing singer named Demodokos. He sang beautiful songs of the Trojan War and the lustful affair of Ares and Aphrodite. Which brings me to my favorite part of the chapter.
The affair between the two is definitely interesting. Ares picked the wrong goddess to cheat with because her husband is Hephaistos. After he finds out, he constructs an elaborate trap for the two lovers. After Hephaistos feigns a trip away from his house the two almost instantly spring his beautifully wrought device. Then Hephaistos invites all the gods and goddess to laugh at them as they're caught in his inescapable trap. And there is much laughter. How embarrassing.
It was quite interesting what happened after the affair had been revealed in such a beautiful fashion. There was talk of Ares paying the "adulterer's damage." Now there's something we could use nowadays. When spouses cheat, there should be a form of recompense. Is there no honor? Probably not. Especially not in adultery.
The government treats it as a contracted business deal anyway. Where are the damages when the contract is breached?!?! Probably won't happen though. If it did, there would be more cases than you could shake the Supreme Court at. And there would be a good number of broke men.
And just to clear it up. Some might argue that there is recompense when the contract is "breached," but I'm not speaking of settlements in divorce courts. The couple stays together and the "outsider" pays the damages-fee. I wonder if that system would start to boarder on prostitution? Hmmm... Whatever. Let me know what you think. Do you like the recompense idea? I hope you enjoyed that rousing tale as much as I did. Goodnight. And Good Bye.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 7- In the Halls of the King
The basics of this chapter are as follows: Odysseus makes his way to the kings house. He supplicates to the queen. They give him food. He explains how he came to their land. They set up transportation for him. And the king offers his daughter's hand in marriage to Odysseus. What is with all these people and Odysseus? Plus, they all go to bed.
Nothing much in this chapter. The main thing that caught my eye in this chapter was this "mist" that the gods put over mortals eyes to decieve them. It was interesting because I heard many mentions of it in Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. I works a bit differently though. In Percy it was continuously blinding mortals to the existence of magical beings and events, but in the ancient Greek days gods just used it to hide themselves among the mortals. And only when they felt like it. It's kind of like when Gene Simmons takes off his KISS makeup. No one used to recognize him back in the day. Not so much the case today. But you get my point. I hope.
I hope that's good enough for you. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Nothing much in this chapter. The main thing that caught my eye in this chapter was this "mist" that the gods put over mortals eyes to decieve them. It was interesting because I heard many mentions of it in Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. I works a bit differently though. In Percy it was continuously blinding mortals to the existence of magical beings and events, but in the ancient Greek days gods just used it to hide themselves among the mortals. And only when they felt like it. It's kind of like when Gene Simmons takes off his KISS makeup. No one used to recognize him back in the day. Not so much the case today. But you get my point. I hope.
I hope that's good enough for you. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Monday, July 12, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 6- Naked Man
It's nice to see that Odysseus has good manners around women. He attempts to cover his nakedness when he encounter's Alkinoös' daughter, Nausikaa, and her servants near the beaches of Phaiakia. Odysseus gets a real break this time. Bath and food. Athena did well with this plan. She encouraged Nausikaa to go and wash her clothes at the beach knowing that Odysseus would be there. Now he also has his way to find the city so he can start getting back home again.
On a side note, Odysseus must be a pretty good looking man. First a goddess, Calypso, falls in love with him; and now we have Nausikaa, a princess, falling for him. Athena can take some credit for the princess though. Good thing that he's smart also. He didn't look so dashing before his bath. He had to supplicate her with his words. Who wants to trust a man who looked as rough as he did? And he was naked to top it off. You have to be able to prove you're not crazy.
But he has suceeded. Odysseus is awesome. And the journey is only 25% over. Shorter post for a shorter chapter. Bye.
P.S.: Anyone who's a big fan of "How I Met Your Mother" should get the hidden joke in the title. ^_^
On a side note, Odysseus must be a pretty good looking man. First a goddess, Calypso, falls in love with him; and now we have Nausikaa, a princess, falling for him. Athena can take some credit for the princess though. Good thing that he's smart also. He didn't look so dashing before his bath. He had to supplicate her with his words. Who wants to trust a man who looked as rough as he did? And he was naked to top it off. You have to be able to prove you're not crazy.
But he has suceeded. Odysseus is awesome. And the journey is only 25% over. Shorter post for a shorter chapter. Bye.
P.S.: Anyone who's a big fan of "How I Met Your Mother" should get the hidden joke in the title. ^_^
Sunday, July 11, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 5- The Journey Begins (Rough Start)
Finally! The gods finally have Calypso give up Odysseus. He builds himself a raft, with a little help from the goddess, and sets sail on the 5th day. It goes pretty well for the first 18 days. But then Poseidon spots him. He's not happy. He creates a HUGE storm to give Odysseus great hardship.
Ino comes to his aid. Soon he makes his way towards the mainland. But there's nothing but sharp rocks on the coast. What's a man to do. He gets tossed around some more. What did you expect? He finally come across a river who is kind enough to let him in. He finds his way to the forest near the mainland where Athena helps put him to sleep.
Fun chapter. I might stop saying that though because I think every chapter will be equally exciting. This is just a great book. It was a blast to see Odysseus finally take off. Starting the quest. Awesome.
There were some interesting things in the chapter as well. Calypso for one. Odysseus really wants to get home. But I'm wondering what his reasons are. He and the goddess sleep with each other. Does he want to get home for his wife? What are his reasons? I might just have a different view of what is right. I know that it was definitely a different time.
Nowadays we might just be a little obsessed with the idea of adventure and struggle for a loved one. But from everything I've learned so far from reading "The Iliad" there were probably other reasons for an ancient Greek to want to go home. I'm sure his wife does calculate into it, but she is not his sole reason for his return.
One thing we cannot deny is the male-female dynamics. Calypso openly speaks angrily against the male gods for not letting her, a goddess, have her prize, Odysseus. Do you wonder what it was really like back in the day? How were women really treated? Do we even treat our women better in modern times? If anyone says that we do, I challenge him to actually take five minutes and think about it. We still have uneven dynamics. Men are players, and women are sluts. Pardon the language. We don't have much tact these days. We might have a more equal social standing, but we still treat women terribly. How did I find myself in this little tangent? Hmmmm...
We like to think ourselves superior, but are we really? I tend to think not. We might have more technology than our ancient brothers, but where to we stand in wisdom? We could all use some more. I would love to hear back from everyone. Tell your friends. This will be a fun time we're going to have. Bye for now.
Ino comes to his aid. Soon he makes his way towards the mainland. But there's nothing but sharp rocks on the coast. What's a man to do. He gets tossed around some more. What did you expect? He finally come across a river who is kind enough to let him in. He finds his way to the forest near the mainland where Athena helps put him to sleep.
Fun chapter. I might stop saying that though because I think every chapter will be equally exciting. This is just a great book. It was a blast to see Odysseus finally take off. Starting the quest. Awesome.
There were some interesting things in the chapter as well. Calypso for one. Odysseus really wants to get home. But I'm wondering what his reasons are. He and the goddess sleep with each other. Does he want to get home for his wife? What are his reasons? I might just have a different view of what is right. I know that it was definitely a different time.
Nowadays we might just be a little obsessed with the idea of adventure and struggle for a loved one. But from everything I've learned so far from reading "The Iliad" there were probably other reasons for an ancient Greek to want to go home. I'm sure his wife does calculate into it, but she is not his sole reason for his return.
One thing we cannot deny is the male-female dynamics. Calypso openly speaks angrily against the male gods for not letting her, a goddess, have her prize, Odysseus. Do you wonder what it was really like back in the day? How were women really treated? Do we even treat our women better in modern times? If anyone says that we do, I challenge him to actually take five minutes and think about it. We still have uneven dynamics. Men are players, and women are sluts. Pardon the language. We don't have much tact these days. We might have a more equal social standing, but we still treat women terribly. How did I find myself in this little tangent? Hmmmm...
We like to think ourselves superior, but are we really? I tend to think not. We might have more technology than our ancient brothers, but where to we stand in wisdom? We could all use some more. I would love to hear back from everyone. Tell your friends. This will be a fun time we're going to have. Bye for now.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 4- Menelaos' Own Odyssey
Wow. This chapter was amazing. Wow. Is there another word. To give a summary: Menelaos recounts his journey back from Troy, and the suitors plan to kill Telemachus when he returns.
We finally hear about Odysseus' brilliant plan, the Trojan Horse. By far one of the most famous battle strategies on record. And guess who is also there?
It's Helen. She seems to have adjusted nicely. Apparently she had a feeling that soldiers were probably in the horse, but she let the thought pass because she was starting to miss home. She also let Odysseus go when he pretended to be a beggar to infiltrate the city for information. Aphrodite didn't do a great job making Helen fall in love with her new home. Aphrodite's all about love though. She can't be all that smart. At least she's pretty.
This was nice. Menelaos is such a great character. He went through a tough time on his journey home. For some reason there was no wind to bring his ships home. So he goes an ambushes the Old Man of the Sea, who seems to know just about anything. This is where he learns of his brother's unfortunate demise and Odysseus' detainment at the hands of Calypso. But at least he's alive. And, of course, he learns how to get back to sailing home. For some odd reason the gods wanted him to give sacrifice in Egypt.
But he's back now. Telemachus is happy to here this news. Now he wants to head home. But he better beware because the suitors want to kill him.
Just to add a little something, I had some odd strike of inspiration while I was reading this chapter. For some reason I felt compelled to make an amateur effort at writing a passage for a book. Hopefully I can build a good story around it. Wish me luck on that. But that's all for now. Bye.
We finally hear about Odysseus' brilliant plan, the Trojan Horse. By far one of the most famous battle strategies on record. And guess who is also there?
It's Helen. She seems to have adjusted nicely. Apparently she had a feeling that soldiers were probably in the horse, but she let the thought pass because she was starting to miss home. She also let Odysseus go when he pretended to be a beggar to infiltrate the city for information. Aphrodite didn't do a great job making Helen fall in love with her new home. Aphrodite's all about love though. She can't be all that smart. At least she's pretty.
This was nice. Menelaos is such a great character. He went through a tough time on his journey home. For some reason there was no wind to bring his ships home. So he goes an ambushes the Old Man of the Sea, who seems to know just about anything. This is where he learns of his brother's unfortunate demise and Odysseus' detainment at the hands of Calypso. But at least he's alive. And, of course, he learns how to get back to sailing home. For some odd reason the gods wanted him to give sacrifice in Egypt.
But he's back now. Telemachus is happy to here this news. Now he wants to head home. But he better beware because the suitors want to kill him.
Just to add a little something, I had some odd strike of inspiration while I was reading this chapter. For some reason I felt compelled to make an amateur effort at writing a passage for a book. Hopefully I can build a good story around it. Wish me luck on that. But that's all for now. Bye.
Friday, July 9, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 3- It's Nestor!
Hello there. Not much to say. Onto the chapter.
This is so much more enjoyable than "The Iliad" for some reason. I have no idea. I just love it. Maybe it's because it moves around. "The Iliad" all happened in one place. "The Odyssey" is an adventure. Traveling far and wide.
Telemachus traveled to Pylos to ask Nestor (we all remember him) if he has any news of his father's whereabouts. Sadly Nestor doesn't know anything. Him and Odysseus left at different times. But we do learn something interesting.
Agamemnon didn't have a happy ending after sacking Troy. He journeyed home through harsh seas only to be murdered by his wife's lover. Not a nice way to go. But thankfully Agamemnon's son came back home and avenged his father rightly. This is encouragement for Telemachus. Maybe he'll fight the suitors for his father's honor to be restored.
After his lack of success with Nestor, Telemachus then goes to rest in his ships. But Nestor won't have it. He offers the young man a bed in his house. The next day Nestor sends off Telemachus, with his own son as a guide, to go seek out Menelaos. He might know something. Keep your fingers crossed.
That's good enough for me. Bye.
This is so much more enjoyable than "The Iliad" for some reason. I have no idea. I just love it. Maybe it's because it moves around. "The Iliad" all happened in one place. "The Odyssey" is an adventure. Traveling far and wide.
Telemachus traveled to Pylos to ask Nestor (we all remember him) if he has any news of his father's whereabouts. Sadly Nestor doesn't know anything. Him and Odysseus left at different times. But we do learn something interesting.
Agamemnon didn't have a happy ending after sacking Troy. He journeyed home through harsh seas only to be murdered by his wife's lover. Not a nice way to go. But thankfully Agamemnon's son came back home and avenged his father rightly. This is encouragement for Telemachus. Maybe he'll fight the suitors for his father's honor to be restored.
After his lack of success with Nestor, Telemachus then goes to rest in his ships. But Nestor won't have it. He offers the young man a bed in his house. The next day Nestor sends off Telemachus, with his own son as a guide, to go seek out Menelaos. He might know something. Keep your fingers crossed.
That's good enough for me. Bye.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 2- Council and Travel
Chapter 2. Very nice one. Full of deceit, planning and good wine. Hey there again. Let's get to it.
Telemachus holds an assembly to discuss his house guest problem. He makes a very nice speech. Almost everyone is with him. Then Antinous, don't really know who this guy is, decides to open his mouth. He starts saying that this is all his mother's fault. He insists that she needs to finally pick a suitor instead of leading them all on. Yep. Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall put up with. Onto something else.
It's actually pretty cool. Penelope is about as devious and quick-witted as her husband. She promised to choose a suitor once she had finished weaving a shroud for her father. But what she didn't tell them is that she would go back and undo her work every night. That way she never finishes. Go Penelope!
But they find out. Now they're angry and impatient. So we move on. Telemachus wants vengeance from the gods on these unwanted house guests. But enough for now. He has places to go.
Athena helps to set up everything he needs. She gets him a ship and crew. He must make trips to Pylos and Sparta. I'm not really sure why the gods are making him do this. Now he's off on the wine-blue sea. Anyone else hear "East Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed playing. That ship could use a radio. That's all for now. See you later. Bye.
Telemachus holds an assembly to discuss his house guest problem. He makes a very nice speech. Almost everyone is with him. Then Antinous, don't really know who this guy is, decides to open his mouth. He starts saying that this is all his mother's fault. He insists that she needs to finally pick a suitor instead of leading them all on. Yep. Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall put up with. Onto something else.
It's actually pretty cool. Penelope is about as devious and quick-witted as her husband. She promised to choose a suitor once she had finished weaving a shroud for her father. But what she didn't tell them is that she would go back and undo her work every night. That way she never finishes. Go Penelope!
But they find out. Now they're angry and impatient. So we move on. Telemachus wants vengeance from the gods on these unwanted house guests. But enough for now. He has places to go.
Athena helps to set up everything he needs. She gets him a ship and crew. He must make trips to Pylos and Sparta. I'm not really sure why the gods are making him do this. Now he's off on the wine-blue sea. Anyone else hear "East Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed playing. That ship could use a radio. That's all for now. See you later. Bye.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
"The Odyssey": Chapter 1- The Gods Give Hope
I'm back. Told you so. First chapter of a new book. Here we go.
To sum it up: Odysseus never made home and is being held hostage by a nymph named Calypso. And back on the home front his house is overrun with men wanting to marry his wife for his fortune. Plus this takes place ten years after "The Iliad." There you go. Onto some other stuff that interested me.
This is a really good one right here. Zeus says, "Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame upon 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[.] What does this mean to you? Let me know. Leave a comment. You might be the first.
To me it's Zeus saying, "We don't desire all this evil to befall you mortals. It's because you don't listen to us. We tell you what to do and all you have to do is listen. But you don't listen. Thus bringing suffering on yourselves." Something like that. We can't go beyond the destiny that the gods give us. Even they have to follow it and can't change it. It's been "given" to us. We can either take it or suffer without it. It's like playing Operation. Can't touch the sides. Can't walk outside the path of destiny. Without consequences.
I believe that this idea works, at least, for what Zeus is talking about. In "The Iliad" the gods seemed very keen on keeping everything within it's proper destiny. Like when Zeus let the other gods rejoin the fight as they pleased so that Achilles wouldn't fell Troy before its destined time. But I digress.
It was also really thought provoking when Telemachus, Odysseus' son, rebuked Penelope, Odysseus' wife, when she objected to a song being sung, by one of her potential suitors. It's understandable why she wouldn't want to hear it. The song referenced the voyage home from Troy for the Greeks. And her husband never made it back. For ten years, she's believed him dead. But either way Telemachus rebuked her. He reminded here that she isn't the only wife not to have her husband return from war.
This has been a subject of extreme interest for me. The idea of being right in one's suffering. Sure, there's someone who has it worse than you, but does that make your suffering meaningless? Penelope has a right to grieve for her lost husband. But is her son also right in the fact that she shouldn't act as if she's the only one who lost her husband? It's a deep question. And we're still digging for the answer. I tend to side with letting the person grieve. Until it becomes counter-productive. Feel free to contact me about this. I would love to discuss it further. I'm pretty sure that I didn't cover it thoroughly enough in this post. Moving on.
To end on a happy note, as the title indicates the gods bring Telemachus some good news. Athena tells him that his father's alive and coming home soon. YAY!!
I might also add that Athena isn't quite so terrible of a person (goddess?) in this book so far. She was so mean spirited in "The Iliad." But the important thing is that Odysseus is still alive. Watch out all you varments. Daddy's coming home. I think we'll be hearing "Are we there yet?" a whole lot. See you next time.
To sum it up: Odysseus never made home and is being held hostage by a nymph named Calypso. And back on the home front his house is overrun with men wanting to marry his wife for his fortune. Plus this takes place ten years after "The Iliad." There you go. Onto some other stuff that interested me.
This is a really good one right here. Zeus says, "Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame upon 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[.] What does this mean to you? Let me know. Leave a comment. You might be the first.
To me it's Zeus saying, "We don't desire all this evil to befall you mortals. It's because you don't listen to us. We tell you what to do and all you have to do is listen. But you don't listen. Thus bringing suffering on yourselves." Something like that. We can't go beyond the destiny that the gods give us. Even they have to follow it and can't change it. It's been "given" to us. We can either take it or suffer without it. It's like playing Operation. Can't touch the sides. Can't walk outside the path of destiny. Without consequences.
I believe that this idea works, at least, for what Zeus is talking about. In "The Iliad" the gods seemed very keen on keeping everything within it's proper destiny. Like when Zeus let the other gods rejoin the fight as they pleased so that Achilles wouldn't fell Troy before its destined time. But I digress.
It was also really thought provoking when Telemachus, Odysseus' son, rebuked Penelope, Odysseus' wife, when she objected to a song being sung, by one of her potential suitors. It's understandable why she wouldn't want to hear it. The song referenced the voyage home from Troy for the Greeks. And her husband never made it back. For ten years, she's believed him dead. But either way Telemachus rebuked her. He reminded here that she isn't the only wife not to have her husband return from war.
This has been a subject of extreme interest for me. The idea of being right in one's suffering. Sure, there's someone who has it worse than you, but does that make your suffering meaningless? Penelope has a right to grieve for her lost husband. But is her son also right in the fact that she shouldn't act as if she's the only one who lost her husband? It's a deep question. And we're still digging for the answer. I tend to side with letting the person grieve. Until it becomes counter-productive. Feel free to contact me about this. I would love to discuss it further. I'm pretty sure that I didn't cover it thoroughly enough in this post. Moving on.
To end on a happy note, as the title indicates the gods bring Telemachus some good news. Athena tells him that his father's alive and coming home soon. YAY!!
I might also add that Athena isn't quite so terrible of a person (goddess?) in this book so far. She was so mean spirited in "The Iliad." But the important thing is that Odysseus is still alive. Watch out all you varments. Daddy's coming home. I think we'll be hearing "Are we there yet?" a whole lot. See you next time.
"The Iliad": Summary
Hello again. Here we go. This is my first summary. Time to condense 306 pages into the cool stuff. We'll see.
First off, I just realized that I failed to reveal what started the Trojan War in my last post. But this is just as a good a place as any.
We find ourselves looking at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Achilles' parents. There's some commotion at the front door. Eris (aka Discord) is making a fuss about being kept out. She leaves after heaving a golden apple into the room. The apple has the words "To the Fairest" inscribed on it. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite quarrel over it. Each thinks herself to be the fairest.
To solve this little debate, they go to Alexandros (remember him?). He can't decide either. So they bribe him. Athena offers wisdom and warcraft. Hera offers political power and control of Asia. But Aphrodite offers him a beautiful women, Helen. What's a horndog to do? He picks Aphrodite. She gives him Helen. And the other two are angered to no end.
And that is how thinking with the wrong head brings down a nation. It also explains why Hera and Athena seemed so hateful towards Troy throughout the book. Now we know. And that means we can move on.
I'll begin by giving it two thumbs up. Very nice book. Long winded at times, but still very good. It had just about everything. No happy ending though. But at least we didn't have to see Troy get massacred. That's something. Unless you rooted for the Greeks.
This seems as if it's a far cry from the books I usually read. Everything was so different. I liked the way that people conversed. Definitely hard to wrap my head around at first. Some of that probably comes from it originally being a poem. Not the poetry that I know and love.
Really loved the honor that they frequently gave to each other. It paints a different picture of what I've heard life was like in those days. Seems more likeable than the descriptions I've heard.
I wonder how feminists feel about this book? Probably won't make even make their bottom five books. You know.....with all the taking women as slaves. But the women didn't seem to mind too much. Or maybe Homer just didn't appropriately voice their torment. They did appear to be having an alright time. No horrible screams of mistreatment here. Let us take it, at least, as the culture of another time when women were just happy to be taken care. Not wholly self-sufficient. But apparently that's a no no in modern culture. Let's change subject quickly before I'm labeled a sexist pig or something. *Oink *Oink. Dammit!
Achilles was definitely the center of this story. Everything did, in fact, revolve around him. The Trojans didn't even come out from behind their walls as long as he was still out there. If Agamemnon didn't insult Achilles, the Trojans would've never been vulnerable later on. Because they would've never been out so far from their city if he had been out there.
No really fantastic insights. Zeus was interesting. He seemed very nonchalant. He threw some prideful words and threats around, but never did too much.
I don't know if I would've read this book outside of this desire to read all the Great Books. That can probably be said for all of them though. Take Aquinas for example. I love the idea of the Summa, but probably wouldn't get around to reading it ever. This blog gives me a driving force. For some odd reason. So I'm very glad that I'm doing it. I hoped that everyone is having fun. If you're on Twitter, give me a shout out. I'm @mrakestraw777. Hope to hear from you soon. Feel free to give me some tips to make this all more enjoyable. It should get better by the fifth volume at least. On to "The Odyssey" for now. Be back soon. I promise. :-)
First off, I just realized that I failed to reveal what started the Trojan War in my last post. But this is just as a good a place as any.
We find ourselves looking at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, Achilles' parents. There's some commotion at the front door. Eris (aka Discord) is making a fuss about being kept out. She leaves after heaving a golden apple into the room. The apple has the words "To the Fairest" inscribed on it. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite quarrel over it. Each thinks herself to be the fairest.
To solve this little debate, they go to Alexandros (remember him?). He can't decide either. So they bribe him. Athena offers wisdom and warcraft. Hera offers political power and control of Asia. But Aphrodite offers him a beautiful women, Helen. What's a horndog to do? He picks Aphrodite. She gives him Helen. And the other two are angered to no end.
And that is how thinking with the wrong head brings down a nation. It also explains why Hera and Athena seemed so hateful towards Troy throughout the book. Now we know. And that means we can move on.
I'll begin by giving it two thumbs up. Very nice book. Long winded at times, but still very good. It had just about everything. No happy ending though. But at least we didn't have to see Troy get massacred. That's something. Unless you rooted for the Greeks.
This seems as if it's a far cry from the books I usually read. Everything was so different. I liked the way that people conversed. Definitely hard to wrap my head around at first. Some of that probably comes from it originally being a poem. Not the poetry that I know and love.
Really loved the honor that they frequently gave to each other. It paints a different picture of what I've heard life was like in those days. Seems more likeable than the descriptions I've heard.
I wonder how feminists feel about this book? Probably won't make even make their bottom five books. You know.....with all the taking women as slaves. But the women didn't seem to mind too much. Or maybe Homer just didn't appropriately voice their torment. They did appear to be having an alright time. No horrible screams of mistreatment here. Let us take it, at least, as the culture of another time when women were just happy to be taken care. Not wholly self-sufficient. But apparently that's a no no in modern culture. Let's change subject quickly before I'm labeled a sexist pig or something. *Oink *Oink. Dammit!
Achilles was definitely the center of this story. Everything did, in fact, revolve around him. The Trojans didn't even come out from behind their walls as long as he was still out there. If Agamemnon didn't insult Achilles, the Trojans would've never been vulnerable later on. Because they would've never been out so far from their city if he had been out there.
No really fantastic insights. Zeus was interesting. He seemed very nonchalant. He threw some prideful words and threats around, but never did too much.
I don't know if I would've read this book outside of this desire to read all the Great Books. That can probably be said for all of them though. Take Aquinas for example. I love the idea of the Summa, but probably wouldn't get around to reading it ever. This blog gives me a driving force. For some odd reason. So I'm very glad that I'm doing it. I hoped that everyone is having fun. If you're on Twitter, give me a shout out. I'm @mrakestraw777. Hope to hear from you soon. Feel free to give me some tips to make this all more enjoyable. It should get better by the fifth volume at least. On to "The Odyssey" for now. Be back soon. I promise. :-)
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 24- Hektor's Funeral
Hey there. Final chapter. So exciting right? I know. Let's get to it.
It's safe to say that we all know how it ends. It really surprised me that the book ended with Hektor's funeral. I wonder why it ends here. But whatever. To sum up the chapter: Priam gets Hektor's body back and burns it. Yep....that's about it.
If you want more, there's a lot of mourning and weeping. And Achilles grants a 12 day peace agreement with the Trojans. But one thing that did stand out at me was Priam. In his supplication to Achilles he mentioned how he did what no other man has ever done. He kissed the hands of the man who took his son's life. Deep stuff.
All this funeral talk makes me think. Not too much thankfully. But I think that I want to be cremated. The old fashioned way. Wonder if it's allowed. Hmmmmm.
But whatever. I hope this has been fun. But it's not over. I'm only half way through Vol. 1 of 60. I'll post my book summary for "The Iliad" later. Bye. I'll be back.
It's safe to say that we all know how it ends. It really surprised me that the book ended with Hektor's funeral. I wonder why it ends here. But whatever. To sum up the chapter: Priam gets Hektor's body back and burns it. Yep....that's about it.
If you want more, there's a lot of mourning and weeping. And Achilles grants a 12 day peace agreement with the Trojans. But one thing that did stand out at me was Priam. In his supplication to Achilles he mentioned how he did what no other man has ever done. He kissed the hands of the man who took his son's life. Deep stuff.
All this funeral talk makes me think. Not too much thankfully. But I think that I want to be cremated. The old fashioned way. Wonder if it's allowed. Hmmmmm.
But whatever. I hope this has been fun. But it's not over. I'm only half way through Vol. 1 of 60. I'll post my book summary for "The Iliad" later. Bye. I'll be back.
"The Iliad": Chapter 23- Let the Games Begin!
Good day to you all. I did it. I finished my first of the the Great Books. Yay! :-) But I'm really tired right now. I won't post anything for the last chapter until later today. Maybe the afternoon. But at least you get this chapter. Onward.
This chapter was simple. They bury Patroklos and play games in his honour. Very bare bones explanation. But I'll add some. An interesting event was Patroklos' appearance to Achilles. He basically came to say, "Bury me already!" So Achilles does.
The games were a fun part as well. They had chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, foot racing and archery. I will add that if he was still alive Hektor would've been great in the foot racing. Too soon? I'm not sure. They actually had a spear throwing challenge, but apparently Agamemnon is soooo good that Achilles just gave him the prize without the need for competition.
That's pretty much the chapter. It was fun though. If you came to know the characters throughout the book, you actually find yourself rooting for them during the games. I'm a huge fan of Odysseus. And we'll be seeing a lot of him in the next book, "The Odyssey." I should have a post for that tomorrow as well.
There is an interesting revelation in the final chapter. It alludes to how this entire thing got started. We all know it was over Helen. But there is a bit more to the story. That will all be in the next post. Then I'll make a summary post for the entire book. Good night to everyone out there. And bye.
This chapter was simple. They bury Patroklos and play games in his honour. Very bare bones explanation. But I'll add some. An interesting event was Patroklos' appearance to Achilles. He basically came to say, "Bury me already!" So Achilles does.
The games were a fun part as well. They had chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, foot racing and archery. I will add that if he was still alive Hektor would've been great in the foot racing. Too soon? I'm not sure. They actually had a spear throwing challenge, but apparently Agamemnon is soooo good that Achilles just gave him the prize without the need for competition.
That's pretty much the chapter. It was fun though. If you came to know the characters throughout the book, you actually find yourself rooting for them during the games. I'm a huge fan of Odysseus. And we'll be seeing a lot of him in the next book, "The Odyssey." I should have a post for that tomorrow as well.
There is an interesting revelation in the final chapter. It alludes to how this entire thing got started. We all know it was over Helen. But there is a bit more to the story. That will all be in the next post. Then I'll make a summary post for the entire book. Good night to everyone out there. And bye.
Monday, July 5, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 22- The Amazing Chase
Hello again. I certainly hope that this has been a fun weekend for everyone. I definitely had fun with my family. I have some of the funnest (Is that even a word? Is it "most fun?") aunts ever. I am most certainly going to miss them. But onto the story.
You remember how all the Trojans escaped into the city when Apollo distracted Achilles? Well....it looks like Hektor didn't make it inside. Men's pride. I don't know. It's not looking up for him.
Achilles is heading straight for Hektor. But then Hektor takes off in a sprint. He is chased around the city three whole times and almost a fourth. There's an Olympic champion for you. Then basically, Athena tricks Hecktor into fighting Achilles. Lets's build up some tension here. Snap your fingers. And...........he's dead. Yeah! That quick.
Now there's a whole lot of mourning and weeping. And I mean a lot. It's understandable. Achilles actually ties Hektor to his chariot and drags his dead corpse (Is that redundant?) through the dirt around Troy. I think Achilles has some anger issues. He just can't let it go.
Right before Hektor died he begged Achilles to give his body to his family for burial. So far Achilles isn't really going for it. But there are two chapters left. Who knows what can happen. Not much. But maybe enough to end on a semi-positive note.
That's it for now. Two more chapters to go. This is so much fun. Bye
You remember how all the Trojans escaped into the city when Apollo distracted Achilles? Well....it looks like Hektor didn't make it inside. Men's pride. I don't know. It's not looking up for him.
Achilles is heading straight for Hektor. But then Hektor takes off in a sprint. He is chased around the city three whole times and almost a fourth. There's an Olympic champion for you. Then basically, Athena tricks Hecktor into fighting Achilles. Lets's build up some tension here. Snap your fingers. And...........he's dead. Yeah! That quick.
Now there's a whole lot of mourning and weeping. And I mean a lot. It's understandable. Achilles actually ties Hektor to his chariot and drags his dead corpse (Is that redundant?) through the dirt around Troy. I think Achilles has some anger issues. He just can't let it go.
Right before Hektor died he begged Achilles to give his body to his family for burial. So far Achilles isn't really going for it. But there are two chapters left. Who knows what can happen. Not much. But maybe enough to end on a semi-positive note.
That's it for now. Two more chapters to go. This is so much fun. Bye
Sunday, July 4, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 21- Achilles' Blind Fury
Happy Fourth of July! I hope that everyone has a very pleasant holiday. And I hope that this post will be just another little piece of happiness for you today. Onto the story.
Achilles is doing a very fine job of avenging his falling companion. He chases the Trojans to the river known as Xanthos. He makes quick work of them. The funny thing is that he does such a good job the he actually takes a break to round up twelve Trojans to send back to be "vengeanced" for Patroklos. Then he goes right back to work.
He kills soooooo many men that the river god Xanthos starts complaining how his river is becoming plugged up with the bodies. Achilles agrees to kill them on land. Then for some reason Xanthos asks Apollo why he isn't helping the Trojans. For some reason Achilles doesn't like this. He attacks Xanthos. Bad move even for him.
But he gets rescued by Hera and Hephaistos. It's actually pretty cool. Hephaistos boils the river with his flames until Xanthos gives up. Now Achilles chases the Trojans all the way to Troy's gates. He would've made it into the city if not for Agenor's brave stand. I really admired him for that. Uh oh. I used past tense. That doesn't sound good.
Don't worry. Agenor was saved by Apollo who took on his image and staved off Achilles long enough for everyone to make it inside. Now all the Trojans are inside the city. All of them much too afraid to come out.
I can imagine how this will end. But I'm kind of a cheater. I've seen the movie. Not everything is the same, but I'm pretty sure of where this is going. I won't spoil it for those who don't know.
There was also a lot of quarreling among the gods, but it wasn't all that intersting. So I left that out. If anyone really wants it, just let me know.
Only three books left. This has been fun. In the past I had started reading this book about 7 times or so. But I couldn't keep up the motivation for some reason. I definitely think this blog gives me a strong reason to continue. Even though I don't have any followers I still really enjoy the posting. But I do continue this journey for all my future followers. :-) for you! I'll have another one tomorrow. See you then. Ciao.
Achilles is doing a very fine job of avenging his falling companion. He chases the Trojans to the river known as Xanthos. He makes quick work of them. The funny thing is that he does such a good job the he actually takes a break to round up twelve Trojans to send back to be "vengeanced" for Patroklos. Then he goes right back to work.
He kills soooooo many men that the river god Xanthos starts complaining how his river is becoming plugged up with the bodies. Achilles agrees to kill them on land. Then for some reason Xanthos asks Apollo why he isn't helping the Trojans. For some reason Achilles doesn't like this. He attacks Xanthos. Bad move even for him.
But he gets rescued by Hera and Hephaistos. It's actually pretty cool. Hephaistos boils the river with his flames until Xanthos gives up. Now Achilles chases the Trojans all the way to Troy's gates. He would've made it into the city if not for Agenor's brave stand. I really admired him for that. Uh oh. I used past tense. That doesn't sound good.
Don't worry. Agenor was saved by Apollo who took on his image and staved off Achilles long enough for everyone to make it inside. Now all the Trojans are inside the city. All of them much too afraid to come out.
I can imagine how this will end. But I'm kind of a cheater. I've seen the movie. Not everything is the same, but I'm pretty sure of where this is going. I won't spoil it for those who don't know.
There was also a lot of quarreling among the gods, but it wasn't all that intersting. So I left that out. If anyone really wants it, just let me know.
Only three books left. This has been fun. In the past I had started reading this book about 7 times or so. But I couldn't keep up the motivation for some reason. I definitely think this blog gives me a strong reason to continue. Even though I don't have any followers I still really enjoy the posting. But I do continue this journey for all my future followers. :-) for you! I'll have another one tomorrow. See you then. Ciao.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 20- Pass the Popcorn
What is up today? My family started showing up. It's going to be very active around the house for the next 3 days. Now.....ONTO ACHILLES!!
WOW! WOW! And......WOW! Okay. Maybe not that amazing, but Achilles did a pretty awesome job making quick work of the Trojans. Zeus actually repealed his "No Divine Intervention" clause because he was afraid that Achilles might sack the city before the destined time. All the gods are pretty psyched. They make all haste to begin helping. But then Poseidon and Hera, being the strongest on the battlefield, agree to just watch at first. You know...to see where the fight goes before intervening. The gods take seats on opposite sides of the battlefield depending on who they're rooting for. It's like a big theater for them. Hence the title "Pass the Popcorn."
But, before he takes his seat, Apollo encourages Aneias to fight Achilles. I don't know why. Maybe he just wanted a good show. It really doesn't matter because Aneias can't take on Achilles. So Poseidon rescues him. How sweet. Not 5 chapters ago I believe he was in cahoots with Hera to destroy the Trojans.
Now we just see Achilles slaughtering the Trojans. Homer usually takes forever when it comes to describing battle scenes, but Achilles is just one or two lines before moving on to the next kill. Finally Hektor challenges him only to perform horribly and have Apollo carry him away. Then Achilles goes back to slaughtering Trojan after Trojan. I guess the prophylactics have a better defense than these warriors. But I'll cut them some slack because it's Achilles.
Well, I'm finally happy. Achilles is back in the fight. Now I have 4 chapters left to see what will happen. In my last post I mistakenly titled it Chapter 20. But I went back and corrected that. This is the real chapter 20. I hope that everyone's enjoying. Good night. See you tomorrow.
WOW! WOW! And......WOW! Okay. Maybe not that amazing, but Achilles did a pretty awesome job making quick work of the Trojans. Zeus actually repealed his "No Divine Intervention" clause because he was afraid that Achilles might sack the city before the destined time. All the gods are pretty psyched. They make all haste to begin helping. But then Poseidon and Hera, being the strongest on the battlefield, agree to just watch at first. You know...to see where the fight goes before intervening. The gods take seats on opposite sides of the battlefield depending on who they're rooting for. It's like a big theater for them. Hence the title "Pass the Popcorn."
But, before he takes his seat, Apollo encourages Aneias to fight Achilles. I don't know why. Maybe he just wanted a good show. It really doesn't matter because Aneias can't take on Achilles. So Poseidon rescues him. How sweet. Not 5 chapters ago I believe he was in cahoots with Hera to destroy the Trojans.
Now we just see Achilles slaughtering the Trojans. Homer usually takes forever when it comes to describing battle scenes, but Achilles is just one or two lines before moving on to the next kill. Finally Hektor challenges him only to perform horribly and have Apollo carry him away. Then Achilles goes back to slaughtering Trojan after Trojan. I guess the prophylactics have a better defense than these warriors. But I'll cut them some slack because it's Achilles.
Well, I'm finally happy. Achilles is back in the fight. Now I have 4 chapters left to see what will happen. In my last post I mistakenly titled it Chapter 20. But I went back and corrected that. This is the real chapter 20. I hope that everyone's enjoying. Good night. See you tomorrow.
Friday, July 2, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 19- When's Dessert?!
Helloooo Internet. Ready for another installment? I'll take your buzzing hum as a yes.
Chapter 20. I kind of felt ripped off. We left the last chapter with Achilles receiving the new armor, and we all were thinking he would go straight off to kick some Trojan butt. "Butt" he doesn't. More talking. Some apologizing. Then some gift giving.
Now Odysseus wants Achilles to wait until everyman has had a good meal. Not a bad thought. You don't want that distraction on the battlefield. But come on!! Everyone's riled up. USE IT!! Hit them hard. Hit them fast. Trust me. They won't last long with Achilles out there.
I feel like I'm in a restaurant now. And the meal just won't come! I flippin' want to get to dessert! But I can't without having dinner! I'm fairly certain this is exactly how Achilles feels. Especially since desserts are usually cold. Get it? "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Yes, I'll have the Trojan sundae with a sprinkle of chaos and a side of begging and weeping. But I digress.
Here's something funny, weird and cool. Talking horses. YAY! I wonder if this was the inspiration for Mr. Ed. Never actually saw it. But I'm pretty sure that Mr. Ed never talked about how it was some one's fate to die in battle. That I know of. Like I said. I never watched it.
In summation, I liked the horses; but I felt ripped off without Achilles going ape on the Trojans yet. But I have 4 chapters left. Maybe it will happen in one of them. It better. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Chapter 20. I kind of felt ripped off. We left the last chapter with Achilles receiving the new armor, and we all were thinking he would go straight off to kick some Trojan butt. "Butt" he doesn't. More talking. Some apologizing. Then some gift giving.
Now Odysseus wants Achilles to wait until everyman has had a good meal. Not a bad thought. You don't want that distraction on the battlefield. But come on!! Everyone's riled up. USE IT!! Hit them hard. Hit them fast. Trust me. They won't last long with Achilles out there.
I feel like I'm in a restaurant now. And the meal just won't come! I flippin' want to get to dessert! But I can't without having dinner! I'm fairly certain this is exactly how Achilles feels. Especially since desserts are usually cold. Get it? "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Yes, I'll have the Trojan sundae with a sprinkle of chaos and a side of begging and weeping. But I digress.
Here's something funny, weird and cool. Talking horses. YAY! I wonder if this was the inspiration for Mr. Ed. Never actually saw it. But I'm pretty sure that Mr. Ed never talked about how it was some one's fate to die in battle. That I know of. Like I said. I never watched it.
In summation, I liked the horses; but I felt ripped off without Achilles going ape on the Trojans yet. But I have 4 chapters left. Maybe it will happen in one of them. It better. See you tomorrow. Bye.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 18- Forging Fear
Another busy day getting ready for the family on the 4th. But I finally managed to find some time at the end of the day to squeeze in some reading. Here you go.
Good chapter. Right from the get go Achilles hears the bad news. And he is extremely unstable. I can't begin to express just how screwed Hektor is. He needs to listen to his friend about retreating behind the walls of the city. But you know men and their pride. "Good grief," as the Great Charlie Brown would say.
In a bit of good news, Patroklos' body is finally recovered. But apparently Achilles won't actually have the funeral until he kills Hektor. Needless to say, I believe the funeral will be happening without any delay. With the exception of the necessary delay for Thetis to get some new armor to her son. Because, if I didn't say in the last post, Hektor successfully took Achilles' armor from Patroklos. Big mistake. But at least he'll die in style when Achilles finds him.
Not much left besides Thetis' trip to Hephaistos. He puts together some pretty good armor. Just the etching on the shield took up about 2-3 pages of descriptions. This is like a shield Leonardo da Vinci might have painted. Hephaistos knows his craft.
Hephaistos is part of the inspiration for the title of this chapter. Already the Trojans are deeply afraid of Achilles. Then, earlier, Athena had Achilles stand where the Trojans could see him. And now in their heads fear is forming and taking shape. Much like Hephaistos is shaping the armor for Achilles, who's future armor will be a symbol of fear for all Trojans. It's a two part meaning. But I digress.
Now we're just waiting for Dawn to scatter herself over the battlefield once again. Thus, bringing sure destruction on anyone who has the stupidity to stand up to Achilles. Can't wait. See you then. Bye.
Good chapter. Right from the get go Achilles hears the bad news. And he is extremely unstable. I can't begin to express just how screwed Hektor is. He needs to listen to his friend about retreating behind the walls of the city. But you know men and their pride. "Good grief," as the Great Charlie Brown would say.
In a bit of good news, Patroklos' body is finally recovered. But apparently Achilles won't actually have the funeral until he kills Hektor. Needless to say, I believe the funeral will be happening without any delay. With the exception of the necessary delay for Thetis to get some new armor to her son. Because, if I didn't say in the last post, Hektor successfully took Achilles' armor from Patroklos. Big mistake. But at least he'll die in style when Achilles finds him.
Not much left besides Thetis' trip to Hephaistos. He puts together some pretty good armor. Just the etching on the shield took up about 2-3 pages of descriptions. This is like a shield Leonardo da Vinci might have painted. Hephaistos knows his craft.
Hephaistos is part of the inspiration for the title of this chapter. Already the Trojans are deeply afraid of Achilles. Then, earlier, Athena had Achilles stand where the Trojans could see him. And now in their heads fear is forming and taking shape. Much like Hephaistos is shaping the armor for Achilles, who's future armor will be a symbol of fear for all Trojans. It's a two part meaning. But I digress.
Now we're just waiting for Dawn to scatter herself over the battlefield once again. Thus, bringing sure destruction on anyone who has the stupidity to stand up to Achilles. Can't wait. See you then. Bye.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 17- Who Gets Patroklos?
Well hello there. Happy to be back. Miserable morning, but at least I finally got my car back from the detailing shop. I don't believe I mentioned it last time; but it turns out that, after I take in my car because my friend got sick in it, one of their employees got sick as well. He didn't make it worse or anything. That would have probably made for a funnier strory though. Enough chit chat.
This chapter was AWESOME! I don't know if it was my sleep deprivation or if it was just pure awesome. But this chapter rocked. It's odd how good it was. It was really nothing but a giant, bloody game of "Who Gets to Keep Patroklos' Body." Something about it was just on point.
I think it was due to the fact that the dialogue was a little easier on my brain to comprehend. (FINALLY!) Or maybe I just glazed over with the more difficult dialogue. That's something to talk about right there. This dialoge is not easy to get through. You have to pay attention. You will be tired after just reading one chapter. For one of two reasons:
1) You were just bored. Hence you're tired from not being properly stimulated by the text. Which means that you probably glazed over without really understanding it.
2) You really did pay attention and your mind is getting used to reading this style. The structure is different form what we normally read. It's long, flowing prose as opposed to the normal short and to the point.
And for all you people who don't get tired after reading a chapter. Good for you. Go and help someone else try to get a grasp on the concepts. Either way.
In the end, Menelaos and a fellow Greek finally recover Patroklos' body. But here's the really awesome part. Antilochos has been sent to inform Achilles of his friend's demise. YAY!! Achilles should be back in the fight really soon.
This was fun. Was it good for you too? Hope so. See you later.
This chapter was AWESOME! I don't know if it was my sleep deprivation or if it was just pure awesome. But this chapter rocked. It's odd how good it was. It was really nothing but a giant, bloody game of "Who Gets to Keep Patroklos' Body." Something about it was just on point.
I think it was due to the fact that the dialogue was a little easier on my brain to comprehend. (FINALLY!) Or maybe I just glazed over with the more difficult dialogue. That's something to talk about right there. This dialoge is not easy to get through. You have to pay attention. You will be tired after just reading one chapter. For one of two reasons:
1) You were just bored. Hence you're tired from not being properly stimulated by the text. Which means that you probably glazed over without really understanding it.
2) You really did pay attention and your mind is getting used to reading this style. The structure is different form what we normally read. It's long, flowing prose as opposed to the normal short and to the point.
And for all you people who don't get tired after reading a chapter. Good for you. Go and help someone else try to get a grasp on the concepts. Either way.
In the end, Menelaos and a fellow Greek finally recover Patroklos' body. But here's the really awesome part. Antilochos has been sent to inform Achilles of his friend's demise. YAY!! Achilles should be back in the fight really soon.
This was fun. Was it good for you too? Hope so. See you later.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 16- The End of Patroklos
Wow. Busy day. But I won't bore you with the details. This chapter has a huge turning point. Let's get to it.
It finally happened. Patroklos died. After a long, successful struggle to beat the Trojans back, Patroklos got surprise-attacked by Apollo. Hektor then finished off the wounded Patroklos. Hektor didn't even do it all himself. I mean, this is not good for Hektor. Patroklos was even more than a match for him it seemed. I don't think he'll be happy to meet Achilles again.
Now that Patroklos is dead, we can finally get on with the destruction of Troy. This is so far off from the movie that I've given up thinking that I have any idea about what's going to happen. I must say that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew Patroklos would die. I just didn't know when.
It's a very curious thing. Homer was blind right? How does he describe everything so well? Maybe he wasn't always blind. Curiouser and curiouser. I don't know.
After the long day, I'm kind of tired at 3:25 A.M. Good bye for now. It's another day tomorrow.
It finally happened. Patroklos died. After a long, successful struggle to beat the Trojans back, Patroklos got surprise-attacked by Apollo. Hektor then finished off the wounded Patroklos. Hektor didn't even do it all himself. I mean, this is not good for Hektor. Patroklos was even more than a match for him it seemed. I don't think he'll be happy to meet Achilles again.
Now that Patroklos is dead, we can finally get on with the destruction of Troy. This is so far off from the movie that I've given up thinking that I have any idea about what's going to happen. I must say that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew Patroklos would die. I just didn't know when.
It's a very curious thing. Homer was blind right? How does he describe everything so well? Maybe he wasn't always blind. Curiouser and curiouser. I don't know.
After the long day, I'm kind of tired at 3:25 A.M. Good bye for now. It's another day tomorrow.
Monday, June 28, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 15- Send in Mr. "Strongbow"
Hello. Interesting thing happened last night. Went out to a bar with some friends, and it turns out that one of my friends has no idea when to stop drinking. And he can't hold his liquor too well. Needless to say, I'm getting my car detailed in the morning. Lovely story right? But it was interesting for me. It was a first. And hopefully a last. In hindsight, I really wish I would have had the presence of mind to really tell him off in a manner similar to Homer's style. Maybe something like, "Thou fall drunkard, who has not the capacity in thy head to cut thyself off, remove thy fouled self from my vehicle. Until such time as you have not more putrid effluence to expel from your weakened form." I kind of like that. Hope you do as well.
I want to give some insight into today's title. Last night my friend drank a lot of "Strongbow" cider. And "Strongbow" is also an allusion to Apollo, who uses a bow. Now to the next chapter.
Big Daddy Zeus wakes up. And he's none too happy with Poseidon. He quickly removes his younger brother from the fight. Then sends Apollo to turn things around. Hektor's back baby! Trojans dominate, and there's a lot of talking and killing. There was also more talk of Patroklos' demise and Achilles' return to the fight. Thumbs up for Achilles. (Poor Patroklos)
Overall this was a very pleasant chapter. I especially love the dialogue between the gods. In books it's a lot harder to make a battle really interesting, but dialogue can be especially intriguing. That's my personal opinion. Homer does add some details of interest to the battles though. He speaks very specifically about where everyone gets hit. It's actually quite amazing to me.
Here I was thinking that everyone before the Renaissance was ignorant about internal anatomy, but Homer speaks pretty detailed about brains, tendons and even bladders. I certainly hope that this was all original and not just an addition by the translator. I prefer to think that ancient cultures were way smarter than our modern civilization gives them credit for. Cool fact. I just perused the contents of Vol. 2 of Aristotle. It's packed with anatomical information of animals. Can't wait to get to that. That's about all for now. Good day to you all.
P.S.: Never drive your car during a night of drinking if you can avoid it. You never know when you friend might get a weak stomach. He might look like he's just comforably passed out, but BEWARE! Bye.
I want to give some insight into today's title. Last night my friend drank a lot of "Strongbow" cider. And "Strongbow" is also an allusion to Apollo, who uses a bow. Now to the next chapter.
Big Daddy Zeus wakes up. And he's none too happy with Poseidon. He quickly removes his younger brother from the fight. Then sends Apollo to turn things around. Hektor's back baby! Trojans dominate, and there's a lot of talking and killing. There was also more talk of Patroklos' demise and Achilles' return to the fight. Thumbs up for Achilles. (Poor Patroklos)
Overall this was a very pleasant chapter. I especially love the dialogue between the gods. In books it's a lot harder to make a battle really interesting, but dialogue can be especially intriguing. That's my personal opinion. Homer does add some details of interest to the battles though. He speaks very specifically about where everyone gets hit. It's actually quite amazing to me.
Here I was thinking that everyone before the Renaissance was ignorant about internal anatomy, but Homer speaks pretty detailed about brains, tendons and even bladders. I certainly hope that this was all original and not just an addition by the translator. I prefer to think that ancient cultures were way smarter than our modern civilization gives them credit for. Cool fact. I just perused the contents of Vol. 2 of Aristotle. It's packed with anatomical information of animals. Can't wait to get to that. That's about all for now. Good day to you all.
P.S.: Never drive your car during a night of drinking if you can avoid it. You never know when you friend might get a weak stomach. He might look like he's just comforably passed out, but BEWARE! Bye.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 14- How to Seduce the Great Mr. Zeus
Hello everyone. And good afternoon. Not much is going on so I'll get straight to it.
This was a fun chapter. Homer gives more time to the gods in this chapter. I'll say that Hera is one conniving, deceptive goddess. She uses sex as a weapon against Zeus in this chapter- I think a lot of women do that. (So I've heard) There was some unintentional humor with this deception. Before Hera appears to Zeus, she makes sure that she looks here absolute best. She even borrows a little beauty trinket from the lovely Aphrodite. Zeus, upon seeing her, starts to compare her beauty to a pretty long list of his past conquests.
I'm no expert, but I don't think women like to be compared to their man's past conquests. I guess Zeus isn't the brightest bolt in the storm cloud. Either way, Hera's plan succeeds. With Zeus preoccupied and exhausted after his close encounter our good buddy Poseidon is free to spur on the Greeks. It's not going well for the Trojans. Even Hektor has some bad luck-- in the form of a giant boulder beating him unconscious. And that's that.
I realized something today. Even if I read one volume of the Great Books a month, I wouldn't be done for 5 years. Good thing I can be patient. Troy wasn't felled in a day. It actually took about 10 years.
That's about it for me. Bye.
This was a fun chapter. Homer gives more time to the gods in this chapter. I'll say that Hera is one conniving, deceptive goddess. She uses sex as a weapon against Zeus in this chapter- I think a lot of women do that. (So I've heard) There was some unintentional humor with this deception. Before Hera appears to Zeus, she makes sure that she looks here absolute best. She even borrows a little beauty trinket from the lovely Aphrodite. Zeus, upon seeing her, starts to compare her beauty to a pretty long list of his past conquests.
I'm no expert, but I don't think women like to be compared to their man's past conquests. I guess Zeus isn't the brightest bolt in the storm cloud. Either way, Hera's plan succeeds. With Zeus preoccupied and exhausted after his close encounter our good buddy Poseidon is free to spur on the Greeks. It's not going well for the Trojans. Even Hektor has some bad luck-- in the form of a giant boulder beating him unconscious. And that's that.
I realized something today. Even if I read one volume of the Great Books a month, I wouldn't be done for 5 years. Good thing I can be patient. Troy wasn't felled in a day. It actually took about 10 years.
That's about it for me. Bye.
"The Iliad": Chapter 13- The Turning of the "Tides"
Hey everyone out there. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long since my last post. That was somewhere around 3 hours ago. Reading late at night doesn't agree with me. Or maybe "The Iliad" just isn't as exciting as I would like it to be.
I'll say this though: This book is very frustrating. Will the gods ever stop interfering?! But, of course, I am a little biased. I don't have much of a problem when the gods help the Trojans. I always liked the Trojans. They just lived with no one really noticing them until Alexandros decided to steal himself a bride from the brother of the king of the Greeks. He didn't really think that one out now did he. Onto the story.
Like I remarked earlier, it's frustrating how the gods keep interfering. The title of this chapter, The Turning of the "Tides", alludes to Poseidon being the god who interferes this time. You get it? "Tides"= Poseidon because he's the god of the Sea. Oh well. They can't all be winners.
In a nut shell, the Achaians start fighting back. (FYI: From here on out, I'm going to refer to Agamemnon's men as the Greeks. I'm reading the book and finding that there are other Greek tribes. Achaians are just one of the tribes. So it's Greeks from here on out.)
Time to continue. The Greeks are fighting back. And they're doing a pretty darn good job too. The Trojans are passingly revealed by an enemy Greek to be unexperienced fighters- just slashing in anger mostly. I can't really says that's the truth. It might have just been an insult from the Greeks. But not every can be a great warrior.
The chapter closes with the two opposing armies reading to make another charge at each other. Sadly, I don't see Achilles coming back into the fight for another 3-5 chapters. That's all for tonight. At least it's night where I am- That's all for today/ this afternoon/this morning for everybody else. Much <3. (See?! I made a heart.) Peace.
I'll say this though: This book is very frustrating. Will the gods ever stop interfering?! But, of course, I am a little biased. I don't have much of a problem when the gods help the Trojans. I always liked the Trojans. They just lived with no one really noticing them until Alexandros decided to steal himself a bride from the brother of the king of the Greeks. He didn't really think that one out now did he. Onto the story.
Like I remarked earlier, it's frustrating how the gods keep interfering. The title of this chapter, The Turning of the "Tides", alludes to Poseidon being the god who interferes this time. You get it? "Tides"= Poseidon because he's the god of the Sea. Oh well. They can't all be winners.
In a nut shell, the Achaians start fighting back. (FYI: From here on out, I'm going to refer to Agamemnon's men as the Greeks. I'm reading the book and finding that there are other Greek tribes. Achaians are just one of the tribes. So it's Greeks from here on out.)
Time to continue. The Greeks are fighting back. And they're doing a pretty darn good job too. The Trojans are passingly revealed by an enemy Greek to be unexperienced fighters- just slashing in anger mostly. I can't really says that's the truth. It might have just been an insult from the Greeks. But not every can be a great warrior.
The chapter closes with the two opposing armies reading to make another charge at each other. Sadly, I don't see Achilles coming back into the fight for another 3-5 chapters. That's all for tonight. At least it's night where I am- That's all for today/ this afternoon/this morning for everybody else. Much <3. (See?! I made a heart.) Peace.
Friday, June 25, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 12- Pulling a B&E
Today is pretty cool. I have finally made it through half of the Iliad. That means that I have 1/4 of this Volume done with 59 volumes left to go. Well my buzz just got killed. But I'm sure that I'll do well enough. I am still worried about Euclid. He is like the geometry master. I didn't anticipate doing math on this journey. But I digress.
This is by far one of the better chapters so far. And it's interesting. Homer kind of reveals Troys fate. He's such a spoiler. But after the spoiler he jumped right into the battle. It was fun. Hektor is just top dog. The Trojans break through the Achaian's fortifications. But that is where this chapter comes to an end. Stupid cliff hangers. But I'll learn how it goes in the next chapter.
That's about all for now. I should get in another post today. Keep your fingers crossed.
This is by far one of the better chapters so far. And it's interesting. Homer kind of reveals Troys fate. He's such a spoiler. But after the spoiler he jumped right into the battle. It was fun. Hektor is just top dog. The Trojans break through the Achaian's fortifications. But that is where this chapter comes to an end. Stupid cliff hangers. But I'll learn how it goes in the next chapter.
That's about all for now. I should get in another post today. Keep your fingers crossed.
"The Iliad": Chapter 11- Raining Blood
Hey there again. How do you like the title? Makes me want to listen to Slayer. As of right now I don't believe that I have any followers..... I'll save my desperate pleas for about 3 months from now. But enough about me. Let's talk about Homer. Simpson?
This chapter was pretty fun. It lost most of its momentum at the end though. As you can tell from the title, there is blood raining from the sky in this chapter. Maybe they missed a step in the Rain Dance. Either way with all the fighting in this chapter the ground was going to be blood soaked anyway. There was a lot of back and forth between the Trojans and Achaians. And guess what! Alexandros is helpful! Our little boy is growing up. Now he makes his insults after he inflicts wounds. Still not the most manly Trojan, but at least he's trying.
To sum up there was raining blood, fighting, alexandros helping and, as always, a loooooooooong narrative by Nestor. This time he's pleading to Patroklos. I would be afraid to read Nestor's autobiography. I think War and Peace would be shorter in comparison.
I'm still liking the book so far. It does get awfully grating. But what can I say. This book was written a looong time ago. I'm a new generation. No real effects to speak of. I don't feel any smarter. But it has given me some new material to discuss with my Dad. (Hi Dad. I'm on the internet!)
That's good enough for now. Bye.
This chapter was pretty fun. It lost most of its momentum at the end though. As you can tell from the title, there is blood raining from the sky in this chapter. Maybe they missed a step in the Rain Dance. Either way with all the fighting in this chapter the ground was going to be blood soaked anyway. There was a lot of back and forth between the Trojans and Achaians. And guess what! Alexandros is helpful! Our little boy is growing up. Now he makes his insults after he inflicts wounds. Still not the most manly Trojan, but at least he's trying.
To sum up there was raining blood, fighting, alexandros helping and, as always, a loooooooooong narrative by Nestor. This time he's pleading to Patroklos. I would be afraid to read Nestor's autobiography. I think War and Peace would be shorter in comparison.
I'm still liking the book so far. It does get awfully grating. But what can I say. This book was written a looong time ago. I'm a new generation. No real effects to speak of. I don't feel any smarter. But it has given me some new material to discuss with my Dad. (Hi Dad. I'm on the internet!)
That's good enough for now. Bye.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 10- Spy Hard (Die Hard!)
Hello there. Today was fun. I probably wasted about 1 1/2 hours on Final Fantasy 13 earlier. But you don't want to hear about that. So, to spare you the details, here's Chapter 10.
I almost fell asleep reading the first 200 or so lines. Not the stuff of which great epics should be made. The most exciting thing that happened involved people being woken up. It's no wonder that they were throwing insults. It's probably not 2-3 hours after where the last chapter left off. LET ME SLEEP!! But I digress.
Now it gets interesting. You can infer from the title that there is spying and dying. (And a little rhyming) So Odysseus and Diomedes go to spy on the Trojans. They find a Trojan spy on the way. This guy really got under my skin. It might just be the fact that I was only reading and couldn't hear the inflection of his words but this guy just totally screwed over his country men. He told them everything. Can't say I'm sad that he died. (Cowardly traitor)
Odysseus and Diomedes sneak around, kill some men and steal some horses. And then run back to camp. I'm not clear if they really accomplished anything with this little adventure. Maybe I'll learn in the next chapter. This chapter was okay. Can't wait to see if Achilles will come back into the fight. For now, back to Final Fantasy 13. Bye.
I almost fell asleep reading the first 200 or so lines. Not the stuff of which great epics should be made. The most exciting thing that happened involved people being woken up. It's no wonder that they were throwing insults. It's probably not 2-3 hours after where the last chapter left off. LET ME SLEEP!! But I digress.
Now it gets interesting. You can infer from the title that there is spying and dying. (And a little rhyming) So Odysseus and Diomedes go to spy on the Trojans. They find a Trojan spy on the way. This guy really got under my skin. It might just be the fact that I was only reading and couldn't hear the inflection of his words but this guy just totally screwed over his country men. He told them everything. Can't say I'm sad that he died. (Cowardly traitor)
Odysseus and Diomedes sneak around, kill some men and steal some horses. And then run back to camp. I'm not clear if they really accomplished anything with this little adventure. Maybe I'll learn in the next chapter. This chapter was okay. Can't wait to see if Achilles will come back into the fight. For now, back to Final Fantasy 13. Bye.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 9- Agamemnon's Desperate Plea
What to talk about..... Okay. Got it. This is has been a very uninspired day. But not bad. Just not the same pissaz that I've had on others. Homer is a very exhausting writer. And I'm trying to find a new approach to these posts. How should I go about this? Now don't answer too quickly. I'll try taking some of my Dad's advice for today. Yippee Kai Ay Homer.
To start out, this chapter was pretty boring. It had more than enough whining and begging. Poor Agamemnon even cried! Then he tries way too hard to win over Achilles. You can read the list of gifts yourselves if you want to.
As you can probably guess, Achilles just flat out refuses. He basically tells them where Agamemnon can stick his scepter. (It would be a shame to put such a good scepter to waste like that.) And I thought modern men had pride issues. Then all the poor men that Agamemnon sent to ask Achilles have to go back empty handed. But at least Agamemnon is too depressed to whip them....or whatever an old Greek king would do if you failed him. Well...That's about it. Hold on a sec. They go to bed. OK. Now we're done.
That wasn't too bad. Let's see how it goes tomorrow.
To start out, this chapter was pretty boring. It had more than enough whining and begging. Poor Agamemnon even cried! Then he tries way too hard to win over Achilles. You can read the list of gifts yourselves if you want to.
As you can probably guess, Achilles just flat out refuses. He basically tells them where Agamemnon can stick his scepter. (It would be a shame to put such a good scepter to waste like that.) And I thought modern men had pride issues. Then all the poor men that Agamemnon sent to ask Achilles have to go back empty handed. But at least Agamemnon is too depressed to whip them....or whatever an old Greek king would do if you failed him. Well...That's about it. Hold on a sec. They go to bed. OK. Now we're done.
That wasn't too bad. Let's see how it goes tomorrow.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 8- The Scales of Fate
Hey there. What is up my readers? Do you like the title? Homer never provided any, and my Dad recommended that I add in some titles for the chapters. I just hope that I can come up with good ones. This is my first chapter title, but I hope to go back through to give names to all my previous posts. If you see them with titles, then you know that I have. Onto to Chapter 8.
Dawn scatters herself over the face of the earth. Zeus assembles all the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. He informs them all of the horrific consequence should any god or goddess attempt to thwart his will concerning the battle. He makes his point very clear. "I shall take him and dash him down to the murk of Tartaros." (That's a very bad place. That's beneath Hades.) Then he heads off to Mount Ida with his chariot and horses. There he observes the Achaians and Trojans as they awake, feast and march to battle. He then weighs "fateful portions of death" for the Achaians and Trojans. The Trojans will apparently be having a much lighter stack of bodies. The Achaians' "portion" far outweighs the Trojans', whose scale is brought closer towards the heavens. In true form for a god of Zeus' status, he releases a massive "stroke" from Mount Ida. "[P]ale terror took hold of all of them." (The Achaians that is.)
None of the Achaian leaders stay their ground. Even Nestor wants to leave, but he can't. Alexandros fells one of his chariot's horses with an. (Finally! He does something useful.) Nestor is stuck. His horses panic and are being weighed down by the dead one. Nestor tries to cut the reins, but it proves pointless. Hektor is charging full force for the frightened old man. Just in time Diomedes shows up. He offers Nestor a ride. He takes it without hesitation. Nestor takes the reins and turns the chariot so as to give Diomedes the chance to fight Hektor. He throws his spear but misses Hektor hitting his driver. Hektor sorrows for his lost companion, but must continue the fight.
"And now there would have been fighting beyond control, and destruction, now they would have been driven and penned like sheep against Ilion, had not the father of gods and of men sharply perceived them." Zeus "thunders horribly" and strikes his mighty bolt right in front of Diomedes' horses, and the horses recoil back against the chariot. Nestor then advises Diomedes that Zeus is no longer with him. (It's time to turn back.) Nestor easily accepts the old man's words. They turn to make for the Achaian camp. But Hektor is in close pursuit. He hurls insults at Diomedes. Diomedes thrice considers turning back. And Zeus thrice reminds him to not.
Hektor begins boasting about how Zeus is honoring him and how he hopes to end the war and send the Achaians "packing" if he can retrieve Diomedes' shield and armor. Hera is none to happy to hear this. She grumbles to Poseidon while making plans to take action while Zeus is in solitude on Mount Ida. Poseidon doesn't care for Hera's plan in the least. Hera then stirs Agamemnon's heart to action. He laments to Zeus how he has faithfully served him. Zeus takes pity and sends him a good sign. An eagle with a fawn in his talons. The fawn is released beside Zeus' altar. This is a positive sign for all Achaians.
The Achaians remember their warcraft and charge. No man is as fast as Diomedes, owing his speed to the Trojan horses he took as spoils from Aineias. Now enter Teukros, a great archer. He takes down eight Trojans. But he cannot touch Hektor. He kills two more while attempting to take down Hektor before Hektor wounds him by bashing him something terrible with a jagged stone. His companions retrieve his limp, groaning body and carry him back to the ships. Hektor kills every Achaians he sees in a mad rage.
Hera complains to Athena concerning the Achaians plight. Athena elaborates on her troubled relationship with her father. She then asks Hera to set up the horses. "So shall I discover whether the son of Priam, Hektor of the shining helmet, will feel joy to see us on the outworks of battle[.]" (OOOOOOO! She's gonna get in trouble!)
Zeus sees them from Mount Ida and is immensely angered at them. He send the swift messenger Iris to warn them of the consequences if they attempt this foolish move. They're warned and fearfully turn back towards Olympus.
Zeus returns to Olympus himself and assembles the gods. He ask why Athena and Hera look so glum. They voice their irritation toward Zeus. He then informs them of their last chance to save the Achaians. They must bring the mighty Achilles back into the fight. Something about Achilles fighting "in the narrow place of necessity over fallen Patroklos." (It doesn't sound good for Patroklos.)
Now darkness descends against the Trojan's will. But it's good news for the trembling Achaians. Hektor gathers some men and forms his plan against the Achaians. Hektor is no longer content with having the Achaians retreat and sail home. He wants his defeat of the Achaians to make anyone else think twice before bringing war against Troy. He sends word to have all young men in the city keep watch at the bastions around the city while all the wives kindle fires to keep watch over the city on the chance of an attack while the soldiers are away. The Trojans are camping out to stir themselves early so that they may "waken the bitter war god" against the Achaians. Hektor plans to fell Diomedes early in the battle.
But for now the Trojans give sacrifice and take their feast. Tomorrow is a big day. Throughout the night, to keep watch on the Achaians, "[a] thousand fires [are] burning there in the plain, and beside each one [sits] fifty men in the flare of the blazing firelight."
Friday, June 18, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 7
Now we're back to the battle. The return of Hektor and Alexandros is as welcome as a wind to stranded sailors. (I like that metaphor.) The Trojans seem to have a renewed strength in them. This catches Athena's attention, and she makes haste toward the battle.
She runs into Apollo, who knows her desire to turn the tide in the Achaians favor. He instead suggests that they should call a duel between Hektor and a single Achaian. A final fight of the day.
Helenos knew of the god's plan, and informed Hektor immediately. Hektor put a stop to the fighting. Agamemnon put a halt on his troops. Then Hektor informed him of Apollo's plan. Everyone agrees. Hektor then calls for a challenger. No one moves. The Achaians are frightened of Hektor. Then Menelaos steps up for Hektor's challenge. Agamemnon knowing Hektor to be the better fighter praises Menelaos' bravery, but persuades him to not fight such a strong opponent. (Can Menelaos do anything without his brother? Just asking.)
Nestor then scolds the cowardly Achaians by informing them of his past glory. Sufficiently ashamed, nine challengers step forward. They draw lots to decide Hektor's challenger. The great Ais (aka: Ajax as some might know him) is chosen. This is awesome. By some form of luck, the Conan the Destroyer soundtrack just popped up on my iPod. Good mood music for the ensuing battle. Let's do this!
It begins. Hektor heaves his spear first. It pierces through part of Ais' mighty shield. Ais takes his throw which goes all the way through Hektor's smaller shield. They both remove the opposing warrior's spear from their shields. Hektor thrusts only to have his spear bend at the tip. Now Ais takes his thrust through Hektor's shield drawing blood from his neck. Hektor tries throwing a stone at Ais with no effect. Ais then throws a greater stone so as to make Hektor buckle his knees given the force. Now they're using swords. Good close combat. Until the messengers of Zeus intervene.
Zeus wants the fight to cease for nightfall is upon them. They agree and part in friendship with gifts exchanged. That is for lack of a better word AWESOME! I can't imagine being in such a fight, and then parting on such friendly terms. It really makes you rethink respect and honor in the arena of war. Do we have such respect for our enemies in modern war? I tend to think not.
The Trojans and Achaians both in their respective fortresses feast and speak separately of a one day cease fire so as to give them opportunity to properly bury their dead. In Troy Antenor additionally speaks of giving Helen and her possessions back to Menelaos. Alexandros agrees to give back her possession with interest, but will not give up his bride. (I was just starting to gain some resemblance of respect for this idiot.)
Priam then sends messengers to discuss a cease fire so they can both bury their dead. The messenger also gives words of Alexandros' intention to return Helen's possession. Diomedes cries out that this is a sign of desperation on the Trojan's part. They refuse the possessions. But Agamemnon does agree to the cease fire regardless.
The next day both sides are busy about their business of burying their respective dead. The Achaians in addition to this build walls of fortification along the beach for protection.
Poseidon looks angrily upon these fortifications. Angry that there is no sacrifice given to the god. Zeus agrees to let Poseidon destroy these walls once the Achaians are gone from this land. Night falls and the Achaians prepare a feast. They drink wine. But Zeus threatens evil on all the Achaians. No man dares to drink without offering first to Zeus.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 6
This is exciting. I have recently received a copy of Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360. This is going to be such a distraction. Let me not lose my focus. Back to reading.
Today is sooo much easier than the previous. I finally started to work out a plan for attacking these classical monsters. May I say that my Mom helped come up with the idea. There is an overflow of information out there on the internet. Why not use it. There are many greater minds before me who have already learned and condensed the information that I'm trying to assimilate. Thank God for SparkNotes. I just read the small summary of the chapter that I'm reading beforehand. That way I know what to look for. Makes it sooooo much easier. On to Chapter 6.
Chapter 6
It doesn't look good for the Trojans. Diomedes is still striking fear into the hearts of the Trojans. They're being forced back. Farther and Farther back they go. One highlight occurs when Menelaos happens upon Adrestos who had the grand misfortune of his horses breaking free of his chariot. Which unfortunatley leaves him stranded.
He pleads for his life. His family will pay a grand ransom for his return he says. Menelaos likes this plan. But here comes kind-hearted Agamemnon. He wants every Trojan to suffer and die regardless. Who do you think Menelaos will listen to? Bye bye Adrestos.
Back with the Trojans Helenos urges Hektor to return to Troy and have his mother and the other "women of honor" pray to the goddess Athena for aide. Hektor speeds towards the city with all haste.
Back on the battlefield, Diomedes comes fact-to-face with Glaukos. Uncertain of who this man is Diomedes inquires as to his name and lineage. Glaukos reveals his name and lineage. He is son of Hippolochos. And lo' and behold! In an odd twist of fate, Diomedes' and Glaukos' families are old friends. Out of respect for the bond between their families, right there on the battlefield they make a pact not to fight with each other. (There are plenty of other enemies to kill on either side. RIGHT?!) This is a very fascinating attribute of the ancient Greeks. The sense of honor and respect on the battlefield. Diomedes didn't want to kill this man until he knew who he was. And once he found out.... what does he do. HE CALLS A TRUCE! All because of some friendship their grandfathers held. I don't know if all Greeks were like this, but it is fascinating to hear of this circumstance in any form.
We now find prince Hektor in the Priam's palace. He delivers Helenos' message to his mother, Hecuba, who then assembles all other "women of honor." The women head straight to the temple and begin their prayers to Athena, who sadly will not listen to the earnest supplication of Troy's wives and maidens.
Hektor then makes haste to Alexandros' room to bring him back to the fight. Alexandros reveals that he hasn't returned to the fight so that he may give himself over to sorrow. Which is very understandable. How would you feel if your stupid mistake was costing thousands of your country men their lives? How would you feed if thousands of wives and children would never see their husbands and father again, except on a funeral pyre. (Because of you.) Hektor and Helen scold him with harsh words until he agrees to return to battle. Helen really lays into him. Something about how she would rather have been dashed on sea rocks upon her birth than to belong to cowardly Alexandros. Alexandros then prepares himself while Hektor seeks out his wife and child for a few brief moments together before his return to battle
He first goes to his house only to find her not there. She has instead gone to the bastion of Troy out of a anxious, sorrowful spirit for her husband's inevitable death at the hands of the every strengthening Achaians. His wife, Andromache, begs him not to return to battle. She then reveals that it was Achilles who killed her entire family. Thus leaving her to equate Hektor as her mother, father, brother, and husband. He is all she has. But, alas, the wheels of fate have already begun spinning. And he must return to the fight. He then goes to embrace his young son, only a baby. His son, Astyanax, recoils at the sight of his terrifying helmet. He promptly chuckles before placing his helmet on the ground, and takes his son into his arms. He asks the blessings of Zeus upon his son. Then places him back into his wife's arms.
Alexandros then arrives. He and his brother head off to battle.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 5
Chapter 5 starts out in the midst of the battle we saw initiated in Chapter 4. But this is a very focused battle. Everything seems revolves around this one Danaan, Diomedes (aka: Son of Tydeus) He appears to be a god-like warrior. He tears through the Trojans. But suddenly he is hit in his right shoulder with an arrow by Pandaros. "Rise up Trojans[.] Now the best of the the Achaians is hit," Pandaros cries.
But wait just a minute. Diomedes prays for help from the goddess Athena, who grants him strength and endurance. Plus, Athena removes the mist- the veil, so to speak, that hides the divine from the mortals eyes- from Diomedes' eyes with permission to stab Aphrodite if he sees her interfering with the battle. Now Diomedes is like a hornet's nest that has just been kicked.
Pandaros and Aineias now charge him in a chariot. Pandaros releases his spear which only pierces Diomedes' shield. But Diomedes succeeds in throwing his spear through Pandaros' skull. Aineias jumps from to the chariot to protect Pandaros' body since it fell from the chariot. With Herculean strength, Diomedes picks up boulder and hurls it towards Aineias. The boulder tears up his right hip, and he lies wounded on the ground.
Until his mother, Aphrodite, intervenes to assist him. (This could be trouble) Diomedes runs up to the goddess and promptly wounds her. (Who would've thought that a mortal could wound a god. You know.... outside the game "God of War.") Now she's crumpled to the ground. Now it's Iris the messenger to the rescue. She takes Aphrodite to Ares where Aphrodite asks for help getting back to Olympus. He obliges.
Now we find the goddess Aphrodite being attended to by her mother, Dione. She comforts the wounded goddess before healing her wounds. Aphrodite is then instructed by Zeus to stay away from the affairs of war.
We're back on the battlefield now. Diomedes is still blood-drunk. Still wanted Aineias dead. But now the god Apollo is watching over Aineias. Diomedes strikes thrice but is thwarted by Apollo. Apollo then carries Aineias to one of his temples. There Artemis and Leto heal and care for Aineias.
Apollo returns to leave a body in the likeness of Aineias on the field to enrage the Trojans at the Achaians. Then requests that Ares fight against the Achaians. Ares loves a good fight. Ares wakes the hearts of the Trojans.
Suddenly, Apollo brings Aineias back to the battle. The Trojans have the advantage. Agamemnon, Odysseus, etc... all encourage their men to fight the newly emboldened Trojans.
Hera soon notices how the Trojans have gained the upper hand. She then asks to help the Achaians. Zeus agrees. Now we have the goddess Athena in full battle armor with a good intention to slaughter the Trojans. (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. I think I'm a little scared.)
Down on the battlefield Athena grabs up the battle wearied Diomedes to make a charge against Ares. The charge proves successful as Diomedes collects his second would on a divine being. We now find Ares back in Olympus complaining to Zeus, who shrugs if off as a necessary punishment for Ares. Hera and Athena then depart the battlefield and head back to Olympus.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
"The Iliad": Chapter 4
Now we head back to Olympus to see the gods in council. Zeus, for some odd reason, wants to anger Hera. They exchange angry words with each other. Then Hera comes up with a form of compromise. Hera wants the Achaians to destroy the Trojans, but the Trojans and Achaians have a pact. There won't be any fighting unless the pact is dishonored. So Hera asks Zeus to send Athena to stir up the Trojans so that they would be first offenders. Thereby ending the pact and driving everyone into full-blown war. So Zeus sends Athena.
She decides to speak with a Trojan archer. She whispers sweet dreams of glory, honor, and gifts to this man. All this could be his if he would only take down Menelaos with one well-placed arrow. Then his "fool's heart" takes over as he launches an arrow straight for Menelaos.
One of Zeus' daughters then aids Menelaos, and brushes aside the arrow so that it doesn't mortally wound him. But enough damage has been done. Agamemnon is furious. We all know where it goes from here. First he check to make sure his brother isn't dying. Then sends for medical aid. Now to business.
The Achaians are armored and ready to go. Well, most of them are ready. Agamemnon makes his way through the ranks. Congratulating those eager to fight while scolding those who appear unwilling to march straight away. ATTACK!!
The Achaians march forward. They clash with the Trojans and leave the ground stained with blood. Apollo then calls out to the Trojans to not back down from this great force in front of them. "[O]n that day many men of the Achaians and Trojans lay sprawled in the dust face downward beside one another." That's chapter 4.
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