1600728
Description
Mind Map by slatter.e07, updated more than 1 year ago
|
|
Created by slatter.e07
over 10 years ago
|
|
[Bk. 5-6] AS classical civilisation: The Odyessey questions
- [10] What has happened to Odysseus between leaving
Calypso’s island and speaking to Nausicaa?
- Firstly, Odysseus sails for seventeen days within sight of
the land of the Paeacians. However after Poseidon sees this
he sends a vast storm to further prolong his ordeals;
Odysseus’s raft is torn apart by the waves and he is left
hanging on for his life. Ino, a minor goddess of the sea, offers
him a veil. Telling him that he must take off his clothes, tie
the veil around his waist and abandon his sinking raft; the
veil will keep him alive. So, and only after a monstrously
vast wave sent by Poseidon forces him to, Odysseus swims
towards Scheria. Athene calms the storm and assist
Odysseus by planting an idea to him to pray to the river god
to help him attain access from the sea into the calm of the
river mouth. Soon after he returns the veil and makes
himself a bed under a bush and Athene places him in a
deep sleep until she can convince Nausicaa to come to the
washing pools to guide him to her home city.
- Firstly, Odysseus sails for seventeen days within sight of
the land of the Paeacians. However after Poseidon sees this
he sends a vast storm to further prolong his ordeals;
Odysseus’s raft is torn apart by the waves and he is left
hanging on for his life. Ino, a minor goddess of the sea, offers
him a veil. Telling him that he must take off his clothes, tie
the veil around his waist and abandon his sinking raft; the
veil will keep him alive. So, and only after a monstrously
vast wave sent by Poseidon forces him to, Odysseus swims
towards Scheria. Athene calms the storm and assist
Odysseus by planting an idea to him to pray to the river god
to help him attain access from the sea into the calm of the
river mouth. Soon after he returns the veil and makes
himself a bed under a bush and Athene places him in a
deep sleep until she can convince Nausicaa to come to the
washing pools to guide him to her home city.
- [20] How does Odysseus try to gain the pity of Nausicaa in
this passage? In your answer you should include discussion
of what he says and how he says it.
- Odysseus shows flattery towards Nausicaa, in order to
gain her favour and therefore her pity. “It is of Artemis, the
daughter of almighty Zeus, that your beauty, grace and
stature most remind me.” By comparing her to a goddess
alone is of huge significance; the gods were the Greek
‘ideal’, so to be told there is a confusion between the
beauty of Nausicaa and that of Artemis, the Hellenic
goddess of the hunt, was of great importance. Odysseus
talks of her “beauty, grace and stature”, as only the elite
were compared to the gods in this way she has been
compared to this idea of divine beauty – something almost
unattainable to mortals. By also stating her beauty is
singularly unique he shows her as a precious and
irreplaceable. “Never have I set eyes on any, man or woman
like you.” Highlighting “never” by its position at the start of
this short sentence equals his emphasis on her unequalled
beauty. Flattering her even more so, and gaining her
favour.
- To continue on this point he talks of how blessed her
future husband is to be. “But he is the most blessed of
them all who with on his wedding gifts can win you and
take you home as a bride.” By praising her and the fortune
of her future husband he shows he holds respect for such
beauty and her authority regarding her social status.
“Blessed” suggests there is some divine intervention to her
fate. Odysseus implies she is favoured by the gods and
therefore holds qualities which are desirable and respected;
again by showing flattery towards her he gains her trust
and hopefully her pity towards such a kind and respectful
man.
- However divine intervention can be a good and bad
possession to hold. “The gods have plenty in store for me
before that can be”. suggesting that the troubles in which
resulted in him offering supplication in times of need, are not
the last to come. By contrasting her fortune with his
misfortune is a clever and ‘resourceful’ way to gain pity by his
careful choice of words.
- He reminds Nausicaa that he is only to show supplication
from a distance, as not to threaten her. “I dare not clasp your
knees”. Earlier on in book six Nausicaa’s maids run from the
sight of him, implying he looks threatening. So, as not to
offend her he states he “won’t clasp your knees” and
therefore offers his supplication, and reminds her of her duty
to uphold xenia, without seeming as a threatening force. By
saying he “dare not” Homer allows Odysseus to seem
venerable by emotive language, but respectful of the princess
as if he knows the boundaries between their current social
statuses.To evoke pity he tells her of the struggles he has
endured. “Although my sufferings are serious enough”. He
draws attention to his pain, and tries to gain her sympathy.
By using “although my sufferings are serious enough”
Odysseus evokes the connotation of empathy. Nausicaa
knows of his respect, she now learns of the “sufferings” of
this man. Furthermore he plays on her pity for him by stating
“no
- He reminds Nausicaa that he is only to show supplication
from a distance, as not to threaten her. “I dare not clasp your
knees”. Earlier on in book six Nausicaa’s maids run from the
sight of him, implying he looks threatening. So, as not to
offend her he states he “won’t clasp your knees” and
therefore offers his supplication, and reminds her of her duty
to uphold xenia, without seeming as a threatening force. By
saying he “dare not” Homer allows Odysseus to seem
venerable by emotive language, but respectful of the princess
as if he knows the boundaries between their current social
statuses.To evoke pity he tells her of the struggles he has
endured. “Although my sufferings are serious enough”. He
draws attention to his pain, and tries to gain her sympathy.
By using “although my sufferings are serious enough”
Odysseus evokes the connotation of empathy. Nausicaa
knows of his respect, she now learns of the “sufferings” of
this man. Furthermore he plays on her pity for him by stating
“no
- However divine intervention can be a good and bad
possession to hold. “The gods have plenty in store for me
before that can be”. suggesting that the troubles in which
resulted in him offering supplication in times of need, are not
the last to come. By contrasting her fortune with his
misfortune is a clever and ‘resourceful’ way to gain pity by his
careful choice of words.
- To continue on this point he talks of how blessed her
future husband is to be. “But he is the most blessed of
them all who with on his wedding gifts can win you and
take you home as a bride.” By praising her and the fortune
of her future husband he shows he holds respect for such
beauty and her authority regarding her social status.
“Blessed” suggests there is some divine intervention to her
fate. Odysseus implies she is favoured by the gods and
therefore holds qualities which are desirable and respected;
again by showing flattery towards her he gains her trust
and hopefully her pity towards such a kind and respectful
man.
- Odysseus shows flattery towards Nausicaa, in order to
gain her favour and therefore her pity. “It is of Artemis, the
daughter of almighty Zeus, that your beauty, grace and
stature most remind me.” By comparing her to a goddess
alone is of huge significance; the gods were the Greek
‘ideal’, so to be told there is a confusion between the
beauty of Nausicaa and that of Artemis, the Hellenic
goddess of the hunt, was of great importance. Odysseus
talks of her “beauty, grace and stature”, as only the elite
were compared to the gods in this way she has been
compared to this idea of divine beauty – something almost
unattainable to mortals. By also stating her beauty is
singularly unique he shows her as a precious and
irreplaceable. “Never have I set eyes on any, man or woman
like you.” Highlighting “never” by its position at the start of
this short sentence equals his emphasis on her unequalled
beauty. Flattering her even more so, and gaining her
favour.
- [25] ‘Some god has flung me on this shore, no doubt to
suffer more disasters here’ (lines 17-18). How far do you
think gods and goddesses are responsible for the troubles
which Odysseus faces on his travels?
- ] Without the gods in homeric poems, many of the events
which make them so captivating would not have
happened; therefore they must hold significant blame for
the ordeals Odysseus suffered.In the example stated
above Poseidon sends a storm to thorw Odysseus from his
raft. This causing Odysseus pain, from the broken bones
and coral reef, but prolongs his journey home. He not only
fulfils the curse set forth by Polyphemus, but continues to
make it his duty to see he does not return home. although
it was Odysseus who was nieve enough to name himself
out of pure hubris, he is a mortal man and cannot be
expected to be the ‘greek ideal’. A mortal man must have
flaws otherwise he is a god. However this is not the only
way Poseidon has caused suffering for Odysseus. By his
mere presence in Olympus Athene had to withhold her
plans for his rescue from Oggia, it is only when he leaves
for Ethiopia that she feels she may talk to Zeus about the
wellbeing of Odysseus and her plans for his return hom
- Even before this act of vengeance against Odysseus we see
him detained for seven years by Calypso. She forced him into
sleeping with her, to her constant want for his love over his
love for Penelope. Mentally she causes him pain and suffering
with this constant want for his attention and love - so much
so that she detained him on her island of Ogygia. Although it
can be said that she did care for him and offer correct xenia
to him, she did detain him for many years and subsequently
plays a vital part in the causation of his troubles.
- Furthermore Zeus send down thunderbolts to destroy his
ship and kills all but Odysseus. Although it was their own
transgression (Killing Hyperion’s cattle despite a warning
from circe) it was Zeus who ultimately left Odysseus with
nothing but himself. It is understood that Zeus is the god of
justice however it was not Odysseus who slaughtered the
cattle, it was his men. Why should he be punished for the
disobedience of his men?
- Athene also punishes Odysseus for the sin of another. She
sends a storm just after leaving Troy, separating the ships
and killing many. Athene is the one who starts Odysseus
misfortunes, and she is not very proactive about guiding him
home. For example she merely plants the idea to pray to the
river god in book five, and despite him nearly perishing at the
hands of Charybdis she again, does nothing. The gods have
such a divine power however do not chose to use it wisely,
but only when it seems fit to them.
- However of all the gods it seems as Circe holds most of the
blame for the troubles Odysseus faces. She turns his men
into pigs and tells him to visit the underworld despite her
knowledge of his fate. She seems to use Odysseus and his
men as almost a sort of entertainment, forcing them into
tasks which are both unnecessary and grueling, emotionally
and physically. The gods hold divine power over mortal men,
however use this selectedly for good, and uses it as a way to
spite those who have wronged them. Events like Poseidons
storm and Circes tasks were completely avoidable, but
odysseus was forced to face them never the less; the gods
are therefore majoritively responsible for the troubles
Odysseus faces.
- However of all the gods it seems as Circe holds most of the
blame for the troubles Odysseus faces. She turns his men
into pigs and tells him to visit the underworld despite her
knowledge of his fate. She seems to use Odysseus and his
men as almost a sort of entertainment, forcing them into
tasks which are both unnecessary and grueling, emotionally
and physically. The gods hold divine power over mortal men,
however use this selectedly for good, and uses it as a way to
spite those who have wronged them. Events like Poseidons
storm and Circes tasks were completely avoidable, but
odysseus was forced to face them never the less; the gods
are therefore majoritively responsible for the troubles
Odysseus faces.
- Athene also punishes Odysseus for the sin of another. She
sends a storm just after leaving Troy, separating the ships
and killing many. Athene is the one who starts Odysseus
misfortunes, and she is not very proactive about guiding him
home. For example she merely plants the idea to pray to the
river god in book five, and despite him nearly perishing at the
hands of Charybdis she again, does nothing. The gods have
such a divine power however do not chose to use it wisely,
but only when it seems fit to them.
- Furthermore Zeus send down thunderbolts to destroy his
ship and kills all but Odysseus. Although it was their own
transgression (Killing Hyperion’s cattle despite a warning
from circe) it was Zeus who ultimately left Odysseus with
nothing but himself. It is understood that Zeus is the god of
justice however it was not Odysseus who slaughtered the
cattle, it was his men. Why should he be punished for the
disobedience of his men?
- Even before this act of vengeance against Odysseus we see
him detained for seven years by Calypso. She forced him into
sleeping with her, to her constant want for his love over his
love for Penelope. Mentally she causes him pain and suffering
with this constant want for his attention and love - so much
so that she detained him on her island of Ogygia. Although it
can be said that she did care for him and offer correct xenia
to him, she did detain him for many years and subsequently
plays a vital part in the causation of his troubles.
- ] Without the gods in homeric poems, many of the events
which make them so captivating would not have
happened; therefore they must hold significant blame for
the ordeals Odysseus suffered.In the example stated
above Poseidon sends a storm to thorw Odysseus from his
raft. This causing Odysseus pain, from the broken bones
and coral reef, but prolongs his journey home. He not only
fulfils the curse set forth by Polyphemus, but continues to
make it his duty to see he does not return home. although
it was Odysseus who was nieve enough to name himself
out of pure hubris, he is a mortal man and cannot be
expected to be the ‘greek ideal’. A mortal man must have
flaws otherwise he is a god. However this is not the only
way Poseidon has caused suffering for Odysseus. By his
mere presence in Olympus Athene had to withhold her
plans for his rescue from Oggia, it is only when he leaves
for Ethiopia that she feels she may talk to Zeus about the
wellbeing of Odysseus and her plans for his return hom
Want to create your own Mind Maps for free with GoConqr? Learn more.