Troy and the Trojan War
Odyssey writing assignment due December 16
When I introduced you to the Odyssey, I spoke about some of its themes, such as:
Revenge
Intellect/cleverness over strength
Respect for the gods
Pride/hubris
Hospitality (xenia) and the abuse of it
Kleos
Weaving
Then I emphasized two very important themes that Homer himself weaves throughout
the entire story:
1. The nature of mortal life: why would any man choose to be mortal? What is it
about being human that makes up for the infinite suffering that comes with
death?
2. The restoration of order after war: what does it means to be civilized (as opposed
to wild or uncivilized)?
How would Homer answer these questions? Although I’m not a page-counter, complete
and thorough answers to these questions would be *at least* two double spaced pages
each.
Don’t do any outside research for this writing assignment. Use the Odyssey, your class
notes, and your own brain. Support your answer to each question with at least 3
quotations from your Odyssey translation (so that will be a minimum of 6 quotations
total). You might or might not weave in some of the themes listed at the top of this
assignment. Base your answers only on your reading assignments, and not any of the
books that we didn’t read for class. Do not cut and paste from class notes. Use your
own ideas and your own words. Think about why these questions are so important, to
anyone, from any culture, at any time in history.
The rest is up to you. Wow me. And submit your assignment via Canvas.
Due (no exceptions): December 16 before midnight
