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The OdysseyBook 10

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Background

The Trojan War c. 1200 BC, 10-yearGreek attack and siege of the city of

Troy in northwestern Asia Minor

The composition of the Homeric epics,

The Iliadand The Odyssey, wasprobably sometime around 750 BC

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Homer

There are legends of Homeras blind, wanderingpoet/minstrel.

No reliable info is availableabout Homer and he isconsidered mostly legend.The Iliadand Odysseywereprobably part of an oraltradition composed by manyover a long period of time.

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Why read Homer?

These two epic poems are the most importantworks of non-dramatic literature surviving

from ancient Greece.

They are part of and intertwined with theWestern literary canon so that knowledge ofthem = cultural literacy: knowing about thesecan help you to understand Shakespeare andDante and Joyce and Rowling.

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A short plot summary:

The Iliadis about theTrojan War and TheOdysseyis about howa hero of the war,Odysseus, takes tenyears to get backhome after the war has

ended and about theadventures he hasalong the way.

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A long narrative poem about the deeds of

gods or heroes who embody the values ofthe culture of which they are they are apart. The oldest epics were transmitted orally.

Does this apply to the HP series and Harry?

Epic Poem:

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Epic Hero

The central hero of an epic, the epic hero haslarger-than-life powers. Achilles fulfills thisrole in The Iliad; Odysseus in The Odyssey.

Epic heroes are not perfect. Achilles isstubbornly proud over a long period of time;Odysseus has lapses in judgment.Nevertheless, epic heroes always seem to

have an abundance of courage, a fightingspirit that endears them both to the reader(listener) and the gods.

Does this apply to the HP novels?

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Some major motifs

also found in HP novels Fate/prophecy

Retribution

Confrontations with death (the Underworld)and conversations with the dead

Series of tests, including battles with

monsters, are part of a lengthy journeyending with home, family, and stability

Heros p.o.v.

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Specific References

We are going to do a close reading ofBook 10 of The Odyssey, which you

were assigned to read for today.

Odysseus and his crew have already

had several adventures at this point inthe narrative, and have landed on theisland Aeolia, home of King Aeolus.

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Aeolus

Aeolus, the god of the winds,gives Odysseus a tied upbag of wind. But, when they

are almost home,Odysseuss crew opens upthe bag while hes sleeping,the winds rush out, and blowup a storm that blows the

ship back out to sea so thatthey are once again offcourse and unable to returnhome.

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Jealousy

Odysseuss crew members decide to openthe bag of wind saying, Its not fair.Everyone adores this man and honors him,no matter where he goes. They think thebag has gold and silver and want their share--they think hes not sharing the wealth andfame.

Any connections to HP novels and Harry?

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Back to Aeolia When Odysseus and his men come back to

the island of Aeolia (with tails between theirlegs), Aeolus gives him a hard time, saying:

Odysseus, how is it youve come back here?/What cruel god has been attacking you?/ We tookgreat care to send you on your way/ So youd gethome, back to your native land/ Or any otherplace, just as you wished.

And, once Odysseus explains why he wasblown back, Aeolus says,

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Of all living men, you are the worst/So you mustleave this island with all speed/ It would violate allsense of what is right/ If I assisted or escorted onhis way/ A man the blessed gods must hate. Soleave/ Youre here because deathless gods

despise you.

Odysseus is marked by the gods.

What does it mean to be marked/chosen by

the gods? Positive? Negative? Is Harry in a similar situation? Marked?

Chosen? Dangerous to be near?

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Laestrygonians

After they are forced to leave Aeolia inshame, Odysseus and crew travel to the landof the Laestrygonians, who are depicted asbarbarians:

I could see no evidence of human work orploughing, only smoke arising from the land.

Why might people in a foreign land bedepicted as barbarians or savages?

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Giants

This land is populated by brutal giants.When three of Odysseuss men come

upon the inhabitants of this land theyfind a gigantic woman, like a mountainpeak, who called to her husband,strong Antiphates, who arranged a

dreadful death for themhe seized oneof my shipmates and prepared to makea meal of him.

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Odysseus and crew are

chased away by Giants

Antiphates eats one crew member and the

two others run back to the ship. The giantthen calls for help from his friends:

They were not like men at all, but giants.

From the cliffs they hurled rocks down on us,the largest stones a man can lift.

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Giants as characters

In what ways dothese early

depictions ofgiants influenceRowlingsdepiction of giants

in the HP novels?

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Circe

All but one of Odysseuss ships are

destroyed by the Giants.

He and his remaining crew sail to theisland of Aeaea, where fair-haired

Circe lived, goddess with a humanvoice.

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Circe

We discussedCirce earlier in

the term.

What do you

rememberabout her?

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The gods send Homer a stag

On my way back there,in a lonely placeclose to our curved ship,some god pitied meand sent across my patha huge stag withmassive antlers, on its wayfrom pastures inthe woods towards the riverfor a drink, thesun's heat forced it down.

He is able to feed his crew with it and

encourages them to investigate the island.

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Circes welcome: She led the others in and sat them downon stools

and chairs, then made them a drinkof cheese andbarley meal and yellow honeystirred into Pramnian

wine. But with the foodshe mixed a vicious drug,so they would loseall memories of home. Whenthey'd drunk down the drink she gave them, she

took herwand,struck each man, then pennedthem in her pigsties.They had bristles, heads, and

voices just like pigstheir bodies looked like swinebut their minds were as before, unchanged.

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Connections to HP:

Potions

Transfiguration

Wands

Memoryalteration

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Odysseus rescues his crew

Odysseus says, 'Eurylochus, you can stay right

here, in this very spot,eating and drinking byour black hollow ship.But I will go. I don'thave any choice.'

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Divine Help

But while I was

moving through the

sacred groves

on myway to Circe's home, a

goddess skilled in many

magic potions, I

metHermes of theGolden Wand.

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Divine Help:

Hermes says, But come,I'll keep you freefrom harm and save you.Here, take aremedial potion with you.Go in Circe'shouse. It's a protectionand will clear yourhead of any dangersthis day brings. Now I'lldescribe for you

each and every one ofCirce's fatal ploys . . .

Does Harry receive divine help?

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Son of Zeus

Odysseus isntliterally the son ofZeus, but Circe callshim this after hesaves his men.

Why?

Whos Zeus? How is Harry theson of Zeus?

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After a year in Circes bed . . .

His men convince him that they should be ontheir way back home (Odysseus does have a

wife and son waiting for him at home, butdoesnt seem too phased by this . . .).

Circe says she will let him go, but he must

first take a detour to Hades to consult theshade of the prophet Teiresias.

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The Underworld

What Underworlds mustHarry enter?

What shades (spirits ofthe dead) must heconsult?

How is his fate shapedby prophecy?

How is he guided by anobligation to the dead?

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Next Class:

More from ancient Greece/Rome

Feb 20: Read the sections from Ovidabout Narcissus and Echo,TheMinotaur and Ariadne, and Orpheusand Eurydice, which are in your coursepacket. Read in Colbert the chapterstitled, Why would Fluffy come from aGreek Chappie? (99-100), Why is thethird task set in a maze? (153-4), and

Why are mirrors magical (159-162).