Fortune, Fate, or Free Will?
Here's another idea for thought...and possible free writing:
You've been reading about how the Greeks attributed all actions and events to the will of the gods. If a man or woman had good fortune, it was because he or she was in the favor of a powerful god. Likewise, to make a god angry meant losing favor
and suffering bad consequences. It's as if humans were simply pawns in a board game being played by the gods. This might explain natural disasters, love affairs, death, and even being trapped on an island with a beautiful sea nymph for seven years! (Do you think Penelope was a fool to wait so many years for Odysseus?) How much truth, if any, do you place in fortune or forces outside yourself? Do people today still believe as the Greeks did? Are there times humans cannot control themselves due to outside forces?
Keep reading and I hope you will enjoy the stories within The Odyssey.
So many references to mythology appear in other literature, even literature we'll read this year. Understanding these allusions (references) reveals a deeper appreciation of literature.
On a personal note to my class, I am making progress in my recovery. I now have a clunky boot instead of a cast on my left foot, and I have a new, shorter cast on my right arm, giving me use of my right elbow! I'm still not supposed to put weight on my foot yet, but I'll try to get in for visits by the end of next week and back at work with you the next week. Thanks for all your hard work. I'll not blame this accident on bad luck or fate. Who knows? It could always have been worse!
posted by Ms. James @ 8:25 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
This is a beautiful picture. Did you know that the Odyssey was purely an oral story? Homer must have heard the story told countless times, and he put together all of those parts to tell "his" story. That's why they never just call Odysseus (sp?) by his name. Homer might call him "the brave-hearted warrior" or something like that. Homer would be telling this story aloud and it would take him a long time to tell it, so he head to use these adjectives and lots of repetition in order to keep the listener with him. Homer's first "literacy" wasn't writing. He was part of the oral tradition. What if you never knew what a written word was? When you think of something, it is difficult not to visualize or think of the word.
Greek was one of the best alphabets because it included vowels. Hebrew doesn't have vowels, which, according to what I read, meant that it was difficult for people to read unless they already understood the context of the text before they read it.
When we were still part of a more oral tradition, we thought differently. Isn't that strange to think about?
Think about this. When the Lincoln-Douglas debates were going on, people would sit for hours and listen to Lincoln speak, for an hour or two, and then they would listen to Douglas speak for an hour or two. The audience would sit and listen. Audiences wouldn't be capable of doing that today.
Phone rang. I gotta go.
Thanks so much for your insight and your input. Wouldn't it be nice to actually hear this poem the way the Greeks might have -as pure entertainment with stringed accompaniment and fine refreshments?
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