What is Real Beauty?

Now that you've read more about the Iliad, is it so hard to imagine that one woman could be so beautiful so as to start a war? You've heard it said that Helen's face was the "face that launched a thousand ships." I wonder what the ancient Greeks's idea of beauty was or if that idea has changed over the years. Are people today still swayed by a beautiful face? How much is our culture influenced by our media? Follow this link to beauty to see how easily faces can be altered by the media.

I'm sorry I can't be with you today. I'm hoping that you'll make good use of the time with the laptops. Obviously if you are here reading this, you're already doing the first part of today's assignment. If you haven't read through my posts this week, please take the time to read back through them and follow the links. After you are finished with those and have completed the webquest about Homer, the rest of the time is yours to read quietly. Don't forget to turn in your reading log at the end of class.

Monday there is a quiz over the first list of Greek and Latin cell words. If you don't have it, check with Mr. Gratton. Have a safe and happy weekend. See you Monday!

Welcome to the Banquet Hall

I love the description of the live performance at the ancient Greek banquet hall as it appears in your text on page 884. "Imagine a large hall full of people who are freshly bathed, rubbed with fine oils, and draped in clean tunics. Imagine the smell of meat being cooked over charcoal, the sound of voices..." Doesn't that sound nice? I found this overhead view of an ancient Greek banquet place and theater. Too bad we can't enjoy hearing The Odyssey being performed under just such conditions!

The ancient Greeks gave us so much, as we will see. This section of your textbook is full of pictures of art, and of course, there are also the Greek roots to our English words, which we began to look at today. There are references to the gods and goddesses and Greek mythology throughout literature. The culture is rich.

It's amazing to me to think about the way these stories were told. As the textbook explained, this was an oral tradition. These stories were not written, so there were techniques the storytellers used to be able to perform these stories from memory. To think that many of their words were impromptu! The rhythm and repetition of words and phrases would help a singer remember, but the singer or storyteller would also have to be very talented to hold the storyline as well as the audience's attention.

Finally, I'd like to point out something mentioned in your textbook's introductory section to the epic. The hero's journey can be seen as a "rich metaphor for life." There are milestones in all of our lives and journeys we must take into our own unknown futures.

What Do Men Value Most?

It's hard to imagine the kind of courage it would take to set off on a journey, not knowing where it would take you, or what kinds of dangers you might face, or whether or not you would ever find home again. Our hero Odysseus is wise and courageous, and reading about his journey actually tells us a lot about the ancient Greeks. It's interesting to see how he got involved in the first place and what actually drew so many men to war.

As you begin to read about the first beauty contest and the start of the Trojan War, you might begin to wonder how much the world has really changed. What do men really want most these days? Money? Power? Women? What do you think a man (Paris, in this case) valued most back in ancient Greece?

By the way, isn't it interesting how the goddesses competed in the beauty contest by attempting to offer Paris the best bribe? I think Zeus was very wise to ask Paris to judge instead of getting involved himself.

As you begin to read, you might notice that it's hard to keep the names straight and who is on which side. Sometimes the Trojans are referred to as Spartans and sometimes the Greeks are called Achaeans. Don't let that confuse you or ruin the story. If you like to read online, Wikipedia has some interesting articles, pictures and maps.

Happy reading, and remember, don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

Let the Journey Begin!

Tomorrow we will begin our journey back in time, three thousand years or so, to the story of the ancient Greeks and the roots of the oral tradition of storytelling. We'll read an excerpt from Edith Hamilton's Mythology to find the cause of the Trojan War, so that we can meet our great hero Odysseus and follow his journey home at the end of the war, which is the story of the Odyssey.

If you click on this link about the Odyssey, it will take you to a related site from the University of Pennsylvania. This site has pronunciations of the characters and an interactive map of Odysseus's journey. Try it!

As you we read about classical backgrounds to literature (mythology), we can discover common themes and plotlines found in later literature - even cliches we use in our everyday language. I think it's also fascinating how archealogists have uncovered proof of the existence of places and events included in some of the ancient epic poetry.

Although some of the stories are just plain entertaining to hear or read, it is amazing to me that some may also have some thread of truth, though they are thousands of years old.

Do You Have the Monday Blues?

Sorry I was unable to blog this weekend, but here I am at school, ready to dive into the week. It should be an easy week for you to transition into. Just as we planned, we'll organize our three ring binders today, and there should be plenty of time to read quietly in our independent reading books. Mondays are gentle!

The rest of the week will lead us into our writing practices and a quick study of where storytelling all began. It should be fun. You'll get your textbooks and a chance to look over what we'll be doing.

Today's notebook organization can be viewed by clicking on this link.