The Odyssey

HOW TO APPROACH HOMER’S ODYSSEY LEARNING / ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVE To examine the ideas and values of the classical world through the study of Homer’s Odyssey

Leadership Social and cultural behaviour Relationships Beliefs ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATIONS NAUSICAA

Leadership ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES: Students need to understand: Odysseus’ leadership qualities What causes Odysseus to act as he does (students must be able to connect his leadership qualities to specific actions and motivations) How Odysseus’ leadership is challenged by the suitors and his slaves in Books AND why Odysseus responds as he does (they must be able to connect the behaviour of the suitors / slaves to Odysseus’ reaction) That Telemachus is a developing leader; his leadership qualities; how and why Athena supports his leadership; who challenges his leadership and how? Books 1 and later 21, 22

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS [Draw developed conclusions about why these leadership and / or heroic qualities were valued by the classical society for which this text was produced – 2012 external examination] What did ancient people believe about leadership? High birth, wealth, skill at arms, prowess in battle are all qualities expected of a leader. But what they admired the most was wisdom and good practice; eg the suitors have wealth and high status but their actions and behaviour are strongly disliked. Why? Odysseus has the right to be king in his household and those who disrespect or challenge his leadership deserve to be punished. Why? What did ancient people value about the typical hero? They valued his courage and resourcefulness, they admired his cunning and his charm etc, etc “He has been alone and nameless so when he enters his palace in disguise he must depend on his own resourcefulness (metis)” R. Fowler: Cambridge companion to Homer page 87 Why did ancient people value these heroic / leadership qualities? These qualities provided ancient people with a model (a yardstick) of how to live their life and how to organise their communities. They provided didactic messages for their young men, for their leaders etc

WHAT MOTIVATES THE HOMERIC HERO? GLORY HONOUR JUSTICE REVENGE

THIRST FOR kleos / GLORY  The driving force behind the hero was the need to achieve fame and glory.  The hero wants his name to survive him for years to come; and so, his only chance for immortality was to win glory through famous deeds.  The more dangerous the task, the greater the glory.

HUNGER FOR HONOUR  The need to preserve your honour was as great as the need to achieve glory.  Any insult on you, or your good reputation or your family, was dealt with quickly and in a most violent way. Honour had to be reclaimed.

JUSTICE Bad people deserve to suffer / deserve punishment: Those who:  go against what was considered acceptable behaviour  disrespect the gods  disregard customs and traditions  behave unjustly Even Zeus in Book I says: “The blessed gods don’t like wicked acts”

REVENGEFul  In order to restore his and his family’s lost honour, the hero becomes ruthlessly revengeful.  The greater the dishonour the greater the punishment. Vengeance is the hero’s right So the revengeful Odysseus is ruthless and unforgiving but we must not think of him as evil or bloodthirsty.

Do you know of OTHER CULTURES THAT SHARE SIMILAR VALUES?

MAORI VALUES  Mana signifies status, authority, prestige and honour (ancient heroic / leadership qualities)  Māori vigorously defended their mana in everyday matters and tried to enhance it whenever they could.

MAORI VALUES Utu: Often defined as ‘revenge’, utu has a broader meaning: the maintenance of balance and harmony within society. A wrong had to be put right (justice), but how this was done could vary greatly.

Social and cultural BEhaviours THE CUSTOMS OF GUEST FRIENDSHIP CUSTOMS RELATING TO SYMPOSIA GREEK VIEWS ON JUSTICE AND REVENGE THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY

Social and cultural traditions 1.THE CUSTOMS OF GUEST FRIENDSHIP – Books 1, 9, What is guest friendship - How did this custom come about? Ritual aspects of guest friendship. How were the suitors / Cyclops expected to behave? Examples of situations where guest friendship is violated.

XENIA COMPARED TO MANAAKITANGA What is manaakitanga? Showing respect for hosts or kindness to guests. Entertaining guests or looking after them. Manaakitanga is often practised on a Marae Like the Greek custom of xenia there are certain rituals that one has to follow when visiting a Marae. For example: hosts welcome their guests with a powhiri or a hongi

xenia and KOHA In return the Marae guests (manuhiri) respect the local customs and patterns of behaviour and give a koha (gift) to the tangata whenua. The koha is usually money to help cover costs, but can also include gifts or donations of food and other precious items. Identify similarities between xenia and: Manaakitanga koha

Social and cultural BEHAVIOURS 2. CUSTOMS RELATING TO SYMPOSIA Books 1, Ritual aspects of the symposium Suitors’ bad behaviour and reasons why they deserved to be punished 3. GREEK VIEWS ON JUSTICE AND REVENGE Books 9, How were the slaves / suitors expected to behave? Which behaviours brought about their downfall. Why Odysseus / Telemachus had the right to take revenge 4.THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY Books 6 and 23 Social customs relating to a young girl Marriage customs for young girls (Nausicaa) Penelope as the ideal wife and qualities that make her the ideal wife. How was she expected to behave in Odysseus’ absence?

Social and cultural BEHAVIOURS DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: How were people expected to behave in certain situations? What the ancient people considered to be appropriate or inappropriate behaviour according to their social and cultural traditions. Reasons why these social and cultural traditions were upheld by ancient people. Eg  The idea that Odysseus has the right to take revenge so as to regain his honour.  Customs and traditions enable societies to function / provide them with standards according to which they could live their lives etc

relationships The relationship of Odysseus and:  his son  his wife  other women in his life eg Calypso and Nausicaa  gods especially Athena  slaves  suitors The relationship of Telemachus and:  his mother  the gods especially Athena  the suitors  the slaves The relationship of Penelope and:  her suitors

relationships AND: What ancient people value about these relationships? Eg they value the respect that Telemachus shows to his father. Evidence? The beliefs and expectations of ancient people about these relationships eg they expect Penelope (the ideal wife) to remain faithful and loyal to her husband while he can travel for long periods of time and have relationships with other women while away from home. Evidence? The significance of these relationships to the people of the classical world:  Ancient people model their lives on the lives of the Homeric heroes  They use these relationships to teach about the values of loyalty and faithfulness  These relationships teach about hierarchy in society Evidence?

beliefs Homeric gods are anthropomorphic, they have human emotions The role they play in the Odyssey eg Athena the protector of Odysseus and his family Their relationship to humans is a give and take relationship, they interfere in people’s lives in both positive and negative ways AND: What are the attitudes of ancient people towards their gods ie how do they relate to them / what do they expect from them Why are these religious beliefs and attitudes about their gods important to ancient people? Eg  Religious beliefs and attitudes provided them with a standard by which to live their lives  These religious beliefs and attitudes were handed down from generation to generation.  These religious beliefs and attitudes united them as people of the same society and marked them as different / superior from other (barbaric) societies

PARAGRAPHS Understand the question and respond to it  write several excellent paragraphs using clear structure  start with a with a key idea,  develop and explain ideas giving detailed responses  provide relevant examples and link to key idea  Finish paragraph with an insightful / analytical statement that links back to the key idea)  use terminology correctly