Greek Epics XLIX: Odyssey Book 24, or The Return of Martin Guerre

In today’s episode, we reach the end of Odysseus’s journey.

I first learned about Martin Guerre from the musical and was amazed to learn that it was based on a real case. The musical is by the same duo that wrote Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. You can listen to the entire cast album on YouTube. Here are a couple of selections, though, to give you an idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFrQMqW9PUA&list=PL8f_ACV3dM08r0B5DTftreF5mc0htSsda&index=13
Not the best selection to get a sense of the musical, but it does give a sense of how crazy this case was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpugDX4wj4&list=PL8f_ACV3dM08r0B5DTftreF5mc0htSsda&index=6
This is my favorite song. It makes me laugh and then hits me right in the feels.
Discussion Prompts
  1. Do you think Book 24 was added later or original to the epic? Why?
  2. What do you think happens next?
  3. Why do you think Odysseus tests Laertes?
  4. Why does Athena make Laertes young again? Why does she encourage him to kill Eupeithês?
  5. Is the ending good or bad?
  6. How much of Odysseus’s journey really happened (at least mythologically speaking)?
  7. Which epic do you prefer: The Iliad or The Odyssey? Why? And if you care to include it, what is your gender identity? I only ask that because there is frequently a divide along those lines, and I’m curious to see if that still holds true.
  8. What does this epic have to say about fate, the gods, civilization, or honor? What other overarching themes does The Odyssey make you think of?

Greek Tragedy XXXI: Euripides’s Phoenician Women, or Not Your Grandpa’s Oedipus Assuming Your Grandpa is Sophocles or Aeschylus

Forget everything you thought you knew about Oedipus.  Euripides has a whole new version in The Phoenician Women.

Discussion Prompts
  1. We have seen three different visions of the Oedipus myth, one from each of our tragedians. Which one do you prefer? Why?
  2. If you were directing this play, when and where would you set it? Why?
  3. Why do you think the chorus is a group of foreigners, and women at that?
  4. Are the men or the women stronger in this version of the story? Why?
  5. Is the entrance of Oedipus necessary? Does that section help or hurt the play? Why or why not?
  6. Which Antigone is your favorite? The one we see in Sophocles or the one we see here in Euripides?
  7. What does this play have to say about parenthood?
  8. What does this play have to say about fate?

Greek Myth XXIII: Hymn to Earth, Mother of All, or The Hymn Stole My Subtitle

We sing to where it all started in the Homeric Hymn to Earth, Mother of All.

Discussion Prompts
  1. What does Gaia look like? Why?
  2. AP Credit: What makes this hymn different than the others in the collection known as the Homeric Hymns?
  3. What does this poem have to say about omnipotence versus free will?
  4. Is Gaia a kindly god? Why or why not?

Greek Epics XLVIII: Odyssey Book 23, or Reunited and It Feels So Good

Penelope tests the stranger in Book 23 of The Odyssey.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Is Book 23 really the end? Why or why not?
  2. Should Odysseus have gotten help from the rest of Ithaka to oust the suitors? Why or why not?
  3. Is the scar really a good sign that the stranger is Odysseus? Why or why not?
  4. Does Penelope know that the beggar is Odysseus before she tests him? Why or why not?
  5. AP Credit: Discuss the symbolism of the bed.

Roman Comedy XIII: Plautus’s Captivi, or Plautus Tries to Be High-Brow

Plautus tries his hand at grand opera in Captivi.

Discussion Prompts
  1. What is the difference between “captives” and “slaves”? Why or why not does this matter?
  2. What is Plautus trying to say about slavery?
  3. Where does a parasite fit in a world divided by those who are free and those who are enslaved?
  4. Why do you think Tyndarus agrees to the ruse that he’s Philocrates?
  5. How would you direct this play today? Setting? Cast? Interpretation?

Greek Epics XLVII: Odyssey Book 22, or There Will Be Blood

The suitors get their comeuppance in the bloodiest book of The Odyssey.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Athena helps, but not really. Discuss.
  2. Why isn’t Zeus mad?
  3. Do the maids deserve to be executed? Why or why not?
  4. Does Melanthios deserve his punishment? Why or why not?
  5. AP Credit: Justice or vengeance? Discuss.

Greek Tragedy XXX: Euripides’s The Cyclops, or The Last Satyr… Play

We’ve studied comedies. We’ve studied tragedies. But there was a third man… I mean type of play in Ancient Greece. Today we cover the only surviving Satyr Play.

Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Compare/Contrast Homer’s The Odyssey with Euripides’s The Cyclops.
  2. What do you think about the changes Euripides makes to the story of Odysseus and Polyphemos?
  3. Why do you think this is the only satyr play that has survived the ages?
  4. If you were writing a satyr play, what serious story would you retell, only with satyrs?

Greek Myth XXII: Hymns to Hestia, or The Center of the Home, The World, and Everything!

Hestia is the most mysterious of goddesses. She’s also one of the most important, which we see in Homeric Hymns 24 and 29.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Where would you put the shrine to Hestia in your house were she part of your worship?
  2. What is Hermes doing in a hymn to Hestia?
  3. Do you think the Homeric Hymns were written by men or women? Why?

Greek Epics XLVI: Odyssey Book 21, or Robin Hood

If Odysseus is this good with a bow, Teukros must be amazing…  But then, Teukros isn’t in The Odyssey…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxPRAJT_omA
For your viewing pleasure, a boy, his dog, and Homer.
Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Why is Herakles suddenly a contemporary of Odysseus?
  2. What do you think about Telemakhos is this book? Explain.
  3. AP Credit: Odysseus the bard. And… Go!
  4. Does Penelope know that the beggar is Odysseus? Why or why not?
  5. Why does Antinoös wait to try the bow? Do you think he would have succeeded?

Roman Comedy XII: Plautus’s Aulularia, or My Daughter! My Ducats!

Euclio gives Shylock a run for his money in the realm of miserly characters in Plautus’s Aulularia.

Discussion Prompts
  1. What do you think happens in the lost ending of this play?
  2. As a director, how would you handle the lost ending?
  3. As a director, how would you handle the fact that Lyconides raped Phaedria?
  4. Should the lar familiaris stay on stage for the entire play? Why or why not?
  5. AP Credit: Compare/contrast Euclio with other miser characters from later plays.
  6. Do you think Phaedria ever appeared on stage during the lost ending? Why or why not?
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