Greek Epics XXIX: Odyssey Book 4, or Something is Rotten in the State of Sparta

Despite what the title would have you believe, the Telemachy takes up a decent part of the Odyssey. In this episode, Telemakhos continues his own journey in search of news of his father.

Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Compare/Contrast the feast at Pylos with the feast at Sparta.
  2. What do you think about Menelaos? How does he compare with the man we see in the Iliad? What are the reasons you think he is (or is not) different in the Odyssey?
  3. Why is Menelaos depicted as a redhead?
  4. Why do you think Eidothea helps Menelaos?
  5. What does Book 4 show us about the Odyssey within The Odyssey?
  6. Would Menelaos have been granted eternal life in Elysion if he hadn’t gone after Helen? Why or why not?
  7. What does Penelope show us about grief?
  8. Why do you think I subtitled this episode “Something is Rotten in the State of Sparta”?
  9. Who is your favorite character now? Why?

Greek Tragedy XXI: Euripides’s Andromache, or If Euripides and Clare Boothe Luce Wrote a Play Together

If Euripides had helped Clare Boothe Luce to write The Women, Andromache might have been the result, only with more witty ripostes.

Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Discuss how xenophobia is presented in this play.
  2. If you were staging this play today, where and when would you set it? Why?
  3. Which character do you like better: Hermione or Andromache? Why?
  4. Related to the previous question, but slightly different. Which character would you rather play: Hermione or Andromache? Why?
  5. We have very little source material about Hermione. How would you write the rest of her story?
  6. What does this play tell us about the double standard of how men and women are treated when it comes to extramarital relationships? How does (or does not) consent come into play in that double standard?
  7. What does Peleus’s argument say about standards within the law, at least as far as property is concerned?
  8. What does this play tell us about motherhood in ancient Greece?

Greek Myth XIII: Hymns to Hera, or Don’t Forget the Queen of the Gods

In this short episode, we’ll look at the one short Homeric Hymn to Hera.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Why do you think this hymn lacks a farewell?
  2. Based on this hymn to Hera, why do you think she merits invocation?
  3. Do you have any other thoughts about this poem? If so, please share!

Greek Epics XXVIII: Odyssey Book 3, or Nestor Tells Stories

Telemakhos meets Nestor, and the old man regales him with tales of the Trojan War and its aftermath.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Why does Odysseus choose to stay with Agamemnon?
  2. Why does Nestor tell Telemakhos about Orestes?
  3. AP Credit: Discuss guest-host relationships as shown in Book 3.
  4. Why does Athena bother saying that she’s returning to the ships if she turns herself into a hawk where Nestor and Telemakhos can still see her?
  5. What do you think of Nestor’s take on Agamemnon and Menelaos?
  6. Who is your favorite character at this point? Why?

Roman Comedy III: Plautus’s Stichus, or Meet the Parasite

Henry Thomas Riley describes the plot of today’s play as “extremely meagre”. I think you’ll see why.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Why do you think this play is named after Stichus?
  2. What do you think of the Parasite? What are some more modern versions of this stock character?
  3. If you were directing this play today, how would you stage it? What would be your vision of this play?

Greek Epics XXVII: Odyssey Book 2, or Don’t Mess With a Clever Woman

Telemakhos takes Athena’s advice, and Penelope tries to control her own life in Book 2 of the Odyssey.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Why do you think Aigyptios opens the assembly even though Telemakhos is the one who called for it?
  2. What is wrong with Antinoös’s ultimatum?
  3. Why do you think Penelope has allowed the suitors to plunder her home?
  4. How should we feel about Mentor given the fact that Odysseus left him in charge of Ithaka?

Greek Tragedy XX: Euripides’s Hippolytus, or Aphrodite Has a Curl Right in the Middle of Her Forehead

When Aphrodite is good, she is very very good, but when she is bad, she is horrid.

Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Why does Phaedra long for the mountains, the meadows, the clear streams, etc.?
  2. What do you think of the nurse? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Why?
  3. Hippolytus’s mother is an Amazon, yet he is a terribly misogynist. Why do you think that is?
  4. If you were directing this play today, where and when would you set it? Why?
  5. What does this play tell us about the role of the gods in our lives?

Greek Myth XII: Hymns to Athena, or She’d as Soon Love You as Destroy You

In this episode, we’ll look at the two Homeric Hymns dedicated to Athena.

Discussion Prompts
  1. Why do you think the poet includes Ares in Hymn 11?
  2. AP Credit: What do you think Tritogeneia means? Why?
  3. Why do you think Hesiod leaves out the detail about Athena being born fully clothed in armor?
  4. Why do you think these two hymns ignore her aspect as goddess of wisdom?

Greek Epics XXVI: Odyssey Book 1, or The Gods Get the Action Started

In this episode, we start reading the second of the great Homeric epics, the story of Odysseus’s journey home from Troy.

Discussion Prompts
  1. AP Credit: Discuss the instances of liminality in this book.
  2. AP Credit: Compare/contrast the character of Telemakhos with the characters of the suitors.
  3. What does this book tell us about fate, the gods, and free will?
  4. Why does Telemakhos follow the advice of Mentês so willingly? Do you think he knows that Mentês is Athena or another god? Why or why not?
  5. What purpose does Telemakhos’s rebuke of Penelope serve?
  6. Why do you think we’re introduced to Eurykleia at the end of this book?
  7. Who is your favorite character so far? Why?

Roman Comedy II: Plautus’s Miles Gloriosus, or That Soldier from Funny Thing… Forum’s Backstory

You may know Miles Gloriosus as the braggart soldier in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This play is the source material for that character.

It’s not the whole song, but it’s a pretty good performance and gives a good idea of the stock character that is the “miles gloriosus.”
Discussion Prompts
  1. What other plays does this remind you of? Why?
  2. If you were directing this play, where/when would you set it? Why? Who would be in your dream cast?
  3. What are your thoughts on the stock character of the miles gloriosus?
  4. Most of the characters are slaves and “working girls,” and they are all smarter than the title character. What does this say about status and intelligence? What does this say about women and slaves?
  5. Are there any plot points that can be eliminated without hurting the storyline? If so, what are they? How would you rewrite this story?
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