The Telemakhy and the Odyssey finally meet up in Book 15 of The Odyssey. Discussion Prompts: AP Credit: Compare/contrast the two slave stories that come out in Eumaeus’s history. How much agency do you think the young female slave has when she plots with the Phoenicians to kidnap Eumaeus and liberate herself? Why do youContinue reading “Greek Epics XL: Odyssey Book 15, or Remember Telemakhos?”
Category Archives: The Greeks
Greek Epics XXXIX: Odyssey Book 14, or This Little Piggy Went Close to Home
Odysseus visits his old swineherd in Book 14 of The Odyssey. Discussion Prompts How much of the story that Odysseus tells Eumaeus is true? Why? How does the story Odysseus tells Eumaeus color what you think about the story that he told the Phaiakians? Why? What do you think of Odysseus now? Why? Why doContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXIX: Odyssey Book 14, or This Little Piggy Went Close to Home”
Greek Tragedy XXVI: Euripides’s Trojan Women, or It’s Always Darkest Before It Goes Pitch Black
I told you that Euripides just keeps getting darker and darker the farther we get into his career. The Trojan Women is pretty grim. A content warning: This play contains a rather grisly infanticide. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Putting this play in the context of the time in which it was written (during the PeloponnesianContinue reading “Greek Tragedy XXVI: Euripides’s Trojan Women, or It’s Always Darkest Before It Goes Pitch Black”
Greek Myth XVIII: Hymn to Pan, or Little Big Goat-Man
Things get a little wild and wooly in the Homeric Hymn to Pan. Discussion Prompts Pan: Hot or Not? Why? (Or, you know, cute or not?) What do you picture when you think of Pan? Is Dryope’s response to seeing Pan the first time justified? Why or why not?
Greek Epics XXXVIII: Odyssey Book 13, or Home Again, Home Again, Sailing Is Done
Odysseus is finally home! Sort of. We’re only half-way through. There’s a lot that still needs to be resolved. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Liminality and sleep. Discuss. There’s a lot that happens when Odysseus is asleep (the bag of winds, the cattle of the Sun, the Phaiakians drop him off at Ithaka). Why do youContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXVIII: Odyssey Book 13, or Home Again, Home Again, Sailing Is Done”
Greek Epics XXXVII: Odyssey Book 12, or Tiresias Warned You
How many people have to tell you not to eat the Cattle of the Sun? We’ll find out in Book 12 of The Odyssey. Discussion Prompts What would you do if you were Eurylokhos and the rest of Odysseus’s men? Starve? Or eat Helios’s cattle? Do you trust Odysseus? Why or why not? Why isContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXVII: Odyssey Book 12, or Tiresias Warned You”
Greek Tragedy XXV: Euripides’s Heracles, or Not to Be Confused with Disney’s Hercules
In Disney’s Hercules, we see how Meg and Herc meet and fall in love. In Euripides’s Herakles, we see how Megara and Herakles… well… Let’s just say that the ending isn’t pretty… Discussion Prompts What does this play have to say about the role of the gods in the lives of mere mortals? This playContinue reading “Greek Tragedy XXV: Euripides’s Heracles, or Not to Be Confused with Disney’s Hercules”
Greek Myth XVII: Hymns to the Dioskouroi, or Who Else is a Gemini?
Today we cover the Homeric Hymns numbered 17 and 33, dedicated to a certain pair of twins that happen to be the star-sign for a certain podcast host. Discussion Prompts Kastor or Polydeukes? Why? What’s your sign? (lol — seriously, this is a question that my Italian teacher made sure we knew because he wantedContinue reading “Greek Myth XVII: Hymns to the Dioskouroi, or Who Else is a Gemini?”
Greek Epics XXXVI: Odyssey Book 11, or Who Ya Gonna Call?
Odysseus talks to a lot of ghosts, no busting required. Also, I used to have this comic strip pinned to my bulletin board back when I had a real office with a bulletin board. It still makes me giggle. ‘Cause I’m that kind of nerd. Discussion Prompts AP Credit: Liminality. And… go! How do youContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXVI: Odyssey Book 11, or Who Ya Gonna Call?”
Greek Epics XXXV: Odyssey Book 10, or Men are Pigs
Odysseus and his men visit a few more islands. Not every island results in someone’s death, but for the most part, it’s not going very well. Discussion Prompts Odysseus doesn’t trust his men with the bag of winds. Is he justified in this lack of trust? Why or why not? If you were Aiolos, wouldContinue reading “Greek Epics XXXV: Odyssey Book 10, or Men are Pigs”
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