The Odyssey (Odysseus' Journey Part 1)

I would like to start the post off with this statement, "I know that the Odyssey did not start out as a book, but instead was passed on by oral tradition, well, it would have been a book if they made books in that time, which is why I am classifying it as one." However, I have changed this to "Greek Mythology" so it doesn’t matter anyway. Continuing, this will be talking about the story that Odysseus told Nausicaa, from when he left Troy until he washed up on Calypso's island. This is the best part of the book and it is shocking how he was able to survive all this. Too bad everyone else died in the process.


First on the trip came the Lotus Eaters. Odysseus stayed on an island for a little while with a group of lethargic people. They left soon after some of the crew members became lethargic like the others and forget all about going home. This happened because of a lotus. When I originally read this, I thought nothing of it, but a lot of sites tend to describe the lotus in a drug-like manner. I thought of it just as something they were not supposed to eat because it wiped their memory until they were far enough away from it. The drug context does make sense, but I still prefer to think of it my way. In the end, Odysseus locks them in the ship and sails away so that they can not stay.

Next is the Cyclops, Polyphemus. When his crew first got there, he went ashore with them and was trapped by Polyphemus and two of the twelve crew members were eaten. Odysseus thinks of a plan to escape as four more of his crew members are eaten as he goes. He makes the Cyclops drunk and says that his name is "no man." When Polyphemus falls asleep, the crew pokes his eye out with a large flaming club. Immediately, he awoke screaming in rage "He blinded me! He blinded me! No man has blinded me!" I bet you know what the other giants thought of this. Anyway, the next day when Polyphemus let out the sheep, Polyphemus felt them to make sure that the men were not riding on top of them. Instead, they were riding under them. In the end, Odysseus, showing his true hubris, said that he was the one who blinded Polyphemus. Polyphemus is Poseidon’s Son. Poseidon is already angry with him. That wasn’t the best idea.

In a world where the forces of nature are sentient beings, you do not want to get them angry. Odysseus’ act of hubris virtually guaranteed rough sailing.

At this point, I will draw this part of the adventure to a close and begin again later. As for why I am doing this, it can carry on for a while, and these were distinct events in the Odyssey.

Anyway, I am sorry that this was more of a summary, but I will try and do better next time.

Persephone: What's She Really Like?

According to Greek Mythology, Persephone was the Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld, and the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of Growth. This refers to plants, not animals. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, you may be wondering about this. Apparently, Hades fell in love with Persephone due to an arrow of love, whisked her away to the underworld, Demeter said "I am angry" and turned the world into a barren place, like in winter. Zeus found out about this, complained to Demeter, and said he would get back Persephone, but oly if she hadn't eaten anything. Turns out she did, 4 pomegranate seeds. Hades said that because of this, she had to stay for him 4 months, and this is where they thought winter comes from.
Some of you might be shocked that pomegranate seeds are the cause of this, but this is not why I am talking about her. In our class we read an essay that refers to "Pluto, Proserpina, and the three Furies" as "the three infernal deities." These are the Roman names for Hades, Persephone, and the Furies, whatever their Greek name is. I could tell who "Proserpina" was and thought "Why in the world is she one of the infernal deities!? She's forced to rule the Underworld and I'm pretty sure she's kind, not sadistic as the essay implies!" I was ready to talk about why Bacon was wrong, but he's actually correct.
When Persephone is ripped away from her mother, she becomes this cruel person, or at least callused. She is referred to as "The Iron Queen." But when she returns to her mother she becomes her sweet, uncallused self again. This is what I personally think, but there could be two other possibilities. The first other possibility,which I doubt, is that Persephone is naturally cruel, but you wouldn't expect this much of the Goddess of Spring. The other is that she likes Hades. The myth does not talk much about what happened while Persephone was with Hades, so she could have developed feelings for him and tries to be cruel just to please him.
So, Persephone is not entirely as sweet as I originally thought, but the reason is why. Is she bitter about being torn away from her mother for 1/3 of the year and takes it out on whomever she can? Or is it because she loves Hades and is being cruel just for him?
By the way, sorry to ruin the contemplative moment, but here is something else to think about: Hades married Persephone. Persephone is Demeter's Daughter. Demeter is Hades' Sister.