Ellie Valega 3 12/4/10

Six Weeks Task with that he rammed the clouds together-both hands clutching his trident- churned the waves into chaos, whipping all the gales from every quarter, shrouding over in thunderheads the earth and sea at once- and night swept down from the skyEast and South winds clashed and the raging West and North, sprung from the heavens , roiled heaving breakers upand Odysseuss knees quaked, his spirit too... ..What monstrous clouds King Zeus crowning the whole wide heaven blackChurning the seas in chaos, gales blasting, Raging around my head from every quarterMy deathp-plunge in a flash, its certain now! (5.321-337)

I chose this passage for several reasons. Mostly because three themes are demonstrated by Poseidons attack. After Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, Poseidons son, he takes revenge and this is one of many actions he takes. Two themes are shown by this action; justice, and blindness. Odysseus tries to sail home, but cant find his way because of the hardships Poseidon gives him. Another theme that shows is power. Poseidon shows Odysseus how much power he has by turning the calm ocean into a vortex of no escape. Even the other gods cannot bring Odysseus home because of grudging Poseidon.

Ellie Valega 3 12/4/10

This scene is very important to the plot of The Odyssey because it shows Odysseus progress. He leaves the Calypso and makes his way home, and we meet him for the first time. Then, it brings him to the land of the Phaecians. This is where we learn about the next part of his journey, thanks to Poseidon. I designed the diorama this was because I think it shows the madness and chaos of the scene. The waves are throbbing, the clouds are rolling in, and Odysseus loses his spirit. The massive clouds and rain show what Poseidon has done to the sky above the ocean, and the swell Odysseus is in shows what has happened to his boat and the strength Poseidon has. I think it resembles the scene that Homer described.