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THE ODYSSEY
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed
to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work
ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western
canon, and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature,
the Iliad being the oldest. Scholars believe it was composed near the
end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal
region of Anatolia.
The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey
home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to
reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War.In his absence, it is
assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must
deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Ministers or Proci, who
compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.
1. Troy:
The Greeks win the 10-year Trojan War helped by Odysseus Trojan
Horse. It was time for Odysseus to head home to Ithaca. The gods
supported the Trojans during the war and were angry with Odysseus. He
did have the support of the goddess Athena but in spite of this, his
journey back to Ithaca took ten years. After the victory at Troy,
Odysseus and his men begin their journey home.
2. The Land of the Cyclones:
After leaving Troy, they stop to raid the tribe of Cyclones in the
city of Ismarus for supplies. The Cyclones attack on horseback, and
Odysseus loses 72 of his men.
3. The Island of the Lotus Eaters:
Odysseus fills his mens ears with beeswax, and he has them tie him to
the mast so they can pass the dangerous island safely.
9. Scylla and Charybdis:
Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a six-headed sea serpent, rather
than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He does this because he knows that
if he went to Charybdis, the whole ship would be destroyed. However,
if he went towards Scylla, six men would die. A sacrifice the brave
Odysseus decides to make.
10. The Isle of Thrinacia (Helios):
They stop here, and Odysseus falls asleep praying to Athena. While
sleeping, his men once again go against his orders and eat Helios'
cattle. This enrages the god, and he threatens never to rise again. As
a punishment, Zeus throws a bolt of lightning at the ship, and turns
it to splinters. Only Odysseus survives.
11. Ogygia (Calypso's Island):
Odysseus finds this island after drifting in the sea. It is an island
of women. Odysseus has a seven-year affair with a nymph named Calypso.
After the seven years, Hermes convinces Calypso to let Odysseus build
a new ship so he could sail home.
12. The Island of the Phaeacians:
The Phaeacians accept Odysseus, and he explains his ten-year journey
to them during a feast. They happily give him a ride home on one of
their magical ships. Ithaca: Odysseus finally arrives home, and sees
his son, Telemachus, for the first time in 15 years. He and Telemachus
kill all of the suitors that want to marry his wife Penelope.
Odysseus takes his place as king, once again, alongside his wife .
Dantes First Circle of Hell is resided by virtuous nonChristians and unbaptized pagans who are punished with eternity
in an inferior form of Heaven. They live in a castle with seven
gates which symbolize the seven virtues. Here, Dante sees many
prominent people from classical antiquity such as Homer,
Socrates, Aristotle, Cicero, Hippocrates and Julius Caesar.
Second Circle (Lust)
In the Second Circle of Hell, Dante and his companion Virgil find
people who were overcome by lust. They are punished by being
blown violently back and forth by strong winds, preventing them
to find peace and rest. Strong winds symbolize the restlessness
of a person who is led by desire for fleshly pleasures. Again,
Dante sees many notable people from history and mythology
including Cleopatra, Tristan, Helen of Troy and others who were
adulterous during their lifetime.
Third Circle (Gluttony)
When reaching the Third Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil find
souls of gluttons who are overlooked by a worm-monster Cerberus.
Sinners in this circle of Hell are punished by being forced to
lie in a vile slush that is produced by never ending icy rain.
The vile slush symbolizes personal degradation of one who
overindulges in food, drink and other worldly pleasures, while
the inability to see others lying nearby represents the gluttons
selfishness and coldness. Here, Dante speaks to a character
called Ciacco who also tells him that the Guelphs (a fraction
supporting the Pope) will defeat and expel the Ghibellines (a
fraction supporting the Emperor to which Dante adhered) from
Florence which happened in 1302, before the poem was written
(after 1308).
Fourth Circle (Greed)
In the Fourth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil see the souls of
people who are punished for greed. They are divided into two
groups those who hoarded possessions and those who lavishly
spent it jousting. They use great weights as a weapon, pushing
it with their chests which symbolizes their selfish drive for
The Fifth Circle of Hell is where the wrathful and sullen are
punished for their sins. Transported on a boat by Phlegyas, Dante
and Virgil see the wrathful fighting each other on the surface of
the river Styx and the sullen gurgling beneath the surface of the
water. Again, the punishment reflects the type of the sin
committed during lifetime. While passing through, the poets are
approached by Filippo Argenti, a prominent Florentine politician
who confiscated Dantes property after his expulsion from
Florence.
Sixth Circle (Heresy)
When reaching the Sixth Circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil see
heretics who are condemned to eternity in flaming tombs. Here,
Dante talks with a couple of Florentines Farinata degli Uberti
The Seventh Circle of Hell is divided into three rings. The Outer
Ring houses murderers and others who were violent to other people
and property. Here, Dante sees Alexander the Great (disputed),
Dionysius I of Syracuse, Guy de Montfort and many other notable
historical and mythological figures such as the Centaurus, sank
into a river of boiling blood and fire. In the Middle Ring, the
poet sees suicides who have been turned into trees and bushes
which are fed upon by harpies. But he also sees here profligates,
chased and torn to pieces by dogs. In the Inner Ring are
blasphemers and sodomites, residing in a desert of burning sand
and burning rain falling from the sky.
DON QUIXOTE
Don Quixote, fully titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La
Mancha, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It follows
the adventures of a nameless hidalgo (at the end of Part II given the
name Alonso Quixano) who reads so many chivalric novels that he loses
his sanity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and
bring justice to the world, under the name Don Quixote. He recruits a
simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a
unique, earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations
on antiquated knighthood. Don Quixote, in the first part of the book,
does not see the world for what it is, and prefers to imagine that he
is living out a knightly story. The story implements various themes,
such as intersexuality, realism, metatheatre, and literary
representation.