LITERATURE CIRCLES

Literary Luminary
Name: Sean Ocier
Text: Odyssey
Date: 8/30/2010
Books: 13-15

Literary Luminary: The Odyssey features a powerful array of epithets and figures of
speech. Your job is: (a) to prepare a summary of the reading. Make a quick statement to discuss
the UNIVERSAL TRUTH found in the text; (b) to identify “Golden Lines”—or special passages
in the text (interesting, powerful, funny, puzzling, or important sections). You will also ponder on
how certain lines in the text are further illuminated in succeeding scenes. Decide which passages
or paragraphs are worth remembering, and indicate how you plan to present them: (a) You can
read the passages aloud yourself, (b) ask someone else to read them, or (c) read them together
as a group. Make sure to discuss your analysis of the selected text.

Quick Statement: What, for you, is the UNIVERSAL TRUTH in the text? Compare
this with others’.

I think the universal truth is something about hospitality because in the

story, the swineherd took in Odysseus despite his being poor and
Odysseus’s looking like an old squatter. People should be more nice and
friendly to others.

Golden Lines
(it kept on hanging with the table)
XIII
15
Alkinoos: "...It is hard for a single man to be generous."
Alkinoos is being nice to Odysseus to help him home and he needs help from the other Phaiakians to
give him stuff.

180
Alkinoos: "Stop our conveying of every mortal who makes his arrival here at our city."
Alkinoos is not as nice and hospitable as he seems.
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XIV
80
"...the suitors, who have no regard for anyone in their minds, no pity"
Everyone hates the suitors in this book, even the swineherd.

191-354
Odysseus' story
His made-up story slightly parallels the real hardships he endured, except he excluded most of the
"Odyssey" portion.

385-389
"You too, old man of many sorrows, since the spirit brought you here to me, do not try to please me
nor spell me with lying words. It is not for that I will entertain and befriend you, but for fear of Zeus, the
god of guests, and for my own pity."
Unless I misunderstood this, the Greeks are only hospitable because they're scared of Zeus. Or
maybe he just wants Odysseus not to lie to him.

398
"...but if your lord never comes in the way I tell you he will, set your serving men on me, and throw me
over a high cliff..."
Odysseus can afford to make these wild promises to the swineherd about his lord returning
because... he is his master.

401-405
"That would be virtuous of me, my friend, and good reputation would be mine among men, for present
time alike and hereafter, if first I led you into my shelter, there entertained you as guest, then
murdered you and ravished the dear life from you."
An ancient form of sarcasm.

XV
72
"It is equally bad when one speeds on the guest unwilling to go, and when he holds back one who is
hastening."
People should let the guests leave when they want to, according to Menelaos.

488-490
"...seeing that after much suffering you came into the house of a kindly man..."
Odysseus is calling himself kind...

525-528
"...a bird flew by on the right, a falcon, swift messenger of Apollo, and in his claws carried a pigeon
and tore at it so that a shower of feathers drifted to the ground between the ship and Telemachos."
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Just as Telemachos said something about someone else marrying Penelope, a sign happened.
Odysseus is the falcon and the pigeon is the suitors. Also, Greeks believe these are
signs/premonitions, just like the earlier one with the eagle eating a goose that went in its territory.

Possible Reasons for Picking a Passage:

funny controversial important surprising

confusing informative