Heroic Myths

• Odysseus & the Underworld: Powell, Chapter 12 (11 in 6th-4th editions):
  • Key Names & Terms: Circe, Tiresias, Achilles, Anticlea
• Jason: Powell, Chapter 19 (18 in ...):
  • Key Names & Terms: Pelias, Jason, Hera, Chiron, Argo, Phineus, Aeëtes, Medea, Apsyrtus, Creon
• The Trojan War: The House of Atreus; The Anger of Achilles: Powell, Chapter 20 (19 in ...):
  • Key Names & Terms: Zeus, Artemis, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Atreus, Pelops, Oenomaus, Hippodamia, Thyestes, Aegisthus, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Tyndareus, Leda, Helen, Clytemnestra, Peleus, Thetis, Achilles, Ajax, Aulis, Telemachus, Calchas, Chryses, Chryseis, Briseis, Andromache, Hector, Paris, Priam, Hecabe
• The Trojan War: The fall of Troy; The Return of Agamemnon: Powell, Chapter 21 (20 in ...):
  • Key Names & Terms: Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Penthesilea, Neoptolemus, Laocoon, Polyxena, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, Aegisthus, Orestes, Electra, Theseus, Erinyes, Eumenides
• The Return of Odysseus: Powell, Chapter 22 (21 in ...):
  • Key Names & Terms: Odysseus, Lotus Eaters, Cyclopes, Polyphemus, Aeolus, Laestrygonians, Circe, Sirens, Charybdis, Scylla, Calypso, Alcinous, Arete, Nausicaa, Eurycleia, Telemachus, Penelope, Athena, Poseidon, Zeus, Orestes, Aegisthus
• The movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
  • Key Names & Terms: Everett (Ulysses), Pete, Delmar, Big Dan T, Pappy O'Daniel (Menelaus), Homer Stokes, Tommy, "Baby Face" George Nelson, Penny, Sirens, the sheriff
  • the script of the movie (click here)

Possible Essay Questions:

Reminder: The topic you write on in the exam has to be different from the topic you wrote on in Paper 6, if you did paper 6. Also don't forget how to organize a comparison/contrast paper (see pdf in Moodle).


1. Companions: Compare and contrast the "men" of Odysseus in the movie and the epic from the viewpoint of character. Use class discussion and Powell (and/or Ian Johnston's translations of books VII and IX) for the Odyssey.


2. Song: In both the movie and the epic, song plays a pivotal role. Compare and contrast the contents and role of the following songs in both the movie and the epic:
   • a. the song "I am a man of constant sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys in the movie (lyrics click here) (youtube video from Academy Awards performance: click here)
   • b. Odysseus' "song" , i.e. Odysseus' recounting of his travels to the Phaeacians (Powell and/or Ian Johnston's translation)


3. Heroic Code: Evaluate Waldrip and Everett by the measure of the heroic code (honor/shame) as covered in the pdf in Moodle. Based on your evaluation who is the greater hero? Make sure you cover the key terms: kleos, aretê, timeê aidos. For option 2 add two of the following: Jason, Orestes, Agamemnon, Hector, Odysseus (use Powell's text for them).


4. Movie Critic: From the point of view of a book and movie critic, compare and critique the scenes in the Odyssey and the movie involving the Cyclops. In your conclusion give a thumbs up or down (note--if you write on this topic, you may not write about the meal scene in the xenia question below) (note2--you are comparing scenes, not individual characters per se).


5. Xenia is a key theme in the Odyssey. Pick one or two scenes from the movie and show how the hospitality in the movie is both similar and different from that as expressed in the movie. Significance? Use class discussion and Powell and/or Ian Johnston's translation for the Odyssey. (note: if writing on the movie critic topic above, don't use the Cyclops' meal scenes from the movie) (longer version: pick two or more scenes from the movie).