Odyssey Test- Blog This!
Cut and paste each question and answer underneath the prompt.

1. What have you learned about Greek culture, values, and religion? Address the roles of women and men, honor and virtues, gods and goddesses, etc. (250 words)

I have learned many things about Greek culture and their religions. A major fact I've learned about their culture is that they worship the gods very heavily. The Greeks pray to them for good luck, safe journeys and many other things. The sacrificing of a goat or ram is considered an offering to the gods. Also everyone must have their own sense of honor. If you don't have a sense of honor, then your prayers will not be answered by the gods.

There are many gods in the Greek world. Zeus was considered the king of the gods. He and his wife (don't remember her name) were said to have given birth to most of the gods. Although there are many gods, there are some that are known more than others. Zeus is one of those more popular gods. Athena, goddess of wisdom, is another one of the well known gods and goddesses. Even though she was the goddess of wisdom, she also held many other titles including the goddess of war and disguise. Poseidon, god of the sea, is also well known. He commanded all the creatures of the sea including the hydra and the dreaded sea serpent. Calypso was also a well known goddess as she was the one who seduced Odysseus to stay on her secluded island. Hermes, the messenger god, was sent to deliver a message to Calypso from Zeus telling Calypso to set Odysseus free so that he may return home to Ithaca. Those were the only gods and goddesses that were focused on tn the movie.

2. What resonated with you in reading about Odysseus’ adventures? Why? (150 words)

I was able to relate to some of the problems he faced while on his long journey. Making choices was one of those problems. At one point, Odysseus had to choose between staying with Calypso or going back to Penelope. If he stayed with Calypso, she would gave granted him mmortalityif he stayed with Calypso and became immortal, he would always think about how he failed Penelope by not returning to his kingdom. I would make the decision of going back to my kingdom (if I had a kingdom that is). Considering the choice between going back to your kingdom and being immortal, I would not choose immortality. If I was immortal, I would live forever of course. But, that would be unbearable. Soon, you would get tired of living forever and watching time pass before your eyes. Plus, you would wonder all the time if your life would be different if you went back to your kingdom.

3. This epic poem is dated nearly 3000 years ago, why is it still relevant? (150 words


It is relevant because no one knows anything about the man who wrote the book, Homer. All that is known is that he was born in Greece and he probably wrote the poem in the 8th or 9th century. Scientist till this day are trying to find out more about him even till this day. But so far, all that is known about him is that he wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey. He books don't give mention to who he actually is either. We have not read the Iliad yet, but it, like the Odyssey, focuses greatly on the Greek gods and goddesses. The poem is also still relevant because it is a great poem of epic proportions and there are still some people who have not read this epic book. It is one of the greatest and oldest books ever written by man. What makes it great is the characters; Odysseus, Penelope,etc.

Short Answers-

Answer in complete sentences. Cut and pace each question and answer underneath the prompt.

4. How would you characterize the narrator, the fictive "Homer" whose voice we imagine as singing the verses of the Odyssey?

I would say he was a man in his 30s or 40s and that he had a beard. Also, I would say he has a very adventurous mind.

5. What kinds of behavior are treated as contemptible in the Odyssey?

There was a huge bloodlust behavior with the cyclops, Polyphemus. There was also an interesting behavior of seduction while dealing with Calypso.

6. How does the poem represent mortal women?

They are represented as people who can't cheat on their husbands but their husbands can cheat on them.

7. How do Homer's gods think and behave? How do their actions and motivations differ from the conception of god in other religions of which you have knowledge? What role do the Homeric gods play in human affairs and what is the responsibility of humans with respect to those gods?

They think and behave seperately. They all have different beliefs of what should happen but they all must listen to Zeus. When you pray to these gods, they actually appear to help you while with other religions, the god helps you without showing himself. The gods in the Odyssey help only people who are honorable and whom they see fit. It is the responsibilty of humans to give thanks to the god/s who helped you.

Miyazaki Similarities

There were many similarities in the 3 movies we saw. One very distinct thing they had in common is that they all had small creatures that appeared almost everywhere. In Totoro and Spirited Away, both of the creatures were magic soot ball things and in Princess Mononoke, there were kodama, the spirit of the trees. The music was also very similar. So similar that it sounded almost the same in the 3 movies. Also, these three, along with all of Miyazakis movies, were very detailed. There were also very large creatures in both movies. Another thing that should be noted is the main protagonists all had brown hair and a good heart. the 3 movies also had a lot to do with spirits that would help the protagonist. A main difference in the 3 movies is that My Neighbor Totoro had no blood, Spirited Away had a little blood, and Princess Mononoke had large amounts of blood.

Things That Scathe

There are a few things that would scathe me. One of these things are losing a friend. It is really crappy when you get to know someone and that person becomes your best friend or something but you learn that that person is moving far away. Something even worse, however, that person moves away without giving you some way to contact him/her and that person becomes nothing more than one of your greatest memories. Another thing that would scathe me is losing the life of one of your greatest friends. I have been scathed because both have happened to me. Sadly you just have to move on in life.

My Blog of Awesomeness

10/31/06
Disillutionment

There have been a lot of cases where I felt disillutioned about raandom things. A main case of this would be with video games. They advertise games on cmmercials to make them seem really fun. But when you buy them some are just overrated. Another BIG case is with some previous friends. They seemed really nice at first but when I got to know them better, I learned that they were only nice on the outside. The thing is though, its not that they weren't nice to me, its that they weren't nice to other people and I hate when people are mean to other people.

My Great Thesis

My thesis is going to be on the Japanese religion, Shinto. It seems interesting and fun to learn. Reading these websites will help me to learn more about it.

1. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html

2. http://wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/SHINTO.HTM

3. http://staff.jccc.net/thoare/shinto.htm

My Advantages and disadvantages

I am a little handicapped when it comes to basketball. It is hard for me to shoot a basket every now and then. I'm also pretty fast when it comes to my long legs. This comes in handy when playing basketball and soccer. Back to my hands. I'm actually ambidextrous but I was raised to write with my right hand. However, I can do some things with my left hand that I can't do with my right hand.

Ultimate Blog

1) Your body either gets buried or cremated.

2) I think when you die, you souls get placed in another dimension. When your bodies can no longer function, your soul seeps out of your body. After it enters Another Dimension (this is the name of the place), you have the option of watching life on Earth or to just wander around on Earth.

3) When I die, I would happily give my dead body to science. It could help them on their research of the human body.