2nd+Sons+of+Zeus+Bk+11

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 * The Odyssey of Homer: Book XI **=====

Main Characters:  Odysseus, Hades, Persephone, Theban Tiresias, Odysseus' mother (Anticleia), Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ajax.

==Setting: The land of the men of winter and Alcinous' palace ==

Vocabulary Words: Stupefied- to stun, as with a narcotic, a shock, or a strong emotion Lionhearted- exceptionally courageous or braveexceptionally courageous or brave __[|See images of **lionhearted**] Penis__ __[|Search **lionhearted** on the Web] Pe__ Seer- a person who prophesies future events; prophet Usurp- to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right Scrupulous- punctiliously or minutely careful, precise, or exact Audacious- extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless Dauntless- extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless Obstinate- firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty

General Summary: Odysseus and his men sail to the land of the men of winter. Here they make a sacrifice of a ram and and ewe. Odysseus addresses the prayer to the dead souls. The shadows of the dead then gather around the pit. Many dead shadows interact with Odysseus and crowd around the pit. [|Tiresias,] who warns him of the trouble in his future, but he will eventually return to Ithica. His mother assures him Penelope and Telemachus are safe and still reside in Ithica. The mother of Oedipus, mother of Heracles, and Nestor's mother also come to speak with Odysseus. Suddenly, in the middle of his story, Odysseus stops and we return to Alcinous' palace. Alcinous insists Odysseus rests for one more day before venturing off to Ithica, but Odysseus says he would wait a year if Alcinous wished becaue he is so grateful. Odysseus resumes his story and A[|gamemnon] relays his story of Aegisthus, Orestes, and Clytemnestra. Achilles and Ajax also converse with Odysseus about their deaths. Odysseus then encounters many infamous villians and heros such as Tityus, Tantalos, Sisyphus, and heracles. Odysseus wished to hear more, but the dead shadows were swarming toward the pit and he was forced to board his ship and sail off.

Detective:  Multiple times in this book such as the instances when Odysseus digs a ditch, in describing Tityes, and the time Odysseus describes Iphimedia's sons Ephialtes and Otus that the measurement of a cubit is used. A cubit has many definitons. It started as the distance between a man's elbow and middle finger or the man's forearm. This measurement was often used in the Old Testament and there is conflict on the e xact measurement of a cubit, but agreed on to be between seventeen and twenty-two inches.  The god Hades and the godess Persephone are mentioned and prayed toward in this book. Hades is the more commonly known of the two and is the god of the underworld and of death. When Hades was born, he was immediately eaten by the Titan Kronos. His father, Zeus, and his army defeated the Titans and Kronos disgorged him. With the victory Hades and his siblings divided lands and Hades was granted the dismal underworld. Hades grew lonely and implored Zeus to grant him a wife. Zeus chose Persephone. Persephone's mother, Demeter was furious that her daughter was taken to the underworld and forced Zeus to take her back onto earth. Zeus consented but since Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed in the underworld, she was forced to return to the underworld a small portion of every year. Odysseus prays to Hades andPersephone when he sees the dead of the underworld. Odysseus also mentions the goddess Artemis when he converses with. Odysseus was guessing a way in which he thought Agamemnon could have a died and he guessed that the arrow of the archer Artemis may have found its mark. Artemis was the goddess of hunting and took sides with the Trojans in the war. Odysseus thought that Agamemnon would have only died at the hands of a sk illed fighter, and so he proposed the archer Artemis as a possible killer of his noble friend  . At the end of the chapter Odysseus says that he feared the Persephone may menace him from Hades' halls with Gorgon's head. The Gorgons were terrifying female creatures. Traditionally in Greek mythology, there were three Gorgon sisters, each with hair made of living, venomous snakes. It is said that any who gazed upon any of the sister would be turned to stone. Two of the sisters were immortal (Stheno and Euryale), but Medusa (see picture for link)  was not and she was slain by the hero Perseus. Perseus beheaded Medusa and still her head caused people to turn to stone. Odysseus feared Persephone may show Medusa's head to him when crowds of dead souls in the underworld assembled with a strange outcry. While in the Tartarus, Odysseus encounters those punished for enternity. He sees Tityus, who attempted to <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 82%;">rape Leto and was killed by Apollo and Artemis. As punishement in the underworld, two vultures feed on his liver for eternity. Odysseus also saw Tantalus, who stole ambrosia and nectar and brought it to humans. As his punishment in the underworld, he is cursed with eternal thirst and hunger. Tantalus is tempted by being placed in a pool of water which he can never drink and by fruit placed just in front of him and when he reaches out, they move out of reach. His name is the base for a common english word today, "tantalize." The final victim Odysseus encounters is Sisyphus. While on earth Sisyphus was a navigator, but he was deceitful and killed many travelers. He pleasured in his violating acts and he often deceived even gods. Eventually Ares captures him and ensures his punishment. Sisyphus was condemned to Tartarus and he must roll a heavy builder up a hill, but as he reaches the top, the boulder reverses its course and rolls back down the hill once more.

==<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 82%;">Theme: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 65.6%;"> The major theme in this book is fearfulness. Some examples of this are the people are fearful when Kahron sends the spirits to go and haunt the people. Another example is the pit of blood. Also when Odyssus sails across the ocean and goes into the underworld. These events cause the chracters to become more and more fearfull causing that to be the main theme in this book. Another theme presented in Book 11 is the role of women. Agamemnon remarks, "Long since, the bitter hate of thundering Zeus against the sons of Atreus has used connviving women as his instruments" (Homer p.227). This quote illustrates the role of women in this book as instruments for furthering plots. == <span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #404040; display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 34px; text-align: center;">  <span style="background-color: #ff0000; display: inline !important; text-align: center;">