8th+Brouhahas+Bk10

= =

Main Characters in this book:
Odysseus- the main character in the //Odyssey// Aeolus- "warden of the winds" (Mandelbaum 191). Gave a sack containing the winds to help Odysseus and his crew reach home Antiphates- king of cannibalistic giants. Ate one of Odysseus' men and tried to capture Odysseus and the rest of his crew Circe- a goddess who tricks Odysseus's crew into consuming a drugged drink and who turns them into pigs Hermes- the messsenger of the gods. Gave //moly// to Odysseus to counteract Circe's spells Hades- god of the underworld Tiresias- the blind seer that Odysseus is to meet in Hades' halls

Main Events in this book:
Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag of winds. Odysseus's crew open up the bag of winds, thinking it was full of gold and silver that Odysseus was hiding for himself. Odysseus and his crew, upon the release of the winds, are thrown back to Aeolus. Aeolus rejects Odysseus and his crew, thinking that the gods hate Odysseus, and makes him leave. Odysseus and his crew sail to Telepylus, only to have one crew member eaten by Antiphates and have gigantic bolders thrust at his ships by cannibalistic giants (the Laestrygonians). They sail to Aeaea, home of Circe. Crew members of Odysseus are drugged by Circe and turned into swine. Odysseus, using the //moly// that Hermes gave to him, is not affected by Circe's drugs and magic. After almost being stabbed by Odysseus, Circe makes a oath not to plot against him anymore. Odysseus and his men, who had been turned back into humans by Circe, spend a year with Circe. Odysseus is told by Circe how to get back to his homeland; through Hades' halls. Odysseus gets ready to travel to the underworld. =The Bireme= In the // Odyssey, // Odysseus would have sailed on a bireme, a type of Greek warship used during the time of the Trojan War. It is debated whether the trireme or the bireme was the ship used in this conflict, but in all likely hood, both types of ships wee used. In any event, the basic qualities both varieties of ship are the same, save for the fact that the trireme sported an extra deck of oarsmen. The bireme was a miraculous piece of engineering developed by the Phoenicians, modified from the original Greek pentacontour. The original design of the ship was modified to accommodate two sets of oars instead of one. The ship was extremely sleek and was designed with speed in mind. It sported a flat bottom that glided easily across the water and a square sail, a feature common among ships of the era.

The bireme's flat bottom made it invaluable in maritime assault, allowing the ship to approach land in water only a meter deep. This was the key factor that allowed the Greeks to establish beachheads when attacking from the water, as they often were. It also allowed the ships to operate in rivers. media type="youtube" key="A46UCkZRnoM" height="282" width="449" align="right"

Another advantage of the bireme was its versatility in terms of propulsion and maneuverability. Odysseus took full advantage of the bireme when Zeus became angry and sent storm winds to destroy his ship. The Man of Many Wiles took down the sails and made use of the oars to escape, demonstrating a primary advantage of the bireme over ships sporting only sails. The sails provided propulsion over long distances. The oars could be used during a storm that threatened to break the sail or during battle where the tight maneuvers and rapid acceleration could be made easier by the use of oarsmen. The ship's adaptations for battle did not end with the oars, however. The bireme sported a pointed ram on the bow placed on the waterline to destroy enemy ships. The greek warships carried soldiers on board that would board the enemy ship when one of two things happened; the trireme (or bireme) would pull up alongside its quarry snapping off the enemy ships oars, or the Greek ship would drive its prow into the enemy ship, locking the two crafts together. One quality of the bireme that was crucial to its success was also one of its major downfalls. The use of massive amount of men that it took to crew the ship meant that a constant supply of freshwater was required, and so the ships needed to remain close to land. The ships would also have to stop every night to rest, because there were no sleeping quarters on board. Voyages across open water were infrequent; however, they could be made using the sail. The sail and the oar in tandem provided a much quicker clip than either alone. This was the preferred method of travel. The bireme eventually evolved into the trireme, with three layers of oarsmen as supposed to two. Cross section of a Trireme

==

By: Alex Choi



 * [[image:cooltext448589558.png width="811" height="45"]]

Hospitality**: Hospitality is displayed in several places in book X. When Odysseus and his men arrived on the island of Aeolia, where Aeolus and his family lived, they were welcomed by Aeolus and treated as his guests. When Odysseus and his men asked for permission to depart and for help in reaching their home, Aeolus gave them leave and also a parting gift. This gift was a sack containing all the winds but the West Wind, Zephyr, which remained free. This allowed the men to sail toward Ithaca very easily, because they had no need to row. Hospitality was again displayed after Circe swore an oath to Odysseus that she would forgo all plots she might have intent on harming him. Circe gave Odysseus and his men food and drink after she had had them bathed and clothed. She then invited the men to stay on Aeaea to gain respite from their sorrows, and they did so, remaining with her for a year.


 * Faithfulness:** Faithfulness is found in one main point in book X. When Odysseus learned that the half of his companions he had sent to explore Aeaea had entered Circe's house and had not returned (they had been turned into pigs), he felt it was his duty to find them. Although Eurylochus, the man who had watched Odysseus' companions enter the house, urged Odysseus and the other men to leave, Odysseus refused to. He traveled to Circe's house to find his companions, explaining, "I cannot forgo/a task so necessary -- this I owe" (Mandelbaum 199).


 * Sacrifice:** The importance of sacrifice is displayed near the end of book X. When Circe tells Odysseus how he is to reach his home by consulting the dead seer Tiresias of Thebes, she gives him instructions on how to perform sacrifices to gain the help of the dead. Odysseus is to enter the realm of Hades and Persephone, and, at a stone at the confluence of three rivers in the underworld, dig a pit and first pour milk and honey, then pour wine, and lastly pour water. Then he was to promise a barren heifer to all of the shades of the dead, and a jet black ram to Tiresias specifically. Finally, he was to sacrifice a ram and a black ewe and pray to the gods Hades and Persephone.


 * The Justice of the Gods:** Although not specifically stated, the misfortunes suffered by Odysseus and his men were the result of the curse Polyphemus asked his father, Poseidon, to lay upon Odysseus. The request the Cyclops had made of Poseidon was that, if Odysseus was to return home, he return battered, with all his comrades lost. Polyphemus had cursed Odysseus because Odysseus and his men had put out his eye in their escape from him.


 * The Importance of Prophecy:** Although it is not emphasized in book X, prophecy does appear in it. When Circe failed to entrance Odysseus with her drugged drink, she exclaimed, "You are surely the man of many wiles/Odysseus, he whom I was warned against/by Hermes of the golden wand" (201). This demonstrated power of prophecy, showing that Odysseus' arrival had been foretold.