CantaClassics

oh what a day! all those suitors do is sit and eat, and drink and eat, and sleep and eat, eat and eat! it’s driving me insane! oh how i wish my noble father would come home and rid this house of their presence, but alas he has fallen and gone to hade’s halls and will never cross the thresshold of his own house once again. enough of my childlike meanderings, i’m a man! but a strange thing happend today, as i sat helplessly with the suitors as they ate my oxen and sheep i caught site of a stranger standing at the gate, he was armed only with a bronze spear, which i took from him to store away as i led him to an ordanate chair with a linen cloth spread over so he might be comfortable as he sat and ate his meal, and when he had satisfied his hunger and thirst i questioned him on the werabouts or final resting place of my father odysseus. he told me his name was mentes and that he was bound for the port of temesa to trade iron for bronze but then he told me the most extraordaniry thing, he told me that my father was alive.

_{Catching site of the darkened figure looming about the gate, Telemachus set off at once to allow this stranger into his home.}

_{Shame worn upon his face, Telemachus beckoned in the mysterious, spear bearing man and greeted him according to custom, but though  his face and words spoke of shame, it was an uneasiness that began to ferment within Telemachus.}

_{He offered his guest a beautifully carved chair, which was accepted, and went on to take from the guest his spear, heart quickening, though always being sure to never seem distrusting to the Darkened One.}

_{Away from the Suitors sat Telemachus and his menacing visitor, for Telemachus wished not to offend a guest in his home, unaware of the reaction the Darkened One may give: as such a man couldnt possibly respond kindly if offended by the mindless babble of Suitors.}

_{The maids proceeded with their work, setting meats, breads and wine before the guest, and the Suitors also proceeded with their ways; to eat their fill of food and drink before resorting to music and dance. The music, however pleasant, however relaxing, however loud, could not drown away the gaze of the Darkened One, that gaze set upon Telemachus, whose body and spirit were caving beneath the weight of such eyes…
“How, ah, easy it is for such men to dance,” started youthful Telemachus, “When they live off the life of another…”. Telemachus was silent, fearful of the Darkened One, whos unearthly being seemed to feast on Telemachus’ fear and anxiety.}

_{‘My guest must be displeased’ thought Telemachus, as a sinister grin spread across theDarkened Ones face…}

the suitors burst up and started shouting and saying they wanted to bang penelope, but brave telemachus told them all to shut up and said “for those of you who date my mum, you sure are acting like a bunch of dumb ass’s ok. yea you can eat your food and drink your grogg but shut up and do it quietly because i like this song, oh yea and in the morning i’m calling an assembaly so get some sleep because i’m dam sick and tired of all you greedy suitors comming in and making a fuss, eating all the dam food and wine so you can go and get the hades out ok, go eat your food in someone elses house cause if you don’t i pray that zeus makes restitution for me by destroying you, your house and your dog,” all the suitors were bewildered by this sudden shift in tone and it was a long time before they spoke until Antinous, eupeithes’ son spat back ‘hay you, you can’t talk to me like that, who taught you to speak like that, aye, the god’s? as you are Odysseues’ son you inherit this place, but dam me if you become it’s king” “antionus” said telemachus “it may disapoint you to learn that i would gladly accept the roll of king from zeus, are you saying that thats the worse thing that could happen to me, to more power and athority, it’s not bad to be king, it just that the archeans are simply rank with princes, the’re everywhere like a swarm! but i will succed him as i am master of this house” this time Eurymachus answered telemachus “the gods decide who is to be our king, keep your belongings and be master of this house by all means, i an’t gona stop you, but what of your guest, who is it and where did they come from?” telemachus replied “he was mentes, son of Anchialus and cheiftain of the sea-fairing taphians,”  

Spend some time reading through books 1-5.  Book 5 is the next big one for us, so you need to read that for next week.

 The tale of gracious Pallas Athene’s disasters cast on the Achaean’s return from Troy was soothing to the over-stuffed suitors and they lay in silence listening. The troublesome words reached the ears of Penelope, who flew down from her quarters in a flurry of rage and despair as the tale of her lost husband was too much for her to bear. She broke the silence with her senseless weeping, and instructed their famous bard to leave their present story where it now lies, broken by her interruption. Her pain was too much for one to witness with dignity, as she exploited the silence with her ramblings about her great loss.

Telemachus stepped up and wrenched his weeping mother from her attack on the song. He spoke to her not as a child, but a man. “Shall we not blame our loyal bard for his choice of song, for it is Zeus who has, is and forever will decide the fate of man. Phemius is here to entertain, as the poets of Greece set out to do.  Forget your sorrows and remember the great Odysseus was not the only man to never return, and the many wives who lost their husbands also no longer grieve for his return.

Now your loom and spindle are calling for your touch and your quarters feel strangely cold without your presence. Leave me to the decisions as I am the master of this household and my guidance is needed.

How about a practice test just for fun?  I have attached a test below.  It is open book, but see how much you can remember.  Send me your answers, fax or email.

Odyssey Practice Test

Each of you is going to get allocated an important scene from book one to rewrite in a theme of your choice.  The rewrite is to be published on this blog as a post.  It will be two to three paragraphs long, so you will need to edit the scene to fit.

• Corey rewrite Telemachus’ first meeting with Athene, disguised as Mentes (page 6 line 113 – page 7 line 168)
• Lucy rewrite Penelope and Telemachus (page 11 line 326 – page 12 line 364)
• Sam rewrite Telemachus and the Suitors (page 12 line 365- page 13 line 420)
• Keila rewrite Athene and Zeus (page 4 line 34 – page 5 line 96)

The themes you can use to base the rewrite on are: Horror, Mills and Boon Romance, Lord of the Rings, Science Fiction, Comedy, Soap Opera.  Choose ONE.

Make sure you stay true to the intent of the scene.  Don’t drastically change the story.  Just play around with dialogue and description.

Have fun! (due up on the blog ASAP)

Now that you have finished book one it is time to review it. There are some key apsects of book one you need to take note of:

• This is your first look at the theme of hospitality / guest friendship. How did the Greeks show hospitality and why? Where does it appear in this book one?
• Telemachus is an important character in the first four books of this story (sometimes referred to as the Telemachy). What are your initial impressions of his character? How does Homer portray him?
• Another recurring theme in the Odyssey is the role of the gods. What are you initial impressions of the gods? How do they interfere in the events of book one and why?

TASK

To answer these questions download the document below and answer the questions. Email or fax your work back to me Monday night. For Sam it will be Tuesday night

Book One Analysis

No life of luxury for me.

I live to serve, to give the higher class the luxuries in life, spending a majority of my days chopping wood and helping with the crops, the slave life.

Do not slay him, take him back, work him as a slave’ they said when I was captured so long ago, during the war, taken from those in my family who remained alive. My only hope is that my boy will get a better chance, and not live the life of a slave.

But I must accept my place, and my master is fair to me, compared to what other slaves endure from their masters, and his woman seems nice, though I do not speak with her often.

I would tell you of my day to day accounts, but I have not the exhilarating stories like that of a hero, the trees that I hack are not going to glorify me and I will receive no recognition or glory.

Life and freedom it seems have turned their back on me.