Week Two: HOMER
Odysseus: Justice and the Calculating or Rationalistic Hero
September 19, 8 PM -9:30 pm
Odysseus is celebrated for his cleverness and resourcefulness, yet also condemned—by Achilles among others—for his selfishness and deceitfulness (Iliad 9.308-314). Odysseus makes it back home from Troy, but alone—all his men perished. We consider the cautious or distrustful (even wily) character Odysseus shows, especially with respect to the gods—such as his “testing” of their support for justice (Odyssey 9.173-176, 9.259-262, 9.266-271, 9.551-555)—in the context of his encounter with the cannibalistic Cyclops. What qualities of mind and heart does Odysseus show in escaping the Cyclops and saving (some of) his men? What deficiencies does he show in wisdom or self-awareness while escaping from them? Does he unnecessarily risk the lives of his men (for example, by angering Poseidon)—and why? What leads Odysseus to believe that Zeus will punish the Phaeacians for their apparent injustice (13.213-214), given that Zeus did not punish the Cyclops? Does Zeus treat the Phaeacians justly? Are there limits to the powers of the gods, or are they “able to do all things” (10.306)? Is belief in support for justice necessary for belief in these gods? in any god (1.32-34, 24.347-352)?