The The OdysseyOdyssey Bks. 13-14 Bks. 13-14

Xenia

Lies and Deception

Xenophobia

The Importance of the Sea

Tie-ins with 5th Century Greece

XeniaXenia or “What Can Strangers or “What Can Strangers Do For You”Do For You”

Xenia – one of, if not the, most important rules of the Homeric world

Greeks expected to follow its rules

- wine and dine

- bath and clothes

- questions after dinner

Xenia in ActionXenia in Action

Alkinoos to Odysseus– “gold in various shaping of adornment…let

each man add his tripod” etc.

A Ship and Crew– Xenia had many physical forms

Xenia even when known to be wrong– Pg. 235: Alkinoos’ father predicted the

destruction of the ship, yet Odysseus taken in anyway

Xenia in Action IIXenia in Action II

Eumaios to Odysseus

- Proper manner of xenia? Does Odysseus act properly?

- “polutropos” again Zeus again, as guardian of all wayfarers,

strangers, and guests– Pg. 261 “Zeus grants us this and that, or else

refrains from granting, as he wills; all things are in his power”

Hesiod Works & Days 1-10Hesiod Works & Days 1-10

“Muses of Pieria who give glory through song, come hither, tell of Zeus your father and chant his praise. Through him all mortal men are famed or unfamed, sung or unsung alike, and easily he brings the strong man low; easily he humbles the proud and raises the obscure, and easily he straightens the crooked and blasts the proud, Zeus who thunders aloft and has his dwelling most high.”

Odysseus LiarusOdysseus Liarus

Fact: Odysseus lies– Is everyone else doing it?– If so, why?

Fact: Odysseus lies A LOT– “I’m from Krete.” (common motif) – Aeneas– “Nobody.”– “I’ve been to Egypt.”– “No, I didn’t eat the moly.”

Question: Is who you are really important? – Gods + disguises + feelings = xenia

Lies versus DeceptionLies versus Deception

Is there a difference between lying and deceiving?

Who Lies: Odysseus, Penelope, Athena

Who Deceives: Odysseus, Penelope, Athena, Eurykleia, Kirke

XenophobiaXenophobia

xenos = “stranger” + phobos = “fear” People Phaiakians represent turning point in

Greek thought no more Mr. Nice Guy (pg. 235) why does Zeus allow the destruction of

the Phaiakians’ ship?– Is the harmony of the gods more important

than xenia?

The Importance of the SeaThe Importance of the Sea

Almost all of Bk. 13 involves water

- Phaiakian ship w/ Odysseus

- Anger of Poseidon

- Telemachus is still across the sea

- the cove of Phorkys Greeks have a special relationship to the

sea CYA Summer 2005: class on Paros

The Importance of the Sea IIThe Importance of the Sea II

Mastery of the sea VERY important– Lack of winds gets Agamemnon killed– Sea god angry, you don’t get home–Menelaus to Egypt, Ajax on the rocks,

Aiolus totally blowsMastery of the sea STILL very

important to Athenians and modern Greeks

3,355 Greek-owned cargo ships

171,600,000 metric tons

18.3% of all world shipping

48% of all EU shipping

50,949 sq. miles (with 2000 islands)

roughly the size of Alabama

population of 10.6 million (or that of Michigan)

.002% of the world’s population

AS OF JUNE 2003

The Sea in the 5The Sea in the 5thth Century Century

Battle of Salamis– Greeks messed up them Persians real good

Athens gets an empire– Supreme fleet allows expansion, trade, and

political influence all over the Aegean Athens and Sparta bound to tie (at first)– Athens can’t blockade Sparta, Sparta can’t

blockade Athens Athens can go anywhere at any time– Thessaly, Sicily, Crete, Africa, Asia Minor

The Athenian Empire

The Major PlayersThe Major Players

The Battles (Quick View)The Battles (Quick View)

XeniaXenia in the 5 in the 5thth Century Century

-The unity of the Persian Wars is gone-Sparta has gone even more isolationist-Athens has a multi-national empire

- “might makes right” - Zeus’ answer to Poseidon (pg. 234):

“But if some mortal captain, overcome by his own pride of strength, cuts or defies you,are you not always free to take reprisal?Act as your wrath requires and as you will.”