follow up discussion

 Respond to below post one paragraph intext citation and reference. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification. 

Plot Summary:

In this week’s lesson under the section described as periods of literature, a video called “The Odyssey” (Tuttle,2010), provided further insight and meaning into one of the most iconic poems created “The Iliad and The Odyssey”. In summary, the plot of this story begins with the protagonist who is Odyssey. Taking place in a time of war, particularly the Trojan war, Odyssey leaves his home in Ithaca to serve for ten years while leaving behind his wife. Over the years his wife was trying to be convinced by others that he was dead in attempt for them to take over her house.

 In the video, several critics unravel parts of the poem explaining some of the extraordinary adventures and unexpected events that he endured while trying to return home. The events that took place were described as suspenseful and emotional and other times could be funny. Furthermore, setting the tone and mood for the readers. The plot contained a theme that focused on the central idea of a solider who left for war and the spouse waiting home for his return. The irony of this poem is depicted in Odyssey’s adventures that he endured while returning to home because so many unexpected things were happening that caused his delay. This included storms and shipwrecks and even the introduction of other characters such as the cyclops. One of the speakers in the video talked about how Odyssey was known for his intellectual abilities and was able to escape this cyclops who trapped him in the cave after getting him drunk and driving a stake through his eye.

What is believed to transpire when Odyssey returns home to his wife and it is described that he does not recognize Ithaca, sparked a strong connection in me as I too am a veteran who once returned home years after serving. From experience the return to home at first is awkward and takes time to adjust. It was mentioned that this could be seen in Odyssey as well as many soldiers who return home after a period. It was not mentioned that he might have had post traumatic disorder and it was not even known soldiers had that at the time this took place, but it is my assumption that because of the many unexpected events that Odyssey experienced it is likely that he might have had PTSD. “There have been accounts of the nature of combat stress in general (e.g., Blank, 1981, Hendin and Haas, 1984), but Homer’s Iliad (Homer, 1975/ca. 800 B.C.E.) remains an outstanding narrative of toxic combat experiences that appear similar to those reported by Vietnam Veterans with severe, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” (Shay, 1991).

Political Influence:

The creation of the poem “The Iliad and The Odyssey” by Homer, is said to originate during the period of the “Golden Age of Greece”. Also known as the classical period or the Homeric or Heroic Period which is between 200 BCE-400 BCE.  According to Jacobus & Martin (2019), this was a period when literature was a spoken language in that no one thought to write it down but rather it was tradition of memorizing and reciting it (pg. 163). It is also believed to be a time that inspired many writers. While further researching this classical Era, it centered around a period when there was conflict and war. It was the influence of the ending of the Trojan war that inspired Homer to write. “The war began after the abduction of Queen Helen of Sparta by the Trojan prince Paris” (Trojan War, 2019). This sparked the famous Greek poet Homer to create one of the most epic and iconic poems of time. “The poem covers a mere 52 days of the Trojan war between a combined Greek super army and the Trojans, protected by the massive walls of their city, Troy in Anatolia” (Cartwright, 2017). Because of the creation of this poem in this period and what the people were going through it is believed that they could relate to Homer’s poem.

References:

Cartwright, M. (2017, March 10). Iliad. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 25, 2021, from Iliad – Ancient History Encyclopedia (Links to an external site.)

Jacobus, L. A. & Martin, F.D. (2019). The Humanities through the Arts (10th ed., pp.61-62). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Shay, Jonathan. (1991, October). Learning about combat stress from Homer’s Iliad. Journal of Traumatic stress, 4(4). DOI:10.1007/BF00974590. Retrieved from Learning about combat stress from Homer’s Iliad – ProQuest (oclc.org) (Links to an external site.)

Trojan War. (2019, September 11). Retrieved January 25, 2021 from Trojan War – Definition, Summary & Hero – HISTORY (Links to an external site.)

Tuttle, R. (2010). The Odyssey [Video]. Annenberg Learner. Retrieved from Week 4 Lesson: Periods of Literature: Introduction to Humanities-Morris (instructure.com)