Odysseus and his Battles

Odysseus fights physical battles, slaying the Cyclops was one such battle we read about this week. It is easy to get caught up in the theatrics of the epic: monsters and seductresses, strange lands and customs. 

For a moment, let's think about some ideas or concepts might be running underneath these fantastic creatures and events. Why is Odysseus going through such things? What are the psychological and spiritual elements of both reckoning and potential growth?

Oh Those Epithets....

Homer uses the epithet to identify the characters of the Odyssey by their specific traits or attributes. Athena is often called for example "grey-eyed Athena" and Odysseus, "lion-hearted Odysseus." 

For this post select three people in your family and create epithets for them.

In my family I have:
Kemper, man of gentle voice and spirit
Fiery-fisted Rush
Ella, giggling woman of compassion
Tullah, woman of wisdom and strength

Now it's your turn. Be creative!

Connecting to Persepolis

After watching the film Persepolis, think about the ways in which you can relate to Sarjani, the main character.

Identify one aspect of her story that you can relate to. Summarize her experience in no more than two sentences, and write three sentences that explain how it relates to your own life.