CLA 2323 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Erinyes, Philomela, Aegisthus
30 Jun 2018
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Department
Course
Professor
Winged beasts or Fishy Femme
Where do the myths come from?
Why were they feared?
Who were the sirens?
Why did their stories become legends?
Inspiration ripped off by the Greeks from the Egyptians
Took Odysseus 10 years after the end of the trojan war
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Nostos - means "homecoming"
Known in Greek myth for seducing sailors with their sweet voices, and lure them
to death
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Mentioned in homer's Odyssey, where Odysseus encounters them
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Sirens - beautiful but dangerous
When Persephone was secretly abducted by Hades, Demeter gave them the
bodies of birds to assist in the search
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Sirens depiction in the myth came from Persephone's abduction
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Siren then settled on the island of Anthemoessa - 3 small rock islands
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Sirens were monstrous sea-nymphs - handmaidens of the goddess Persephone
Odysseus outsmarted the sirens by asking his crew to put on bee wax so that they can't
hear them and tie Odysseus up so that he cannot escape.
Expression describing a dilemma
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A problem offering two unrelated pro
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Greek: meaning 'double proppostion'
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"Between a Rock and a hard place"
Bird personifications of storm winds in Homeric poems
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Harpy - bad
Guardians of entrances
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Sphinx - bad
Chaotic deities
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Undine - good
Nereids - red coral head dresses - associated with good and royalty
A mermaid is a half-woman, half-fish mythical creature
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A siren is half-woman, half-bird.
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Sirens are considered to be more dangerous with malicious intent
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Mermaids have benevolent natures helping human beings
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Mermaids can be both male and female
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Both are associated with qualities of beauty, seduction, hypnosis, imaginary, dwell
on islands or near oceans, long hair
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Mermaids vs. Sirens:
Nostos - singular - homecoming
Nostoi - plural
Nostalgia - in Greek, means "homesickness" - homepain - longing for home
Guest speaker Caelen Salisbury-White: The Odyssey's "Sirens: episode
More on Odysseus p.143-144
Lecture 12
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
5:29 PM
CLA2323A Page 1
The Cyclops
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The Trip to the Underworld
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The Sirens
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Makes 16 stops on his way back home from the East. The major ones are:
His name is Polyphemus
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With one eye
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Cyclops means "with one eye"
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Cheese made from the sheep
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Odysseus makes a go for it
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Cyclops comes back and closes the mouth of the cave using a boulder
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Told him that his name was Outis = means "Nobody" in Greek
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Whenever anyone asked who did this to you? Cyclops said Outis - which
meant nobody
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Odysseus talked to the Cyclops
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Odysseus blinds him so that the cyclops rolls around and move the boulder so that
Odysseus and his men could escape
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Cyclops is the son of Poseidon
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Poseidon tries to drown Odysseus during the voyage
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Hubris: Odysseus had to say his actual name before leaving the island
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The Cyclops
demi-goddess that turned all the men to pigs but Odysseus outsmarts her
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She falls for him too, but he wants to go back to his wife
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And lets him off with advice for his journey
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Circe- "hawk lady"
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Sea nymph with whom he stays for years
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She wanted him to be her husband
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But he wanted to go to his wife
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Calypso - "hidden/hiding one"
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16 year old princess
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Young maiden - never has been ever intimate
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She saved him from starvation
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She shows him off to the king
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She falls in love with him and asks him to stay and marry her
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But he refuses and wants to go home to his wife
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Nausica - "Burner of ships"
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He encounters women that are really dangerous and are his romantic interests -
He is fated to find Rome
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Starts out with 12 ships - ends up with none but loses 1 or 2 men
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Vergil: writes a poem called Aeneid - about Aeneas
Odysseus returns and finds suitors dining at the expense of Odysseus's expense
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Divinely prompted to Athena
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Penelope (his wife) in Ithaca starts getting suitors
Telemachus - now 20 years old, is sworn to secrecy by Odysseus to meet him
Eumaeus - his loyal friend
Disguised himself as a beggar to enter the palace.
Telegonus = Circe + Odysseus
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Odysseus's death will come from the sea:
More on Odysseus p.143-144
CLA2323A Page 2
Document Summary
Guest speaker caelen salisbury-white: the odyssey"s "sirens: episode. Inspiration ripped off by the greeks from the egyptians. Took odysseus 10 years after the end of the trojan war. Known in greek myth for seducing sailors with their sweet voices, and lure them to death. Mentioned in homer"s odyssey, where odysseus encounters them. Sirens were monstrous sea-nymphs - handmaidens of the goddess persephone. When persephone was secretly abducted by hades, demeter gave them the bodies of birds to assist in the search. Sirens depiction in the myth came from persephone"s abduction. Siren then settled on the island of anthemoessa - 3 small rock islands. Odysseus outsmarted the sirens by asking his crew to put on bee wax so that they can"t hear them and tie odysseus up so that he cannot escape. Bird personifications of storm winds in homeric poems. Nereids - red coral head dresses - associated with good and royalty. A mermaid is a half-woman, half-fish mythical creature.
