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The Greek Song Culture with Reference to Odyssey
The Homeric epic, Odyssey, begins with the invocation of the muse. The muses are the goddesses of total recall. Their name is “a reminder” since in earlier times, poets had to recall then recite events since the tales were not written down. The importance of memory and recognition is a central feature in Greek song culture. The film Chunhyang gives an insight to ancient Greek song culture. Although each of these stories is from a different culture, the themes and symbolism are the same and central in both cultures. Both of these tales sêmainô in order to show the connection between lovers.
The importance of recalling events is an integral aspect of Greek song culture. By watching the film Chunhyang, one can gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of metonymy. Metonymy is an expression by means of a connection. In the film, Chunhyang and Mongryong exchange gifts – Chunhyang gives him a jade ring and he gives her a mirror. These gifts are little memories of each other. The connection between two individuals is shown through sêma. The jade ring is one of the clearest symbols in the movie. Jade represents love in Eastern cultures. It is fitting that the ring is made from jade since the exchange of gifts is a symbol of the love they share for each other. In addition, jade was thought to preserve the body after death and could be found in the tombs of emperors. The jade ring given to Mongryong by Chunhyang is a sêma for both definitions of the word; it is a physical symbol of their trust and a physical representation of the tomb of a hero. Mongryong achieves his kleos by becoming a high ranking official and saving Chunhyang’s life. The mirror is another sêma. A mirror shows reflection and this reflection is of the memories that were shared between Chunhyang and Mongryong. A person can reflect on past events and build connections between places, objects, and people. The signs that people give to each other are important for recognition and building relationships
The importance of sêma can be seen in the Odyssey as well:
So you see I know all about this sign [sêma], and I desire to learn whether it is still there, or whether any one has been removing it by cutting down the olive tree at its roots.
Literature shows us the changes of our society from time to time. It also gives us an idea about people, culture, politics, gender traditions, as well as an overall view of previous civilizations. As a part of literature, poetry introduces us to different cultures with different perspectives. Ancient Egypt and ancient China may differ in terms of culture, politics, economic stability, tradition, or even in religious belief. However, in poetry, especially in love lyrics both Egyptian and Chinese poems portray common area of describing women, social attitudes toward love, sexuality and the existence of romance or selfishness in relationships. . If we look at the Egyptian poem “My god, my Lotus” and the Chinese poem “Fishhawk”, we will see both poems have similarities in describing relationships. Also, they have the similarity of imagining the lovers and their expression of love toward each other. However, both poems have some significant differences in terms of representing female sexuality, gender disparity and the display of love.
There are three signs in the Odyssey which are quite significant to the epic and are symbolic of different things. The first sign is the scar, the second sign is the bow and the third sign is the bed.
but he is the only one who can discern the proper course of action in the
Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, is a heroic narrative that follows the adventures of Odysseus, the powerful King of Ithaca. The main story involves Odysseus’s return journey to his homeland after the Trojan War. However, Homer skips around in the action periodically to give the reader a better understanding and interest in what is going on in the epic. Homer takes his audience from the present action involving Telemakhos’ search for news of his father’s return, to the past where Odysseus tells the Phaiakians of his tragic journey home after the war. The events in Homer’s epic are not in order but still prove more effective at guiding the reader through the narrative. Although the events in the Odyssey are not in chronological order, the story line is enriched by Homer’s use of the in media res method because it introduces characters that were not involved in Odysseus’ adventure, because it shows the urgency of Odysseus’ return to his kingdom, and because it allows the reader to become more interested in the opening chapters without having to wait for a climax in the action.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
In book eight of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is on the island of the Phaeacians and is waiting to return home to Ithaca. Meanwhile, Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, has arranged for a feast and celebration of games in honor of Odysseus, who has not yet revealed his true identity. During the feast, a blind bard named Demodocus sings about the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. The song causes Odysseus to start weeping, so Alcinous ends the feast and orders the games to begin. During dinner after the games, Odysseus asks Demodocus to sing about the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy. This song too causes Odysseus to break down and cry. Homer uses a dramatic simile to describe the pain and sorrow that Odysseus feels as he recalls the story of Troy.
The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reinterpretation of the epic poem The Odyssey. The Coen brothers, writers and directors of the film, did not over analyze their representation. “It just sort of occurred to us after we’d gotten into it somewhat that it was a story about someone going home, and sort of episodic in nature, and it kind of evolved into that,” says Joel Coen in Blood Siblings, “It’s very loosely and very sort of unseriously based on The Odyssey” (Woods 32). O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains ideas from The Odyssey for the sake of modernization and entertainment of an audience that comprehends the allusions to the epic. The Coen brothers utilize elements of Homer’s The Odyssey to improve and to give direction to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a reinterpretation which was made simply to show that an epic-adventure such as The Odyssey could be modernized to apply to modern times.
The epic poem called The Odyssey, which was written by the poet Homer, is one of the many classical stories from Ancient Greek culture. It tells the story of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and his journey back home from the war with Troy, which had occurred in Homer’s other epic Greek poem, The Illiad. Odysseus faces many trials and quests in his journey home and to take back his kingdom from the suitors, such as meeting the witch Circe, blinding a Cyclops named Polyphemus, dealing with Poseidon, and staying with the goddess Calypso. The poem has many themes that are relevant to it. One such theme is the factor of redemption. Redemption is usually a typical subject in any kind of religion, like the Greek religion and Christian religion. The story of Odysseus has an underlying message of him receiving redemption from the Greek gods. The Odyssey is a tale of redemption because it deals with Odysseus being forgiven by the gods after having to go through many trials and wrongs to rightfully claim back his wife and the throne of Ithaca.
book takes place in, is called to action and set in motion on his Hero
In conclusion, the “Odyssey” is one of the greatest literary works ever known and this literary analysis should help the reader to understand the important components of the novel such as theme, characters, relationships, symbols, motifs, literary devices, and tone.
Odysseus is often times considered a hero for triumphing, for living through the many challenges that he has to face over the course of The Odyssey. He defeats the mighty cyclops, he braves years away from home fighting one battle after the other and makes it home alive. Many times he has the chance to give in to death, to end his suffering, however he doesn’t take his chance and he continues fighting. He survives. However Homer doesn’t put it in that light, he doesn’t centralize the idea of life in The Odyssey but rather the idea of death, and all that it brings, or fails to bring.
The tone in the beginning of this book is very frantic; it starts out with Eurycleia rushing through the hallways and into Penelope’s room to inform her of the good news. The old nurse tells Penelope that Odysseus is indeed back home to Ithaca. At first Penelope couldn’t believe it but when she was reassured she cry tears of joy. The tone then shifts to a calmer one, even a little harsh. When Penelope sees Odysseus in person she seems to show no emotion at all. The reason for all this is because she fears the Gods are playing a trick on her or maybe Odysseus is no longer the man he used to be. With these assumptions she keeps a distance from her husband. But then Odysseus proves himself to his wife by describing their bedstead in deep detail, with this Penelope is reassure that Odysseus has not changed after all these years. The tone then changes to a more happy and joyful one to go along with their reunion as husband and wife.
Women play an outstanding large role in "The Odyssey" by the Greek poet Homer, although it is much of a tale of a man's heroic quest."The Odyssey" by homer is majority move around Odysseus's quest to return back to his home and wife, Penelope, so that he may be reunited with her someday and take control over his place, which was overrun by suitors. In the presence of the many suitors, Odysseus's son, Telemachos attempts to regain authority but he finds this difficult and he started his own journey under the guidance of Athena. The most parts of the story of "The Odyssey" focus upon the adventures of Odysseus as he endeavors to get back home, which he finally does in the end.
Greek mythology deals significantly with culture and its factors, as they describe the societies and the people inhabiting it by depicting their everyday life and the state of their land. Both Hephaestus, in Homer’s Iliad, and Odysseus, in Homer’s The Odyssey, set out to portray the cultures that they saw, yet the cultures and societies varied greatly, from Hephaestus illustrating the highly developed societies of the Greek and their culture; while on the other hand, Odysseus seems baffled by how underdeveloped the Cyclopes land and culture is. Hephaestus and Odysseus seem to have the same understanding what is normal of a culture, society, and their factors; however, there are noteworthy variations between their accounts.
Throughout the story The Odyssey there are many themes that represent major parts of the story. The main theme that stood out to me is love which includes loyalty. “Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; or a sexual passion or desire” (dictionary.com). “Loyalty is defined in the Webster's dictionary as faithfulness or devotion to a person, a cause or a duty” (Webster’s dictionary). Through these definitions, it can be expressed that loyalty and love are major themes in Homer's epic, "The Odyssey". Love and loyalty shows relationships that are between two people. The few relationships that represents love and loyalty is between husband and wife Odysseus and Penelope and also between father and son Odysseus and Telemachus. These relationships shows more than just love and loyalty though, their relationships also shows compassion, sympathy and the need to be in each one another’s lives.