Be our guest. The Simpsons. Big Dan Teague

Transcription

1 Be our guest The Simpsons Big Dan Teague

2 The Odyssey, Book IX Dr. R. Rodriguez Man of Constant Sorrow

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5 Xenia = guest-friendship/ hospitality

6 *What is Xenia/Theoxenia? *Xenia in various *The character of Polyphemos *Mē,s vs. Biē Head of Polyphemos, Greek/Roman, ca. 150 BCE. MFA Boston

7 Xenia = guest-friendship/ hospitality Xenos = Stranger Theos = Deity/Divinity

8 Philemon and Baucis, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1658, oil on canvas. The Gallery of Art

9 Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Abraham? When they entered upon him and said, [We greet you with] peace. He answered, [And upon you] peace, [you are] a people unknown. Then he went to his family and came with a fat [roasted] calf. And placed it near them; he said, Will you not eat? Surat Al-Dhariyat: (See also Genesis 18:1-9) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews, 13:2

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11 Pallas Athena now gave to Diomedes, Tydeus son, the strength and courage That would make him shine Among the Greeks and win him glory. Starlight flowed from his helmet and shield, As if Sirius had just risen from the sea Before dawn in autumn, and that brightest of stars Was blazing from his torso and face Instead of from the sky. Iliad 5, 1-9 This was their labor in the crush of bahle. As for Diomedes, you could not tell Which side he belonged to, Greek or Trojan Many as they were, They could not withstand this single Iliad 5, 95-97, Say a prayer to Zeus and take a shot at this man Whoever he is who is bea@ng the daylights Out of the Trojans, some of our best too. It could be he s a god, angry with the Trojans Over some sacrifice. That would be tough. Iliad 5,

12 Then Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, Met Diomedes in no-man s land. Both were eager to fight, but first Tydeus son [Diomedes] Made his voice heard above the bahle noise: And which mortal hero are you? I ve never seen you Out here before on the fields of glory, And now here you are ahead of everyone, Ready to face my spear. Prehy bold. I feel sorry for your parents... No, I wouldn t want to fight an immortal. But if you are human, and shed blood, Step right up for a quick end to your life. Great son of Tydeus, why ask about my lineage? He [Sisyphus] had a son, Glaucus, Who was the father of faultless Bellerophon, Iliad 6, , , 148,

13 Bellerophon = Glaucus grandfather This, I am proud to say, is my lineage. Glaucus, Iliad 6, 217 Bellerophon Slaying the Chimaera, Abraham Jansz van Diepenbeeck, The Warburg Ins@tute Library, london.

14 Diomedes grinned when he heard all this. He planted his spear in the bounteous earth And spoke gently to the Lycian prince: We have old?es of hospitality! My grandfather Oeneus long ago Entertained Bellerophon in his halls For twenty days, and they gave each other Gips of friendship But that makes me your friend and you my guest If ever you come to Argos, as you are my friend And I your guest whenever I travel to Lycia. So we can t cross spears with each other Even in the thick of bahle. There are enough Trojans and allies for me to kill, whomever A god gives me and I can run down myself. And enough Greeks for you to kill as you can. And let s exchange armor, so everyone will know That we are friends from our fathers days. Iliad 6, ,

15 Greek Coloniza?on between BCE

16 Whether they are savage and violent, and without or hospitable to strangers and with minds that are godly. Odyssey 9, we come to you and are suppliants at your knees, if you might give us a guest present or otherwise some gip of grace, for such is the right of strangers. Odyssey 9, Head of Polyphemos, Greek/Roman, ca. 150 BCE. MFA Boston

17 Kylix with symposium scene, Greek ca. 480 BCE. Kalyx-krater with Death of Sarpedon, Euphronios, Greek ca. 515 BCE.

18 Amphora with Blinding of Polyphemos (detail), Greek ca BCE. Archaeological Museum of Eleusis.

19 Odysseus Escaping from Polyphemos under the Belly of a Ram, Roman 1 st or 2 nd c. CE. Bri@sh Museum

20 Head of Polyphemos, Greek/Roman, ca. 150 BCE. MFA Boston Whether they are savage and violent, and without or hospitable to strangers and with minds that are godly. Odyssey 9, 175-6

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22 Mē.s vs. Biē Mē.s = cunning intelligence Biē = violent might

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24 How are the race of the Cyclopes described? How do they live? How does Mē,s defeat Biē in Book 9? Where else have we seen this polarity? What other character from the Homeric epics embodies Biē? Compare Odysseus s experience at the palace of Alkinoös (Book 8), with his experience at Polyphemos cave. How does xenia help Odysseus get home? World Chronicle: Fabulous Monsters, detail of Cyclops, Hartmann Schedel, Think about the main heroes of the Iliad and the Odyssey. What, if any, ancient ideals do they embody? How are they examples of what a hero should be, and how are they not?