Odes

Horace, a distinguished Roman poet, is widely known by his contribution to poetry in the Roman empire. He is a key figure in the latin process of writing because he was one of the first guys to try and rediscover the Greek way of writing and thinking that was once lost through the decline of the Greek hegemony. Horace proved to be an outstanding student, and would eventually consolidate himself as one of the best poets of his time.

Our poet wrote in a style of free verse the arquetype of the wise man. Horace wanted to create a role model to Roman society through his poems. But what made him so famous? Horace was the only guy that could imitate the Greek style, and by now we know that the Romans would give up their entire empire to be the Greeks.

The poetical language used is of great complexity, Horace uses difficutl words and witful transitions because his poetry was not designed for the normal man. He wanted to be read by nobles and to be inspected by the wise. Regarding the themes that the poems undertake, it is all again about Greece and Rome, the parallels that the Romans artificially constructed, the presence of Apollo and Venus, family, duty, honor, and the intrinsic pride that comes from being a Roman.

The warning tone this poem has is that it tells us about spirituality. For Horace, this was the most important characteristic a man should have, and he is not blind, because he understands that Rome is not a very spiritual empire. He depicts in his poems the images of great lords that achieve recognition and satisfaction but that settle with carnal needs, he insists upon searching for the real thing that satisfy us, which are the intangibles of this life.

There are great morals behind the teachings of Horace. He underlines the virtue of the civil role in Romans. That whom is a citizen should have a specific set of moral traits that will function as an example to the others. Civil awareness is of key importance for this author, he underlines the importance of family and political hierarchy.

Beauty for Horace, is reaching that inner state of plentitude. By being a full self sustained individual, a man could achieve beauty. Identity came from Greece, and identity formed plentitude. In a way Horace wants the Romans to remember their lost and forgotten romance with the Greek world that is the missing link for a better Roman society.

In his poems we can find certain things that really make Pindar´s work come into mind; gods, honor, willpower, attitude towards greatness. Horace is a fantastic poet that set the tone for the Latin canon. Without him, the link of Rome and Greece would probably had never been reignited again, which would have been a great trouble to the great Virgil.

Aeneid

Spoiler alert, if you are a virgin to the Aeneid, all shall be cleared with the fantastic Aeneid Rap

If you thought that the universe of great epics ended with the Greeks you are so very wrong. The Roman world dominated Europe in the days of our lord Jesus Christ. Its 400 years of ruling declined steadily with the sacking of the city. But don´t fool yourself, the Romans were not the Greeks, they simply were a civilization that basically acquired all their power by force. The Aeneid is the Roman Odyssey, a great epic that tells the tale of a wise hero in look for a promised land. Let´s talk about it.

Troy is the starting point of the plot. Virgil, our author, decides to make it the origin because it will eventually link the Roman world with the Greek. The Romans envied the Greeks for their intellect and wanted to have a past similar to them. By choosing Troy as the starting point, these two worlds collide.

After all, it is not an epic entirely composed by humans. Just like the Odyssey, gods played a particular role in aiding or trying to destroy a certain character. This is just another way to use Greek infleunce in a text. Also, by doing this, Virgil secured the divine connection between gods and men. In spite of that, the Romans were never really known for their beliefs.

The Aeneid contains another version of the Trojan horse scene. In this one, we are given the Trojan´s point of view. The scene is very well crafted by Virgil: he makes almost all Trojan nobles like the horse, but the only one to see the treachery is the priest, Laocoon. He says that they should not trust a Greek and above all their gifts, the Greeks were a proud civilization that very seldomly gave prizes, so he thought that very probably it was just a tactic to destroy them. He was right

But what does Aeneas search in the Acheronte? I think that he is looking for his destiny. Aeneas was a man that did not have a determined purpose in life and so Virgil gives him that; the divine command that he will have to create an empire and dominate above all other. This quest for identity through Greek means underlines the theory that the Romans were a faceless culture.

In his adventure to conquere the Latium, Aeneas must defeat the warrior Turnus. This is another reference from the Greek world, because from deduction we can infer that Turnus is just the Roman version of Achilles; a fierce and bold warrior that apparently is invincible but had a weak point and human flaw.

Just like Medea, Camilla is the feminist warrior that appears in the Aeneid. She never gives up in her journey to be independent and she also takes a huge place in the war. Camilla represents that woman that appart from independent, can cause big problems to men.

Virgil was entrusted to do this epic by the authorities of the government when he lived. It is a fantastic creation because the author fantastically justified the expansion and creation of the Roman empire through the means of an epic that could generate a patriot feeling. The Aeneid is a socio-political work whose mission is to convince the Roman that he is divine, that he has an origin, and that it is also okay for him to rule above all.

Concept Map

Aesop´s Fables

Since you were a little kid, parents filled you with little stories full of morals. The fable is an extremely short story of animals whose mission is to instruct kids in a moral and intelligent way. Aesop, a Greek writer, became famous by developing many fables that contributed to this didactical manner of teaching.

How are the characters in these fables? Generally the fables only include two or three characters, most characters speak and have human intelligence. Their role in the fable is that they all act as principal characters, this attribute distinguishes fables from other literary works because there is just one scene.

How do the animals talk? They talk in a human manner, with human thoughts, feelings, and reactions. They usually dialogue with another animal, they speak in a very direct manner using simple language.

The most important characteristic of the fable is that it can´t be long. Take in account a kid, if he has to read a big volume of a book, he will refrain from it. But if you give him a small text, he will read it because it is easy and that is a starting point so the kids can start to read.

The moral chararacter is crucial for the animals in the fables because that is the essence of it. If they had no moral conciousness, the animals would just continue to be the irrational creatures they are, nonetheless, Aesop includes the animals as moral entities that have feelings and thanks to that, the fables can be used to shape a society.

Of course all this morality is made because there is a conduct model to follow. The model implies that we should always be good, intelligent, humble, and patient. Why? Because since ancient Greece, the people in power have had the need of vehicles for implanting in a secret way the moral conduct they expect from their citizens.

Which animal do I prefer? I like the mouse because i´ve always been a little kid. The mouse is a symbol for that cunningness that does not need a big body to exist. The little rodent is intelligent and is very aware of his physical limitations. Because he is aware of what he has and what he doesn´t, the mouse can twist things into his way with his intelligence.

Fables that I remember I can really count very ferw. One that I still remember pretty well is the one between the turtle and the hare. This in setting and characters is very similar to Aesop´s fable, the only difference is that this fable is a little longer than the ones read. Their common link is the instructive nature of the text, the animals, and their voices.

If you have a little kid, don´t pass the opportunity to show him Aesop´s work. Recently in youtube, there is a channel that has made a cartoon of every fable... don´t forget to check it out.

Fables are fundamentals to virtue, virtue is necessary for society. This three elements interrelate to create a perfect way of living in which the youth learns proper behavior from adults that have a clear idea of what is good and what is bad.

Pindar´s Poems

Pindar, a lonely boy with a very blurry past created one of the best sets of poems in Greek culture; In this entry we shall analyze his poems regarding sporting events which generated a sense of honor in the Greeks. 

What is the form of the poems? Verse, a structure different from prose but with no apparent metric sequence.

In poetical language, which literary figures can be found? 

"Pero sobre ti la lira de grata voz"

Personification by attributing the capacity of voice to a musical intrument.

We can also find extended metaphors, and an hiperbaton in the text about Aphrodite.

Are there metaphors?

Hades, the final destination for the athletes. This is the place in which they are rewarded. But why Hades? Because it represents the least desired place in which to be. Hades will test the athletes will and tenancy, and will make them reconsider if they will have the strength necessary to enter themselves into the infra-world.

The theme of the poems is definitely honor. This quality is of vital importance in Ancient Greece. Losing your honor meant that you were no longer a complete one self, but a man that is missing his most important mask. Honor represents the virtue and well behavior of the athletes. They participate in sporting events because they want to bring honor, recognition, to their family names. Obtaining the favor of the gods is the ultimate prize. Being oneself with divinity.

Regarding the tone and symbols, the majority of the voice in Pindar´s Poems is a voice of exaltation. The duty of him is to create knowledge of the actions performed by the athlete through his poems. The symbols are very easy to understand. The athlete represents the human composition of the universe: fatal, capable of blunder, but also full of will and effort. On the other hand we can find the gods: the perfect beings that will give a judgement of the athletes’ performance. 

Why sports? Sports were not solely an activity to exercise the body, but a social and athletic way to demonstrate virtue. The sport was not the important thing, but the honor of participating and competing with fellow athletes to prove who is really the supreme being above them all.

Pindar´s fantastic work helps the present worldview to incorporate the universe of sports. he was, in a way, the first sport´s journalist that recorded the adventures of those who with dignity gave their bodies to the gods. 

Medea

We know for a fact that the most dangerous thing in this world is a women in a jealous rage. Beware, they turn nasty and make some actions that are above anything you´ve ever thought. This is the case of a once nice lady called Medea. The wife of the powerful Jason was tricked by his wife after she discovered that he wanted to marry another girl. Boys, don´t ever make a girl jealous for they will eventually take revenge and take everything from you.

The following  represents an in-depth analysis of the key characters of the play.

Medea:

Physically:  Beautiful. She was not Greek, but a slav that was acquired by Jason in the war

Morally: Rational, cold, meticulous.

Type of character: Symbolic and Human

Due to its role: protagonist

Due to its importance: Principal

Jason:

Physically:  A warrior of fearsome strength. Greek.

Morally: Weak, egoist, a very amitious person that is determined to do anything for power.

Type of character: Arquetypical

Due to its role: the prime antagonist

Due to its importance: principal character

Creon:

Physically:  Old but still with vestiges of the athletic warrior body he once had

Morally: Innocent, naive, a devoted father

Type of character: Symbolic

Due to its role: secondary character

Due to its importance: secondary character

It is time to reach the core of the problem. Who is guilty of the tragedy? I´d say that Jason and his selfishness. He already had a good life and a beautiful devoted wife, but that was not enough for him and he cherished the position in Corinth. The betrayal of Jason occurs because he is offered and position and thus, becomes tempted by power.

Is it a punishment or a vengeance the actions performed by Medea? I think that it is vengeance because she organizes everything in a calculated manner so that his actions can inflict psychological damage to his husband. The most shocking scene involves Medea killing his own children. Why would she do this? To communicate that she can do anything to make Jason feel guilty, to state that she is independent and that she also has power in her force. 

Medea marks the first appearence of a feminist figure in Greek literature. She breaks the chains imposed by men and makes bold actions that converted her into one of the key figures in the movement of women power.

Aegeus represents the figure of a devoted father that wants to be the middle ground between two opposing parties. Without a balance, the two counterparts could not have had delivered such a wonderful tragedy.

Could there had been another ending to this literary work? Why, of course there could have been, but the ending scene is so dynamic and deep that I can´t imagine Medea as a wife that would endure the actions of a selfish husband. Medea acted because she had to defend her dignity, an though her actions were harsh, her feeling is in a way, justified. 

The Wasps

Aristophanes was a Greek author that achieved recognition by his satirical works. In this entry we will analize his most famous book, The Wasps, an introspective of the Greek political and justice system by a wealthy family, their servants, and dogs.

What kind of author is Aristophanes? He was a well educated Greek kid that had a clear view of the flaws in the system that he lived in. Thus, Aristophanes decided that the central theme of the majority of his plays would be destined to communicating these flaws in a satirical manner.

Taking this in account we can expect Aristophanes to direct himself into a sophisticated segment of the Greek population that had at least a general idea of their political background and ruling system. The people that read The Wasps, are often in the search of the meaning of justice and the platonic state of fairness. There is a hidden contract behind the plot: by reading this book your inner political dogmas can be challanged, you may be put to justice, you may doubt of the stand you made the day before. It implies an educated reader.

First of all let´s establish that The Wasps has a very strong historical and political foundation. In the middle of the Pelopennisian War, Greece had gotten the upper hand against a weakened Sparta, now, sensing the opportunity to finish the war, Greece supported the reckless King Cleon to go in an all out offensive against their neighbours. The old corrupt king spread his evil seed through Athens, forcing Pericles out of the fray and installing a reign of utter chaos and corruption.


The plot is also heavily influenced by the personal affairs between Philocleon and Bdelycleon. The relationship of father and son limits Aristophanes to use certain endings and also forces him to expand upon their relationship so that the reader can grasp the dichotomy of justice and family. The paradigm to be broken in here is the "father teaches the son". In this case, the son has a wiser an clearer conception of rightfulness.

Of course, the center of the argument relies on justice. What is justice? Can it be relative or is it absolut? Bdelycleon want to unravel the truth about justice to his father and also make him realize that he is an old man obsessed with putting people to trial. The characters are simple intruments employed by Aristophanes to teach a moral play about justice.

The wit behind The Wasps is the absurdity of using a comedy as a lesson about justice. Why a comedy though? A cynical tactic deployed by our playwriter. He is so enraged and frustrated by the regime of Cleon and the corruption in the polis that he decides to mock them by using an often low valued literary form (the comedy) as a bridge to communicate his discomfort.

Justice was absolutely everything to the Greeks in those days. I mean, land and system were the key  to achieve such a great status. Justice meant that the ones in power could condemn those that they despised. Justice was the key that unlocked the door to corruption, that is why it was so cherished by the Greeks. This brings us to another important thought about Philocleon and Bdelycleon...¿is it a love-hate relationship or a justice-injustice one? I would ammend this sentence and state that it  is a love for justice relationship in which Philocleon has a distortioned image of justice because he is obsessed with it. The love of justice is the converging point between the two characters. The problem resides in the ambiguity of the term "justice"; Bdelycleon must drag his father down from the clouds and teach him again the basics of justice.The structure of The Wasps is odd for a comedy, many tragedies have followed this template and it is something to note by Aristophanes. The mise-en-scene used in this play is very sober: very few characters, an animal, and two characters that are surrounded by props such as the house and the jury room.

We can find many examples of Aristophane´s The Wasps in modern culture because he placed the first brick in the creation of the parody. This type of satirical creation focuses on using irony to demonstrate the flaws of a system, person, or thing. Irony has been well used by key figures in the world, most of them well read and outspoken, have mocked institutions and people through parody. Aristophane´s comedy becomes the fixed structure of parody thanks to the importance and repercussion it had on Greek society.

What if the play was published today? It definitely would not have the same impact because the plot is outdated. Cleon is gone from this world and nobody literally gives any attention to the events that happened in the past. But we can take the idea from the comedy and adapt it into a modern justice dilemma with characters that live today. Imagine having The Wasps criticizing the Mexican political system, that would certainly be a very strong card in the fight against our actual government.

The author has given himself a free reign in the structure for this comedy. The Wasps follows a simple linear plot that never mingles itslef with analepsis or prolepsis. Aristophanes had the choice of using this resources but he went straight into the point, a decision that I applaud.

A narrative technique used by our narrator is lyrical poetry. Why did he use it? Because it was the hot thing in Greece at that moment, if you did not use lyrical poetry in your plays, oh boy, you were in trouble. This technique emphasizes on the expression of emotions by the charactes so that the reader can get a bigger picture of the emotional state of mind of that person.

Athens is Greece, that much is known. Athens is the city of wisdom and any other city is not as majestic as it. And this great city, Athens, is a foreshadowing of our actual world. Corruption, vanity, and wealth were in that time the pillars that supported the political regime. We have a brief but complete grasp of Ancient Greece by looking through the eyes of Bdelycleon and by reading the lines of Aristophanes. Th book itself is an expanded metaphor of the lost values and the apalling ways of living that the Athenians so excitedly supported.

I´ve never been a fan of the chorus in plays. They disappeared because in a way it diminished the importance of the character´s roles. By adding a chorus, many loose ends and previously unknown information by the reader is revealed. The Chorus represents a narrator that is an outsider but is always there in the action.

Let´s move on to the characters. Protagonist: Philocleon, Antagonist: Bdelycleon, Principal characters: the servants, the dog, the chorus (wasps). In this play, we have a protagonist that is the father, an old guy obsessed with putting people (and animals) through trials. The antagonist is a good guy, the son of Philocleon, a young man that will inherit Philocleon´s political rights but sees the need to restitute his father with the correct vision of justice before he dies. The other characters are the servants, whom always ten to be of use to their masters.

How are dialogues performed in the play? We see a new movement in dialogue structure in The Wasps. It distances itself from the technicality of the dialogues of the Odyssey in which epithets and airy language is employed, and executes a simple two-way dialogue that makes the play very user friendly. These dialogues between father and son are in fact a metaphor of a dialogue between the just and the unjust, they symbolically represent these attributes.

It is important to underline the different ideas this text contains, from religious to artistic, social and ethic, but most important political. This is the core of the work by Aristophanes, to communicate a political message disguised by a seemingly simple play.

The audacity in which Aristophanes places symbols is one virtue we have to acknowledge him. The dog as a non-human entity with a trial represents the path of doom that Greece would eventually approach. The figure of the father is the most important figure in Greek culture and because of that Bdelycleon is so determined to save his father.

This work is important to our actual literature because it represent the turning point of play writing with the introduction of the first parody. The Wasps is a comedy that will live on because it is timeless. Change the time, change the setting, and change the characters, but the idea of an evil corrupted regime and a small rightful figure will never cease to exist.

The Odyssey

The Odyssey, in a few words, can be described as Homer´s masterpiece. Ancient Greece provided modern culture with the appropiate fertile land in which new literary works could be created. The magic of it is that it still lives on due to the phenomenom of intertextuality and its own story line. This epic novel attributed to Homer, represents the foundations of our actual literature, therefore we owe it reverence and respect.  Here lies a brief analysis of this awesome work.

(If you have no idea what this book is about, please refrain from reading and first at least take a sneek-peek at this eerie summary. To Summary and beyond

Is Homer really the actual author of this book? Or could there be various writers in The Odyssey? By reading the novel, one can deduce that there are several people involved in the writing process. First of all, Homer detaches himself from the creation of the story line by admitting that he is just an instrument to publish the story. On the other hand, there are various styles of writing in the book that suggests that there are many people behind the literary work.

The implicit readers of this book are definitely the Greeks, there was no room for anybody else. The mighty Greek culture, with their air of superiorness and bravado, could only design a book like this to be read solely by the Greeks. The horizon of expectations that Homer approached was one of teaching. Through The Odyssey, Homer believes that he can teach the Greeks lessons of divinity and cunningness, let´s not forget that The Odyssey is a book of religious nature that sought to pass on the actions of great heroes and gods.


The book itself is a marvelous example of the use of flashbacks. We know throughout the novel that Odysseus misses 20 years with his wife, Penelope. At the beginning, Odysseus is just around 27 days away from reaching home, nevertheless, by using a flashback he retells his tale that involved a 10 year delay from reaching Ithaca. So in fact the action that takes place in The Odyssey is a very small period of time in comparison to the other 10 years that Odysseus spent wandering in the midst of the Aegian Sea.

There are many elements of Ancient Greece that can be found in the book, but we can mainly spot two different Greeces: The one before the Troyan war, and the one after it. Before the war Ithaca was a peaceful place, Aquiles was alive, Helena had not betrayed his Troyan husband, and the Greeks had yet not proved themselves as the best warriors. After the war, Ithaca is torn apart as well as families, because of this Odysseus strives for going back home.

Homer belonged to a particular group of writers that were in charge of recording events by singing them in a kind of lyrical way. The Odyssey of course, is not a plot entirely devised by him, but in spite of this he became famous because he was the first one to write it down. Traditionally, these type of stories would go from person to person in an oral manner.

The chief antagonist...Why Poseidon? He becomes the direct enemy of Odysseus when he blatantly cursed the sea in his name when he set sail from Troy. By doing this, our hero defied the holiness of the gods and so he received a punishment.

What is the importance of the city? In Greece, the city was everything: your homeland, your birthplace, the land in which you grew up and that you must eventually maintain and protect. Loosing your city is something deplorable because it means that you are not worthy of having one. On the other hand, the value of the individual is very underlined in the Odyssey. Being cunning and a good leader will help you achieve virtues that are of great value in Greece.

Let´s explore the technical details of the poetry. How is it organized? By Books (24) and verses, a very simple and old fashioned arrangement that does the trick. The organization of the events is pretty simple too: it first follows a straight present line (arrival to the Phaeacians), then the introduction of an analepsis that narrates the previous 10 years, and finally the continuation of the present line by entwining it to the return to Ithaca.

Questions regarding the action: ¿Is it a book of adventures? ¿What do these events represent? ¿How do I relate it to my context? Of course it is a book of adventures, let us say that it narrates the greatest adventure of all time. Also it is important not to forget that the adventures represent a stronghold of moral teachings. The events represent the constant search for home, the ultimate destination and how a man with great intelligence can virtually solve anything. Finally, the link between The Odyssey and our actual world is that to accomplish something, you must be courageous, smart, and patient, we can translate those values from the book to nowadays.

Is it men against gods or gods and men? I believe it is gods and men, because gods come in firsthand. They take the important decisions and never pass an opportunity to demonstrate humans that the real power resides in them. Men are not against gods, actually i think it is some men with their gods against other men with their respective gods. Thanks to this dichotomy in the The Odyssey, we can acquire a great and complete view of the Helade.

There are always other ways in which to represent ideas. We use actions to grant the reader a view of the idea we want to share. Actions are servants to the idea, that is a law. So there are always other ways. Nonetheless, the quality of a certain action can enhance the impact of the idea and the degree of comprehension. Taking this in account, the climax of The Odyssey is pretty well conococted.

The climax is a paradigm to be broken. True enough; the platonic idea of a book is itself having a single climax. Regardless of this, the new conception of the novel is that it can contain more than one climatic point. I agree with this theory because I can think of several point in the story line that can accomplish themselves as climatic points. The equilibrium between these points is the key to a well structured argument. Separate the points, give the novel space to breath, make the novel an up and down voyage, play with the characters, enter plot twists, but don´t suffocate it.

Two of the most important literary techniques incorporated in the Odyssey are the inclusion of the flashback and the flashforward. Taking the reader to a trip to the past clears the fog of many present events, whereas taking an insight to the events of the future is a perfect resource to include dramatic irony and foreboding.

We have talked about time but not about space. In the book, Odysseus takes his crew to a visit into the Hades (a.k.a Hell). Why did Homer include this episode? The opposition of two totally different worlds is the key to emphasize the characteristics of the real world. Also, Homer uses this opportunity to tie loose some ends from the Illiad. Another vital space for the Greek is the sea. It compromises the most important way of communication; a city without sea is not a complete one.  Space as homeland is the final attribute of space in Homer´s work. There is no nation without land and Odysseus firmly believes that he will finally be himself again in a complete manner when he rescues Ithaca from the suitors.

Some thoughts about Homer...Why does he never talk for himself? Because he is just an instrument used to translate the poem from oral way to written. He did not create the adventures of Odysseus so he feels just responsible for making a faithful narration of it. Some people may argue that having a narrator who is also a character provides a better insight to the story and its dynamic. I believe that Homer as an outsider provides an even better, non-biased point of view that takes in account the entire staff of characters. The beauty of The Odyssey is that it compromises the three pillars of literature: poetry, narrative, and theatre. It combines fantastic characters in a poetic language that can be represented in a play.

A worldwide maxim: There is no epic book without epic characters. The importance of a goody-goody character like Odysseus is vital in this book because it provides a role model for the Greek civilization in terms of conduct, leadership, and honor. Odysseus is cunning and strong, he can fight and he can outwit his opponents. He has certain flaws, but after all he is human and not a god. The gods represent an entirely different aspect of characters. The gods are the masters of puppets in The Odyssey, they decide and fight for their favorite humans. What the gods  say, that shall be done. My favorite character is Argos, the faithful dog is the only one that recognizes his master. That touch of fidelity is for me a climatic point of the book, it really is a touching scene that comes from a creature with no rationality but pure will.

Is the story line more centered towards the gods or men? I think it is all oriented towards the gods because they are the ones that ultimately decide. Men are fragile and also the creation of the gods, so somehow, the humans are subjugated to the arbitrary force of the gods.

Some aspects worthy to mention: intelligence and technology. What is their importance? Intelligence is the key to each and every small step that Odysseus makes in order to reach home. He is always wise when dealing with problems, specially when handling the situation with Polyphemus. Technology appears in different manners: navigation, boatcraft, sewing machines, weapons, etc...

The converging point of all the points is without a doubt Ithaca. The city of Odysseus becomes the talisman that guides and encourges him to come back home. Ithaca represents the ideal Greek city with a mighty king and a powerful legacy.

In conclusion, The Odyssey functions as the standing ground of western literature. It is of enormous importance to literature due to the magnitude of influence and the repercussion it has had throughout the years. Trying to picture the world of books without Odysseus is impossible. I liked the book, it is entertaining and instructive, it has a fantastic plot that is well exploited and the narrative never gets in a gritty mood. It was all I expected  and much more.