Narration and all graphics by Emily, a 7 year old girl. Official selection, Nashville 2008 Film Festival

The Odyssey has become a literary right of passage in Western education. Every year countless young minds depart their classrooms and take to the sea, barely avoiding a cyclops, sirens, and sea monsters as they journey home from the Trojan War alongside the brave Odysseus. This common experience occurring in high schools nation wide allows students to understand and take ownership in a cultural cornerstone. While reading the Odyssey has been such a common experience, the high school projects, creative responses to and interpretations of the text, have rarely escaped the doldrums of administrative filing cabinets. But with the rise of social networking and media sharing, these reactions are now added to a growing collection of Odyssey-inspired creations. While notorious as projects that are mundane or amateur, this conglomeration of web-based student responses illustrates the collectivity of reading a classic work, the impact the text has on its readers, and the power of engaging diverse minds with a single task. Students re-live the narrative in their own way through video adaptations, embarking on their own off-the-page odyssey, and Odysseus as he exists in the mind of his readers thrives and modernizes in virtual immortality.

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Myth and Fact. poseidon Our hero’s story begins in Troy. After a long siege he comes up with the idea for the Trojan Horse. They defeat Troy, battle over, and he can return home. That is the myth. The fact behind this myth is somewhat different. There was a conflict between Greeks and Trojans but not over a beautiful woman. The conflict was over control of the straights of the Dardanelles – which would allow the occupying city-state control over the flow of goods from Asia to Europe. Troy existed at a historically important place right at the end of these straights. Place is the reason that the historically accurate war began and place is the reason the Odyssey exists. Land and who occupies it is the cause of much of the world’s history and a source of legends. According to 20th century research -- I specifically site Stanford geophysicist Amos Nur’s findings* – an earthquake destroyed the city of Troy. Let’s connect this back to the myth. Poseidon is the god of the sea, as we were all taught in middle school. However, he is also the God associated with Earthquakes and horses. Myth and fact intertwine; the earthquake destroys Troy, which would have been attributed to Poseidon, in the myth the earthquake is turned into a horse, also associated with Poseidon. One can see the factual dilution into myth. Poseidon is also the god whose wrath inhibits Odysseus from reaching home and creates a tumultuous journey for our hero. Interesting that the God of the earthquake, which destroyed troy, should make it difficult for the man credited with the idea and success of the Trojan horse to return home with the glory. Perhaps Homer and other storytellers noted the hubristic nature of a man taking credit for a god’s work. That hubris was reason enough for our hero to go though hell – literally. (Following the Poseidon vein.) The Cyclops was the son of Poseidon. When the Cyclops is defeated and humiliated by Odysseus, Poseidon would again take personal insult to this and cause more trouble for our hero. Poseidon versus Odysseus is a major theme throughout the poem. Odysseus is in the realm of the sea, Poseidon’s place. He is subjected to Sea monsters, Syllica, and the Sirens, both connected to Poseidon. He is plagued by storms, foul weather and unfortunate currents. His fleet is no match for Poseidon and is destroyed little by little during his journey. But, Odysseus was blessed by the help and hand of Athena – a goddess who was historically the divine rival of Poseidon as far as worship in Athens was concerned. The unseen and unspoken connections between myth and fact and also the connections in the Odyssey itself are interesting to me. Though very brief I hope that my little analysis of Poseidon in the Odyssey was an interesting one! * http://www.stanfordu.edu/dept/news/pr/97/971112nur.html

“And in my view, nothing one can see is ever sweeter than a glimpse of one's own native land.” As I read these lines, I could not help but think of Dorothy tapping her red ruby slippers saying, “There’s no place like home” over and over again. The Odyssey follows a man’s journey back to the place he wants to be most, home. It takes him 20 years from war to the journey back, but he perseveres. On the journey Odysseus meets goddesses and finds lands that some would call paradise, yet his mind is set on returning home. It would be easy for him to stay in relationships with these goddesses, where he would be treated like a king for the rest of his life, or eat the lotus plants and forget about home. But for the 20 years, Odysseus and his crew dream about returning to Ithaca. “When Calypso, that lovely goddess, tried 40 to keep me with her in her hollow caves, longing for me to be her husband, [30] or when, in the same way, the cunning witch Aeaean Circe held me in her home filled with keen desire I'd marry her, they never won the heart here in my chest. That's how true it is there's nothing sweeter than a man's own country and his parents, even if he's living in a wealthy home, but in a foreign land away from those 50 who gave him life.” Odysseus’ heart remained in Ithaca, and for that reason we have the great tale of the Odyssey. In the same way it always feels great to return home when I’ve been away. Even when my family and I go on vacation for a week to a Caribbean island, after a while we get a little tired of the sand and sun, and miss home. My home will always have my heart, maybe not all of my heart since I now live in other places for the majority of the year, but my home will always have a good piece of my heart. I thought I would just write something short for the first post.

The modern hotel serves as a hedge against inhospitable hosts. We know that we can arrive in a city of strangers without being reliant on anyone’s courteous nature. This has made it much easier to travel and maybe tainted the mystique. No more death/robbery/trust = more tourists with fanny packs not meeting ill fates. Nevertheless, ancient times still necessitated travel, and as such required travelers to take risks. Odysseus insists on meeting the Cyclops – that despite real risk, “I was keen to see the man in person and find out if he would show me hospitality” (9: 305-306). In Greek tradition, hosts were responsible not only for a guest’s comfort but also for guiding him safely to his next stop. This explains why Circes offers to “show [Odysseus his] course and tell [him] each sign to look for” along the way, fulfilling her role as a proper host (12: 28-29). For Odysseus, finding a new host is a way to stock up on food, supplies and information, all of which make it worth taking a chance.

Thinking of Odysseus’ travels, I’m reminded of an image from Anthony Bourdain’s travel show. The scene consist of him sitting, film crew and all accompanying, in a Lao village house eating with a local family. I couldn’t help but wonder, “How much did he have to pay them to do that?” While such behavior might appear contrived today, it in fact had a vital role in travel during past times. This extension of trust was a necessary function of any voyage. We have, however, transitioned to contracts in place of trust and as such make travel a more commoditized experience.