Daniel Soloff
Diane Johnson
Lecture Review
Byron Stayskal is a Classics professor here at WWU. The Classics department has set up various lectures throughout the quarter. Byron’s lecture is on the subject of the Iliad and the Odyssey. This lecture took place in a large lecture hall in Fraser. There were students; some that I recognized from the Ancient Legacy class, there were Classics major students, there were also graduate students and Professors.
The expectation that were held with Byron was that he would be very informative and analytic when it came to the Classics. A little had been mentioned about Byron during the Ancient Legacy class by various students who had been in one of his classes and from Professor Johnson. What was mentioned were nothing but good things. Byron started right on the dot and was very clear about the topics being discussed and was sincere about the nature of the Classic’s series, giving much thanks to Professor Johnson, who put the series together. What stood out most was the energy conveyed by Byron, which made it very easy to understand and to stay on track, alert, and interested.
Byron begins the lecture by speaking in foreign tongue from portions of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He then presents questions about Classic stories and why they last through the years. The questions include: What has made these poems and stories be translated for over two-thousand years? What gives the quality of the Classics? What sort of works are the Homeric poems? Byron moves swiftly into summarizing the Iliad and the Odyssey. He describes the differences in the characters, the content, and the structure. Then the common attributes in these stories are addressed regarding tenderness and compassion, cleverness and resourcefulness, surprising actions, and reaction and responses. He also describes in detail about what makes a Classic and The Homeric Question.
Mythology has always been of interest. Ancient stories have a way of attracting attention to the listeners. These stories are filled with compassion, cleverness, and action. Also, these myths give the opportunity to analyze and critique life experience and to make connection to your own life. Byron Stayskal made this lecture that much more interesting. He expresses enthusiasm and portrays the emotions of the play. With his comparisons and contrasts he sets the stage for you to make your own analysis.
Compassion is shown in the Iliad when Prium begs Achilles for the return of his son’s body after being dragged throughout the city. Achilles returns the body to Prium. Analyzing this moment you could say that Achilles felt sympathy for Prium because Achilles had just lost someone close to him. Also, now that Hector had been killed, who was the leader of the Trojans, both Achilles and Prium foresaw the fall of Troy.
Cleverness presents itself in the Odyssey when Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is Utis (no one), then Odysseus offers the Cyclops wine, waits until the Cyclops passes out and stabs the Cyclops in the eye with a hot rod. When the Cyclops’s friends come to check on the ruckus, they ask who has attacked him, the Cyclops replies Utis (no one) has done it. This part of the story is filled with smart decision after smart decision; First the name; then the wine, in which the Cyclops had never had alcohol before; then the stabbing the eye; all to be able to escape the Cyclops.
An interesting test of human emotion and will power is when Odysseus refuses to stay with Calypso on her island. Calypso wants to make Odysseus her husband. She has a beautiful island and never ages. Not too many men would give up an opportunity like this. Other factors might go into the reasoning why Odysseus chooses to flee the island of Calypso, but this event still shows the love and determination Odysseus has in returning home to Penelope.
When you step back and take a holistic view of these myths, you can truly analyze the emotions and motives of the characters and situations present in the myths. One reason why these stories seem to prevail through the years is for the process of uncovering what is not there and learning from the situations and characters. In narrative stories like these myths you do not find out the emotions and motives of characters. It is left to the reader to analyze and form their own opinions about these characters and situations. This process leaves room for an endless amount of reasons and outcomes which will only change through time depending on the cultures that are making the analysis.
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