Recently, there has been a lot of debate about how much (partial) it is. Men clearly think about ancient Rome. Whether it is a history of battle, or an architectural feat that survived by ruins spreading in Togas, the Mediterranean Basin, or Ben-Her and Spartacus In Gladiator and Gladiator IIsome people seem particularly fascinated by ancient Rome. However, recent films suggest that we all benefit from spending more time thinking about ancient Greece.
return Homer’s epic is adapted into a 2024 film Odysseydirected by Uberto Pasolini, starring Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliet Binoce as Penelope (in his first on-screen reunion since) English Patient). Additionally, it has recently been announced that Christopher Nolan’s next film will be adapted for Odysseyreportedly Matt Damon stars as the whimsical Odysseus, while Anne Hathaway stars as homebound Penelope.
. . . Works like Odyssey It also formed who we are.
Written almost 3,000 years ago, Homer’s description of the myth of Odysseus is well known. Iliad As King of Ithaca, who joined his fellow Greeks to war with the Trojans for the capture (or seduction) of Helen. Ultimately, Odysseus allows victory through the wooden horse’s deception. Following their victory, most of the Greeks go home; Odysseythat is not the fate of Odysseus and his men. He spends another decade trying to return to Ithaca. There, his house is surrounded by suitors who marry his wife Penelope and kill his son Telemachus.
I have been thinking for hours about Odysseus and his trial over the past year. Odyssey It was the core book at Wheaton College, where I teach undergraduate classes. The idea for the core book program is for the entire university community to read the same book (in addition to the Bible), engage in collaborative reflection and learning, and participate in on-campus events related to the book.
But this raises more pressing questions. Why is it bothering us to read non-Christian works, particularly those filled with pagan gods, immoral heroes and tolerated violence, by non-Christians, including those written before Christ? Why do we need to read this epic poem? Or, to be pretty frank about it, why not just read the Bible? Over the years, I have been living in both classrooms and in churches, and sometimes Christians have been around. want To read these kinds of books, but they do not Should Read them and, if so, how these functions relate to their faith.
I know myself
Read books like Odyssey (or Iliad Or Virgil aeneid) While it may seem counterintuitive to Christ’s followers, pre-Christian works actually help us to “know ourselves,” as the ancient Greek proverbs direct us. Odyssey It is one of the oldest surviving literary works, which continues to shape and shape our collective imagination and cultural identity.
Through Homer’s poems, Odysseus and his men must constantly navigate dangers that are now familiar to readers: the Cave of Cyclops, the Wrath of Poseidon, the Risk of Silla and the Caribdi twins. But what’s even more familiar to us is their desire for success, safety and love. When we first meet Odysseus, he is trapped on the lush island of Goddess Calypso. He lived in the apparent paradise, but he is eager to see his home. “Odysseus sat on the shore as usual, and sobbed in sadness and pain. (5.81-84)
Of course, as Christians, our worldview is primarily shaped by the Word of God. God’s Word is the first and final authority of all the issues of Christian faith and practice (i.e. our orthodoxy and our orthodoxy), continuing to shape our culture in ways that we saw it and invisible. It still works like Odyssey It also formed who we are. Reading these works will help us understand our collective history and the broader cultural waters we swim. Not reading them only leads to collective amnesia.
Universal state
A great translation by Emily Wilson OdysseyOdysseus is regularly referred to as “long suffering” (3.84) because of what he endures at the hands of others. For example, when he is finally allowed to raft off the island of Calypso, he faces a storm recalled by Poseidon: “More pain? How will it end? I’m worried that I’ve told the truth. It’s not without reason why his journey is called “Odyssey of Pain” (5.340).
But it is also true that Odysseus and his men are affected by the consequences of their own flaws and failures. For example, you can escape when you find yourself trapped in the cave of Polyphemus in Cyclops, but Odysseus insists on requesting a gift from him. Later, when they almost return to Ithaca, the curiosity of the men opens a bag filled with wind and blows it back into the sea (10.47-49). Most tragically, on the island of Helius, the god of the sun, men eat the forbidden cows while Odysseus sleeps (12.358). Like Moses descending from the mountains and hearing the sounds of the Israelites worshiping the golden calf (Former. 32:17-19), Odysseus smells of burning meat: “My men have done something terrifying when I’m gone” (12.371-72). In response, Zeus destroys the ship, and all the remaining men own to die.
While reading Odyssey In my class this year, I was regularly amazed at the way this ancient poem spoke to our faith today.
Of the many things I’ve made Odyssey What’s fascinating for centuries is a story filled with incomplete characters that reveal the broken, universal human condition and the need for redness. For some readers, Odysseus is read back home to the victorious hero and King to regain his rightful place. But for others, he is considered an adulterer who deceives, colonizes and kills. In fact, he’s both. Characters like Odysseus reflect the complexity of what it means to be human. The setting and ancient tales of Odyssey For us, in many ways, its fallen world and flawed characters are just too familiar. Certainly, the Bible also presents us with an epic story full of imperfect heroes who need red.
The man of sadness…and hope
Spoiler alert: Odysseus brings it back home.
After 20 years of war and wandering, he eventually returned to Ithaca. “I am here now. I have suffered so badly for 20 years, and now I am back in my land” (21.206-08). But everything doesn’t work at home. His wife, Penelope, is tormented by suitors who openly beg and threaten his son Telemachus. After being disguised as a bee food by the goddess Athena, Odysseus sneaks into his house. In a dramatic moment, he reveals his identity to the suitor and Penelope, shooting his own bow and arrow through 12 x-heads (21.422-24). Below is the vengeful massacre of all those who threatened Odysseus’ family and home.
Perhaps surprising, Odysseus may be read as an imperfect foreshadowing of Christ’s life and work. He is, after all, a long-awaited son who left his hometown (his father, Leates, grieves his son, whom he believes is dead), and he is said to be the “man of sadness” and the rightful king (19/119) whose return was promised. He reveals even to those who initially did not recognize him, repeating the appearance of Christ in Magdalene Magdalene in the garden (John 20:11-18), and even reverberating in the two disciples (Luke 24:13-35) on the road to Emmaus, whom he is first, whom he is. However, even when Odysseus returns it home through many dangers, hardships, and snares, he finds out that he cannot bring true recovery to his home or land. His gospel is not one of grace and peace.
It is important to know the difference between an imaginary character like Odysseus and the real person of Jesus Christ, who we declare our Lord and Savior. But it is also the case that Christians have discovered God’s truth in unexpected places throughout the history of the church. For example, Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215) saw Greek philosophy as “a stepping stone to Christ’s philosophy” (according to Christ’s.”Stromata 6.8). Centuries later, Protestant reformer John Calvin (1509-64) pointed out the possibility that even pagan writers could find divine truths everywhere.Research Institute 2.2.15).
Leading us by spirit, what are the steps in Homer’s text? Despite its ancient context and mythological genre, Odyssey We point to two great truths that we can quickly accept as Christian readers.
- First, Odysseus reminds us that we all want a return to our relationship, our homes are peaceful and our tables are set for feasts. We see that we have more in common with this figure in ancient Greek literature than we imagined. We all go home like Odysseus.
- Second, as Odysseus painfully demonstrates, our universal needs and the fulfillment of our desired homecoming cannot be achieved through our own efforts. Such recovery can only be born through Jesus Christ, the true “sad man” (Isa. 53:3), whose life, death, and resurrection bring about perfect and lasting peace.
While reading Odyssey In my class this year, I was regularly amazed at the way this ancient poem spoke to our faith today. Certainly, none of us had fought Troy or sailed across the sea, avoiding the monsters. But Odysseus managed us towards Christ despite his very obvious flaws and the fact that Homer wrote centuries before Jesus’ earthly life.
In his story, we found a companion on our way home.
Source: Christ and Pop Culture – christandpopculture.com
