Odyssey: Book 8 (part two) and NPR Article

C. In the quote “The love of Ares and Aphrodite Crowned with flowers… how the two had first made love in Haphaestus’ mansion, all in secret.” My question is why was it a secret? Why and who would they want to keep it from? The quote “His heart consumed with anguish.” also made me wonder. Why did he have anguish in his heart? Also, what does the word anguish even mean? “So Haphaestus wailed as the gods came crowding up to his bronze-floored house.” Also gave me the question who is this man Hephaestus? I know he was the man who Ares and Aphrodite made love in his mansion, but who actually is he? How does he come about this story?
F. The quote “A peal of laughter broke from the deathless ones but not Poseidon, not a smile from him; he kept on begging the famous smith to loose the god of war pleading, his words flying, “let him go! I guarantee you Ares will pay the price, whatever you ask, Hephaestus, whatever’s right in the eyes of all the gods”.” You can tell that Hephaestus does not want to help Poseidon but Poseidon is trying to convince him to help. I still don’t know who Hephaestus actually is.
I. Well Kyle, your question was; I was confused as to who Hephaestus is. I know he is a blacksmith, for he is referred to a “Smith” several times but I wasn’t sure exactly what he was. He has a mansion so that made me believe he was either a wealthy blacksmith or a God/Demi-God. “This snare the Firegod forged, ablaze with his rage at War, then limped to the room where the bed of love stood firm and round the posts he poured the chains in a sweeping net with streams of others flowing down from the roofbeam, gossamer-fine as spider webs no man could see, not even a blissful god-the Smith had forged a masterwork of guile.” (Book 8 Lines 313-319) Here Hephaestus was referred to as the Firegod, but I still wasn’t sure if he is a Demi-God or a regular god. Now you ask who Hephaestus is and that was one of my questions as well. But I can tell you what kind of God he was. He is a Demi-God. He is not a regular God. I hope this answered your question.

) One character that I liked in book 8 part 2 was the God of the Sea and Earthquakes Poseidon. The reason I liked Poseidon in this book because as Ares and Aphrodite were chained up by Hephaestus he showed nobility. The way he shows nobility in this because as they were chained up and the other Gods were laughing he wasn’t laughing; he didn’t even give a smile. It says this “But the God of Earthquake reassured the smith, “Look, Hephaestus, if Ares scuttles off and away, squirming out of his debt, I’ll pay the fine myself.””. It also states “but not Poseidon, not a smile from him”. This shows that Poseidon has too much respect and cares too much of his fellow Gods to laugh at their despair. It also shows that Poseidon cares so much that he is willing to take the debt off of Ares so he and Aphrodite will be set free.

H) If I was a designer designing this set I would not really know what to design. In the house of Aphrodite I would use a giant beautiful manor. The reason I would do this because it says “he piled his golden reins and arrived at once and entered the famous god of fire’s mansion”. I would also use a party scene. “That was the song the famous harper sang and Odysseus relished every note s the islanders, the lords of the long oars and masters mariners rejoiced”.

I) In the response to Philips response you are at a good star but you did not fully answer his question. Hephaestus was not only a blacksmith but he is the God of blacksmiths. Not only is that but Hephaestus the God of fire. As it says “the famous God of fire’s mansion”.

Book 8

I. Responding to Kyle's question I do believe that Hephaestus is a Demi-God because it is referred to in the book many times. "This snare the Firegod forged, ablaze with his rage at War, then limped to the room where the bed of love stood firm and round the posts he poured the chains in a sweeping net with streams of others flowing down from the roofbeam, gossamer-fine as spider webs no man could see, not even a blissful god-the Smith had forged a masterwork of guile.” (Book 8 Lines 313-319) That is why I believe that Hephaestus is a Demi-God.

C. At the end of this book Alkinoos asks Odysseus why he is so upset about the Trojan War, and why he weeps every time it is mentioned? My question was why does Odysseus wait so long to tell the story to every one and when the King saw him getting so upset when it was mentioned why he wouldn't ask him to tell the story before this guy Alkinoos asked. It doesn't make sense as to why the King would go on without knowing why he gets so upset, it just doesnt make any sense to me.

A. In the article when it says “Heal combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder by talking about the mythological Greek warriors Achilles and Odysseus.” that reminds me of something in the current events. Online I found this article looking up PTSD "Navy veteran Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at a Navy building in Washington Monday morning, had been suffering a host of serious mental issues, including paranoia and a sleep disorder, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press. Alexis had been hearing voices in his head and had been treated since August by the Veterans Administration for his mental problems, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation in the case was continuing." This reminds me of that article because maybe if they knew before they could have done something to prevent this like this way of treatment.

C.After reading this chapter I thought a line was cool from the book Odyssey. The line that I thought was cool was where the story telling told us (the readers) this:”That was the song the famous harper sang but great Odysseus melted into tears, running down from his eyes to wet his cheek.” I thought it was cool but confusing because of the reason that earlier in the chapter Odysseus didn’t want people to see him cry but now it was okay. This just confused me because what made this time different than any other time?

D. A point in the story I thought was cool is where Odysseus carved a good piece of the meat and gave it to Demodocus. I thought that it was pretty cool at the amount of respect Odysseus has towards people.

A. As I was Reading the book I imagined myself getting out of the 1 train and seeing homeless people on 14th street and 6th ave. Although I never give them food, I thought it was pretty cool of Odysseus to give the poor and hungry food.

D) With the article, I liked what the vets said about the book; "It didn't take long to read it. I gobbled it up," O'Brien says about Shay's first book, Achilles in Vietnam. "He may not have been in Vietnam, but it felt as if he had been. By his knowledge of the Odyssey and the Iliad he brings to bear this keen sense of what's fake and what's not — and what endures as pain and what's superfluous." With this account it just shows what this man has been able to do with The Iliad and Odyssey. This quote also shows that the soldiers can relate to the poems and how effective these treatments can be. This truly works and should be repeated.
E) Book 8 (441-463) With this passage Broadsea gives Odysseus this really nice sword, when just a little while ago, Broadsea thought Odysseus was an old man who couldn’t lift a discus. I feel that he is just being fake just to please the king and be like “Oh yeah we’re bros now” I think that Broadsea is just trying to get in good with the king. For some reason it just doesn’t make sense to me, this newfound respect comes out of nowhere.
C) I’ll start with the question why is Aphrodite doing that? Like yeah she’s a god and all but that’s just cruel. Has Odysseus not worn out his welcome yet? How can you still praise the man? Why would the king request that they give cloaks? I think one or two would suffice but 13?