Daniel:
Thank you very much for your feedback regarding my question about
Jacqueline De Romilly and Jean-Pierre Vernant.
Regarding your words about Odysseus:
From: "Technotranscendence" <neptune@mars.superlink.net>, Thu, 15 Nov 2001:
>For instance, with Odysseus, it may be true that he is different
>from many other Greek heroes, BUT he is there nonetheless and in one
>of their most celebrated and influential poems. Therefore, I don't
>see him as less examplary. I see him, in fact, as a sort of break
>with earlier heroes. The Greeks were still mired in the old, too,
>but they also had this new type of hero -- a hero of the mind.
>(Notably, Odysseus' strong suit -- in terms of character; it's
>obvious he was no whimp and also had some gods on his side -- is his
>>ability to think through just any situation.) So, I don't dismiss
>him from the pantheon of Greek heroes, though he's very different
>from most of the rest.
I agree that he is an impressive character, and heroes _are_
important, however, he might be a little too 'clear-cut'....
As a story, _The Odyssey, is more approachable than _The Iliad_:
it's a little like the adventure films we know with clear-cut
characters. Odysseus struggles against external villains,
seductresses, cannibals, his own mutinous men, the suitors in his
home. In the process of returning home, he undergoes an 'internal
pilgrimage' as well.
I think that the complex character Achilles in _the Iliad_, has a
large value to transhumanists because his situations are more
similar to what we are now, and what we will face in the near
future. Achilles' struggles are primarily reflections of his fight
with the *beast within*. It's a confrontation with the tensions
within human nature that lurk in us underneath our civilation's
veneer. Achilles withdraws from his community, a ruinous existence,
then wrestles his beast in a more ruinous way via his vengeance. The
reader then see what happens when vengeance goes too far. When he
becomes angry, his anger does not allow him to accept changes or
shifts in attitude, and he embarks upon a murderous rampage. Yet he
undergoes a startling transformation. After he is wronged and
becomes angry, he withdraws from his environment, and, while alone,
realizes that the entire martial system of honor is bankrupt and
based on a lie. Achilles' heroism at his end is quite different than
Odysseus' too: Odysseus regains his kin through the sheer strength
of his spirit and the power of his genius; Achilles loses what
family he had, to claim some new sense of honor well beyond a world
that he wants no part of.
As in most of the Greek classics, the following important ideas are
presented: learning comes through effort, men are social creatures,
human life is tragically short and therefore comes with obligations,
character is a matter of matching words with deeds, religion is
separate from and subordinate to politics, private property should
be immune from government coercion, the truth only emerges through
dissent and open criticism, the most dangerous animal is the beast
within us, leaders ignore the will of the assembly at their peril.
In the Iliad, these ideas are again presented, but more honestly than
the other epic, and without apology and elaboration.
Have a good Thanksgiving, and rest of December and New Years.
Amara
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Amara Graps, PhD email: amara@amara.com
Computational Physics vita: ftp://ftp.amara.com/pub/resume.txt
Multiplex Answers URL: http://www.amara.com/
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"Trust in the Universe, but tie up your camels first."
(adaptation of a Sufi proverb)
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