10/25/19 Mateusz Meczkowski Period 8

10/25/19

Mateusz Meczkowski      #20

Period 8

   “The Earliest Heroes- Prometheus & Io, Europa, and Polyphemus”

Todays do now was to write a poem about either of these heroes in order to reflect on their stories. After reading a few poems, we analyzed each of these heroes in order to better understand the philosophy of the Greeks. The first hero from Greek mythology we analyzed was Europa. With Europa, we looked into the dichotomy of women in Greek mythology and tried to explain Zeus’ rampant infidelity. The conclusion we came to is that Zeus primarily had affairs with weak willed innocent women instead of his wife Hera, whose depicted as strong, cunning, and wrathful, because like many other patriarchal societies the Greeks felt they needed to keep their women in control. The next hero we spoke of was Io, and how she embodied the trope of “women must endure”. Even though Io didn’t really do anything wrong, she was still punished by Hera, and kept as a prisoner of Argus in cow form until Hermes was sent by Zeus to kill Argus and free her. After Io, we looked into Polyphemus. Polyphemus was a giant who was blinded by Odysseus after trying to escape a cave he broke into. Odysseus ate Polyphemus's sheep and cheese. This angered Polyphemus who threatened to eat Odysseus and his men. In reality, Polyphemus is meant to represent foreigners, and how not everyone values hospitality as much as the Greeks.

Reflection: Today’s lesson gave me a much deeper meaning to myths I had previously read without reflecting too much on their actual significance. As we continue on reading more and more mythology, common themes keep emerging, the biggest one being the theme that “women” must endure. Whether it be Io, or Pandora, or any other important woman in Greek mythology (with the exception of Hera) the idea that women must submit to their fate and be passive and submissive to their husbands keeps emerging. The theme of hospitality in Polyphemus's story also pops up very often. The Greeks believed that each guest they received should be treated like a god because they could potentially be a god in disguise. However, the tale of Polyphemus and Odysseus shows that foreigners do not necessarily share the same beliefs that do, and that the Greeks must realize that not everyone will give the same level of hospitality and respect.