Talk:The Ancient World (HUM 124 - UNC Asheville)/Texts/Odyssey/Book 20

I linked to the character storytelling page but, it hasn't been created yet so that's why the word characters may appear red.--H.G.Grotenhuis (discuss • contribs) 20:08, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

@H.G.Grotenhuis:It should be created now; I also fixed the link, there was an extra slash there at the end that I think messed it up. All good now! -Joey Cross (discuss • contribs) 15:18, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

Prayer and omen

@H.G.Grotenhuis: Great stuff here. Here's a question/observation I have for you, that might be worth expanding on in this section: In the epic, characters pray to gods to help them....in terms of the story, they are asking the gods for help to overcome certain obstacles in the plot. This has to do with their limited knowledge: a character is anxious about something that is going to happen, and is not sure how they are going to overcome it, so they ask the gods to intervene. Similarly, omens are signs from the gods that communicate to humans in the story some kind of knowledge that is normally beyond their limits. Both of these ideas, to me, have to do with knowledge, and with the standing that certain characters have in the story. Definitely, as you say, omens were a part of religious culture in the Greek world...the Greeks really believed that they could access knowledge beyond their mortal brains, knowledge normally reserved just for deities, by looking for omens in the natural world. Is there a way to talk about these ideas in terms of the way that the storyteller plays with the kinds of knowledge different kinds of characters have? Is Homer trying to simulate in the epic the way that, in the real world as far as he and his audience were concerned, mortals and gods had access to information? Why do you think, as a storyteller, Homer took advantage of these different kinds of knowledge? How does it add to the story? I'm still thinking through this, so feel free to ignore or to ask for clarification....-Joey Cross (discuss • contribs) 15:18, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

@Joey Cross: I'm not 100% sure I interpreted what you said the right way or the way you intended but, I added a few sentences about how Homer uses prayer and omens as a form of dramatic irony, where the characters do not know what'll happen next or the outcome of a situation but the gods and the reader do and that creates some tension or conflict within the plot.--H.G.Grotenhuis (discuss • contribs) 18:59, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

@H.G.Grotenhuis: This is excellent. Thank you! -Joey Cross (discuss • contribs) 12:32, 1 October 2020 (UTC)