The land of the lotuseaters is known only from a few classical fragments, but it has thrown a long shadow over modernity. The lotus eaters, or lotophagi, are a group of people described in the greek epic the odyssey. The war is the metaphor for the lotus fruit, a fruit that keeps one in place, forgetting all thoughts of home. Tennyson theme the land of the lotus eaters is an adventure in book 9 of the odyssey which follows odysseus and his men as they travel to the land and ingest the lotus flowers. Odysseus has the defining character traits of a homeric leader. I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the lotus eaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. The people who live on that island give odysseus men lotus to eat. These people have so captivated generations of readers that they have appeared in numerous works of art from poems to paintings, and they are sometimes referenced in popular culture. A novel quotes tatjana soli this study guide consists of approximately 35 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the lotus eaters. Some of the men do eat the flowers and have to be dragged off by odysseus. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis.
I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the tenth day we reached the land of the lotuseaters, who live on a food that comes from a kind of flower. It was a nice offering, for what we needed were supplies and food, and they offer just what we need. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were tranquilizing. For myself i declare that there is no greater fulfillment of delight than when joy possesses a. Homer, odyssey book 9 theoi classical texts library. Soli pulled the novels title, the lotus eaters, from an episode in homers the odyssey and uses homers description of the land of the lotuseaters as the novels opening epigraph. What is a good summary of the lotus eaters in the odyssey.
Upon being routed from ismarus, odysseus and his men are beset by storms for many days, until they finally sight land. Mar 16, 2014 before odysseus landed on the cyclops island, he visited the lotusland. Nine days i drifted on the teeming sea before dangerous high winds. In lotus eaters he seems to be trying to think about anything but his wifes coming infidelity, while his entire world seems to be conspiring to remind him of it. Odysseus and his crew venture into the land of the lotus eaters. Nine days later, he reaches the land of the lotus eaters. Why did odysseus have to rescue his men from the lotus eaters see answers 2 ask for details. The lotuseaters have no interest in killing the greeks. Pictures could not be accessories to the story evidence they had to contain the story within the frame.
The lotuseaters offer the men food flowers that somehow causes them to forget the journey they are on. Choose from 500 different sets of the odyssey odyssey questions questions book 9 flashcards on quizlet. These books thus give background not only to odysseuss audience but to homers as well. In the odyssey, most of the wanderings of the protagonist are narrated retrospectively. Greek myth comix explains the odyssey book 9, episodes 1 and 2. A storm sent by zeus sweeps them along for nine days before bringing them to the land of the lotuseaters, where the natives give some of odysseuss men the.
The episode with the lotuseaters shines a light on a recurring theme in the odyssey. In the first month of odysseus posttroyan adventures, the sun passes northern fish pisces and odysseus fleet gets hit by. In the odyssey homer and his men come to the land of the lotuseaters. What is a summary for the lotus eaters in the odyssey. The odyssey book nine the lotus eaters and the cyclops 1440. These lotus do no bodily damage, but it puts them into a sleepy stupor in which they forget their families and why they wanted to leave. Mountain view high school mountain view high school campus of champions. The term lotus eater comes from homers odyssey, where odysseus meets a group of people called lotus eaters, who eat a magical lotus which makes people contented, forgetting about anything else. Learn the odyssey odyssey questions questions book 9 with free interactive flashcards. Lord alcinous, renowned above all men, verily this is a good thing, to listen to a minstrel such as this man is, like unto the gods in voice. Chapter two starts in 1963 with linh, a former vietnamese soldier, now an assistant to photojournalist darrow. From the odyssey by homer the lotus eaters i might have made it safely home, that time, but as i cam round malea the current took me out to sea, and from the north a fresh gale drove me on, past cythera. Lotuseaters were people who feeds odysseus crew with lotus plants to stay with them forever.
But when the cyclops had filled his huge maw by eating human flesh and thereafter drinking pure milk, he lay down within the cave, stretched out among the. Odysseuss quick thinking helps him out of some very tough situations, as when he escapes from the cave of the cyclops in book 9, or. Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war. So they went straightway and mingled with the lotus eaters, and the lotus eaters did not plan death for my comrades, but gave them of the lotus to taste. And whosoever of them ate of the honeysweet fruit of the lotus, 95 had no longer any wish to bring back word or to return, but there they were fain to abide among the lotus eaters, feeding. So they went straightway and mingled with the lotuseaters, and the lotuseaters did not plan death for my comrades, but gave them of the lotus to taste. Book 9 the lotus eaters study guide by kayleighhhr includes 14 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Why did odysseus have to rescue his men from the lotus eaters.
The lotus fruit is about the size of the lentisk berry and in sweetness resembles the date. My men went on and presently met the lotuseaters, nor did these lotuseaters have any thoughts of destroying our companions, but they only gave them lotus to taste of. Polybius identifies the land of the lotus eaters as the island of djerba ancient meninx, off the coast of tunisia. My men went on and presently met the lotus eaters, nor did these lotus eaters have any thoughts of destroying our companions, but they only gave them lotus to taste of. The people who eat the lotus were unwilling to go back home and keep on eating lotus with the lotus eaters. In homers the odyssey, what was the effect of the lotus. Odysseus sails away from calypsos island in book 5 and washes up on the shore of the. While i enjoyed this book, helen never seemed particularly real to me. The book homers secret odyssey plots his adventures along the ecliptic of a star chart. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and. Thence for nine days space i was borne by direful winds over the teeming deep. Students familiar with some of the legends of the odyssey but new to the epic itself might be surprised to see that the section on the lotus eaters is only about twentyfive lines long 9. The book begins with a quote from homers most famous work, the odyssey.
Mar 06, 2016 upon being routed from ismarus, odysseus and his men are beset by storms for many days, until they finally sight land. What, if anything, in this novel acts like the lotus described by homer, so powerful and seductive it causes one. Now these natives had no intention of killing my comrades. In the first month of odysseus posttroyan adventures, the sun passes northern fish pisces and odysseus fleet gets hit by a hurricane. The story is most familiar from the brief passage in book ix of homers odyssey, in which after nine days of storms odysseus finds himself beached on an unknown island. At first odysseus seems very concerned for the well being of his crew and he looks o. Mythical people in homers odyssey book 9, card 82 and book 23, card 310. The lotus eaters were addicted to a dried latexlike liquid obtained from the opium poppy scie. They just want to stay there and eat the druglike plant.
Greek myth comix explains the odyssey book 9, episodes 1 and 2 the cicones and the lotuseaters duration. The lotus eaters by tatjana soli reading group guide. The local inhabitants, whose distinctive practice is indicated by their name, invited. The lotus eaters even succeed in obtaining from it a sort of wine. Odysseus sends out 3 scouts to find out about the people who live there. Falling victim to the intoxicating mix of adrenaline, fear, curiosity, and selfrighteousness, theyjust as the lotus eaters of homers the. In the odyssey book ix, odysseus tells how adverse north winds blew him and his men off course as they were rounding cape malea, the southernmost tip of the peloponnesus, headed westwards for ithaca. In this lesson well go with odysseus on his journey to the.
A reflection sheet about odysseus and his adventure in the land of the cyclops answers sheets and a prezi to use just print and teach to view a copy of the worksheets. They very innocently give some of odysseus men some fruit to eat, and this is what happens. Upon the tenth we came to the coastline of the lotus eaters. Land of the lotus eaters by gabby cantrall on prezi. Lotus eater, greek plural lotophagoi, latin plural lotophagi, in greek mythology, one of a tribe encountered by the greek hero odysseus during his return from troy, after a north wind had driven him and his men from cape malea homer, odyssey, book ix. Get an answer for compare and contrast the peril of the sirens and the peril of the lotuseaters. What connection do you see between homers lotuseaters and the main characters of this novel. Mar 29, 2010 homer, the odyssey as quoted in the lotus eaters. Questions reflection on the land of the lotus eaters worksheet 3. But any of them who ate the honeysweet fruit of lotus was unwilling to take any message back, or to go away, but they wanted to stay there with the lotuseating.
After disembarking, odysseus sends a few men inland to see what the inhabitants are like. The lotus eaters offer the men food flowers that somehow causes them to forget the journey they are on. The dead enter the living, burrowed through the skin, floated through the blood, to come at last to rest in the heart. However, like the lotus eaters in homers odyssey, once anyone tastes the fruit of the plant, they lose any wish to go home. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. As the book begins it tells of his travels and where he winds up during this time.
Get an answer for compare and contrast the peril of the sirens and the peril of the lotus eaters. Greek myth comix explains the odyssey book 9, episodes 1 and 2 the cicones and the lotus eaters duration. The lotus eaters from ismarus we sailed, with heavy hearts for the loyal friends lost, though happy to have escaped death ourselves. The novel was awarded the james tait black memorial prize for fiction. Before odysseus landed on the cyclops island, he visited the lotusland. His most distinguishing trait, however, is his sharp intellect. The hero, odysseus, faces many obstacles along his 20year journey. He sends scouts to contact the inhabitants, a gentle. The odyssey is an epic poem featuring the ideals of greek culture. Providing some of the richest and most celebrated examples of odyssean cunning, they speak as much to the resourcefulness of. Initially set against the fall of saigon and then flashing back to the early 1960s, tatjana solis the lotus eaters evokes the hypnotic horrors of war set against a lush, culturally rich landscape that lured many photojournalists during the vietnam war. The episode with the lotus eaters shines a light on a recurring theme in the odyssey.
Having the lotus makes you forget and odysseus couldnt have that as he wanted to get home to his wife and son so he had to carry his men back to the ships and tie them. Odysseus and his crew encounter them in book nine, and while their encounter is brief, it is memorable. The scouts are invited to eat the lotus blossoms, and the. Homeric geography is suspect, but some scholars place this at or near libya. The local inhabitants, whose distinctive practice is indicated by their name, invited odysseus scouts to eat of the mysterious plant.
See a complete list of the characters in the odyssey and indepth analyses of odysseus, telemachus, penelope, athena, calypso, and circe. In the odyssey homer and his men come to the land of the lotus eaters. Odysseus has six men due to the honeyfilled fruit of lotus. The odyssey by homer book 9 summary and analysis youtube. In chapter one, photojournalist helen adams is preparing to leave vietnam during the 1975 evacuation. Books 9 through 12 are told as flashbacks, as odysseus sits in the palace of the phaeacians telling the story of his wanderings. The personal journal of odysseus the lotus eaters wattpad. Book 9 of the odyssey essaysin this book odysseus is retelling his trip home as a flashback. A flowchart summarizing the death of polyphemus worksheet 4. Just as odysseus is tempted by the allure of calypso and nausicaa, so are his men tempted by the lure of forgetting that comes with ingesting the lotus. Lotuseater, greek plural lotophagoi, latin plural lotophagi, in greek mythology, one of a tribe encountered by the greek hero odysseus during his return from troy, after a north wind had driven him and his men from cape malea homer, odyssey, book ix.
In homers the odyssey, what was the effect of the lotus plant. They belonged to a peoplepeoples the greeks met in the area thats now afghanistan, iran, pakistan after their glorious victory in the battle of troy. It tells the story of an american woman who goes to wartorn vietnam as a combat photojournalist and finds herself in a love triangle with two men. Apr 20, 20 the lotus eaters is part of the odyssey. Jun 14, 2018 they belonged to a peoplepeoples the greeks met in the area thats now afghanistan, iran, pakistan after their glorious victory in the battle of troy. The other side of the war is the tenderness and poignancy that death and suffering bring. The lotus eaters are very peaceful and tranquil because of the. Feb 05, 2015 a long and difficult journey, or the odyssey. But any of them who ate the honeysweet fruit of lotus was unwilling to take any message back, or to go away, but they wanted to stay there with the lotus eating. Why did odysseus have to rescue his men from the lotus eaters 1103442 1. The odyssey book nine the lotus eaters and the cyclops.
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