"pray that the road is long, full of adventure, full of knowledge."

From Ms. E.:

This week, we read the last book of The Odyssey, in which Odysseus is reunited with Penelope after revealing his identity in an archery contest and a notably "bloody" revenge scene. After a few questions about what it meant to "behead a suitor" and some "eww" responses, all agreed that the ending was "good" because Ithaca returned to peace and Odysseus was happy. 

 The children then tested out their own archery skills by trying to shoot through a hoop with a bow and arrow on the front lawn. As Penelope (i.e., MG) watched, R, E, & N took turns with the bow, and each agreed that Odysseus was an impressive hero because shooting an arrow straight is harder than it looks!

After, we went inside and began the first read-through of the Cyclops scene. With some coaching, everyone began to get comfortable using loud voices, interacting with one another as characters, and using body language to enhance the lines. The group then finished drafting the remainder of the scene's script and retired for snack. We all discussed ideas for additional ways to present the material in the final performance such as representing some scenes with music, art, and puppetry. Mr. S. shared some from his trip to Chicago and got everyone excited about perhaps creating a Trojan horse of our own.

The second half of the morning was spent discussing and creating props and costumes for the Cyclops scene. Everyone made sheep masks and boulders for the cave. By noon, there was a lot of excitement about creating the armor for the scene and imagining how to make the cyclops look "hideous." Miss E. also shared a bit about the mosaic project planned for next week. Lastly, R showed with everyone how she makes "pocket-sized bows/arrows" with rubber bands and parts of tinker toys. Each archer seemed intent on refining his/her skills before next week!

[A lovely poem by Cavafy on the return to Ithaca.]

Man of constant sorrow

BBC Radio 4 program: "The Road Home: Remaking Homer's Odyssey"

"Tom Holland explores the continuing appeal of Homer's Odyssey. From the Coen Brothers' film 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' to feminist rewritings of the story of Penelope's long-suffering wait for her husband to return we remain as fascinated as ever by one of the poetic cornerstones of western life. Why should that be? Homer has been quarried and mined and remade ever since the Iliad and the Odyssey were first sung. But today poets, dramatists, songwriters, novelists and filmmakers are working on the poems like never before it seems. Dante, Tennyson and James Joyce all had goes at rewriting the story of Odysseus (also called Ulysses) and his struggle to get home after the Trojan War, but what do today's reworkers have to say about the story and its meaning to us? Simon Armitage, Michael Longley, Zachary Mason, Alice Oswald, Edith Hall, and the late Peter Reading and Christopher Logue join the words of Margaret Atwood and the music of Tim Buckley and the Soggy Bottom Boys to help us all find our way home. Producer: Tim Dee."

They include a version of Buckley's "Song to the Siren" sung hauntingly by This Mortal Coil:

On the floating, shapeless oceans
I did all my best to smile
til your singing eyes and fingers
drew me loving into your eyes.

And you sang "Sail to me, sail to me;
Let me enfold you."

Here I am, here I am waiting to hold you.
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?

Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken love lost on your rocks.
For you sang, "Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow."
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow.
I'm as puzzled as a newborn child.
I'm as riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or shall I lie with death my bride?

Hear me sing: "Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you."
"Here I am. Here I am, waiting to hold you."

Well suited

Last week, with spring break approaching for the Odyssean crew, we took stock of our episodes thus far, as we anticipate crafting them into an adequate vessel for performance.

Reviewing Odyssey's return to Ithaca

Since last week was also the closing of the "Armed and Dangerous" exhibit at the Brooks Museum, and since the weather was unseasonably splendid, we took a field trip to learn more about Greek armor and weaponry. 

Human chain crossing a street without a crosswalk

We got to see a Greek helmet and sword, a vase decorated with Heracles (whom we could identify because he was wearing a lionskin), and (in the permanent collection) Luca Giordano's rather placid The Slaying of the Medusa. A favorite part of the exhibit was the interactive corner, where everyone tried on helmets as well as made decorative impressions with a stylus on strips of metal. 

Stylin'

V & MG

E

N

Some Homeric tidbits in the news over the break: Greek characters (via Shakespeare) were used for market commentary;  a quixotic millionaire (redundant?) and author of Odysseus Unbound (available in our crew's library!) is convinced that he has discovered the authentic Ithaca; meanwhile, scholars continue to debate who (singular or plural) even composed the Homeric epics. And in Chicago, a new National Hellenic Museum opened with an exhibit on "Gods, Myths and Mortals": "climb into a 12 foot tall Trojan Horse, journey through rocky caves, over open seas, into a Cyclops Cave and then a karaoke cave to sing like a Siren." Another field trip?

A Recipe for Stinky Cheese

Report from Ondine:

On Feb 29, the kids voted to stay outside that morning, so they huddled together on a blanket that we spread on the porch, and Elizabeth recapped the previous week's story, which gave her the opportunity to reuse Scott's joke:  
"Who helped Odysseus by giving him a magic scarf?"
"Ino!"
"Great!  What her name was?"
"Ino!"
"I know you know!  What's her name?"
Lots and lots of giggles and feigned exasperation.  Because truly nothing is funnier to a kid than a confused grown-up.

Elizabeth then began the story of Odysseus' return, while the kids listened, asked questions and acted out what they heard in big and small ways. 

Athena disperses the fog.  Twelve tiny arms swipe at the air.

Odysseus, realizing where he is, falls to his knees and kisses the ground.  They immediately drop their faces to the blanket! 

Athena turns Odysseus into an old beggar.  Imagined magic wands descend on neighboring heads, and suddenly, the kids are old people.  They wrinkle their brows, tightened eyes and lips, and hunch shoulders.

Odysseus goes to the hut of the swineherd.  N asks, "What's a swine?"  MG and R answer in unison, "Pigs."

Athena instructs Telemechus to return home.  "Wait," the kids protest. "Where had Telemechus been?!"(In case you were wondering whether they have been paying attention and following all this from week to week, they have.  In the interest of time, Elizabeth had glossed over that part of the story; the kids noticed.  So she quickly brought them up to speed on Telemechus' activities and got back to the story at hand.)

Athena reveals Odysseus, and father and son are reunited.  The kids fall over hugging each other!
(E didn't care for the enthusiastic hugging and said very politely and sensitively to R as she went in for the big embrace, "Oh, no thank you.  I don't like that very much." And then he said, "Don't stab me in the eye."  Elizabeth said, "Oh, R was just going to hug you," to which he explained, "No, I was talking to my this eye.  My this eye was telling my other eye not to stab it."  With that resolved, all eyes playing nice once again, we were back to the story.)

Odysseus and Telemechus make a plan to rid the palace of the suitors.  And we will find out this week whether or not it will work!

We went inside. ("Shhhh!  Don't wake the cyclops!"  In this way, the kids know that A is napping and so tiptoe quietly down to the basement.) 

First the kids tested the raft.  "It floats!"  Success!

Then the kids made lists of props that might be needed for The Trojan Horse.  "But we can't do that story!  We don't have a horse!"  MG pipes up.  "I know!  We could use scenery!"

The kids have some free time to work on an art project of their choosing that relates in some way to any of the stories.  V made cyclops eyes for everyone.  C made a beautiful model of Clypsos' island on a tiny paper plate using markers and tissue paper.  MG drew at the easel, and R helped her mom with a paper trojan horse.  The coffee filters were big sources of inspiration.  N made a drawing of Odysseus' raft on one and a helmet for A on another (which he wore.  He's a good sport.)  And E used one to make some stinky cheese for the cyclops. 

Here is E's recipe for stinky cheese:
1. Take a coffee filter. 
2. Paint on it. 
3. Draw on the wet paint with markers. 
4. Dip it in water and squish it into a ball. 
5. Wrap it in string. 
6. Dap it with glue. 
7. Go back for more string. 
8. Hang it in the bathroom for a week.  Because it needs to rot.  And mold! 

Viola!  E's stinky cheese.