Reading Diary B: Homer's Illiad

So, after reading through the rest of the unit over Homer's Illiad, I was stuck on what to write about. The story was beautifully detailed and the dialogue brought an ancient story to life, but I struggled to find new information to write about without summarizing the whole thing.

So, as an alternative, I'm going to dive into the unit about Ovid's Metamorphoses. Hopefully this will keep things a little more interesting! I also think the poem style and the stories that are more sectioned off, will be a little easier to read and, in turn, interpret. This section over all was easier to read and I found the stories a little more interesting. I think that because they were shorter it helped with the flow. However, I sometimes found some of the dialect and descriptions to be wordy and difficult to understand. 

Deucalion and Pyrrha: I found this story really interesting because a great flood was brought on by Neptune with just a strike of his trident. The flood wiped out buildings and caused great starvation across the land. The situation effect many people in different way, which is why I liked the story. There are many perspective over the situation, which gives the reader and all encompassing view of what happened. For some the great flood brought death and total devastation, but for others it created a new fresh start with more nutritions vegetation.  

Io: This is a very strange story of a Io, who was taking from her home and husband by Jupiter. Io is kept away and transformed into a heifer (at least, I think that's what happens). The story mentions so many gods and humans that it is difficult to keep up with the different story lines, even after reading through it a few times. So, at the end of the story Io is turned back into human, but still when she gets mad or vengeful she returns to her beastly state.

Io as Heifer
(Greek Myth Index)

Phaethon and the Sun: The part of this story that really caught my attention was the last paragraph, titled "His further warnings". It is very philosophical and steams beyond the issues brought up in the rest of the story. I talks about keeping yourself humble and to be brave in the face of danger.