St. Mary’s College of Catbalogan, (Inc.

)
Formerly Sacred Heart College, (Inc.)
Catbalogan City, Samar 6700
HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
COLLEGE DEPARTMENT SY: 2023-2024

Project
in
WORLD
LITERATURE
Submitted by:
BEAH CHRISTINA N. ILAO
BSHM – 3

Submitted to:
MRS. REMEDIOS VERZOSA
Instructor
The Oresteia Summary
 At the beginning of the fifth century, it was customary for each of the tragedians who

were competing at the festival of Dionysus to present a trilogy of three plays on a related

theme, followed by a satyr-play. The Oresteia is the only surviving example of a Greek tragic

trilogy and thus has great importance in the history of drama.

Each play of the trilogy is a self-contained dramatic unit, although the endings of the first two

plays lead naturally into the play that follows them. Any of the three plays can be presented

alone without too much loss of understanding, but the meaning and dramatic effect of the

works is enhanced by production or reading of them as a group.

Each play has its own chorus and a nearly separate cast of characters, but the trilogy is

given unity by the basis of its plots in the same cycle of legends. In addition, there are certain

underlying themes that continue from play to play and that reach their full resolution only at

the conclusion of The Eumenides.

The main idea of The Oresteia is that injustice and such primitive instruments of

morality as the blood-feud must be eliminated if human society is ever to attain to a high

level of social organization, which can only be done by the introduction of a public morality

and civic legal processes. A compromise must be reached between those old ideas that are

good and those new ideas that are good. The city of Athens, whose patron goddess is the

spirit of wisdom, is exalted as the model that people ought to emulate.

The Oresteia uses the legend of the family of Atreus as raw material for examination

of different aspects of this theme: such questions as the nature of justice, methods of

establishing and maintaining justice on earth, the relationship of justice to vengeance, mercy,
the gods, fate, and the social order. It also deals with the related doctrines that wisdom can be

learned only through experience and suffering, that one crime invariably leads to another if

the criminal is not punished, that blood, once shed, can never be atoned for, and that authority

is the foundation of civilization.

Reaction:

Upon reading the story of Oresteia, a lot of things came into my mind and I have

realized a lot. This Greek tragedy is written by Aeschylus who woke a lot of people during

this era. The story is about justice and fairness in a world full of crime. Justice means giving

each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or

her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used

interchangeably. There have, however, also been more distinct understandings of the two

terms. While justice usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness, fairness

often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one's feelings or

interests; fairness has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not

overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular case. In any case, a notion of

being treated as one deserves is crucial to both justice and fairness. I’m amused on how

justice is being mentioned in this story during this late era because it’s also a crucial topic in

this century. In today’s society, justice is still very much a thing that is needed by people,

especially those who have nothing. With this, I like who the Odysseus story revolved around

the gods and goddesses with the human beings and how they interrupted the life of the people

here on earth to maintain balance. They had to maintain justice and fate with the involvement

of the gods who has power. In overall, I really love the story of the Odysseus and I hope I

could read the whole trilogy someday because I really like the plot of the story and ever

since, I’ve always loved Greek mythology.

 Odysseus and the Cyclops Prometheus

The myth of Odysseus and the Cyclops is one of the most known Greek myths,

narrated by Homer in his Odyssey. The myth of Odysseus and the Cyclops is about the one-

eyed, giant Cyclops who menaced and almost put an end to the hero Odysseus. The Cyclops

is one of the memorable characters of Greek mythology. Odysseus and his shipmates

encountered the Cyclops on their ill-fated return from the Trojan War.

The Return of Odysseus from Troy

This nine-year conflict pitted the Greeks against the city of Troy, on the western coast

of what is now Turkey. The Greeks had finally triumphed, but many would not live to enjoy

it. Odysseus’s shipmates were blown far off course, and after a number of perils they reached

a small wooded island, where they beached the vessels and gave thought to provisions.

Odysseus had noticed a larger island nearby, from which came the sound of bleating goats.

This was encouraging to his growling stomach, and he detailed a scouting party and led it to

the far shore. Here they found a huge goat pen outside a cave and, inside, all the cheeses and

meat they could desire. They were lounging in drowsy contentment when the shepherd came

home.

The Cyclops Polyphemus

The sight of him brought the Greeks to fullest attention. He was as big as a barn, with

a single glaring eye in the middle of his forehead. He was one of the Cyclopes, giant

blacksmiths who had built Olympus for the gods. This particular Cyclops was named

Polyphemus. He and his neighbors lived like hermits with their flocks. If the Greeks were
shocked, Polyphemus was pleasantly surprised. For here before him at his own hearth was a

treat that would nicely vary his diet.

Odysseus and the Cyclops

Taking care to roll a boulder into the mouth of the cave—a stone so huge that even a

full crew of heroes could not stir it—he promptly snatched up the nearest two of Odysseus’s

men, bashed out their brains on the floor and popped them into his mouth. Then with a belch

he curled up in a corner and drifted happily to sleep. Odysseus naturally was beside himself

with concern. What had he led his men into? There was nothing for it, though, but to wait out

the night in terror, for the boulder blocked the door. In the morning the Cyclops rolled the

massive stone aside, called his goats together and let them out, some to pasture and others to

the pen in the yard. Then he sealed the entrance again. That night he had more Greeks for

dinner.

Odysseus’ Plan to escape the Cyclops

Desperate, Odysseus conceived a plan. To begin with, he offered the Cyclops wine.

This was especially potent wine, which he and his men had brought ashore in skins. The

Greeks customarily mixed water with their wine to dilute its strength. But the Cyclops had

never drunk wine before, diluted or not, and it went straight to his head.

The Cyclops and Nobody

Before he conked out, he asked Odysseus his name. “Nobody,” replied the hero.

“Well, Mr. Nobody, I like you,” said the Cyclops drowsily. “In fact, I like you so much that

I’m going to do you a favor. I’ll eat you last.”

With these encouraging words he fell fast asleep. Odysseus jumped up and put his men to

work. They put a sharp point on the end of a pole and hardened it in the fire. Then, with a

mighty “heave-ho”, they rammed it into the Cyclops’ eye.

In agony Polyphemus groped about blindly for his tormentors, but the Greeks dodged him all

night long. “Help, come quickly!” he shouted at one point, and his fellow Cyclopes came

running. “What’s the matter?” they called in at the mouth of the cave. “I’m blinded and in

agony,” roared Polyphemus.

“Whose fault, is it?” they shouted back.

“Nobody’s,” said Polyphemus.

“Well in that case,” responded the Cyclopes as they departed, “you’ve got a lot of nerve

bothering us.” In the morning, as usual, Polyphemus called his flock together and rolled the

boulder aside to let them out. He planted himself in the door to bar the Greeks’ escape.

Muttering at great length to his ram, he sought sympathy for his affliction.

“Whatever you do,” he told the beast, “Don’t trust Greeks.” So, saying, he stroked the

animal’s wooly back and sent him from the cave. Little did he know that Odysseus himself

clung to the ram’s belly. And, in a similar fashion, his shipmates had escaped beneath the rest

of the flock.

When Polyphemus realized the deception he rushed to the seaside, where Odysseus and his

men were rowing hard for safety. The hero could not resist a taunt. “Just to set the record

straight, the name’s Odysseus,” he called across the water. “But you have Nobody to thank

for your troubles — nobody but yourself, that is.”

With a mighty curse Polyphemus threw a boulder which almost swamped the ship. But the

rowers redoubled their efforts. They left the blinded Cyclops raging impotently on the shore.
The Myth of Odysseus and The Cyclops in Art

The myth of Odysseus and Cyclops Polyphemus inspired many artists due to the brightness

and cunningness of the Greek hero.

Reaction:

The story of Odysseus and the Cyclops Prometheus is also a great story because it tells us

about trust. As what I have read, Prometheus said before Odysseus and his men left his property not to

trust Greeks. In the cyclops’ point of view, we should know that trust is important. Trust is earned, not

given. We need to be cautious when building relationships with others and ensure that they

demonstrate the same level of integrity that we do. It is important to pay attention to people's actions,

not just their words, and be willing to walk away from those who do not live up to our standards. We

should not just give our trust to everyone we encounter, especially when we don’t fully know them. In

Odysseus’ point of view, I’m surprised on how Odysseus and his men are clever on their plans to

escape. Polyphemus makes a show of hospitality at first, but he soon turns hostile. He devours two of

Odysseus's men on the spot and imprisons Odysseus and the rest in his cave for future meals.

Polyphemus tells Odysseus that he fears no man or gods because of his strength. Because Polyphemus

underestimates Odysseus, he is tricked and then blinded by Odysseus and his men. The lesson in

Cyclops is to treat others the way you want to be treated, or that you get what you give. In conclusion,

we must be cautious with what we do in our day-to-day life because we do not know what will

happen. Trust should be earned, not be given just because you’re in a higher position or a relative. A

person who is deserving of someone’s trust is a person who is true and with principles. Also, we must

not do unto others, what we don’t want others to do unto us. We should be kind, nice, and loving to

the people around us if we want to be treated that way.

PROMETHEUS

ODYSSEUS