The World Of Odysseus By Moses I

The World Of Odysseus By Moses I. Finley Essay, Research Paper The World of Odysseus by Moses I. Finley analyzes the world of Ancient Greece and the important figures associated with that time period. The major events take place in the Mediterranean Basin centered upon Greece, her surrounding islands, and Asia Minor. This time period of mythological hysteria and heroic role models is explained and assessed in great detail by the author. As a well-known historian, the author provides the reader with a strong sense of reliance, as the author persistently deals out information and expresses his historically-backed opinion throughout the course of the book. The author carefully analyzes the well-known stories of Ancient Greece, primarily The Odyssey and Iliad, which are accepted

as accurate sources of Ancient Greek history. As he divides the book into five chapters, the author organizes his data while carefully providing the reader with historical relevant background data. In one of the chapters known as “Homer and the Greeks,” the author provides the reader with basic information of Ancient Greece as well as information on The Odyssey and Iliad, the two books on which this book is based upon. In another chapter, referred to as “Wealth and Labor,” the author successfully supplies the reader with a larger knowledge base for what the Ancient Greek period was like. Economic and social traits of the period are discussed, with an emphasis of the role of the average Greek man. Throughout the rest of the book, the author carefully continues to assess

the roles of Greek man and his relations and beliefs as told through The Odyssey and Iliad. The most interesting aspect of The World of Odysseus, is the smoothly flowing relationship between the mythological stories and the historical facts. The author rarely explains the great stories of the gods and heroes of Ancient Greece without identifying it’s historical impact, relating it to actual events, or explaining how it describes the values and morals of the men living in Greece in that time period. For example, after describing the relationship between Penelope and Odysseus, the author proceeds to say “Neither in the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope nor in any other relationship between man and mate in the Homeric poems was there the depth and intensity, the quality

of feeling. . . .” It was pleasing to read the author’s unusual approach for writing this book by first retelling mythical stories from ancient poems and then informing the reader of the poems’ purpose. Though the author connected his thoughts and stories ingeniously, the book was quite a tedious task. Some of the stories mentioned were simply not interesting or too confusing to fully understand. The author’s amazing transition skills between stories and actual facts were outweighed by the book’s slow moving pace and sometimes uninteresting stories. Many significant historical results came from the period in time that the author wrote about. The time period mentioned in the book was home to some famous events, including the Trojan War. However, more importantly, this

time era gave birth to an early civilized society which would create a path in literature, social standards and mythology for the rest of the world to follow. The development and advancement in literature is probably the greatest historical result occurring within the time period of Ancient Greece. This time period, with the development of written language, allowed authors and poets who emerged from nothingness to be remembered in perpetuity. This new era of written literature provided an easy access for the Greek world to become involved with the rest of the world through academics, economic and technological advancement, as well as written arts. The Iliad and Odyssey were just two poems composed in this era that would have such an impact on the future world that they would