The Homeric Twin Dangers of the Strait
I’m writing for The Big Picture today. Perhaps it’s because I’m excited for the upcoming Christopher Nolan film, or perhaps looking at what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz reminds me of what I learned back when we studied The Odyssey in a literature course.
Trump has sailed us into a dangerous waterway, and we now face an impossible choice, with the monster Scylla on one side and the vortex of Charybdis on the other. I’ll say no more here, but to see how this Homeric tale plays out in modern form, look for my piece in your inboxes later this afternoon.
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I’ll be back here tomorrow with my regular installment of The Status Kuo.
Jay
In the modern world, the hero would find some clever solution to get through the dangers without suffering serious harm. In the Odyssey, no such solution was found (despite Odysseus's legendary cleverness). They sailed past Scylla and let the monster take and eat some of the crew, and just dealt with that.
I seem to remember that the UHS curriculum included the Odyssey. . . Is that where you first encountered it? It seems like it was part of what my daughter and son did there, a few years after you were there. But maybe I am just remembering when it was part of what I taught in Grade 5 at Tucson Waldorf School. Can't wait to see what you write for the Big Picture today.