Finley, World of Odysseus, Chapter Two

     Towards the beginning of Chapter Two, Finley writes:

     " The serious problem for the historian is to determine
whether, and to what extent, there is anything in the poems that
relates to social and historical reality; how much, in other words, of
the world of Odysseus existed only in the poet's head and how much
outside, in space and time."

     One central thesis of World of Odysseus is that Homer's
world, though partly historical, represents the ideology of a
certain kind of aristocratic thought -- the values, especially
social values, of the aristocracy. 

     Note that, just before the passage quoted above, Finley writes:

     "Particularly in the Odyssey the word 'hero' is a class
term for the whole aristocracy..."

     What examples can you find in Chapter Two of (a) echoes of real
history, present or past; and (b) the embodiment of aristocratic
values?

     Pick three examples of each, and write a brief paragraph about
each, discussing it. Identify your passages specifically by quoting
the first few words of the paragraph the passage is in, but do not
quote the whole passage. Write 300 words or more.

     Email this to your whole group, and to me.