The Cattle of the Sun God

Epithets

Patronymics

• Helios is described as the Sun God.
• Eurylochus is a rebel crew member who convinced the crew to eat the cattle.
• Odysseus is disappointed because he discovered while he was sleeping, his men ate the cattle of Helios.

Zeus is described as "Father Zeus" by Odysseus.

Epic Traits

Mortals who slaughtered the Cattle

vs.

Helios

Impact: Odysseus's men gave into temptation while Odysseus slept. Ultimately, the ship is struck by Zeus's mighty thunderbolt and all but Odysseus's men perished.

Main Characters and their traits

Main Conflicts and the Impact

• Odysseus (M)

- Humble

- Honest

- Brave

• Eurylochus (M)

- Impatient

- Dishonest

- Unworthy

• Helios (G)

- Sun God

- Merciless

• Zeus

- Powerful

- Judgemental

Odysseus and his men have just arrived on an island and are tired and hungry. Odysseus is aware of Helios's cattle, but his men are desperate. They beg for several nights, while Odysseus firmly denied. Then, the men got their chance. Odysseus was in a deep slumber, so they left sneakily. They ate through the night. Satisfied and bloated, the men had it coming. Helios's daughters reported the event to him. Helios was enraged. He, subsequently, ordered Zeus to punished the men with death. Zeus granted the request by striking the ship. The blast killed everyone but Odysseus.

Summary

Odysseus goes through the inner struggle between satisfying his hunger or staying true to his conscience. Odysseus demonstrates strong will because he does not give in.

The Queen of Hearts

Summary/Paraphrasing

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,

All on a summer’s day;

The knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts,

And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts

Called for the tarts,

And beat the Knave full sore;

The Knave of Hearts

Brought back the tarts,

And vowed he’d steal no more.

There was a queen who made cakes on a hot, summer day. Then, her servant stole her beloved tarts. The Queen's husband retrieved them back and damaged the servant until he was hurt profusely. In result, the Servant swore to never steal again.

Poetry Analysis

Similarities

Citation

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/74/nursery-rhymes-and-traditional-poems/5335/the-queen-of-hearts/

• In both stories, there are rebellious characters that does something wrong to cause conflict.
• The stories teaches the moral lesson that stealing is wrong.
• Each story shows consequences for your actions.

Background Information

Gods have supreme rule and control the fate of humans. This is common in all Greek epics and myths. The Gods demand respect or the offender will face consequences. In this story, Odysseus's crew cooks and eats Helios's beloved cattle. Helios is enraged and requested Zeus to kill. The men disrespected Helios, the God of the Sun, and faced horrible consequences.

Odysseus receives supernatural help quite often throughout his journey. In The Cattle of the Sun God, Odysseus is spared by the gods because he does the right thing. The gods made sure he was spared by putting him in a deep slumber.

Gods play a major role in the story. Many gods favor Odysseus because he is a noble and true leader. For example, the gods put Odysseus to sleep when his men decided to slaughter the cattle. On the other hand, some gods are not very fond of Odysseus. Poseidon is furious at Odysseus because he blinded his son, Polyphemus. Helios dislikes Odysseus's crew because they murdered his beloved cattle.

After surviving Charybdis's whirlpools, Odysseus and his men docked upon Thrinacia, now known as Sicily, exhausted and famished. The island was home to the god, Helios. Helios kept to himself, and enjoyed the company of his holy and immortal cattle. The cattle were guarded by Helios's daughters, Phaethusa and Lampetie, and it was common knowledge that if any harm should come to his cattle, a terrible wrath will be sure to come. Eurylochus, one of Odyssesus's men, begs him for permission to land on the island. Odysseus, aware of the warnings from Teiresias and Circe to shun the island, reluctantly approves.

Epic Hero Traits

Themes/Examples

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Polyphemus requested to Poseidon that he kill all of Odysseus's men after Odysseus punctured his eye and stole his beloved sheep. Like all epics, fate has to come true so the gods put Odysseus to sleep. While he slept, his men saw their opportunity and went off to feast on the sacred cattle of the sun god. If Odysseus had been awake, the fate of the men would have been altered drastically.

Symbols and their Importance

Allusions

The lightning bolt is the symbol of the mighty Zeus. It demonstrates Zeus's power, dominance, and rage.

Storms symbolize the many obstacles thrown at Odysseus and his crew. Odysseus originally planned to stay on the island for one day, however Poseidon had other plans for the noble men. Poseidon was enraged at Odysseus for harming his son, Polyphemus, and answered Polyphemus's prayer to make his journey treacherous and prolonged.

The Cattle of the Sun God

By: Clarence Cheung, Gavin Nies, Trevor Nouvel, Nikhil Reddy