UMUC The Monomyth & The Odyssey The Hero with a Thousand Faces Discussion

In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell says, “The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken, or who feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or permitted to the members of society. The person then takes off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what has been lost or to discover some life-giving elixir. It’s usually a cycle, a coming and a returning.” This is, very briefly, what underlies his concept of the Monomyth.

The Monomyth is often used to communicate important cultural standards. One such standard for Greek culture was the concept of xenia. The World Heritage Encyclopedia defines xenia as “the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. The rituals of hospitality created a reciprocal relationship between guest and host expressed in both material benefits (such as the giving of gifts to each party) as well as non-material ones (such as protection, shelter, favors, or certain normative rights).” Violations of xenia could have profound effects in the ancient Greek view, and many myths and epics center on those who correctly observe the rules of xenia and those who do not.

This week, we will think about this concept of the Monomyth; we will also discuss Homer’s The Odyssey, particularly in terms of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth and the concept of xenia.

Response

For this discussion, you should think about the Monomyth, The Odyssey, and xenia by responding to the following prompts. The last prompt should help you to construct your peer replies.

Your response to prompts 1-4 are your initial response, for which you are expected to write a total of 200-250 words.

Please do not include any of the prompt’s text (below) in your response:

1. After reading about the Monomyth, and viewing the video materials on this topic, consider how you would define the term in your own words to someone who has not done our readings.
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2. After reading Homer’s The Odyssey, apply your understanding of The Hero’s Journey (the Monomyth) to that text. Which of the stages in Campbell’s Monomyth does the hero (or do the heroes–as there is more than one possible hero) in The Odyssey complete? Are they completed in the same sequence as Campbell presents them in his Hero’s Journey? What insights can be gained from comparing and contrasting Homer’s epic to Campbell’s concept?
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3. Something which might aid in analyzing The Odyssey using the Monomyth is the concept of xenia (defined above). Violations of xenia could have profound effects in the ancient Greek view, and many myths and epics center on those who correctly observe the rules of xenia and those who do not. How does the concept of xenia affect our understanding of the journey of the hero in The Odyssey?
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4. Ask one original, objective question (not one requiring a personal or speculative response ) of your classmates which is focused upon the readings. You could ask a question about a particular character or a particular episode in the epic, or about a source online that perhaps gives new insight about the Monomyth or The Odyssey (or anything else which is relevant to the topic of our discussion).