Wednesday Wisdom

WHO?

Homer was an ancient Greek poet who is traditionally credited with writing two of the greatest epic poems of all time: the Iliad and the Odyssey. He is believed to have lived in the 8th or 7 century BC. According to tradition, he was blind and his stories were passed down orally, only being recorded in writing some two hundred years later.

What he produced

The plot of Homer's Odyssey is a complex and multi-layered epic poem that tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus and his journey home after the Trojan War. The poem is divided into 24 chapters, each one focusing on a different episode in Odysseus' travels. In many of the chapters, Odysseus is faced with multiple struggles, where the gods with their fickle personalities, are sometimes helpful and other times combative leading to immense struggles.

Odysseus' departure from Ithaca leaves his comely wife Penelope vulnerable to unscrupulous suitors who move into his home and try to entice her into remarriage. In the second chapter, Telemacuas, the young son of Odysseus sets out on his own journey to find his father to bring him home and save the family. On his journey, he meets Athena who is disguised as the family friend and neighbor, who offers counsel, wisdom, and encouragement for his journey and his life. Eventually, they both return and retake their home, Oddeseus proving his merit in face of obstacles and Telemacuas coming of age and gaining wisdom through advice and experience.

Athena was one of the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses and was considered one of the most important deities in the Greek pantheon. Her father was the omnipotent but not always rational god Zeus, who sat on the throne of Mt Olympus. Experiencing a severe headache, the god Hephaestus splits Zeus's head open, and emerging was a fully formed Athena in full armor.

In ancient Greek mythology, the goddess Athena was associated with wisdom, knowledge, and reason, among other attributes. She was often depicted as a powerful and wise female figure and was revered as a patron of many different aspects of life including strategic warfare, art, and learning. The city of Athens was named for her after she out-maneuvered her rival god Poseidon over the honor of city patronage. Poseidon had struck his trident into a rock giving the citizens of would-be Athens water, yet the water was of salt. Athena planted a seed as a gift, which grew into a beautiful olive tree which resulted in the citizens naming the city after the goddess. She is often depicted with an owl on her shoulder. She chose the owl as the sacred animal because of its ability to see in the light and in darkness and hence has been revered as a figure of wisdom. The Greeks commemorated this by minting their currency the drachma, with Athena on one side and an owl on the other.

2023 why do we care?

Athena often takes on disguises in Homer's poem to guide and assist the mortal characters, and she chooses the disguise of a trusted neighbor while looking after Odysseus's son. This man is named Mentor and he/she gives Telemachus wise counsel and encourages him to stand up to the suitors who have taken over his home. "Be bold, and speak your plan" she advises him to be courageous and logical. More importantly, she tells him "Telemachus, true wisdom comes from experience and observation. You must learn from the mistakes of others as well as your own."  The disguise of Mentor emphasizes the importance of wise counsel and guidance in the development of young people like Telemachus. From Homer's character, we have the word mentor. 

When you hear the word Mentor, you may be reminded that the original goddess entrusted with wisdom was Athena from Mt Olympus. Athena was the original mother of Athens, and she provided wisdom like all mothers.

And now you know...

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer the what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.