Homer and his works

Homer was the Greek poet who wrote the Iliad, and the Odyssey.  He lived anywhere from around 850 B.C. to the 12^th century.  He is known as debatably the greatest Greek poet in history. 

His poem the Iliad is “set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.”  This poem is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of Western literature.

Here is one of the quotes from the Iliad.

Sing, goddess, of Achilles' ruinous anger
Which brought ten thousand pains to the Achaeans,
And cast the souls of many stalwart heroes
To Hades, and their bodies to the dogs
And birds of prey.

Homer’s other famous work was the Odyssey.  It also is an epic poem, that tells about the Greek hero Odysseus.  “The poem mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus (or Ulysses, as he was known in Roman myths) and his long journey home following the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed he has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.”

There were also other pieces of literature that were attributed to Homer, besides the Iliad and the Odyssey.  In fact, the total Epic Cycle has been attributed to Homer.  The Epic Cycle is a collection of Greek poems that include: the Little Iliad, the Nostoi, the Telegony, and many others.

Homer was truly a great poet, and his poems have lived on as standards of Western literature throughout the world.  

Homer vs. Biblical authors: "Analysis vs. Interpretation"

In Erich Auerbach’s essay “Odysseus’ Scar”, Auerbach claims that “Homer can be analyzed...but he cannot be interpreted.”  Before addressing this claim, I feel it is important to know the difference between analysis and interpretation.

Analysis is defined by www.Dictionary.com as “the separating of any material or abstract entity into its constituent elements.”  Basically analysis is studying the story by breaking it into parts.  www.Dictionary.com defines interpretation as “an explanation of the meaning of another’s artistic or creative work.”  So interpretation is basically describing what is going on in the story, and why it is happening.

So when Auerbach claims that “Homer can be analyzed...but he cannot be interpreted,” then Auerbach is saying that you are able to break up the story into different parts in order to study them, but you are not able to describe what is going on in the story and why.  The reason Auerbach claims you are unable to do this is because the Homeric style is “fraught with background.”  “...the Homeric poems conceal nothing, they contain no teaching, and no secret meaning.”

This statement by Auerbach “fraught with background,” basically means that there is so much detail in the story, that none of it needs to be explained.  All the meaning is right in the text, and there is nothing left to the reader that he has to figure out the meaning of.  The story is simply for enjoyment, and there is no guiding truths or life lessons that are hidden in the narrative. 

On the other hand, Auerbach argues that “The Scripture stories do not, like Homer’s, court our favor, they do not flatter us that they may please us and enchant us-they seek to subject us, and if we refuse to be subjected we are rebels.”  “Doctrine and promise are incarnate in them and inseparable from them; for that very reason they are fraught “background” and mysterious, containing a second, concealed meaning.”  “Far from seeking, like Homer, merely to make us forget our own reality for a few hours, it seeks to overcome our reality: we are to fit our own life into its world, feel ourselves to be elements in its structure of universal history.”

So basically Auerbach’s argument is that the writings of Homer are for enjoyment only, and one should not try to understand its deeper meanings, because there are none there.  In contrast, the Scriptures were written to be interpreted, and written in such a way that the reader must search out the meaning of the passages.

I tend to agree with Auerbach’s assessment of the two styles.  In fact the Bible even states in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  This just reinforces the fact that the Bible was mean to be studied.  Homer should be read as it was mean to be read...for the pleasure of the reader.  

Enrich Auerbach

Grace

Scott brought up some interesting points about grace in his comment on one of my earlier posts, and I thought I would just answer these as my open post for this week, so here goes...

I used the phrase from the Genesis flood story “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”  In case you haven’t read the comment, Scott said this, “This idea of grace is unique to the story, it seems to me. Grace is something that Noah didn't necessarily earn; it comes from God. So why is it the Noah is the recipient of this grace? And what does the fact that grace is used in this sense seem to say about humanity as a whole in this story?”

Grace is defined by www.Dictionary.com as “a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior; mercy, clemency, pardon.”  The Lord obviously manifested his favor on Noah by warning him of the coming flood, and telling him what to do to escape the destruction.  I’ve heard grace also defined as “getting something you don’t deserve.”  Noah did not deserve to be saved from the flood; he may have been “just…and perfect in his generation,” but he was still a man, and a sinner.  The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”  Although Noah was in the world’s eyes a “good” man, he was still flawed, but God chose to show favor on him.

We all are just like Noah; we have sinned, and the Lord is prepared to pour out his wrath on us.  But the good news is that He is also ready and willing to save us, just like Noah.  Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Scott brought up the question of why Noah received God’s grace?  That is a good question, because we have already determined that Noah did not deserve this grace.  I believe it is because Noah was seeking the grace of God.  If you look at the passage again, it says that “Noah found grace.”  If you find something, that more than often means that you were searching for it.  None of us deserve God’s grace, but if we simply seek God’s face, and ask Him to save us from our sins, he will grant us the same grace that Noah experienced. It says in Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  And in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I believe humanity as a whole was very wicked as the text says, and this is why God had to destroy them.  But I believe if anyone else had sought the Lord, he would have poured out his grace to them as he did Noah.  They simply refused it, or were too busy to search.  There are many people that reject his grace today.  He is ready and willing to save them, but many still refuse.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16 

  

3 differences of the flood stories

There are many differences in the Genesis flood story, and the Epic of Gilgamesh flood story, but there were three that really stood out.

1.  Reason for the flood

The reasons for the flood in the two different flood stories are different.  In the Genesis flood story, the wickedness of the earth had become so grotesque that God had to destroy the earth.  It says, “And God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth...And the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth: both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them.”  But in the Epic of Gilgamesh flood story, the gods simply are annoyed by the “clamour” of the people, and they cannot sleep.  The narrative says, “‘The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reason of the bable.’  So the gods agreed to exterminate mankind.”

2.  Length of the flood

Another difference is the length of the floods in the two stories.  In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the flood is six days and six nights long.  “For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and flood raged together like warring hosts.”  In the Genesis flood story, the flood is forty days long.  “And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and bare up the ark…”

3.  How animal life was preserved

In the Genesis story,  Noah took two of each animal...male and female.  “And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female.”  The Epic of Gilgamesh however is different.  It says, “...then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures.”

These three differences are the most important, because they are the most important parts of the stories.  The reason for the flood tells us the purpose behinds why God (or the gods) destroyed man from the earth and started over.  Without this the stories would have completely different meanings; man would have been destroyed without a purpose.  The number of days that the floods were upon the earth is important because they are so much different.  The flood in Genesis was almost a month longer than that in the Epic of Gilgamesh.  Lastly, how life was preserved is important, because that explains how the world is today. Without this information, we would be left to wonder how the animals survived the flood.

"Noah was a just man..."

“Noah was a just man…”

This is a very powerful statement, because there are not very many people in this day and time that this statement would apply to.  The adjective “just” is defined by www.Dictionary.com as “guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness.”  This seems to be the exact opposite direction our society is going today.

I wonder how close our society is to the civilization that existed before the flood?  The text says, “The wickedness of men was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” and “the earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”  This description basically describes the condition our world is in today.

In Jeremiah 17:9 it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Man, if left to his own devices will continue to sink more and more into corruption, and depravity.

Although the general consensus is that man is good, and it is just his circumstances that make him do evil things, this belief is as far from the truth as it can be.  “They have all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

The punishment for man’s wickedness is death.  Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death…”

The great news is that the mercy of God extends to all.  The second part of Romans 6:23 says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life though Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Although man is “deceitfully wicked”, Christ made the payment for our sins on the cross, and thus provided a way to escape the punishment of sin.  If you will trust Christ as the only way to Heaven, he will save you from your sins, and help you bring glory to him in the midst of a wicked and corrupt world.

Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”    

God's Three Attributes

There are three characteristics that describe the God of the flood story; holy, powerful, and merciful.  Although these may seem to be contradictory at first, you will see that they actually complement each other.

1. Holy

A holy and righteous God could not let sin abound on the earth as it was before the flood.  The Bible says “And God saw that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  This is the same attribute of holiness prevents God from letting sin into heaven.

2. Powerful

The magnitude of the flood showed how powerful God is.  “The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”  Never had the whole earth been flooded before, and a worldwide flood has never happened since. The Bible says in Psalms 147:5 “Great is our Lord, and of great power.”

   

3. Merciful

In Psalm 136, the psalmist repeatedly reiterates the phrase “his mercy endureth for ever”, and there are a couple of ways that God manifests his mercy in this story,

a)   God spared Noah, his wife, Noah’s three sons, and their wives.  “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”  God could have just destroyed the whole entire earth and started over, but instead he saved Noah and his family, and gave humanity a second chance.

b)  God promised never to flood the whole earth again.  “And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations.  I do set my bow in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”

We can experience the same mercy that Noah felt today.  The Bible says “But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  The mercy of God extends to all who will trust in him to save them. 

As one can see these three attributes of holiness, power and mercy are clearly manifested by God in the flood story and in everyday life as we know it.      

Faith and the creation myths

The creation myths are somewhat difficult to study, because although we are looking at these creation myths “objectively”, it is very hard not to make judgments.  Everyone has a belief system, and these myths are tied so closely to different faiths and religions that it makes it tough trying to talk about them without interjecting our own bias.

I believe it takes faith to believe in whatever creation myth one believes in.  It even takes faith to believe that there are no “gods” and that all this just happened. There are thousands of belief systems that try to explain where man came from.  Whether one believes that God created the world, the world evolved, or one believes in the flying spaghetti monster (there is actually a religion…look it up @ www.venganza.org), it is all taken by faith.       

Every creation myth has its “evidence”, but here was no human who was actually here at creation, or at the beginning of time.  Therefore there is no hard evidence where one can know exactly what happened at the beginning of time.  All the “evidence” shown by one group is completely discarded by the other, because it doesn’t “fit” in with their beliefs.  I can say I “know” what happened, but it is only because I have a certain belief system that I go by that “tells” me what happened.

I tried to write this post up to this point with as little bias as possible, so you could understand the relationship between faith and the creation myths without getting bogged down because of my belief system. 

I am a Christian, so I do believe that God created the world in six days, thus the Genesis creation story.  I believe “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” Psalms 19:1.  And yes, I do think you are wrong if you don’t believe God created the earth, but I also think you have the right to believe whatever you wish.

 

As I said in the earlier paragraphs, everyone believes by faith (including myself), and it is everyone’s individual decision to believe as they think they ought to.  I simply ask this; realize that every person you meet has a belief system that is taken by faith.  I think the book of Hebrews puts it best (but this is just my belief J)… “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1     

Similarities Between Enuma Elish and Metamorphoses

The passages Enuma Elish and Metamorphoses are similar in a few ways…

#1  Verse form is used in both passages

Because these stories were passed down from generation to generation, they were told in verse form to make it easier for the narrators of the story to remember the sequence of events in the account.  

#2  Both passages open with chaos

For instance, Enuma Elish begins with: “When the skies above were not yet named nor earth below pronounced by name…”  The phrase “not yet named” creates a feeling of disorder and confusion in the universe.

Another example is the statement in Metamorphoses describing the world before creation: “Before the ocean was, or earth, or heaven, nature was all alike, a shapeless, chaos, so-called, all rude and lumpy matter…”  The turmoil and disarray described in this account shows the state that the universe was in before creation.

#3  The chaos in both passages results in creation

For example, in Enuma Elish Marduke defeats Tiamat, and uses her body to create the world.  “He divided the monstrous shape and created marvels (from it). ... Half of her he put up to roof the sky, drew a bolt across and made a guard to hold it.  Her waters he arranged so that they could not escape.”

And then after the gods swear their allegiance to him, Marduke makes man.  Marduke said, “Let me put blood together, and make bones too.  Let me set up primeval man: Man shall be his name.  Let me create a primeval man.  The work of the gods shall be imposed (on him), and so they shall be at leisure.”

In Metamorphoses, the “giants attached the very throne of Heaven, piled Pelion on Ossa, mountain on mountain up to the very stars.  Jove struck them down with thunderbolts, and the bulk of those huge bodies lay on the earth, and bled, and Mother Earth made pregnant by that blood, brought forth new bodies, and gave them, to recall her older offspring, the forms of men.”  Thus through disorder, man is created.

As one can see these passages, although very different, have some striking similarities.

World Lit Questions

Who were the original tellers of the creation myths?

What religions are the three creation myths associated with?