The Moral of the Story
Lessons from The Odyssey
The Greek Textbook and Bible
• For the Greeks, The Iliad and The
Odyssey were the foundation of their
education.
• For Greek schoolboys, these books
were their:
– Textbooks
– “Bibles”
– Entertainment
Training Young People
• Teachers and parents would use
these stories to raise the new
generation.
• What lessons do you think they
could teach from The Odyssey?
– Think.
– Pair.
– Share.
Lessons for Each Stop
• Each adventure Odysseus can be used to
teach a lesson.
• We will look at some of them.
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Lotus Eaters
Cyclops / Aeolia
Circe
Hades
Sirens
Scylla and Charybdis
Helios’s cattle
Lotus Eaters
• Narcotics are dangerous and
addictive.
• Distractions can cause us to never
want to complete our goals.
Cyclops and Aeolia
• Curiosity can be dangerous.
• Often you need to think your way
out of a situation, rather than fight
your way out. Brain and brawn.
• Follow through on your objectives.
– Don’t almost finish. Finish.
Circe
• Lust can turn people into animals.
• You can get too comfortable.
• Stay loyal amid the worst
temptations.
Hades
• You sometimes need to experience
the worst to get the best.
• We can always learn from the past.
– Heb. 12:1
Sirens
• Some things sound good but aren’t.
• Find a way to avoid temptation.
– Don’t simply trust your strength to
withstand it.
• Keep going. Do not rest on past
accomplishments.
Scylla and Charybdis
• This is where we get the expression
“between a rock and a hard place.”
• Sometimes you have to decide
between two tough options.
• Avoiding one problem may lead you
to another.
– Trust God to get you out.
Helios
• Obey the rules.
• Remember your responsibilities.
– Don’t allow other people to ruin things
for you.
• Seemingly small actions can have
huge consequences.
Main Lesson
• Life is about having a goal and
overcoming obstacles to reach that
goal.
• Obstacles come in different ways.
– Some are self-inflicted.
– Some are from other people.
– Some are from “the gods.”
Overcoming Obstacles
• Some obstacles are self-inflicted.
• What are examples from The Odyssey
of self-inflicted obstacles?
– Odysseus’s pride.
– Others?
• What are examples from our lives of
self-inflicted obstacles?
– Procrastination
Overcoming Obstacles
• Some obstacles come from others.
• What are examples from The Odyssey
of other people being obstacles?
– Cicones. Aeolus’s winds.
– Others?
• What are examples from our lives of
obstacles that others present?
– Betrayal, drama…
Overcoming Obstacles
• Some obstacles come from the
“gods.”
• What are examples from The Odyssey
from the gods?
– Storms, Helios’s cattle?
– Others?
• What are examples from our lives of
obstacles that we cannot help?
– Our birth, our circumstances…
Overcoming Obstacles
• How does Odysseus overcome the
obstacles in his path?
– The gods help? His own efforts?
• How can we overcome the obstacles
in our lives?