THE ODYSSEY AND MIGRATION

Ok, we have read texts from the Odyssey, by Homer, and now
we know about it. We have put in practice different reading
techniques by means of different types of activities. But,
because our project deals with reading and migration, we
expected to read texts about migration, not the Odyssey.

Well, here comes the question:

WHAT DOES THE ODYSSEY HAVE TO DO WITH

MIGRATION?

Ok, take a look at these reports:

“Relato de dos náufragos”
https://elpais.com/politica/2018/11/07/actualidad/1541618501_483274.htm
l
“Los 53 días de viaje de Aïssata para llegar a Europa”
https://elpais.com/politica/2019/01/29/actualidad/1548790589_276211.htm
l

Now answer these questions, please:

First report:

1. How would you describe the trip they had to take?

2. Did they have to face weather problems at sea?
3. Did some of the people who were travelling with them die?

Second report:

1. Did Aïssata leave family behind?

 2. What are the last words in the report? Why do you think
the reporter uses those words?

PARALLELISM BETWEEN THE REPORTS AND THE ODYSSEY

If you read carefully, you’ll see that some of the events

depicted in the two reports are very similar to the ones in the
Odyssey. So, we can establish a parallelism between the story
told 2,800 years ago and today’s migrations.

Now try to complete this table. Take the information from the
reports. (There is a glossary below)

THE ODYSSEY THE REPORTS

(See report 1)

Poseidon (who can be

considered a representation
of the forces of nature) sends
storms to Odysseus.

(See report 1)

When the sirens sing,

Odysseus loses his mind, and
is willing to escape from the
ship.

(See report 2)

Circe is someone that you can

not trust. Someone who will
deceive you.

(See reports 1 or 2)

The Phaecians receive

Odysseus well, and help him.
Glossary:

- To be willing to: estar deseoso/a de

- To deceive: engañar
- To trust: confiar

AND MORE SIMILARITIES…

The difficulties that Odysseus had to face on his long way back
to Ithaca still hold more resemblances with those trips that
many immigrants take. Match the situations in box 1 (migrants)
and box 2 (Odysseus):

BOX 1 (SITUATIONS THAT MIGRANTS COULD HAVE TO

FACE)

a) Finding dangerous situations that you can not avoid.

b) Meeting people that you are afraid of.

c) Being ready to steal if you are in a desperate situation.

d) You are worried about the family and friends that you
left behind when you abandoned your country.

e) Remembering other migrants who died on the way.

f) Seeing strange habits.

BOX 2 (SITUATIONS THAT ODYSSEUS FACED ON HIS
WAY TO ITHACA)

1. Odysseus and his men find the Cyclops. This is what he

said about them: “These are giant, wild creatures . . .
They have no laws and are quite savage.”

2. Odysseus is used to sailing, just as all his men are. But

the Cyclopes “did not own ships or know how to sail.”

3. When Odysseus visits the dead, Tiresias tells him about

the situation of Penelope and Telemachus. Odysseus feels
sad and angry about what he hears: “(Tiresias) told me
about Penelope’s suitors at my home . . . When he said
this, my face became hot and anger filled my body.”

4. On the same visit, Odysseus finds friends and family who

had died, and feels very sad about it: “Odysseus bowed
his head. The next part of the story was hard to tell . . .
the brave soldiers who fought and died beside me in Troy
came to shake my hand.”

5. During his trip, Odysseus finds Scylla and Charybdis.

“Each monster sat at one edge of the passage. We had to
decide which side to take.”

6. While stayng at the Island of the Sun God, Odysseus’s

men steal and eat a cow. “I warned them still not to touch
the animals . . . My men could not stand their hunger any
longer . . .the men stole one of the cows.”

a) …….. b) ………. c) ………….. d) ………. e) ………….. f) …………