Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-09-23

become part of
the heritage of universal humanity.
We call them epic poemsy they are
rather great historical romances.
Each has n story OF it's owny In the
Had Il is the wrath of Achilles against
King Agamemnon, IN the Odyssey II
is the wanderings Of Odysseus ON HIS
way back from the wars Mt Troy. Back
of them both an remoter cause Ia the
tale of the fatal beauty of Helen. In
ench are tnnumernbie short stories,
which have been storehouses OF ro-
mnnces for writers ever since first they
became known.
IL II one OF the marveIs of the
Greeks fhnt they step out of the mist
OF unrecorded history with q highly
developed civilization, portrayed In two
OF the worlds masterpieces Of Iitern-
ture. The Greeks I'm later years wrote
elves" of Homer with great exactness
and minute detail They knew mo more
about the "biind bard" than do we.
Indeed. they were not even sure that
one poet wrote both tales. hut that
the stories were the work of supreme
genius they were sure ar have been
all men since their day who have read
them.
Homer was the Creeks ~best seriery,
they thrOnged IN thousands 20 hear him,
recited, their religion. their thought,
their education were all based on him,
under whose name In told the great
story of their heroes.
t is the tenth year since Troy has
fallen. Though the nIad did not
go beyond the death of Hector at
Achilles hands, other stories carried
on the tale through the death of
Achilles. the capture of Troy by the
Greeks by means of the strategem of
the wooden horse. the saclsing and
burning Of the city. the death of
Priam and his queen, the slavery of
Andromache which Hector had fore
seen. the slaughter OF the little son
he loved SO dearly, the escape of
Aeneas with his aged father.
After the booty had been divided,
the Greek chiefs took leisurely courses
to their homes. The great King Aga
memnon sent his dramatic night let
ter, announcing to his queen at home
by the light Of flames leaping from
hilltop to hilltop across the sea that
Troy had fallen; for his pains he met
the dramatic death at the hand of
Queen Klytaimnestra which Aeschy-
lus has made forever famous in his
great play, "Agamernnon the latter
has In 1t the beginning of the story
Of Orestes the close Greek counter
part of Hamlet The kings brother,
Menelaus, had better fortune; he had
journeyed homeward with his erst-
while Queen Helen, as If the great
Trojan episode had never been, and was
reigning again in peace and quiet with
the Worlds Desire by his >side at
Sparta, with no dread of n maraud-
ing Paris sent on the quest of beauty
by Aphrodite And so, too, the other
princes had returned with varying
fortunes.
But not so the Great Adventurer.
Troy had taken ten years to capture !;
ten years more still found the willy
Odysseus Detained in the Isle of
Ogygia by the fair Calypso. Mean
while the patient Penelope bides at
home, beset by the riotous suitors who
make Liberty hall of the absent kings
palace and would force the queen to
wed one Of them. She, ever as alert
and resourceful as her wandering
lord. puts Off her promise till she has
woven a web-of which she each night
unravels what she has done during
the day.
This first great story Of wandering
adventure has much more perfect
unity than the Had. 1t centers close
divides itself Into three parts. the all
ventures of Telemachus in quest of
Odysseus, the wanderings of the hero
and his return home, where with the
few still faithful to him he makes
himself his own detective. lays the
scene for the destruction of the vii
iains, and finally brings about the
happy ending which has so constantly
distressed critics OF the novel and the
theater since man began to write and
ordinary folk to listen or to read
In the first chapter. which comprises
the first four ''booksv Of the Odyssey
young Telemachus. amidst the mock
cry Of the suitors. starts in quest OF
his father. and makes the rounds Of
| the courts Of our old friend Nestor
king Of Pylos. and Of Menelaus and
| Helen at Sparta. where he learns the
| Whereabouts Of his father. and Their
starts homeward-
At this moment It IL at last made
possible for Odysseus to start on hii
way home. But the ga. ever hi
| enemy. again plays him fAlss. and n
= WsUrksd snee Dega thpngA ~ Z