In "Book XIV " of The Odyssey, Odysseus is visiting with the Swine Herder, or "Pigman" as Lena suggested.

Because of Athena's supernatural transformation of Ody in "Book 13," he is still disguised as a gnarled old man (see picture at right).

As it turns out, this serves him well. Because of his appearance, Ody is able to get Pigman's true feelings. The Pigman tells Ody that his master was both "Master" and "Brother." (xiv.168)

The class decided this was a good thing because:

• If Pigman is speaking highly of Ody even though he thinks Ody's. dead, it show he truly respects him. Shows loyalty.
• How his lowest servants "remember" him speaks very highly of Ody's character. This might set Ody. apart from other kings.
• If he (Pigman) wasn't really loyal he would say negative things to the "beggar." -M. Doe

Megan also made another connection, "I wouldn't do what they are doing here. You can tell they trusted each other a lot more then. People were more social because they didn't have phones or stuff like that."

This led to a whole class discussion of how Homer was trying to teach people to treat visitors or other those in need. The majority of the class stood to signal they had been asked for money by someone on the street. The majority of the standing students also signaled they had said no or would have said no if they'd had money.

Missy said, "These days, if a stranger comes up to you for money for 'a train ticket,' you can tell by their clothes that they really don't want a train ticket. In 'their' days, everyone looked out for each other and took care of each other. Now, we don't look out for each other as much."

Several students commented that they had been asked for money by people they later saw buying drugs or alcohol. Qianna even commented, "The homeless people I saw looked like they had money. They took food from a friend and threw it on the floor because they wanted it to buy drugs."

When asked what might be the lesson Homer was trying to teach, the students said:

Patricia – Ody wasn’t his true self. Sometimes homeless people aren’t their true identity.
L. Bruce – Those type of people can teach you a lesson. (Something about equalizing people’s experiences.)
Ryan – Strangers are good and they could teach you a lot, and you never know who strangers are.
Harding – Go out and meet people, but be careful whom you talk to.
Roberto – Be accepting and treat others how you would want to be treated.
Megan – Even if you’re a bum or you’re really rich, we’re all from Zeus. From talking to bums, they’re still people. Sometimes they do have good intentions. We’re told not to talk to strangers because they could be dangerous. Some have good intentions, sometimes they don’t.

Other important quotes were:

xiv.173

xiv.70-78

xiv.197

xiv.168

xiv.66

The next scribe is: Lena B.