The purpose of this educational programme is to allow the educators and the students to highlight the timeless value of the Homer's Odyssey. The Odyssey, the epic masterpiece of Homer has been characterized as the uppermost story for shaping modern human beings and their ideals. The reason is that it describes courage, persistence and devotion to Odysseys target of returning back to his homeland, Ithaca. On his long, return trip home to Ithaca, Odysseus encountered twelve obstacles. The students will get to know some of the places he visited. Specifically they will deal with four important and particularly dangerous stations, their symbolism and their timeliness. The students from Sicily, Italy where was the eighth station, after studying the Sirens' myth, will interpret and update it. Specifically, Odysseys sought for Knowledge, and the Sirens symbolizing adultery tried to mislead him so that Odysseys could not come to the truth. Students will identify the modern Sirens and their ways of dealing with them. The students from Catalonia, Spain will deal with the tenth station that is the island of the Sun . After reading the narrative, will discuss the consequences of Odysseus 'comrades' nonsense and dishonesty. Then, coming to today, they will identify the dangers that lie when one is enticed by the temptations of material life with particular reference to reality shows, to easy enrichment, to virtual reality. The students from Gozo, Malta where was the eleventh station, after studying the myth of Calypso and the dialogue with Odysseys, will first analyze and interpret the myth.In particular, they will understand that two forces are at stake in the dialogue: happiness, material enjoyment, conquering everything, immortality with the south (longing for the home, the land, the husband). The Calypso is a symbol, it is the imagination, the departure from reality, the opium that is the refuge of the desperate. The students will then compare and discuss Odysseus' dilemma with the dilemma of the modern desperate man (refugee, financial immigrant, etc.), in order to show the greatness of determination, will and perseverance in fulfilling the goal. The students from Corfu, Greece, where was the twelfth station, after studying the Odysseys-Nafsika meeting, will analyze its significance. In particular, they will understand that Nafsika is the last temptation, the last obstacle on the way back to Ithaca. Odysseys arrives on the island of the Feakes wrecked, naked, exhausted and alone. He has endured everything, has lost everything and experiences the highest humility of the naked. Fayakes is an earthly paradise and Athena the closest thing to Penelope. And yet, Odysseys will not bend. Students will then be asked to find similar cases of modern shipwrecks and how they did not bow to the great temptation. The students from Ithaca, Greece, where was Odyssseys homeland, after studying the narrative, after reading the narrative according to which Odysseys arrived at Ithaca and he dressed up as a beggar by Goddess Athena to espel the suitors they will analyze the importance of self-restraint in order to achieve the goal. We believe that the students who are going to participate, from all the partner schools will take a journey having as goal to learn more about the the importance and timeliness of the Homeric Odyssey. In addition in this journey they will be able to make new friendships and exchange views on the historical period under study. Also, though through this study of the masterpiece of world literature, the partner students will learn to cooperate with their peers from different countries, having different cultures and even a different view of the world. In this way, they are going to proceed in their effort of becoming active European citizens, citizens of a globalised new world, that is changing constantly and is full of challenges.
The objecives of this project were: Cognitive objectives: • General and specific knowledge through the exploration of the myth and the explanation and definition of the symbol. • Focusing on moral questions and other issues. Emotional objectives: • Communication with others. • Creative personal expression. • Enhance creative thinking. • Strengthening decision-making and initiative capacity. Psychomotor objectives: • Partnership and cooperation (teamwork). • Determination and responsibility. Social objectives: • The importance of family and homeland in the development of fairly governed societies. • The culture, the basis and starting point for self-realization. Cultural objectives: • Promotion of shared values and cultural values in the participating countries. Based on these goals, through this project, we intended with the example of Odysseys to highlight 1. the issue of self-awareness / self-realization 2. the importance of creating fairly governed societies, 3. interculturalism as a necessary precondition for the development and improvement of human culture 4. the important role of the Mediterranean Sea in human action over centuries (travel, knowledge, experiences, culture, values, a safe refuge for those suffering from poverty, hunger, war)
We applied for this project because we wanted to highlight the timeless value of the Homer's Odyssey. Homer's Odysseys tried to accomplish his goal (return to his homeland) through a constant struggle full of adventures. Odysseys by his example helps us understand that all of us, as travelers of this life, from the first moment of our existence we enter into a continuous struggle to regulate our environment, to resist the various temptations, to gain knowledge, to gain self-awareness,to steel our existence, to discover new places, to broaden our horizons, to create communities based on the rule of law and in general to fight the perversity of our existence. Studying the ten-year adventurous journey of Odyssey's return to the homeland of Ithaca,through the overcoming of twelve obstacle-stations, the students realized the timelessness of obstacles and temptations. Specifically we will dealt with four important and particularly dangerous stations, their symbolism and their timeliness: the two of the three levels of temptation that is the Island of the Sun in Spain and in Spain and the Sirens in Sicily, the great challenge that was Calypso's island in Gozo of Malta, and the last temptation, the last obstacle on the way back to Ithaca,the island of Feakes (Corfu). Odysseys arrived on the island of Feakes wrecked, naked, exhausted and alone. He has endured everything, has lost everything and experiences the highest humility of the naked. Feakes was an earthly paradise and Athena the closest type of woman to Penelope. But, Odysseys did not bend. During these visits we found similarities (disassociation), and differences, both external (landscapes, descriptions) and internal (resident / cultural characteristics). The needs we have addressed were: -to promote multilingual communication methology for students from different countries within the projects' activities. -to let the learners get to know that modern man has to constantly fight to achieve his goal, taking the example of Ηomers' Odysseys. -to make students understand what "Europeanization" means to make them feel more integrated in the European Union. At their age our students are very keen on looking for common traditions of the youth in European countries and can get aware of the plurality of European culture and similarities of European cultural characteristics. Traveling abroad can have beneficial outcomes to everyone who gets the privilege. It gives people a different perspective and a better understanding of history. It shows diversity, differences in languages and gives people insight to the rest of the world around them. Many persons have lived in Europe and affected many countries through their work, thus working on what we call it today, “European Union”. -to make the learners aware of the importance of tolerance and respect. Teaching tolerance is important because the person who learns to be open to differences will have more opportunities in education, business, and many other aspects of life. In short, a child's success depends on being able to understand, appreciate, and work with others.