The stories within the unit that were most impactful to me were The Spirit of Anticleia and The Ghosts of Famous Women. At this point, Odysseus and his men traveled to the underworld to visit the dead and get wise Teiresias to prophesy about his journey back to Ithaca. While there, Odysseus sacrifices lambs in order to get the dead to come to him. Before Teiresias comes, he has to see the ghosts of all of the women he knew, one of those being his mother, Anticleia.
The first story is a dialogue between him and his mother, who was alive when he had left on his journey. He didn't know she had died, and grieved intensely upon seeing her ghost. The pain and grief he felt seems so real in the story. The second story goes through and describes all of the spirits of the other women he knew throughout life and it's as if you are directly in Odysseus's mind, hearing his thoughts on them.
For me, these stories were impactful because they remind me that once you die, people are left with a certain impression of you that can never change. It inspires me to make sure that I leave a legacy that is honorable. I don't want to be like the women that Odysseus mentions and only quotes the negative things. I guess this reading provoked me: For what will I be remembered?
When I think about legacies, I can't help but think of a woman who left behind an incredible legacy here on earth. Mother Teresa was known for her love for others and for Jesus. My, oh my, how I would love to be a modern-day Mother Teresa!
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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