Analects of the Core: Homer on mortals blaming gods

In coordination with Professor Scully‘s introduction of the culture of ancient Greece — a domain where the students of CC101 will discover the foundations of Western thought — the Core blog today is featuring an analect that reminds us not to blame those in power for the struggles we encounter as we progress on our academic journey:

My word, how mortals take the gods to task!
All their afflictions come from us, we hear.
And what of their own failings?  Greed and folly
Double the suffering in the lot of man

– Zeus, Homer’s The Odyssey (Book 1, lines 48-51) translated by Robert Fitzgerald

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