Why do we bother to examine/study the past, present or future?
I know it's very cliche but things become cliche because of importance and truth. The past is a very great tool for understanding the present and more importantly the future. Human beings do not like change and our behaviours and attitudes towards many things have not changed at all. Looking into the past would help us understand ourselves and others. This is one of the many reasons that the Homer's epic poem The Odyssey is still relevant in our modern world.
Odysseus, the main character, had been away fighting in the Trogan war for 10 years and then spent another 10 years for him to reach his home of Ithaca. Odysseus's sly cleverness ( I believe his best and worst trait) gives him such a human quality though the goddes Athena does assist him much of the span of the epic poem. His longing for home and being reunited with his family in his home despite his physical and seemingly emotional strength also aids with the pathos. The ability of the modern audience to be absorbed in this very pathos proves the importance of studying the past. It only gives us humans a better look at ourselves and ultimately our futures.
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