Homer, The Iliad, and The Odyssey

By Alexa Palmer, Madeline Shannon, Erin Duffy, and Denise

Rosal

Xenia• Xenia: Hospitality.3 basic rules:• The respect from host to guest.• The respect from the guest to

the host• The parting gift from host to

guest.* The three basic rules were very

important in the ancient times because men thought gods mingled amongst them.

Calliope• Calliope is the muse of

epic poetry.• The muses are the 9

daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

• A muse is a Greek goddess that offered inspiration in the arts and science.

• Invocation: a prayer at the beginning of an event

Example of Greek Art

The Odyssey• Ambrosia – the food and drink

of the gods.• The odyssey is about the

journey of Odysseus on his way home from the Trojan War.

• they borrowed their materials from the legends, epics, and myths that were already known.

• the greeks used The lliad and The Odyssey to teach greek culture and values

Minstrels• One of the types of Medieval Musicians.• A minstrel was a servant first

employed as a castle or court musician. The name 'minstrel' means a "little servant".

• Minstrels recited their stories by usually creating their own ballads but were also famous for memorizing long poems based on myths and legends which were called 'chansons de geste'.

Homer

• Homer is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

• Greek writers also claimed that he was blind and his real name was Melesigines.

• His father was the river Meles and his mother was a nymph named Kretheis.

The Beginning

• The goddess Eris was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, so she threw a golden apple that was written “for the fairest” into the banquet hall to get revenge.

• All the goddesses present wanted it but the choice came down to Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. They asked Zeus to make the final decision, but he refused. Zeus was then sent to Mount Ida, where the handsome, youth Paris lived.

Continued…

• Priam, his father, had sent him from Troy because of a prophecy that Paris would bring doom to the city. The three goddesses offers Paris a bribe if he will name her the fairest. Hera promises to make him lord of Europe and Asia.

• Athena promises to make him a great military leader and let him rampage all over Greece; and Aphrodite promises that he will have the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife.

Continued..• Paris picks Aphrodite. From then on

both Hera and Athena are against him, and against the Trojans. The most beautiful woman in the world at the time is Helen, a daughter of Zeus and Leda.

• Helen is already married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Paris visits Menelaus in Sparta and abducts Helen, taking her back to Troy with him, with her active cooperation.

Continued..

• Paris also takes a large part of Menelaus’ fortune. Menelaus, his brother Agamemnon, and all the rest of Helen’s original suitors, invite others to join them on an expedition to Troy to recover Helen.

• The story opens in the tenth year of the war.

Continued..• It is believed that the Odyssey

and Iliad were written around 500 years after the Trojan War took place, around 1250 B.C. Somewhere from 700-500 B.C. Took place during the 12th century B.C.

• The Greeks left a giant wooden horse at the Trojan city gates. Some of the Greeks pretended to sail away, but actually sailed just out of sight. The other Greeks stood waiting, inside the belly of the wooden contraption.

The Wooden Horse

• When the Trojans saw the giant wooden horse and the Greek troops leaving, they thought the wooden horse was a peace offering to the gods, so most of them wanted to wheel it into their city. The city opened the gates, let the horse in, and celebrated riotously.

• When the Trojans passed out or fell asleep, the Greeks climbed down from the belly of the Trojan horse, opened the city gates, and let the rest of the troops into the city. The Greeks then destroyed and burned Troy.

Abduction• “The face that launched a

thousand ships” is talking about Helen. Her abduction by Paris was said to be the reason for a fleet of a thousand ships to be launched into battle, initiating the Trojan Wars.

• The Greeks used the Illiad and the Odyssey to pass down stories from generation to generation about how they won a great war.

Modern References• Amazon - Race of warrior women; amazon.com - huge on-line bookstore.

There is also the Amazon Health Care. They would call their companies amazon because amazon means fast so you could get your order fast from a book store or be taken care of quickly by a health department.

• Pandora - The first woman in Greek mythology, whose name means "all-gifted"; Pandora Jewelry sells quality gift merchandise. Pandora Game Console and Pandora Press are two more examples. They would call their companies Pandora because the merchandise would be of high value, class, and excellence.

• Titans - Race of gods preceding the Olympians; Titan Tool & Die Company manufactures tools for industry. The Tennessee Titans play in the NFL. They would call the team the Titans because it would mean they are fast, strong, and the best team in the NFL.

• Trident - The three-pronged spear of Poseidon, god of the seas; Trident Gum is a popular gum. (Note: 'Tria' is Greek for 'three' and 'donti' means 'tooth'; hence, Trident translates literally as 'three-teeth', or 'triple-toothed'. Trident Gum, if one is to believe the advertising, helps to clean your teeth, thus the allusion.) You'll also find Trident Microsystems, Trident Sports and Trident Diving Accessories. They would call their merchandise or company trident because they have three layers or it comes in threes.