The OdysseyBy Homer

Background Information

What is an odyssey?A journey through life (universal) = man trying to achieve personal land of peace and joy; therefore, we must test ourselves and overcome obstacles.

• The Odyssey wascomposed to be recitedto the accompanimentof a lyre to a listeningaudience, not written tobe read out or by them.• It is an epic poem.(We will go over these characteristics later.)

Genre

Time Frame• The Odyssey was composedby a Greek named Homerliving in Ionia (coast of Turkey)probably during the late 8thcentury BC.• We do not know much aboutthe author, Homer.

– Homer is also traditionally thought to be the author of The Iliad, an epic poem about Achilles which takes place during the Trojan war.– We don’t really know if he wrote this poem, but we attribute it to him because of its stylistic similarities to The Odyssey.

Time Frame• The Odyssey is 12,110 lines long and would have taken 20-25 hours to recite all at once!

– You’ll be glad to know that we will be reading a shorter version…

• It is divided into 24 books, one for each letter of the Greek alphabet.

It all began with the Trojan War…

The Quarrel…• Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite argued over who was the mostbeautiful goddess.

• They asked Paris, a Trojan prince, to decide for them.

• When Paris picked Aphrodite, she promised him that Helen, the most beautiful woman in theworld, would fall in love with him.

The Trojan War• Paris stole Helen from her home in Sparta and took her back to Troy.

• Helen was married to King Menelaus, so this action began the Trojan War.

The Trojan WarThe Trojan War lasted for 10 years.

Finally, Sparta came up with acompletely brilliant plan….

The Trojan War• The Spartans pretended to flee from Troy and hid their ships.

• Then, they built a large, hollow horse and hid most of the Spartan army inside.

Beware of Spartans bearing gifts…• They pushed the horse upto the gates of Troy andwaited inside.

• The Trojans were busycelebrating because theythought they had won.They took the horse asa gift from the defeatedSpartans and brought itinside the city walls.

• When they Trojans went to sleep, the Spartan army jumped out of the horse and attacked the city.

Trojan Heroes • Hector- leader of the Trojan army; killed byAchilles• Aeneas- son of Aphrodite and a mortal; one ofthe only people to escape the fall of Troy

Greek (Spartan) Heroes• Achilles - Greatest Greek warrior. Homer wrotethe Iliad about this Greek hero. His mother,Thetis, tried to make him immortal by dippinghim in the river Styx. She dipped everythingbut his ankle and when an arrow pierced it, hedied.• Odysseus - King of Ithaca; came up with theidea of the Trojan horse; after the war wasover, it took him 10 years to return home.

Odysseus

Husband of Penelope

King of Ithaca

Father of Telemachus

There is a 20 year gap between the

time he left for the Trojan War and his

return home

Once upon a time…• When The Odyssey begins,Odysseus has been awayfrom home for more than10 years.

• For 10 years he fought theTrojan war and for 10 morehe will try to return home.

• Everyone in his hometownthinks he is dead.

• Many men are trying toseduce his wife, Penelope.

• She says that when she is finished making a burial shawl, she will marry a one of the men. However, each night she undoes the work so she will have more time to wait on Odysseus.

The Gods in The Odyssey• To the ancient Greeks, the gods

were real, controlled everything, & interacted with human affairs.

• The Ancient Greeks believed in many different gods and goddesses. The Greeks believed that these gods and goddesses controlled everything in their lives. There was a god for many aspects of life. It was important to please the gods; happy gods helped you, but unhappy gods punished you.

The Greeks believed that the most important gods and goddesses lived at the top of Mount Olympus,

the highest mountain in northern Greece.

Zeus

Zeus is the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and of the gods who reside there.

Athena

Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. She is also Zeus’s daughter.

She frequently helps Odysseus, who was well-known for his clever mind.

Hermesthe messenger of the gods

In addition to being the god of invention, commerce, and cunning, Hermes is also Zeus’s son.

Hermes helps Odysseus several times in The Odyssey.

Some goddesses both help and hinder Odysseus during his journey home.

Circe, a goddess and enchantress will use her magic to toy with Odysseus.

The sea goddess Calypso delays Odysseus’s return home because of her desire for companionship.

Poseidon

Odysseus’s excessive pride angers Poseidon.

Poseidon is the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.

Poseidon is also the father of the one-eyed cyclopes.

Helios/ApolloAs the god of the Sun, Helios rides a chariot drawn by horses through the sky, bringing light to the earth.

Odysseus angers Helios whenhis men ignore Helios’s warnings.

Odysseus & the Gods

• Homer used both Athena and Poseidon as alter-egos for Odysseus: good vs. evil

• Odysseus is known for his cleverness but can also be stubborn and arrogant.

Important Literary Terms

• Epic • Epic Hero• Epic Simile• Epithet

Epic

• An epic is a long narrative poem that tells about the adventures of a hero who reflects the ideals and values of a nation or race.

• The epic portrays the past, but it is an imaginary past.

Characteristics of an Epic

Beginning of an Epic

• The author begins by stating the theme and uses someone who is all knowing and wise to help him in his undertaking.

• The story starts in the middle of the action, in media res, and at a critical point; the events that happened before the narrative's opening are introduced later on.

Characteristics of an Epic

The Setting• The setting of the epic is vast in scope, sometimes

worldwide and even beyond.

The Hero• A figure of great national or international

importance.

The Action• The action of the epic involves heroic deeds in battle,

such as a long hard journey or a war.

Characteristics of an Epic

The Supernatural• The gods or other supernatural/fantastical beings

take an interest and an active part in the great deeds performed in the epic.

Point of View• Often the point of view is in third person (standing

outside looking in through the window) with little comment or opinion. Usually the author is objective (looks at both sides of an issue) in his presentation of the situation and characters.

Epic Hero

• An epic hero is a larger-than-life figure, usually male, who embodies the ideals of a nation or race.

• Epic heroes take part in long, dangerous adventures and accomplish great deeds that require courage and superhuman strength.

Epic Simile

• A simile is a comparison of two things using like or as.

• An EPIC SIMILE is a longer, more detailed simile that can go on for several lines.

• Example: “And Odysseus let the bright molten tears run down his cheeks, weeping [like] the way a wife mourns for her lord on the lost field where he has gone down fighting the day of wrath that came upon his children . . .”

Epithet

• An epithet is a brief descriptive phrase that helps to characterize a person or thing.

• Example: “Son of Laertes and the gods of old, Odysseus, master mariner and soldier. . .”

• Epithets were used to give story telling a musical effect.