Download Homer`s The Odyssey

Cornell Notes: What are the key terms
and concepts in The Odyssey?
Key Terms
1. Homer
2. Epic
3. The Iliad
4. The Odyssey
5. In Medias Res
6. Myth
7. Gods and Goddesses
8. The Trojan War
9. Odysseus’ Trick
10. The Hero’s Journey
Notes
Summary:
Homer’s
The Odyssey
Background Notes
Who is Homer?
No, not Homer Simpson…
•An Ancient blind poet
•The “bard” who composed
the Iliad and the Odyssey
between 900 and 700 B.C.
• Homer did not compose
each epic all at once: he
told them in a series of
short episodes that could
be recited in an evening.
• Editors, not Homer himself,
organized the epics in 24
books.
What exactly is an
Epic?
What is an epic?
• An epic is a story-poem about a great
hero who performs daring deeds that
require superhuman courage
• Told orally, not written, recited from
memory by minstrels (traveling
entertainers)
• In Greek epics the gods either help or
hinder the hero, like in The Odyssey,
Poseidon hinders Odysseus while
Athena helps him
Characteristics of an Epic
• A physically impressive hero (usually
famous)
• A quest or journey
• A vast setting involving much of the known
physical world
• Descent of the hero into the underworld
• Supernatural Forces
• Glorification of the hero at the end
Famous Epics from Around the World
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Iliad and Odyssey
Gilgamesh
Aeneid
Song of Roland
Divine Comedy
Mahabharata, Ramayana
Sundiata
Greece
Sumeria
Rome
France
Italy
India
Mali
Heroes During Homer’s Time
• Heroes were a special class of
aristocrats, in between gods and
ordinary human beings.
• No matter what pain they may
have experienced, they always
displayed CONFIDENCE .
2 Epic Poems written in 725B.C.
by Homer, a blind poet
The Illiad
• First written record of•
Greece
• describes the events
of 51 days during the
last year of the war
•
when Achilles kills
Hector
The Odyssey
Describes the 10-year
journey of Odysseus as
he tries to go home to
Ithaca after the Trojan
War
He and his men face
monsters, giants,
cannibals, temptation,
and
death
**50 years gap between the actual war
& when
the story was
written down
The Iliad
• Setting: 10th year of the Trojan War
Greeks vs. Trojans
• Theme: War
• Important Characters:
– Helen, the “face that launched a thousand
ships.”
– Menelaus, Helen’s Greek Husband
– Paris, the prince of Troy
• Climax: Trojan Horse (Odysseus’s idea)
The Odyssey
• Setting: 10 years after the end of the
Trojan War
• Theme: A Long Journey
• A Hero In trouble:
– Odysseus, a Greek soldier trying to find his
way home to Ithaca
– People of Ithaca have forgotten about him
– His war-hero status is not important anymore
“In Medias Res”
• Means: “In the middle of a
sequence of events”
• The Odyssey does not begin at
the beginning; it starts with
Telemachus at 20 years old
trying to figure out what to do
about his missing dad.
SETTING: TIME & PLACE=
GREECE 1250 B.C
What is a myth?
• A myth is an explanation of
something in nature; how everything in
the universe came into existence (men,
animals, trees, the sun, earthquakes,
etc) and all that happens
• Myths are early science but also
entertainment
• Greek mythology is made up of
stories aboutS gods and goddesses
Gods & Goddesses
• the universe created the gods
• the gods lived on Mount Olympus
• Zeus= controlled weather & sky
– Athena= goddess of wisdom
– Helen= most beautiful woman
• Poseidon= god of the sea
– Charybdis= devourer of land
– Polyphemus= chief monster of the Cyclopes
– Aeolus= keeper of winds
• Hades= ruler of the underworld
– Morpheus= god of sleep and dreams
The Trojan War:
What started it?
• took place from about 1260-1250 B.C.
• Archaeological remains provide evidence that
there was a war but cause unknown
• Scholars believe the war began over control
of the trade route between the Aegean Sea
and the Black Sea between the Trojans and
Greeks
• Ancient mythology states that the war began
over a single woman, Helen, queen of Sparta
King Peleus marries
sea nymph Thetis
For the Fairest
• All gods on Olympus
invited except ERIS, the
evil goddess of Discord
• Apple - “For The Fairest”
• Hera (Queen of Gods),
Athena, (Goddess of
Wisdom/War),
• Aphrodite (Goddess of
Love) all claim apple
• Paris, Prince of Troy, will
be the judge
The Bribe
• Hera - POWER
• Athena - WISDOM
• Aphrodite - MOST
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
(Helen)
Paris chooses
Aphrodite
Helen is Abducted!
• Helen- beautiful
daughter of King of
Sparta (in Greece)
• Helen has many
suitors- they swear
oath to protect Helen
and her new husband
• Father chooses
Menelaus- makes him
King of Sparta also
• Paris abducts Helen
• 1000 ships, including
Odysseus & Achilles,
leave for Troy
The Gods Take Sides
TROJANS
(Paris, Hector)
•
•
•
•
•
Aphrodite
Ares, God of War
Apollo
Artemis
Zeus (favored, but
stayed neutral to please
Hera)
GREEKS
(Achilles, Odysseus)
• Hera
• Athena
• Poseidon, God of
the Sea
The Bloody Battle
• lasted for 10 long
years
– Hand to hand
combat
– Periods of
temporary truce to
bury the dead
– No fighting after
sunset
– Gods took sides
The Clever Odysseus
• Greeks build a
gigantic hollow
horse & hide inside
• Sinon chosen to tell
a tale of the Greeks
leaving
• Priest Laocoon tried
to warn Trojans “I
fear the Greeks even
when they bear
gifts”
• Poseidon sent
serpent to kill
Surprise Attack
• Trojans thought
they had won
• Sinon tells them
horse is an offering
to Athena - big so
Trojans wouldn’t
take it
• Trojans fall for it and
drag horse into city
gates to temple of
Athena
Troy is in Flames!
• In middle of night
Greeks leave horse
and attack
• Troy is in flames
before Trojans know
what has happened
• King of Troy dead
• Women and Children
become slaves
• Helen is returned to
Menelaus
Odysseus, King of Ithaca,
angers the Gods
• Trojans were
slaughtered and city
sacked and burned
• Greeks violated
Trojan temples
• Greeks did not offer
sacrifices to the gods
to thank them for
their victory
• Odysseus, creator of
Horse, will suffer the
most
The Hero’s Journey
1.
2.
3.
4.
Call to Adventure - Trojan War
Wise and Helpful Guides - various gods
Dangerous Trials - Sea perils, temptations
Meeting the Monster - Cyclops, Scylla and
Charybdis
5. Enchanted Forest - Land of the Dead
6. The Sacrifice - His men
7. The Hero’s Return - Victory in Ithaca