Download The Odyssey

The Odyssey
Homer
Who is Homer?
 An ancient Greek poet traditionally considered to be
the composer of The Iliad and the Odyssey.
 According to tradition, he was blind
Where did the story come from?
 Over 3,000 years ago people living in the land we call
Greece were telling stories of a great war
 Homer is credited with gathering all of these stories
and telling them as one unified epic.
 These great wars were called The Iliad and The
Odyssey.
 The real stories would have taken place around 1200
B.C. (as long ago for Homer as the Pilgrims are for us!)
The Iliad
 Tells the story of the 10 year war fought in the city of
Troy
 The war is said to have begun when Helen of Troy
abandoned her husband Menelus ( a Greek king) for
Paris ( a prince of Troy)
The Odyssey
 The story of the attempt of a Greek soldier, Odysseus,
to get home after the Trojan war.
 Odysseus’ wanderings involve encounters with
various monsters, enchanting women, and much
more
Odysseus before the war
 In the years before the Trojan War, Odysseus married
the beautiful and ever faithful Penelope.
 They had one son named: Telemachus who was still a
toddler when Odysseus was called by Menelaus and
Agamemnon to join them in war against Troy.
Odysseus before the war
 Odysseus was a homebody
 He didn’t want to go to war, so he pretended to be
insane.
 He dressed as a peasant and began sowing his field
with salt.
 Odysseus quickly displays his sanity when he avoids
running his son over with the plow.
The Wooden Horse Trick
 Odysseus performed extremely
well as a soldier and commander.
It was he who thought of the
famous wooden-horse trick that
would lead to the downfall of Troy.
A Search for Our Place in Life
 Instead of beginning at the beginning, with Odysseus’
departure from Troy, the story begins with his son,
Telemachus.
 Telemachus is now twenty years old. He is being
threatened by powerful men who want to marry his
mother. He in turn would lose his inheritance.
 Meanwhile, we hear that his father, Odysseus, is
stranded on an island, longing to find his way back to
his wife, son and home.
Relationship with the Gods
 Myths- are stories that use fantasy to express ideas
about life that cannot be expressed easily in realistic
terms.
 Myths are essentially religious because they are
concerned with the relationship between humans and
the unknown or spiritual realm.
Relationship with the Gods
 Homer is always concerned with the relationship
between humans and gods.
 Homer is religious: For him, the gods control all
things.
 Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is always at the side
of Odysseus.
 Odysseus is known for his mental abilities
gods as alter-egos
 In Homer’s stories, a god can be an alter-ego, a
reflection of hero’s best or worst qualities.
 The god who works against Odysseus is Poseidon, the
god of the sea, who is known for arrogance and a
certain brutishness.
 Odysseus himself can be violent and cruel, just as
Poseidon is.
Epic Poem
 A long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero
whose actions reflect ideals and values of a race or
nation.
 Epics address universal concerns, such and good and
evil
 Epics often include elements of myth, legend, folk
tale, and history.
Epic Poem
 Epic poetry often begins with an “invocation,” which
is when the narrator calls on creative help to tell the
story.
 Epic poems often begin “in media res,” which is Latin
for “in the middle of the action (story).” This means a
good part of the story has already happened and the
narrator begins the poem by catching the reader up
on what’s happened.
Characteristics of
Epic Poetry
 1. Hero is a great leader identified by a group of
people
 2. Setting is broad and often includes both the upper
and lower worlds
 3. Hero does great deeds in battle and undertakes a
journey
 4. Sometimes gods or other supernatural beings
appear
 5. Story is told in heightened language
Characteristics of
Epic Poetry
 6. Unusual circumstances surround the hero’s birth
 7. Hero encounters “women as temptresses” who
threaten his completion of the journey
 8. At the end of the journey, the hero must complete
a final task alone
 9. After the final task is accomplished, the hero
returns home, a leader of his people
Epic Hero
 An Epic Hero is the central figure in an epic who has
superior qualities and risks personal danger to persue
a grand quest.
Characteristics of an Epic Hero
 1. Significant and glorified
 2. Is on a quest
 3. Has superior or superhuman strength, intelligence,
and/or is courageous
 4. Is ethical-of good moral standing
 5. Risks death for glory or the greater good of society
 6. Performs brave deeds
 7. Is a strong and responsible leader
 8. Reflects the ideals of a particular society
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
 Epics usually include action
such as a quest or journey
taken in search of something
of value
The Odyssey
 Odysseus is trying to return
home to his wife and son.
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
 Epics include evidence of
supernatural forces at work
The Odyssey
 Greek gods, goddesses,
monsters, and other characters
from Greek mythology play an
important role in The Odyssey
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
 Epics usually include a
physically impressive hero of
national or historical
importance
The Odyssey
 Odysseus is a war hero
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
 Epics usually include a vast
setting involving much of the
known physical world and
sometimes the land of the
dead as well.
The Odyssey
 During his journey home,
Odysseus travel to many
locations and even visits the
underworld.
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
 Glorifies the hero at the end
The Odyssey
 Odysseus restores order to his
house and is welcomed home
by his family.
Characteristics of an Epic
An Epic
The Odyssey
 Shows the values and culture
of a specific culture and society
 The Odyssey reflects the beliefs
and values of the culture of
ancient Greece.
How were Epics told?
Poets traveled from community
to community singing their
stories.
*Longer stories, such as The
Odyssey, were probably told
over a period of several days.
Epics were told orally.
*They followed basic story lines
and incorporated formulaic
descriptions.
*Most of the words were
improvised to fit a particular
rhythm or meter.
Homer’s Epics
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are the best
known epics in Western civilization.
The Iliad is the primary model for the
epic of war.
The Odyssey is the model for the epic
of the long journey home.
Many Countries have Epics
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England – Beowulf
France – The Song of Roland
Italy – The Aeneid
Spain – El Cid
Germany – the Nibelungenlied
The United States
The U.S. has no epic. Our
country is too young to
have an epic, as of yet.
Perhaps in a thousand
years… if we last that
long.
While not written this is the
American Epic!
Homeric (or Heroic) Similes
 Similes that compare heroic or epic events to simple
and easily understandable everyday events-events
the audience would recognize instantly.
People and Places
 Aeaea – Home of Circe, the witch- goddess
People and Places
 Alcinous – king of Phaeacia. Odysseus tells the story
of his adventures to Alcinous’ court.
People and Places
 Calypso – beautiful goddess-nymph who keeps
Odysseus on her island for seven years.
People and Places
 Charybdis – female monster who sucks in water three
times a day to form a deadly whirlpool.
People and Places
 Cicones – people living on the southwestern coast of
Thrace, who battled Odysseus and his men on their
journey home.
People and Places
 Circe – witch- goddess who turns Odysseus’ men into
swine. (pigs)
People and Places
 Erebus – dark area of the underworld where the dead
reside
People and Places
 Eurylochus – one of Odysseus’ loyal crew
People and Places
 Lotus Eaters – people who feed Odysseus’ men with
lotus plants to make them forget Ithaca
People and Places
 Phaeacia – island kingdom ruled by King Alcinious.
The Phaeacians are shipbuilders and traders.
People and Places
 Polyphemus – the Cyclops blinded by Odysseus. The
son of the sea god Poseidon. Cyclopes are a race of
brutish one-eyed giants who live solitary lives as
shepherds supposedly on the island known today as
Sicily.
People and Places
 Syclla – female monster with six serpent heads, each
head having a triple row of fangs
People and Places
 Sirens – sea nymph whose beautiful and mysterious
music lures sailors to steer their ships towards the
rocks
People and Places
 Tiresias – famous blind prophet from the city of
Thebes. Odysseus meets him in the Land of the Dead.
People and Places
 Thirnakia – island where the sun god Helios keeps his
cattle.
Ithaca – the people at home
 Antinous – one of Penelope’s leading suitors; and arrogant
and mean young noble from Ithaca.
 Eumaeus – swinheard, one of Odysseus’ loyal servants
 Eurycleia – Odysseus’ old nurse
 Eurymachus – suitor of Penelope
 Eurynome – Penelope’s housekeeper
 Penelope – Odysseus’ faithful wife
 Philoeteus – cowherd, one of Odysseus’ loyal servants
 Telemachus – Odysseus’ son
The Gods
 Apollo – god of poetry, music,
prophecy, medicine, and archery
 Athena – favorite daughter of Zeus; the
great goddess of wisdom and the arts of
war and peace. She favored the Greeks
during the Trojan War
 Cronus – TITAN who ruled the universe
until his son Zeus overthrew him
 Helios – sun god
The Gods
 Hephaestus – god of metalworking
 Hermes – messenger god
 Poseidon – god of the sea; brother of Zeus.
Called the Earth Shaker because he is believed
to cause earthquakes. Poseidon is an enemy
of Odysseus.
 Zeus – most powerful god whose home is on
Olympus.
Plot summary
 The Trojan war has ended
 Odysseus departs from Troy with a fleet of 12 ships
carrying about 700 men
 Odysseus makes Poseidon angry with his prideful remarks
 Fights monsters and battles storms
 Encounters enchanting women who try to keep him from
his wife
 Loses his men
 Goes into the underworld for advice from a blind prophet
 Makes it home ????
Conflict
Internal
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Pride
Bragging, boasting
Curiosity
Hunger for fame
Homesickness
External
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War
Nature
Gods, Goddesses
Monsters
Penelope’s suitors