Download File - ENGLISH

Odyssey
Background
Notes
Epic Poem
The Odyssey is written in a genre called an epic poem
An epic poem is a long, narrative poem about warriors and
heroes.
It has four main ingredients: myth, legend, folktale, and
history
An epic poem has cultural significance. It is like a cultural
bible.
The Greeks had two major epic poems: The Iliad and The
Odyssey.
The Romans had an epic poem called The Aeneid.
Epic Poem cont.
The English have an epic poem called Beowulf.
The Odyssey has two strong features:
Homeric similes (long similes)
epithets (a word or phrase used to characterize
someone or something such as “Raider of Cities” meaning
Odysseus, or “Lord of the Clouds” meaning Zeus.)
The Greek Gods
The Greeks were polytheistic (believed in many Gods)
Their Gods behaved like humans; they played jokes, got
angry, etc.
The Greeks believed that the gods lived in northern Greece
on Mt. Olympus.
They believed that the gods came down to earth disguised
as wandering strangers
Their Major Gods
Zeus: King of the Gods
Hera: Queen of the Gods
Athena: Goddess of War & Wisdom
Aphrodite: Goddess of love & beauty
Apollo: God of the sun
Poseidon: God of the sea
The Life of Homer
Homer was the poet who wrote both Greek epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.
The Iliad is about a ten-year war at Troy.
The Odyssey is about Odysseus’ ten-year journey back home after the war.
Homer wrote these poems about 800BC; however, the Trojan War took place 400
years earlier in 1200BC.
Homer is believed to have been blind.
Homer memorized the entire poem and sang it for hours, as a kind of entertainment
for people to listen to.
This type of poem-singer was called a rhapsodoi (professional reciter) similar to
minstrels of Medieval England.
These epic poems united all the Greek city-states into one nation.
The Life of Homer cont.
The poems were viewed as sacred and the ultimate authority on morality.
The poems were lost during the Dark Ages but were re-discovered in
Constantinople (Turkey) during the Renaissance.
The Greek People
The Greeks were polytheistic and believed in many gods.
Because the gods could come to earth disguised as wandering strangers, the
Greeks treated all wandering travelers with their best hospitality. To treat a
stranger badly was a risk at offending a god. Therefore, the people valued
hospitality very highly.
The Greek people respected their religious prophets called oracles.
The people also valued moderation and looked down on people with too much
pride (hubris) or who were greedy or cruel.
Greek households grouped together to form city-states. Each city-state tried to
win the favor of a particular god or goddess by giving offerings.
The people also believed in hero worship involving a person who displayed
honor, bravery, hospitality, loyalty to home, intelligence, and respect for the
gods.
The Greek People
The people traveled mainly by sea because Greece was so mountainous. They
traded with countries who had alphabets and began to develop their own
about the time of Homer. The story was passed down from generation to
generation until it was written down about 850 BC.
Background Information
The Historical Perspective
1. The city of Troy did exist. In fact, there were at least nine “Troys” built one on top of
the other – all located in the country we now call Turkey.
2. Later conquered by the Greeks, the city also went by the name Ilios, and when
conquered by the Romans, it became Ilium; hence, the name of Homer’s
first epic poem, The Iliad, (not the Troyad.)
3. Troy was an important trade city that was strategically located at the Dardanelles
Straight at the entrance to the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea.
4. Since sea trade was vital to transporting goods, anything from the Far East went
across the land to the Black Sea, where it could be loaded onto boats and
distributed out to the Mediterranean Sea area.
5. Troy was a city worth capturing and archaeologists say that it was burned to the
ground in the 11th century BC, about the time of the Trojan War.
6. The word “Greek” did not exist back then; the people from Greece were called
Achaens, Argives, or Danaans.
Background Information
The Story behind the City of Troy
1. In the 11th century BC, Troy was supposedly ruled by King Priam.
2. With his first wife, Hecuba, and his other wives, King Priam had 50 sons and 12
daughters.
3. In those days, dreams were believed to foretell the future, and Queen Hecuba
dreamed that she would have a troublemaker of a son who would bring
about the fall of Troy.
4. The next child is born, a son named Paris. He is taken to the mountainside and left
to die (a frequent Greek custom usually reserved for handicapped children;
the Greeks believed only the strongest should survive.)
5. The baby Paris was given a rattle with the King’s seal on it to entertain himself while
he dies.
6. Legend says that Paris was rescued and raised by a shepherd.
Background Information
The Story behind the City of Troy (cont.)
7. The shepherd kept the rattle, and when Paris was a young man, the shepherd
told him who he thought he was. Paris returned to the king’s household
to continue his life.
8. There was to be an important social wedding in Troy between a mortal man
named Peleus and a sea nymph named Thetis.
9. One goddess, Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, was deliberately left off
the guest list.
10. In revenge, she “crashes” the wedding and rolls a golden apple down the
wedding table. The apple is engraved with the words, “To the Fairest.”
11. The three most powerful goddesses – Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena – each grab
for the apple considering themselves to be the “fairest.”
12. Zeus is afraid to make the controversial decision over who should get the apple,
so he picks Prince Paris to make it instead.
Background Information
The Story behind the City of Troy (cont.)
13. Bribery begins: Hera promises Paris all the power in the world; Athena
promises him wisdom and military skills; Aphrodite promises him the most
beautiful woman in the world. Paris chooses Aphrodite as the “Fairest.”
14. The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen of Sparta. Unfortunately, she
is already married to King Menelaus.
15. Paris pretends to be a beggar at King Menelaus’ castle and kidnaps Helen
with Aphrodite’s help.
16. Menelaus gathers armies from all his friends (including King Odysseus of
Ithaca) and sails to Troy to bring back his wife.
17. The Greeks fight the Trojans for nine years before Odysseus comes up with the
idea for the Trojan horse in the 10th year. This idea ends the war and they
regain Helen. This is the basis for the epic poem, The Iliad.