Download The Odyssey

Mythology
and
the Odyssey
Recap of Mythology
The gods/goddesses of Mt. Olympus
(Chart)
Mythology- Fact or Fiction?
– Nonfiction: prose writing that presents and
explains ideas or tells about real people,
places, ideas, or events.
What is Greek Mythology?
 Greek Mythology is a collection of myths and legends
that Greeks used to explain their world.
– Seasons changing
– Planets moving
 Although we now view these stories as fiction, the
Greeks believed them to be true.
 Hence, the definition of a myth is:
– A fictional tale that explains the actions of gods
or the causes of natural phenomena and usually
involve supernatural elements.
Greeks and Their Beliefs
 Be a legend…be grandiose
 Belief in many gods
 The gods resembled the Greeks need to be grandiose.
 Their gods were quarrelsome, unforgiving, jealous,
vengeful, spiteful, sinful deities
 Gods were physically strong, beautiful, and intelligent
 The same applies to the heroes in the legends and
myths
The World According to the Greeks
both good and evil comes from the
gods
heroes and monsters came from the
gods
Mythology has influenced all religions
that came after it.
So, how did the Greeks learn
about these myths?
passed down orally
Myths believed to come from (inspired
by) the muses
– black haired nine
Each presided over a distinct realm
– Thalia- comedy
– Calliope- epic poetry
What is an Epic Poem?
 long narrative poem about a legendary hero
 has a journey with many challenges
 setting is in many different places
 Gods/Other non-human beings are active in
the lives of humans
What is an Epic Hero?
 Hero of great size (physically and socially)
 Has super-human courage and strength
 Faces supernatural forces
 Has characteristics valued by his culture (loyalty,courage,etc.)
 Has flaws
 May encounter “women as temptresses”
 Completes a final task alone
Homer
 Poet
 thought to be blind, but describes events as a
seeing person
 Asked for inspiration from the muses to tell his
stories
 lived around 1200 B.C.E
 Wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey - stories about the
war between the Trojans and the Greeks
which happened between 900 and 700 B.C.E.
the Illiad
 Many question whether the Trojan War actually occurred, but
archaeologists have found historical evidence of the war.
 The city of Troy fell into the hands of the Greeks.
 The story of this fall is retold in The Iliad.
 Was it exactly as told in The Iliad?
– No. It was probably fought over commerce and trade
between Greece and Asia Minor.
– But Homer’s version (The Iliad) is more exciting!
– Some of the characters may have been based on real
personalities.
What’s a Trojan?
A person from Troy
One who shows qualities like those of
the soldiers who defended ancient
Troy: endurance, toughness,
determined energy
Where’s Troy?
 Troy is across
the Aegean
Sea from
Greece.
 Troy was also
called Ilium,
Ilion, and Ilios.
 A well-walled
city with broad
streets and
beautiful
palaces…until
the Trojan War.
When did the Trojan war occur?
The beginning of the 12th century B.C.
1193 – 1184 B.C.
That’s over 3,200 years ago!
– B.C. = Before Christ
– A.D. = Anno Domini (The Year of Our Lord)
Who? How long did it last?
 Greeks (Achaeans)
– Achilles
• Greatest Greek
Warrior
–
–
–
–
–
King Agamemnon
Nestor
Odysseus
Patroclus
Menelaus
• Helen’s Husband
 Trojans
– Hector
• Greatest Trojan
Warrior
– King Priam
• Father of Hector
– Aeneas
– Paris
• Helen’s Abductor
The war lasted at total of ten years!!
With whom did the gods side?
 Greeks
–
–
–
–
Hera
Poseidon
Hermes
Athena
 Trojans
–
–
–
–
Artemis
Ares
Apollo
Aphrodite
Zeus tries to remain neutral, but he shows empathy
for Priam and Hector (Trojans).
How did it start according to myth?
 Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited to a
wedding banquet on Mt. Olympus.
 Into the banquet hall, Eris tossed a golden
apple inscribed “For the Fairest.”
 Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite asked Zeus to
decide who deserved the apple.
 Zeus would not choose. (He’s no fool!)
 Zeus says Paris is an excellent judge of
beauty, and refers the goddesses to him.
Paris
 Paris, the prince of Troy, was the son of King Priam of
Troy.
 He was rather weak and cowardly.
 Priam had sent him away from Troy because an oracle
prophesied that he would be the ruin of the city.
 When the goddesses appeared to him, they each offered
him a bribe:
– Athena would make him a great warrior.
– Hera would make him ruler of Europe and Asia.
(Power)
– Aphrodite would give him the most beautiful woman
in the world.
Whom did he choose?
 Paris gave the
apple to Aphrodite.
 She then took Paris
to Helen, the most
beautiful woman in
the world.
 Hera and Athena,
however, vowed
revenge.
Helen
Helen was a daughter of
Zeus.
She was the wife of
Menelaus.
Menelaus, king of Sparta,
was the brother of the
Greek King, Agamemnon.
See the problem?
Paris takes Helen
and
the Greeks Respond
 Menelaus asks all of Greece to help get his wife
back.
 Greek armies set off across the sea to lay siege to
Troy and leave it in ashes.
 And so begins the Trojan War.
 Helen is often referred to as “The Face that
Launched a Thousand Ships.”
Odysseus and Achilles Join Late
 Odysseus didn’t want to fight for Helen.
– He thought her a faithless woman.
– He did not want to leave his home (Ithaca).
– He just had a baby boy (Telemechus).
 Achilles was kept back by his mother.
– Thetis was a sea nymph who knew he was fated
to die in Troy.
– She had dipped him in the river Styx to try and
give him immortality. (She held him by the heel.)
 Both of these great Greek warriors were
later called (forced) into battle.
The Battle Rages
Due to the influence of various gods
and goddesses, the war went back and
forth for many years.
The Iliad means “a series of disastrous
events.”
Agamemnon
(brother of Menelaus)
Leader of all Greek forces during
Trojan War
Sacrificed his daughter (Iphegenia) to
Artemis in order to get favorable winds
for the ships to sail to Troy
Offended Achilles by taking his “prize”
(a girl named Briseis) after one battle
Achilles Pouts
Because Agamemnon offended him by
taking his woman, Achilles refused to
fight.
Things went badly for the Greeks, and
they begged him to return.
He allowed his friend Patroclus to fight
in his place, wearing his armor.
Patroclus is killed by Hector (who
thought it was Achilles).
Achilles Returns
Enraged over the death of Patroclus,
Achilles returns to battle.
His mother procures for him some new
armor (made by Hephaestus).
He kills Hector and desecrates the
body.
Achilles Relents
King Priam sneaks into the Greek
camp and begs Achilles to give him
Hector’s body so that his son may
have proper funeral rites.
Achilles allows Priam to take the body.
After Hector’s death, Achilles does not
have long to live.
The Death of Achilles
Achilles was unconquerable by mortal
men, but Apollo stepped in.
Apollo guided Paris’s arrow into the
only weak spot Achilles had: his heel.
Achilles dies from the wound.
The remaining Greeks decide his
divine armor should go to the bravest
remaining warrior.
Odysseus Wins
Odysseus makes a speech explaining
why he deserves it, and he is awarded
the armor of Achilles.
He then devises the final plan to end
the Trojan War.
The Trojan Horse
 The Greeks
pretend to
retreat, leaving
behind a large
wooden horse.
 The Trojans, in
celebration, drag
the horse inside
their city as a
war prize.
The Trojan Horse
Odysseus and many other Greek
warriors are hiding inside the horse.
The Fall of Troy
 They wait until the Trojans are asleep, and
then they come out and slaughter them.
 After ten years, the Trojan War is ended.
 The Greeks won / The Trojans lost.
 Odysseus is the greatest hero remaining
alive…but now he has to get home…
The Odyssey Begins…
The story of The Odyssey is about
Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca after
the Trojan War.
It’s quite a journey!
The Odyssey
The story of the journey of Odysseus
and his men trying to get home after
the Trojan War.
Span of 10 years
an epic about humans on the journey
of life overcoming temptations along
the way.
Characters on the Journey
Sirens - group of females who lured
sailors by their singing
Circe - goddess, enchantress,
who turns men into
swine



Scylla - monster with 6 heads
with 3 rows of teeth, carries
off a sailor in each mouth
Characters
Charybdis - 3 times a day pulls sailors
into her whirlpool
Zeus- leader of the
gods
Polyphemus- a cyclops and Poseidon’s
son
Characters
Aeolus- god of the winds



Tiresias- blind
prophet in the underworld
Calypso- nymph of the island Ogygia
Characters at Home
Family Tree
Anticlea
Laertes
Odysseus
Penelope
Telemachus
Let’s get started…
First we have to know what is not
included in our text… the Odyssey
actually starts with Telemachus’ journey.
Now, what about our text…
Odysseus actually recounts most of his
journey in the Odyssey. Let’s see how
this works…