The Odyssey & Mythology

1. The Odyssey &Mythology

3. Homer • poet • thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person • lived around 1200 B.C.E • Wrote the Illiad and the Odyssey - stories about the war between the Trojans and the Greeks which had happened between 900 and 700 B.C.E.

4. Illiad • Story of the last year of the Trojan War • War had lasted 10 years. • Troy was defeated when Ulysses and his men were able to get inside the walls of Troy concealed within the body of the Trojan horse.

5. The Trojan Horse

6. The Odyssey • The story of the journey of Ulysses and his men trying to get home after the Trojan War. • 10 years • an epic about humans on the journey of life overcoming temptations along the way.

7. Characters • Ulysses or Odysseus • Sirens - group of females who lured sailors by their singing

8. Characters • Circe - goddess, enchantress, who turned men into swine • Scylla - monster with 12 feet and 6 heads with 3 rows of teeth, carries off a sailor in each mouth

9. Characters • Charybdis - 3 times a day pulls sailors into her whirlpool

10. Characters • Hyperion/Helios - the sun (distinct from Apollo, the sun god) • Jove=Zeus=Jupiter=leader of the gods • Eurylochus - one of the crew members

11. Greetings from sunny Ismarus!

12. To my dearest wife and son, I hail to you now from sunny Ismarus! As from our glorious victory at Troy which you have no doubt heard of through my fame, I came upon here a people known as the Cicones. Despite our attempts at comradery, they merely attempted to kill us, taking the lives of 6 men from every one of my ships. I only sacked, raped and looted their chief city. Is not a little friendship too much to ask? It seems like it’s about to rain, so I must depart; the weather is looking awfully unsuitable for sailing. I can only hope Zeus has not turned on me. So I bid you farewell and goodbye; I cannot be sure when I will be able to write again. Your father and husband great in all ways of contending, Odysseus p.s. lightning is a BAD thing, correct? Queen Penelope &_____ Prince Telemachus_____ Ithaca, Greece_______

14. Dear Telemachus, An exciting day today. First we escaped Poseidon's vengeance yet again (I'm starting to think he's got too much time on his hands) and washed up on the shores of an enchanting isle. No, not Ireland, it hasn't been invented yet. Is your mother well? Just between us guys, I’m glad she has such a reputation for her loyalty to me, but I still wish they’d hurry up and invent the chastity belt. Which reminds me, the sack of Ismarus, you really should have been there. Women aplenty; when you’re older you’ll look back and won’t believe you missed out. Still, I guess you have an excuse, being an infant at the time, but we’ll make a man of you yet, eh? But I digress. Today we reached the island of the Lotus Eaters, which appeared hospitable, but we nearly lost several men to the entrancing power of the lotus, giving “flower power” a whole new meaning. Luckily, I was able to stop their grazing and force them back into the boats, narrowly escaping certain, perfumed death as we sailed off.Love, Odysseus(Dad) Prince Telemachus____ Ithaca, Greece_______

16. Dear Telemachus, I have just approached the coast of the island of the Cyclops. I can only see some caves with smoke rising because it’s getting dark. After the crew eats and gets a good night’s rest, I’ll pick my strongest and most courageous men to set off with me in search of other natives and explore the land. I miss you and I hope I can get home soon. Give my love to your mother. Love, Odysseus Prince Telemachus____ Ithaca, Greece_______

18. Dear Telemachus,You won’t believe where I am. It may not look like much of a place to you, but it’s actually pretty nice in this here cave. There are some great cheeses here, and lots of free livestock too! Found a lovely little shop right outside the door rock, bought a few postcards and some sunscreen, that type of thing. This picture’s my favorite, though. You can see us all posed by the sheep, see, there’s Acrisius and Dardanus next to Fred Sheep, Hippomenes and Arthur Sheep, Siddhartha with Govinda Sheep (not quite sure how they got here), and of course your old man. I wonder who that is at the top?Love, OdysseusP.S. What do you think of the name “Nobody”? I’ll explain later. Prince Telemachus____ Ithaca, Greece_______

20. Dear Penelope, I managed to get that Cyclops straight in the eye and completely blind him! That means my men and I can finally escape, meaning we traded only about a dozen guys for the loss of the Cyclops' eye: a net gain! I've cleverly devised a plan to sneak out of the cave by hiding underneath his sheep. When he goes to let them out we will be carried out along with them and escape to freedom. The only problem is that it's pretty smelly and all this wool is making me really itchy. It's really wearing on my nerves hanging onto this thing for about four hours now. Anyway, I should make it out of here safely soon and hopefully be able to see you again. Love, Odysseus Queen Penelope_____ Ithaca, Greece_______

22. My dearest Penelope, The sheep plan worked! That cyclops didn’t know what hit him ! Of course, he is blind…Anyway, as we pulled away, I just couldn’t resist throwing it in his face a little, but apparently being blind doesn’t necessarily diminish your strength. The Giant was very offended and threw a huge boulder after us, which nearly capsized the entire ship and pushed us back to shore! Luckily there was a huge pole handy, and I craftily heaved us backward again. You’d think I would’ve shut up after that, but no, I kept on talking. The Cyclops roared something about a prophesy in which it was said that I would one day blind him. He then asked his father, Poseidon, to never let me reach sweet Ithaca and if I did, to let me come home late and a broken man, without my dear shipmates by my side…talk about holding a grudge. I’m worried, Penelope, but I refuse to let the Cyclops' wishes come to pass. We will be together again. Love, Odysseus Queen Penelope_____ Ithaca, Greece_______

23. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? • Ulysses Everett McGill = Odysseus • Pete = Eurolochus, head officer

27. Olympian Gods

28. Lesser Gods • Cupid/Eros • Dionysus/Bacchus • Persephone

29. Titans • Cronus • Prometheus • (Forethought) • Pandora • Atlas

30. Mythological Mortals • Adonis • Pygmalion & Galatea • Deadalus & Icarus

31. Mythological Mortals • Midas • Glaucus & Scylla

32. Hercules • Orion • Eris

33. Phaeton • Helios • Pyramus & Thisbe