Background : The Odyssey

1. Background:The Odyssey

2. Author: Homer • Everything we know about Homer is either traditional, mythical, or based upon educated guesswork (his existence is questionable) • Scholars assign Homer to the middle or late part of the eighth century BCE • Was a blind bard or singer of tales • Orated The Iliad and The Odyssey

3. Genre: Epic Poem • Lengthy narrative poem • Lots of repetition • Contains details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation • Early epics were told orally • The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries, and returns home transformed by his adventures

4. Epic Characteristics • Begins in medias res (in the middle of things) • The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe • Begins with an invocation to a muse • Begins with a statement of the theme • Includes the use of epithets (descriptive term in place of a name) • Contains long lists (epic catalogue) • Features long and formal speeches • Shows divine intervention on human affairs • Features heroes that embody the values of the civilization Copy these down on your own sheet of paper as you come in!

5. The Epic Simile • Another trait of an Epic is an epic simile. • An epic simile is an elaborate comparison that may extend for several lines. Epic similes may use the words like, as, just as or so to make the comparison. • An epic simile is longer and more involved than a typical simile.

6. The Epic Hero • An epic hero is a larger than life central character in an epic. • This hero is a human being with characteristics a society admires and often wishes to COPY.

7. Greek Values • Hospitality • Strength (physical & mental) • Loyalty • Honor • Glory • Family • Religion (relationship with gods)

8. Setting Time Place Odysseus’s wanderings cover the Aegean and surrounding seas and eventually end in Ithaca, in northwestern Greece; Telemachus travels from Ithaca to southern Greece Bronze Age (approximately twelfth century BCE); the Odyssey begins where the Iliad ends and covers the ten years after the fall of Troy

9. Map: Ancient Greece

10. The Iliad "The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

11. Apple of Discord • The goddess, Eris, was not invited to a wedding; she decided to cause discord amongst the gods in retaliation • Throws an apple inscribed with the words “for the fairest one” • Goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claim the apple • Paris is chosen to be the judge, but is bribed (Helen) by Aphrodite • One of the major events that led to the Trojan War

12. Helen of Troy • Wife of King Menelaus of Sparta • The Trojan Prince, Paris, abducts Helen • “Face that launched a thousand ships” • Menelaus stirs up support from previous suitors • The Trojan War begins “Helen of Troy” by Amaranth44

13. The Trojan War • The war lasts 9 years • Odysseus devises ruse to win the war: The Trojan Horse • Soldiers hid in the hollow horse and attacked the Trojans while they slept • “Never trust a Greek bearing gifts” • This ends the war Achilles Slaying Penthesile, Greek, about 540-530 BC

14. The Odyssey • Takes place about 20 years later • Odysseus has not returned home • Wife, Penelope, must host unwanted suitors • Son, Telemachus, grows up without a father, resents suitors • Athena solicits Zeus to allow for Odysseus’ return home Telemachus praying to the goddess, Athena

15. Going HomeIt took Odysseus 10 years to get home

16. Athena & Poseidon The Friend & The Enemy

17. Penelope & TelemachusWife & Son

18. The SirensTheir sweet songs lured men to death

19. PolyphemusThe Cyclops

20. Charybdis & ScyllaThe Whirlpool and 6 Headed Monster

21. CalypsoBeautiful Nymph

22. CirceThe Witch

23. And so It Begins…

24. Part I Vocabulary Words 1. Plunder (v): to take (property) by force, especially in warfare. 2. Valor (n): great courage, especially in battle 3. Guile (n): slyness; craftiness; skillfull deception 4. Ponderous (adj.): having great weight or bulk Copy these down as you enter the classroom!

25. Odyssey Part I- Quizlet • What does Polyphemus tell the other Cyclopes when they ask him what happened? • How did Odysseus and his men escape from the cave? • What did Odysseus do as his ships sailed away from the Island of the Cyclopes? • Which god does Polyphemus pray to and what does he ask him to do?

26. Odysseus is currently here, telling what happened on his journey

27. See… What Happened Was… Odyssey Part I Postcard In Part I, we begin to get an idea of where Odysseus has been for such a long time. Naturally, he has a lot to tell his wife, Penelope and his son, Telemachus. With that in mind, write a postcard, either from Odysseus to Penelope or from Odysseus to Telemachus, explaining where he has been and what has happened so far. One catch: You must use all fourofPart I’s vocabulary words. Be creative and have fun with this!

28. Postcard Requirements- 25 points • Colored illustration on blank side • At least 6 sentences on the lined side, with all four vocabulary words • Should sum up what we have read in Part I • Timeline: Imagine Odysseus is sending this postcard after his escape from the Island of the Cyclopes • Be creative!

29. Journal Entry- April 26th • Your husband/wife went off to war with a group of people, many of whom returned ten years later. Years go by and your husband/wife still hasn’t returned. A group of men/women, who all assume your husband/wife must be dead, start courting you, and have proposed. You can’t support yourself and your son on your own, but you haven’t given up hope that your husband/wife is still alive and will return. What do you do?

30. Journal Entry- May 3rd • In your reading yesterday, you saw how Odysseus and his crew had to navigate their way through a tough situation– a six-headed monster on one side and a whirlpool on the other. Describe a time when you were in a tough situation like Odysseus– between “a rock and a hard place”– and describe how you got yourself out of it.

31. Vocabulary- Part II • Shun (v.): To keep away from • Ardor (n.): passion; intensity of emotion; enuthusiasm • Tumult (n.): commotion; uproar • Shroud (v.): To cover, as with a veil or burial cloth.

32. Vocabulary- Part III- Copy down as you Enter Class • Cower (v.): to crouch or shrink back in fear or shame • Impudence (n.): speech or behavior that is aggressively forward or rude • Guise (n.): false appearance • Renowned (adj.): famous; widely known

33. As you read Part III • 1 piece of characterization for Odysseus • 1 quote about birds • 1 quote about the loom/shroud • 1 quote about the bow

34. Part III Pop Quiz • Describe a situation in Part III where irony is present. • Are the characters mostly described using indirect or direct characterization? Give an example to support your answer. • Which character displays the most Xenia (hospitality) in Part III? Support your answer. • Which character displays the least Xenia (hospitality) in Part III? Support your answer. • What challenge does Penelope propose and why do you think she chose that particular challenge?

35. Part III Pop Quiz • Describe a situation in Part III where irony is present. • Are the characters mostly described using indirect or direct characterization? Give an example to support your answer. • Give a quotation that represents the following symbols: the loom/shroud and the bow. • Give a character trait for Odysseus and a quotation to back it up. • What challenge does Penelope propose and why do you think she chose that particular challenge?