The Odyssey

1. The Odyssey What you need to know before you read Mrs. Valaika Treasure Mountain International School

2. Gods and Goddesses • The Ancient Greeks were pantheistic • believed in many different gods and goddesses. • The Greeks believed that gods and goddesses controlled everything in their lives. • Gods lived on Mount Olympus • There was a god for many aspects of life. • It was important to please the gods; happy gods helped you, but unhappy gods punished you. • Gods were pleased by sacrifices • Gods were like a big dysfunctional family

3. Zeus • Supreme ruler of the gods • God of thunder and lightening • Married to Hera • Symbol is the lightening bolt • Had sex with lots of women, both gods and mortals

4. Hera • Wife of Zeus • Goddess of women and marriage • Extremely jealous of Zeus • Often took revenge on the women Zeus slept with

5. Hades • God of the Underworld • Brother to Zeus • Abducted Persephone, daughter of Demeter, to be his bride

6. Demeter • Goddess of the earth, harvest, and fertility • Mother of Persephone • Symbol is wheat

7. Persephone • Daughter of Demeter • Abducted by Hades • Ate 4 pomegranate seeds • Must spend one month for every seed she ate with Hades • While she is absent, her mother goes into mourning and the earth is barren

8. Poseidon • God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses • Zeus’ brother • Father of the Cyclopes • Symbol is the trident

9. Apollo • God of the sun • Rides a chariot through the sky, its golden wheels are the sun • Also god of wisdom and the arts

10. Athena • Goddess of wisdom, war, and the domestic arts • Zeus’ daughter • Born from Zeus’ head • Very logical, admires intelligence • Frequently helps Odysseus

11. Aphrodite • Goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality • Daughter of Poseidon and • Married to Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, god of fire and technology • Mother of Eros, otherwise known as Cupid

12. Hermes • Messenger of the gods • Acted as a conduit between gods and mortals • Wore winged sandals • God of shepherds • Mischievous • Symbol is the caduceus

13. Ares • God of war • Rumored to have had an affair with Aphrodite • Often argued with Athena • Kind of a psycho

14. The Trojan War • Started by the gods • Eris, goddess of dischord, threw a golden apple into a wedding dance (that she wasn’t invited to) with a tag that read “for the fairest” • It was immediately fought over by • Aphrodite • Hera • Athena

15. Who is the fairest? • Zeus refused to decide, so the goddesses turned to a mortal, Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy. • All 3 goddesses promised Paris rewards • Athena promised he would defeat the Greeks • Hera promised he would be the lord of Europe and Asia • Aphrodite promised he would marry the most beautiful woman in the world • WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

16. The problem was … • Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. • Aphrodite lead Paris to Sparta • Menelaus left for Crete • Helen ran away with Paris, back to Troy • Helen became “The face that launched a thousand ships.”

17. The Meeting of the Greeks • The kings of Greece met, swore allegiance to Menelaus, and agreed to wage war on Troy. • Kings of Greece: • Menelaus of Sparta • Agammenon of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus • Nestor of Pylos • Odysseus of Ithaca • Achilles of Phtia

19. The battle wore on … • The siege of Troy lasted for 10 years • Became the subject of Homer’s epic The Iliad • Ended only because of Odysseus • The Trojan horse: Giant sculpture/booby trap • Troy was sacked, only Aeneas survived • Subject of The Aenead, another epic poem

20. The Odyssey • Written around 800 B.C. • Credited author is Homer, a blind poet • Passed down through generations orally, probably a collection of authors, refined over the years

21. Vocabulary and Terms • epic • hero • invocation • epithet • arete • allusion • archetype • oral tradition

22. Epic • a long poem • typically derived from ancient oral tradition • narrates the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation

23. Hero • a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities • the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize • (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends

24. Invocation • the action of invoking something or someone for assistance • the summoning of a deity or the supernatural

25. Epithet • a descriptive term accompanying a name and having entered common usage • examples from Homer: • “rosy-fingered Dawn” • “swift-footed Achilles” • “the wine-dark sea” • other examples: • “Alexander the Great”

26. Arete • excellence • courage and strength in the face of adversity • what all people in ancient Greece aspired to

27. Allusion • an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly • an indirect or passing reference • often used in literature • many allusions have to do with 3 things: • Greek mythology • Shakespeare • The Bible

28. Archetype • a very typical example of a certain person or thing • an original that has been imitated • a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology

29. Oral Tradition • a way of passing cultural history down through generations without using written language • exists in both pre-literate and post-literate cultures • storytellers, bards, musicians, and actors are all part of an oral tradition • in some cultures, oral tradition was a way of educating children, as well as mapping their surroundings