Homer’s Odyssey

1. Homer’s Odyssey

2. Homer • lived around 1200 B.C.E. • was a poet • is traditionally thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person

3. Homer • Composed the Iliad and the Odyssey, epic poems about the war between the Trojans and the Greeks set in 900-700 B.C.E. and the aftermath of that possibly historic war.

4. What is an epic? • An epic is : • A narrative poem concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deed and events significant to a culture or nation. • The story of the hero’s travels and fights with powerful figures, sometimes other humans but also gods and monsters.

5. An epic : • Opens in medias res, • Is written in elevated, formal language, • Begins with an invocation to a muse,

6. An epic : • Includes supernatural elements, • Involves an epic hero, • was originally sung, often to a harp or lyre, • was composed for live performance in a pre-literate society

7. Epics… • contain clues to the ideas of the poet and his audience-what they feared or did not understand, such as natural disasters, death, storms, the heavens, or the afterlife. • reflect the culture that created them: religion, dress, homes, weapons and war, roles of men and women, values and moral standards.

8. What makes an epic hero? • An epic hero… • Has “larger than life” qualities, possibly supernatural powers or skills so extraordinary that they seem to be gifts of the gods. • Performs brave deeds and faces many dangers, even defeating monsters and/or gods.

9. An epic hero… • Is intelligent and solves difficult, even life-threatening problems. • Is a natural leader of men, strong and responsible. • Is a skilled fighter who often stands prominently or alone in battle,

10. An epic hero… • Makes long journeys, travels to find adventure or to fulfill a desire or quest, • Is human, and has a weakness (or human failing) that destroys him or inadvertently endangers others. • Is favored by the gods.

11. The Iliad • is a narrative poem about the tenth and last year of the Trojan War • Theme: The wrath of Achilles • Emphasizes arete, honor earned in battle, and kleos, or glory

12. “If the Greeks regarded the Trojan War as the defining moment of their culture, they did so because of the poetry of Homer. It would not be unfair to regard the Homeric poems as the single most important texts in Greek culture.” • --Richard Hooker, “Bureaucrats and Barbarians, The Greek Dark Ages.”

13. The Trojan War ended when the Greeks tricked the Trojans into bringing a wooden horse filled with Greek soldiers into the city of Troy.

14. The Odyssey • This epic poem of more than 12,000 lines is divided into 24 books. • It tells the story of Odysseus’ journey as he and his men try to return home from the Trojan War.

15. Odysseus Must you have battle in your heart forever? The bloody toil of combat? Old contender; will you not yield to the immortal gods? Odyssey, Book 12

16. Characters in the Odyssey: • Odysseus, the king of Ithaka, calledpolutropos “the man of many turnings” for his inventive intelligence, • Penelope, Odysseus’ faithful wife • Telemakhos, Odysseus’ son, now twenty years old, • Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, and justice