The Odyssey

1. The Odyssey An epic hero’s journey home Homer

2. Homer • Guess the answer to these facts! True/False? • He was born about 850 B.C. • He was blind. • He lived in the same place all of his life. • He wrote down all of his poetry and passed it on for others to read. • There are theories that Homer was actually a woman.

3. Some actual facts about Homer: • Very little is known about the epic poet, Homer (Homeros, in Greek) • He was an Asiatic Greek, probably born in Smyrna (an ancient city of Ionia, on the western coast of Asia Minor) around 850 B.C. • It is widely believed that he was blind and a nomad, traveling from place to place.

4. More facts… • Homer did not present his poetry in written form. He and others recited it from memory. • There is one theory that his poems were actually created by a group of poets. • There are also some who believe Homer was actually a woman. • Homer’s works were unique for their time because they were actually recorded.

5. Homer’s works • Almost 3000 years ago, people who lived in the area of the world now known as Greece told stories of a great war. • Homer gathered these stories together and told them as one unified epic. • His stories are called The Iliad and The Odyssey. (In Greek, Ilias and Odysseia). • These real battles would have taken place as early as 1200 B.C.

6. The Iliad • Homer’s first epic • Tells the story of the ten year war fought on the plains outside the city of Troy. The ruins of Troy can still be seen in western Turkey. • The Trojan War was fought between the people of Troy and an alliance of Greek kings. • The cause of the war was sexual jealousy: The world’s most beautiful woman, Helen, abandoned her husband, Menelaus, a Greek king, and ran off with Paris, a prince of Troy.

7. The Iliad continued… • The story is set in the 10th and final year of the Trojan War. • The Greek kings banded together under the leadership of Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus. • They sailed 1000 ships across the Aegean Sea and encircled the city of Troy. • The Greeks eventually were victorious.

8. Just a little more… • They reduced Troy to ruins and butchered the inhabitants, except for those they kept as slaves and took back to Greece. • The Greeks did lose their greatest warrior, Achilles, in the last year of the war. • When Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, came home from Troy, he was murdered by his unfaithful wife!

9. Odysseus, an usual hero. • Odysseus is the Greek war hero who is the subject of The Odyssey. • He is known as much for his brain as his brawn. • In Homer’s day, heroes were thought of as a special class of aristocrats, somewhere between gods and human beings.

10. Odysseus: a hero in trouble • He is lost in a world of difficult choices. • He was a great soldier in the war, but his war record is not of interest to the monsters he must face during his journey home to Ithaca. • Before the war, Odysseus was married to the beautiful and faithful, Penelope. They have one son, Telemachus.

11. Odysseus: a hero in trouble • Telemachus was a toddler when Odysseus was called to war by Agamemnon and Menelaus against Troy. However, Odysseus did not want to go to war, and he tried draft-dodging. He was, however, finally forced to go to war. • Once in Troy, Odysseus performed extremely well as a soldier and commander.

12. The Wooden-Horse Trick • Odysseus came up with a plan to get inside the walls of Troy since the war had been fought outside the walls for ten years. • Odysseus’ plan was to build a massive wooden-horse and hide a few Greek soldiers inside it. • After the horse was built, the Greeks pushed it up to the gates of Troy and withdrew their armies so it looked like they abandoned their camp. • The Trojans thought the Greeks had given up and the horse was a peace offering, so they brought the horse into their city. • That night, the Greeks hiding inside the horse came out and let the whole Greek army into Troy to begin the battle to win the war. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbiR6IMf5KQ

13. The Odyssey • Written sometime during the 7th or 8th century B.C. • Tells the story of the travels of the Greek hero, Odysseus, as he makes his way home to Ithaca after his army defeats the Trojans in the Trojan War. • The story begins with his son, Telemachus, who is now 20 years old. • There have been many rude, powerful men swarming about his home pressuring his mother to marry one of them.

14. The Odyssey continued… • While this is happening, Odysseus is stranded on an island trying to find a way back to his family and home. • It has been 10 years since Odysseus sailed from Troy, and 20 years since he left Ithaca to fight in Troy. • While Telemachus is searching for his father, Odysseus is searching for a way out of his “mid-life crisis.”

15. A tough road home… • Odysseus makes his journey with the help of his guardian goddess, Athena. During his 10 year journey, he must face: • Violent storms, enslavement by a sea nymph, witches, a Cyclops, blood-thirsty Sirens, and the mysterious underworld. • When he finally returns home, he must rid his house of the suitors who have been terrorizing his wife and son during his absence.

16. Gods and Goddesses • Ancient Greeks are always concerned about the relationship between humans and gods. The Gods controlled all things. • Gods did not normally appear to mortals, and when they did, it was to punish them. • Ancient Greeks feared their Gods and felt they had to be appeased and showered with gifts even if the humans were not aware of having done anything wrong.

17. Gods and Goddess you will encounter: • Zeus • Hera • Poseidon • Aphrodite • Athena • Artemis • Hermes • Apollo • Hephaestus • Hades • Demeter • Dionysus • Ares • Persephone

18. Epic • An extended narrative poem recounting actions, travels, adventures, and heroic episodes involving a hero who embodies the values of his civilization. • The Greeks, for centuries, used The Iliad and The Odyssey to teach Greek virtues. • The Odyssey is the model for the epic of the long journey.

19. Characteristics of an epic: • A physically impressive hero/protagonist of national or historical importance • A vast setting involving much of the known physical world and sometimes the land of the dead • Action such as a quest or journey taken in search of something of value • Evidence of supernatural forces at work • Glorification of the hero at the end • Rooted in a specific culture and society

20. In an epic, you will often find: • A request for help from a muse or other deity. • The story beginning in medias res (in the middle of things). • The use of patronymics (calling a son by his father’s name). • Long, formal speeches by important characters. • A journey to the underworld. • The use of the number 3. • Previous episodes in the story are later recounted.

21. How to become an epic hero: • Separation The ordinary world Call to adventure • Initiation Refusal to the call (reluctant hero) Mentor Crossing the first threshold Tests, allies and enemies Approach the innermost cave Supreme ordeal Reward

22. How to become an epic hero: • Return The road back Resurrection Return with the prize

24. The Odyssey-Quiz Review Material • Matching characters/Gods/Goddesses to descriptions • Part I: The Wanderings-events from the stories, i.e. The Cyclops, The Lotus Eaters, Calypso, The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, The Witch Circe, The Cattle of the Sun God • Characteristics of an epic hero-Odysseus’ actions • Part II: Coming Home-events from the stories, i.e. The Meeting of Father and Son, The Test of the Great Bow, Death at the Palace, Odysseus and Penelope • Themes within The Odyssey • Greek values of hospitality, loyalty, deference for the Gods • Short Answer question-paragraph response: dramatic irony in Part II, The Meeting of Father and Son