Introduction to Homer’s, The Odyssey

1. Introduction to Homer’s,The Odyssey Author: Mr. Crews Class: English 1 Date: May 11th & 12th

2. The Odyssey Objectives What’s the focus for today? • Introduce the theme to The Odyssey • Provide information on the author, Homer • Summarize Odysseus’ journey • Review student presentations for The Odyssey

3. The Odyssey Introduction What is an odyssey? od·ys·seyn. pl. od·ys·seys An extended adventurous voyage or trip. An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery Power of Wit How does Odysseus use wit to his advantage?

4. Homer One of the earliest known poets Homer was a Greek poet, to whom are attributed the great epics, The Iliad, the story and siege of Troy, and The Odyssey, the tale of Odysseus and his wanderings. His literature dates back as far as seventh century b.c.

5. The Odyssey The Route of Odysseus The story begins in Troy!

6. The Odyssey Helen of Troy The story begins with Helen, the most beautiful woman in all the land. When Paris, Prince of Troy, was asked to decide who was the fairest among the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, he chose Aphrodite because she promised to give him Helen. Helen’s escape from her husband, Menelaus, King of Sparta, sparked a ten-year battle between the Atheans and Trojans.

7. The Odyssey The Trojan War To recover Helen, Menelaus with the help of other Greek kings and warriors like Diomedes, Ajax, Achilles, Nestor and Odysseus launched an expedition under the command of Agamemnon, the most powerful man in Greece. King Priam of Troy, his eldest son Hector and Aeneas organized the defense and Troy resisted for ten years. The gods also took sides: Hera, Athena and Poseidon sided with the Greeks and Apollo, Ares and Aphrodite, sided with the Trojans. Zeus remained impartial and asked the gods not to interfere.

8. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus leaves Troy and falls upon the land of the Lotus Eaters

9. The Odyssey Land of the Lotus Eaters Odysseus and his men angered Zeus by ransacking a city named Ismarus. Zeus sent a storm which sent Odysseus and his crew sailing across the sea to the land of the Lotus Eaters. The men who tasted the lotus, a strange plant, lost all desire to return home. Book 9

10. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus descends upon the land of the Cyclops

11. The Odyssey Land of the Cyclopes For many days Odysseus and his men were lost at sea. One night they arrived on an island and discovered a cave full of goats and sheep. It was the domicile of the Cyclops, Polyphemus—son of Poseidon. He was a giant with only one eye. Soon they were trapped because the Cyclops had closed the cave entrance with an enormous rock. Not before long, Polyphemus had eaten two men for dinner. Book 9

12. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus falls upon the island of the Winds

13. The Odyssey Island of the Winds Next they met Aeolus and his family who lived on the island of Eolia. Odysseus told Aeolus about his adventures and after a month, they finally left the island. As a present, Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag which contained all the winds except the one that would take them to Ithaca. But, while Odysseus was sleeping, his men opened the bag and a terrible storm swept them away from the shores of Ithica. Book 10

14. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus touches down in the land of the Laestrygonians

15. The Odyssey Land of the Laestrygones After sailing for many days, Odysseus and his men ended up among the Laestrygonians. They desperately needed to escape because the Laestrygonians were unfriendly giants who killed most of Odysseus' men and destroyed many of their ships. Book 10

16. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus meets the sorceress, Circe

17. The Odyssey Land of Circe The survivors ended up at Aeaea, the island of the sorceress, Circe. She transformed most of the men into pigs. The god Hermes gave Odysseus a herb to help him in the task of rescuing his crew. They spent a month with her. Finally, she told them they had to travel to the Land of Death. There, Tieresias, a dead blind prophet who had accompanied them to Troy, could tell them how to get home. Book 10

18. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus visits Hades in the underworld

19. The Odyssey The Land of Death The mysterious and horrible Land of Hades is the underworld where people go when they die. Odysseus found there the spirits of people he knew, like Achilles and his mother. Tieresias, a blind prophet who had gone with them to Troy, showed him the way to reach Ithaca safely. He also told him that Poseidon has decided to revenge Polyphemus and provided him many other warnings—one of which included the sirens. Book 11

20. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus slips past the sirens

21. The Odyssey Land of the Sirens Odysseus explained to his men what Tieresias had told him. Before the sirens appeared he put beeswax in the ears of the men and asked them to tie him to the mast of the ship so he could listen to the sirens' attractive songs. Book 12

22. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus faces Charybdis and Scylla

23. The Odyssey Land of Charybdis & Scylla Immediately after the sirens, Odysseus and his men saw a cloud of black smoke on the top of a mountain. It was Scylla, a horrible monster with twelve legs and six long necks ending in ugly heads with mouths full of teeth. They could not avoid Scylla without falling into a terrible whirlpool, Charybdis, that swallowed the sea and spit it up again. Book 12

24. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus visits the land of the Sun

25. The Odyssey Land of the Sun On Thrinacia, after one month of continuous bad weather and no more food to eat, Odysseus' men—despite the warnings of Tieresias—decided to sacrifice and eat some of the cows of Helios, the Sun God. When they were finally back at sea, Zeus sent them his eternal enemy: Poseidon, the ruler of the sea, who, with a violent storm, obliterated the ship. Book 12

26. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus is held captive on the island of Calypso

27. The Odyssey Island of Calypso Odysseus climbed on the wreckage of the ship and after rowing for nine days, he got to Ogygia, the island of Calypso. Calypso, the charming nymph who lived on the island, saved Odysseus' life and offered him immortality if he stayed with her. Instead she held him captive for eight years until Zeus sent Hermes, his messenger, who ordered her to let him free. Then he built a ship and sailed for seventeen days. After another encounter with Poseidon, exhausted, he reached the land of the Phaecians: the island of Scheria. Book 5, 13

28. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus drifts to the land of the Phaeacians

29. The Odyssey Land of the Phaeacians Odysseus arrived at the island Scheria. At the palace, Alcinoo, the King of the Phaeacians, invites Odysseus to an athletic competition and a banquet where songs of the Trojan War made Odysseus sad. Alcinoo asked him who he was. Odysseus then told his real name and the whole story of his life. As Ithaca was not far from Scheria, Alcinoo helped him to reach Ithaca. Book 6-8

30. The Odyssey The Journey of Odysseus Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithica!

31. The Odyssey Land of Ithica Odysseus finally reached his homeland of Ithica only to find his palace overrun with suitors who were spending his wealth, slaughtering his cattle, and courting his wife, Penelope. After many years, Penelope could no longer hold off the suitors. After almost twenty years away, Odysseus returned to Ithaca, his island home where he met Eumaeus. He was his swineherd who did not recognized him at first because he was disguised as an old beggar. Only Argo, Odysseus's old dog, knew who he was. Book 13-14

32. The Odyssey Land of Ithica Telemachus, his son, had sailed to seek news of his father. He went for advice to King Nestor in Pilos and to Menelaus in Sparta. Menelaus informed him that Odysseus was, against his will, held by Calypso. Athena then told him to go back to Ithaca. The suitors were waiting to kill him but he managed to escape and went to Eumaeus' farm. There, he finally met his father. They planned to get rid of the suitors who were celebrating a constant banquet at their palace. Book 2-4, 15

33. The Odyssey Land of Ithica Odysseus disguised as a beggar got rid of one of the suitors without revealing his identity. Penelope thanked him for that and asked Eurycleia, an old maid, to wash Odysseus' feet. Eurycleia had been Odysseus' nurse and recognized him at once by a scar he had above his knee. She promised to marry the suitor who could string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes. Disguised as a beggar, and with the help of his son, Telemachus, he planned to recapture his throne as King of Ithica. Book 16-20

34. The Odyssey Presentation What is required? • Create a (five-seven minute) PowerPoint presentation • DueDate: 5/31 (Per.6); 6/1 (Per.4) • Outline the characters, gods, or goddesses involved in the story (book) and how they are connected • Illustrate a brief summary of the book • Identify one theme, motif, symbol (quotations needed for each) • Identify five examples (each) of simile and personification • Design two classroom activities that could be conducted to best analyze and interpret the book • Project will be worth fifty (50) points! • Minus ten points for each day late