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Intro to the Odyssey
The Map of Odysseus’s Journey
About 3000 years Ago… People were telling stories of a great
war The person credited with gathering
these stories together and telling them as one unified epic is blind poet named Homer.
Homer’s stories can be traced to historical struggles for the control of the waterway leading from Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea
Who was Homer? • Ancient Greek court singer
and storyteller, often identified as an epic poet
• Believed to have composed the epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey
• Most likely, he would have sung these poems or spoke them aloud to music
• He would also have performed them from memory
• He was believed to be illiterate and may have have dictated his stories to a scribe
Homer’s Iliad Homer’s first epic poem, which tells the
story of a 10-year war that takes place outside the city of Troy (modern day Turkey)
Troy was fighting an alliance of Greek kings The face that launched 1000 ships: Helen
Menelaus – a Greek king Helen- his wife, the most beautiful woman in the
world Paris – Prince of Troy
Trojan War Lasts 10 Years
Odysseus Clever soldier from
Ithaca, fighting for the Greeks
Clever, devised a plan to break through the walls of city of Troy
Left behind a wife in Ithaca named Penelope and a son named Telemachus, who was only a baby when his father left for the war
The Story of the Trojan Horse Odysseus’s plan
involved cutting down large trees and building a giant Trojan horse
The Trojans would mistake the giant statue as a gift or symbol of a truce and pull it behind the city walls
The Trojans did not know that Greek soldiers were hidden inside the horse
The Story of the Trojan Horse After the Trojans
celebrated their “victory” and fell asleep late in the night, the Greeks emerged from inside the Trojan Horse
The Greeks burned the city to the ground and killed most of the inhabitants
YouTube Clips The Truth of Troy: Story of Trojan War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36-H0-Vsps
Homer’s Odyssey Epic story of a Greek soldier, Odysseus,
and his efforts to return home after the Trojan War
All epic poems in the Western world use these stories as a basic foundational pattern
Can you think of any “epics” in today’s culture?
What are epics? Long, narrative poems that tell of the adventures of
heroes who in some way embody the values of their civilizations
Iliad is a model for the epic of war Odyssey is the model of the epic of the long journey
For centuries, the Greeks used the Iliad and the Odyssey in schools to teach Greek virtues
The Greeks would have already been very familiar with the stories of the Trojan War and the Trojan Horse
Based on what we have learned so far, what values do you believe the Greeks strongly cared about?
What are epics? The stories were told aloud by people
who probably could not read or write The words may have varied each time
the story was told, but the meaning and rhythm remained the same
Repetition and rhyme helped with memory
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble Homer’s audience would have respected
heroes more than ordinary humans, but less than gods
Heroes had always been seen as “on top of the world”
Odysseus was different; he was in trouble
Once a great soldier, Odysseus is not respected anymore
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble Considered draft-dodging to avoid
fighting in a war over an unfaithful woman
Tried to fake insanity but was discovered to be perfectly sane when Agamemnon and Menelaus threw Telemachus in front of his plow…Odysseus rescued his son as any sane father would
Odysseus is a great example of an epic hero
Characteristics of an Epic Hero① The hero is a great leader (usually a male figure) who is
identified strongly with a particular people or society.
② The setting is broad and often includes supernatural realms. The hero may even suffer a symbolic death by traveling to the Land of the Dead or the underworld.
③ The hero performs great deeds in battle or undertakes an extraordinary journey or quest. The hero is typically on a quest for something very important to him or his people.
④ The hero must overcome great obstacles or defeat evil villains or monsters along the way.
Characteristics of an Epic Hero⑤ Sometimes gods or other supernatural or
fantastic beings take part in the action or help the hero in some way.
⑥ The hero is often described as superhuman and is stronger, smarter, and braver than average men.
⑦ The hero usually returns home significantly transformed by his journey. For example, he might learn a valuable lesson or accept his fate.
Modern-day Epic HeroesChoose a character from a novel, movie, play, or television show that represents a modern-day epic hero.
What characteristics do they possess that might make them an epic hero?
What characteristics do they lack?