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The EpicStuff You Need to
Know before Reading the Odyssey
EN09
Homeric Simile
an extended comparison between heroic events and easily understood everyday events
EX: “Then he advanced on them like a mountain lion who sallies out, defying wind and rain in the pride of his power, with fire in his eyes, to hunt the oxen or the sheep, to stalk the roaming deer, or to be forced by hunger to besiege the very walls of the homestead and attack the pens.”
Epithetan adjective or other descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place, or thing
Hexameter
•a line of verse consisting of six metrical feet
•relied on epithets to maintain the meter
Suspensethe uncertainty a reader feels about what is going to happen next
Imagery
•language that appeals to the senses
•esp. sight words
myth•a traditional story that is rooted in a particular culture•is typically religious•usually serves to explain a belief, ritual, or mysterious natural phenomenon
epic
•a long narrative poem•a quest undertaken in search of something of value
I need a hero!•A hero is a man in myth and legend who is often of noble birth. •He is endowed with great courage and strength. •He is celebrated for his bold exploits. •He is favored by the gods.
A hero...•...has great strength or ability•...is often inclined to boasting or foolhardiness•...is mortal
•...overcomes both internal and external demons/struggles•...is imperfect (possesses human fallibility)•...is on a quest
A hero...
What is a quest?
a search or pursuit made to find or obtain something
Quest Pattern
•begins with a plunge into the unknown or darkness (like war)•hero faces a challenge, often with divine assistance
•three most common challenges:
•monsters•demons•other-worldly creatures
•challenges threaten the hero and destroy his companions
•also included is a journey to the underworld or some connection with death•the hero is then reborn and can return enlightened to his known world
rhapsode/bard•a person who composed and recited epic poems•often accompanied himself on a harp or lyre
The Iliad and theOdyssey are considered the two greatest Greek epics.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are from the oral, unwritten form of literature and are meant to be heard, not read.
The Iliad and the Odyssey were accepted by the early Greeks as the ultimate authority for information about morality, early history, and the Olympian theology – much like the Bible was for early Hebrews.
The Greeks of the Homeric period were part of a pre-literate civilization.
the IliladThe Iliad is about Achilles and the last year of the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is about Odysseus and his ten year voyage home after the Trojan War.
•Odyssey is a Greek word meaning “the tale of Odysseus.”•The Odyssey is more than 2500 years old.
The Iliadand the Odyssey were “written” by Homer.
Homer...•...probably lived and
wrote in the 8th or 9th centuries B.C.E.•...was probably born on the island of Chios on the western coast of Asia Minor.
Homer•Whether or not Homer was from Chios, it is likely he was from Asia Minor since he composed in the dialect of Ionian (Asian) Greek.
Homer...
...might have been blind, but there is no real evidence to support this.
Iliad and Odyssey•Neither epic was written down until around 535 B.C.E. when a group of rhapsodes gathered in Athens to undertake the task.
Modern-Day Epic Heroes
FrodoIndiana
Jones
Luke Skywalk
er
Superman and other “super” heroesare not true epic heroes.
Movies are the most common medium for the modern epic.
Odysseus received help from the gods during his travels.
Liu Xiaobo "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China".
peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance democracy and human rights, promote economic and social development
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
He worked on behalf of the earthquake victims in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina victims on
the Gulf coast.
