1. The Odyssey
By Homer

2. Homer Legendary Greek poet, author of the Iliad and Odyssey
The authorship of The Odyssey is typically attributed to Homer, although the topic has been debated for centuries. Interestingly, there are some who even believe that the author of The Odyssey might have been a woman!

3. The Iliad
Homer’s other important work, The Iliad, is about the great Greek warrior Achilles and is set during the Trojan War. The war was fought between the Greeks and Trojans in the city of Troy. The war lasted for ten years.

4. The Trojan War
The Trojan War was waged, according to legend, because of sexual jealousy: The world’s most beautiful woman, Helen, abandoned her husband, Menelaus, the Greek king of Sparta, and ran off with Paris, prince of Troy.

5. “The face that launched a thousand ships…”
To avenge the insults suffered by King Menelaus of Sparta, the Greek kings banded together. In a fleet of a thousand ships, they sailed across the Aegean Sea an laid siege to the walled city of Troy and to reclaim Helen from Paris and the city of Troy.

6. The Setting of The Trojan War
Because the city of Troy was built on a hill and surrounded by a huge brick wall, the Greeks were unable to penetrate the city.

7. Odysseus – Hero of The Odyssey
Odysseus was one of the Greek kings who went to Troy to fight in this long battle. A reluctant warrior, Odysseus tried to avoid going to battle, especially to fight for an unfaithful woman.

8. A Ten Year War….
Once in Troy, Odysseus performed will as a commander & soldier. But the great war had lasted or ten years; the Greeks had been fighting outside the walls of Troy, unable to penetrate the city. Odysseus came up with a plan. It was he who thought of the famous wooden horse trick that would lead to the downfall of Troy.

9. The Wooden-Horse Trick
Odysseus’s plan was to build an enormous wooden horse and hide a few Greek soldiers in the hollow belly.
After the horse was built, the Greeks pushed it up to the gates of Troy and retreated.

10. “Beware Greeks bearing gifts.”
Believing they had won the war and that this gift was an offering, the Trojans brought the horse into the city.
That night, as the Trojans celebrated victory, the Greeks hidden inside the hollow belly came out, opened the gats of Troy, and began the battle that was to win the war.

11. The Odyssey begins…..
Ten years after the end of the Trojan War. Nearly 20 years have passed since Odysseus left his home, his wife, and his young son. The events of The Odyssey include Odysseus’s version of the past 10 years as he has been trying to reach his home, Ithaca, as well as the events that occur after he reaches his homeland.

12. Important Places Troy: the setting of the Trojan War
Ithaca: Odysseus’ homeland, the Greek region that Odysseus ruled
Phaeacia: island kindom ruled by King Alcinous
Aeaea: home of Circe, the enchantress
Thrinacia: island where the sun god keeps his cattle
Acheaea: another word for “Greece” and the home of the Achaeans (Greeks)

13. Important Characters Penelope: Odysseus’ faithful wife
Telemachus: Odysseus’ son
Argos: Odysseus’ faithful dog
Suitors: the men who hope to marry Penelope
Antinous: most arrogant and cruel of the suitors
Eumaeus: a swineherd and one of Odysseus’s loyal servants
Eurylochus: a member of Odysses’s loyal crew

14. On his voyage home, Odysseus meets….
Calypso: a beautiful nymph goddess who keeps him on her island for 7 years
Charybdis: a female monster who sucks in water three times a day to form a whirlpool
Scylla: a female monster with 6 heads
Circe: an enchantress who turns Odysseus’s men into swine
Lotus Eaters: people who feed Odysseus’ men to make them forget about Ithaca
Cyclopes: a race of brutish one-eyed giants who live as shepherds
Polyphemus: a Cyclops and son of Poseidon
Sirens: sea nymphs with voices so beautiful that men steer their ships into the dangerous rocks to their deaths

15. The Gods & Goddesses Zeus: ruler of all gods & humans
Athena: daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom; she favored the Greeks during the Trojan War (also called Pallas Athena)
Poseidon: god of sea and thunder; called the “Earth Shaker” because he is believed to cause earthquakes; an enemy of Odysseus
Helios: god of the sun
Aeolus: keeper of the winds

16. The Odyssey is an epic, a long narrative poem about a national or legendary hero

17. Characteristics of an Epic:
A long narrative poem
The speaker is a narrator, telling a story
The theme or subject of the tale is important.
The setting is HUGE; it may be a sea, a region, the world, or a universe.
The main character is a hero.
The action includes extraordinary or super-human deeds. Typically, the epic hero has a goal and has embarked upon a long journey, which tests his wits, strength, or bravery.
Gods or supernatural beings are part of the action.
The purpose of the epic is not only to entertain, but to teach & inspire the reader with examples of how people can strive and succeed against great odds.

18. The epic you are about to read, The Odyssey, is a celebration of the human spirit and of ordinary life. It is for the timeless appeal to our common humanity that The Odyssey is still read an enjoyed nearly three thousand years after its creation.

19. Navigating the Greek Language…
In English, two vowels put together make
one sound (and syllable)
ex: each (the “ea” makes a long e sound)
toast (the “oa” makes a long o sound)
As a rule in the Greek language, each vowel
creates its own syllable.
ex: Calliope (4 syllables)
Menelaus (4 syllables)
Exception: Occasionally, a letter combination will occasionally create a diphthong in Greek (ex: the “ae” combination is pronounced like a long “a”)
ex:
Poulos (2 syllables – the letters “o” & “u” create a diphthong.)

20. How many syllables???? Aphrodite Zeus Athene Menelaus Laocoon Circe
Aeolus (the “ae” creates a diphthong)
Zaharopoulos (the “ou” creates a diphthong)
Aeaea (the “ae” creates a diphthong)