1. Epics, Epic Heroes, and The Odyssey
English I

2. Mythology
Mythology is the the study of myths, or stories that symbolize basic truths about life.
Myths are usually passed down orally through many generations.
Our new piece of literature, The Odyssey, is one of the most famous Greek myths.
The author given credit for The Odyssey is Homer.

3. What is an EPIC? A long narrative poem An epic has a hero
The story tells of a the hero’s adventures and his fights with supernatural beings (gods, monsters, etc.)
Larger than life scenarios
Long, perilous journeys

4. Modern Day Epics
Can you think of any modern day epics?

5. Modern Day Epics The Wizard of Oz Harry Potter
The Hangover I, II and III
The Hobbit
The Lion King
Forrest Gump
Star Wars
The Hunger Games!

6. The Odyssey The Odyssey is a sequel (second book in a series)
It is the second of Homer’s two great epic poems.
Part one is called The Illiad.
It tells the story of The Trojan War

7. The Odyssey Background
According to the myth, the war started this way: Paris was a prince in the city of Troy. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, offered Paris a reward if he chose her. She said he could have Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. However, Helen was already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta, a city in Greece. Aprhodite made Helen fall in love with Paris and ran away with him.

8. The Odyssey Background
Of course, Menalaus was salty, (upset), so he and his brother Agamenon, led a Greek army again Troy to bring her back.
The war that followed is called the Trojan War.
The odyssey tells about a war hero named Odysseus and his long journey home back to Ithaca after the war ends.

9. See any common traits?

10. Traits of an Epic Hero
Has larger than life qualities, possibly supernatural powers

11. Traits of an Epic Hero A natural leader of men
Appealing to all but rarely has an extended relationship

12. Traits of an Epic Hero Defeats monsters and/or fights gods
Voldemort from the Harry Potter series
Grendel from Beowulf

13. Traits of an Epic Hero Has “good” on his side
Example: Ares (god of War) rode alongside the Trojans into war

14. Traits of an Epic Hero Often stands alone in battle
Smarter than everyone else, generally a problem solver
Trojan horse

15. Traits of an Epic Hero Has a weakness that may lead to his death
Makes long journeys, always on the move, travels to find adventure
A skilled fighter

16. What’s Next
Next class, you will have an open-note quiz about ALL of today’s background information.
Hope you took good notes 