Sean Gassaway The Odyssey by Homer

 Homer is the blind author of the two epics the Odyssey and the Iliad  Homer is believed to be the first and the best epic poet over all other poets  No one really knows where or even if Homer lived  Many people find it unlikely that the Iliad and the Odyssey were written by the same person  Homer is believed to be Greek because before being translated the two epics were written in a form of Greek letters Homer

Climatic event #1  During “The Cyclops” Odysseus and his men are trapped in the cave with the Cyclops and he is eating two men at a time, Odysseus came up with the idea to stab his eye out and escape.  This served as a climatic event because it was suspenseful because we did not know how they were going to escape or who the Cyclops was going to eat.  The plot negatively impacted the story because when they did escape the cyclops prayed to Poseidon, and that made Poseidon angry so now Odysseus has an enemy that he cant defeat

 During the “The Cattle Of The Sun God” Odysseus's men did not listen to him and they ate the cattle, so Helios threatened to bring the sun down into the underworld. Zeus destroyed their ship with his lighting bolt.  This served as a climatic event because we are left in suspense because all of his men were killed and he was left with no boat.  This plot negatively impacted story because all of his men were killed and he was left in the ocean with no boat Climatic event #2

This setting is important because he spent 7 years on this island instead of working on getting home. Also he wasn’t being held there against his will which meant that he chose to stay there for that long. “ He has spent ten years (seven of them as Calypso's not entirely unwilling captive) trying to get home.” Calypso’s island

Courageous Daring Strong Cunning Knowledge I selected these character traits because in the epic he goes through an impossible to survive journey but he lives. He uses cunning to get away from calypso, he uses daring and strength against the cyclops, and he uses knowledge and courage against Scylla because he knew what she could do and he went anyway. "My lady goddess, there is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope-how well I know- would seem a shade before your majesty, death and old age being unknown to you, while she must die. Yet, it is true, each dayI long for home, long for the sight of home...." this is when he used his cunning skills to trick Calypso. “O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions? Puny, am I, in a Caveman's hands? How do you like the beating that we gave you, you damned cannibal? Eater of guests 480 under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!” this is when he was daring and told the cyclops his name and even where he was from Character traits

He is not always heroic because he did not tell his men about what was going to happen to them just so he could get home but they would never return with him. I learned that Odysseus is brave and that he is very cocky. He is cunning and smart, and he has a lot of strength. And he cares a lot about family, and his men. Odysseus is an example of an epic hero because he slayed monsters and other creatures using knowledge and strength Character traits

Poseidon was a huge conflict. This conflict was man vs. nature. Poseidon is the god of the sea and whenever Odysseus and his men are in their ship Poseidon caused huge waves and storms to make them go off of their course. I learned from this conflict that Odysseus is very cocky because the reason Poseidon is doing this is because Odysseus took all the credit for defeating Troy. The cyclops was a big conflict. This conflict was man vs. man. This is when Odysseus and his men got trapped in the Cyclops cave and he started eating his men. Odysseus and his strongest men shoved a stake through his eye and escaped. I learned that they are very brave to go up against the giant cyclops. And I learned that they are also cunning because they used the Cyclops’s own cattle against him to escape the cave. Conflict

“Eater of guests under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you” “That night, at the banquet, the stranger who was washed up on the beach is seated in the guest's place of honor.” “To the ancient people of Greece and Asia Minor, all guests were god-sent.” The ancient Greeks believed that they needed to treat every guest like the were royalty, just in case they were gods in disguise. I also learned that back then people saw heroes as being strong, cunning and brave. The historical context is important because it shows up in the epic all the time through out the journey. Historical context

It is important to study the Odyssey today because it teaches you that taking all the credit for things can cause you to lose friends and maybe even people that you love. The theme is that you can not take all the credit for things that you had help with. I know this is the theme because this whole thing started when Odysseus took all the credit after Poseidon helped him win the war. THEME