Ms. Teter English 1 April 10th, 2017 Intro to The Odyssey

Meet Homer (ca. 800 b.c.) Legendary Poet of The Iliad and The Odyssey Stories of heroes, gods, and monsters while exploring themes of fate and destiny Captured reader’s imagination for ~3,000 years

Homer cont. Did he exist? Scholars disagree whether he really wrote them Born in western Asia minor and was blind (?!) Scholars believe they are the result of oral poetic composition Masterpieces Homer’s stories have been used for many Hollywood movies, including Troy

History of the Trojan War Bronze Age (Helladic Era) – 2800 BC till 1050 BC Conflict between Troy (now western Turkey) and Mycenaean Greece War began after abduction/elopement of Queen Helen of Sparta by Trojan prince Paris

Judgement of Paris Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera asked Zeus to decide who deserved the golden apple “For the Fairest**” Zeus declined and stated that Paris of Troy would decide The three sought Paris out, however, Aphrodite promised him a woman in her likeness as a reward for giving her the apple Helen chose to marry Menelaus, King of Sparta Menelaus’ brother was Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, most powerful of all of Greece **Fairest= most beautiful

Trojan War cont. Paris never forgot Aphrodite’s promise As Paris entered the palace in Sparta, Eros shot an arrow of love into her heart She ran away to Troy, who welcomed her, with Paris Menelaus and Helen’s old suitors*, bound by oath, set sail to fetch Helen back **Suitor= a man who pursues a woman in hopes of marriage **Oath= a binding contract/promise

Trojan War cont. Troy was difficult to conquer due to their high walls built by Poseidon and Apollo War lasted 10 years Trojan Prince, Hector, was killed Achilles, Paris, Patroclus, and Ajax also died Achilles dragging Hector’s body

The end of the Trojan War Odysseus (Ulysses-Roman name) planned the Trojan Horse which helped to end the war Afterwards, the Greeks made their own way home The Odyssey is the epic of Odysseus’ journey home