THE ODYSSEY An Epic Journey

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS Epic-  An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero. Odyssey-  An extended journey or trip, sometimes for spiritual reasons.

THE AUTHOR- HOMER All we know about the author of the Odyssey is that he lived some 2700 years ago. By tradition in ancient times, Homer was a blind bard, one of the minstrels who recited long poems about heroes of a bygone age.

THREE SOURCES OF GREEK AND ROMAN EPIC ADVENTURES  The Iliad- Homer  The Aeneid- Virgil  The Odyssey- Homer

THE PLACES OF THE ODYSSEY

MOUNT OLYMPUS Olympus is a mountain in northern Greece, rising to multiple peaks of over 9000 feet. In mythology, it is the home of the supreme gods, who lived there in a beautiful castle. They were known as the Olympians in consequence.

THE GODS AND GODDESSES

Muses- There were nine goddesses of artistic inspiration, known collectively as the Muses. They were rarely worshipped, but often called upon by poets since they aided memory as well as creative spark.

THE CYCLOPS The Cyclops was the son of the God of Earthquakes (Poseidon). He was a one-eyed giant of the race that built Olympus for the gods.

THE SIRENS Although Homer describes the treacherous sweetness of their singing, he does not describe the physical appearance of the Sirens. Later writers visualized them in various combinations of woman and bird. One source also had them playing the lyre and flute in addition to singing.

 The one at odds with the gods.  Odysseus is first present in the Illiad.  We find Odysseus fighting in the Trojan War.  When Odysseus was first recruited, he pretended he was mad because he didn’t want to fight. So, the soldiers who came to get him threw his son Telemachus in front of his plow. Odysseus swerved to miss his son, and they concluded he wasn’t mad.  So, he had to fight.  His trouble really began when he left the Trojan war. To know why he had such a treacherous journey home, we have to know about the war.

THE TROJAN WAR: BRIEF SYNOPSIS The Trojan War began when a prince of Troy eloped with the wife of a Greek king. The woman's name was Helen, and she became infamous as Helen of Troy. Hers was "the face that launched a thousand ships."

Sailing to Troy, they besieged the city for nine years. Homer's other epic, The Iliad, concerns this siege and the many individual battles that were fought between heroes on both sides.

SPECIFICS ABOUT THE TROJAN WAR  Causes of the War  Eris, Goddess of Discord, was angry for not being invited to a wedding party.  To cause trouble, she threw an apple into the banquet (wedding party) which said, “For the Fairest.”

ERIS’ APPLE  All of the goddesses at the marriage party wanted to be considered the prettiest, but the choices were narrowed to three goddesses.  Hera- Zeus’s Wife  Athena- The Goddess of Civilization and Wisdom  Aphrodite- The Goddess of Love and Beauty

WHO GOT TO CHOOSE? The Son of King Priam, PARIS, was chosen to decide on the fairest.

 Hera offered power and land.  Athena offered victory in battle.  Aphrodite offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world!

THE CHOICE  Paris chose APHRODITE  Hera and Athena were offended- WATCH OUT, PARIS!

HELEN  Aphrodite led Paris to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.  The problem- Helen was already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta.  Paris kidnapped her? Or. She went willingly?  We don’t really know for sure. It is still debated.

MENELAUS’ REVENGE  Needless to say, Menelaus was not happy.  After reporting the incident to his brother, Agamemnon, the Greek army sailed off to go to war with Troy.  Helen became known as “the face that launched 1,000 ships.”

THE GODS AND GODDESSES AND WARRIORS Greek Warriors Odysseus and Achilles (although he claimed he didn’t fight for them) Patroclus, Agamemnon, Ajax, and Diomedes Hera and Athena They were still mad at Paris for not choosing them ! In the Middle Zeus- He didn’t like the Trojans, but he didn’t want to put up with Hera’s nagging. Trojan Warriors along with Paris and Hector Aphrodite Ares (He had a crush on Aphrodite) Apollo (A friend of Hector)

THE WAR  The Greeks were not doing well in the war.  Odysseus was believed to have come up with the idea that would win the war for the Greeks. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is said to have inspired Odysseus with this idea.

In the tenth year of the Trojan War, the Greeks tricked the enemy into bringing a colossal wooden horse within the walls of Troy. The Trojans had no idea that Greek soldiers were hidden inside, under the command of Odysseus. That night they opened the city gates to the Greek army. Troy was destroyed. Now it was time for Odysseus and the other Greeks to return to their kingdoms across the sea.

THE RESULTS  The Greeks won the war, but angered the gods because they forgot to say thank you!  The soldiers captured Cassandra and were mean to her. She was a friend of Athena, who became angry.  Athena asked Poseidon to help her give the Greeks a bitter homecoming.  Many of the Greek ships were lost at sea.

ODYSSEUS’S JOURNEY  Odysseus fought in the war for ten years. Because of the gods’ interference, it took him ten more years to sail home. These years were not all pleasant.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE ODYSSEY Part OnePart TwoPart Three The story of what happens to Ithaca while Odysseus is gone to war. Odysseus tells of his wanderings during the ten years trying to get home. Odysseus returns to Ithaca and joins with Telemachus to destroy the men who have taken over his home.

 We will be reading from books in each section.  We don’t have the full text of each book, but we get the best parts!