Our Guide to The Odyssey Feraco English 9 English 9 14 January 2011

Epics  Epics are long narrative poems that tell of the adventures of heroes who embody the values of their particular civilizations  People therefore used them to represent a society’s fundamental values

Invocations  Typical epics, such as Homer’s, began with something called an invocation – basically, a prayer to the Muses (or a personal Muse, i.e. inspiration) to help the poet successfully work his way through his tale  After all, these epics are delivered verbally – they were only written down later (and Homer was blind!)  You can’t blame the artists for wanting a little help

Similes and Epithets  Other common features of epics include heroic/Homeric similes (comparisons of epic events that readers couldn’t have seen to typical/everyday occurrences they definitely would have seen) and epithets (this means to curse in today’s language; back then, an epithet was simply an adjective or phrase you used to characterize someone)  Some epithets include “The Iron Queen” (Persephone), “clear-headed Telemachus”, and “the wine-dark sea”

Values and Big Ideas  There are a lot of interesting Greek values on display here: everything from proper treatment of guests and behavior from said individuals (Odysseus with the Phaeacians vs. the suitors in Ithica) to ideals of loyalty and manhood (Telemachus’s parallel Hero’s Journey, Odysseus’s family’s refusal to give up, etc.)  It’s not surprising that Homer’s most famous epic would make an excellent vehicle for conveying them; after all, that was one of the main reasons you made an epic!

The Major Deities  Among the other ways Homer’s epic shows its “Greekness” is in its use of three of our major gods from the Mythology unit: Hermes, Poseidon, and Athena  In The Odyssey, Hermes plays a fairly minor function; he’s Zeus’s contact with the mortal world, and therefore tells Calypso that she has to let Odysseus go

Calypso’s Woe  When Calypso protests, by the way, she has a really good point – namely, that Zeus and the other male gods get to take up with whichever lovers they please, and she should get to enjoy the same freedom – and Hermes never really denies it  But the gods have decided that one woman’s desires should not interfere with Odysseus’s and Penelope’s reunion, and our hero leaves her standing alone on the shore of her lonely island

The Earthshaker  Poseidon plays the role of “villain” here, although his opposition to Odysseus’s travels stems from Odysseus’s assault on his son, Polyphemus (which, in turn, was spurred by Polyphemus’s decision to eat his men…which, in turn, was only made possible because they wanted to take his things…you get the idea)  He, too, eventually stays out of Odysseus’s way

Grey-Eyed Athena  By far the most important divine figure in The Odyssey, Athena takes a special interest in Odysseus  She protects him, disguises him, and assists him along the way; as impressive as Odysseus can be, there’s no way he makes it home without her

It All Begins Here  Odysseus leaves Ithica for Troy in order to fight for Agamemnon and Menelaus, leaving behind his loyal wife (Penelope), his infant son (Telemachus), his mother (Anticleia), his father (Laertes), his loyal servants (Eurycleia and Eumaeus), and a vast kingly estate  After many long years of war and hardship in Troy, the Greeks win the war, and Odysseus and his men set course for home

The Journey, Part I  Cicones (North Wind)  Lotus Eaters (Losing Home)  Cyclopes/Polyphemus (Craftiness)  Aeolia/Aeolus (Bag of Wind)  Laestrygonians (Man-Eaters)  Circe (Aeaea)  Erebus (Land of the Dead/Teiresias)  Circe (Aeaea)

The Journey, Part II  Sirens  Scylla and Charybdis  Thrinakia (Island of the Sun)/Cattle of the Sun  Calypso’s Island  Phaeacia (Xenophobes)  Back to Ithaca!

Bringing Us to a Conclusion  Finally, twenty years after his voyage from Ithica began, Odysseus returns to his kingdom…only to find hordes of suitors bullying his son, trying to seduce his wife, and consuming all of the riches and goods he’d worked his entire life to earn  From there, he has to win back what’s his

Last Slide!  Returning Home  Convincing Telemachus  The Servants and the Dog  The Bed and the Tree  The Bow and the Slaughter  Penelope's Final Test