1. Welcome to class! Get out your Greek god chart. We need to finish filling in the remaining squares.

2. The notes in a glance Today I am going to tell you about The Odyssey. There is some stuff you need to have written down – it’s the necessary stuff. The other stuff is optional. Right now I am going to tell you which is which.

3. The Important Stuff Who wrote The Odyssey? When was it written? When and where does the story take place? Who is Odysseus? Why is he so far away from home?

4. Homer the writer Homer is the poet credited as having written the odyssey. An interesting note is the homer is reported to have gone blind during middle age. He dictated the odyssey to a scribe who wrote the entire thing down for him

5. When Homer lived and wrote Homer lived a long time ago – 750 – 650 BCE That’s 2775 years ago, roughly. The story is actually set in 1100bce

6. The story You may have heard of the Trojan War Background on the Odyssey The story of The Odyssey picks up after the Trojan War has ended

7. Wedding It starts with a wedding between a goddess and a human man (Thetis and Peleus ). All the gods from Olympus and many powerful humans were invited. Except the goddess of Discord, so she takes revenge……..

8. Discord’s Revenge To get revenge, Discord shows up the wedding and throws a golden apple onto the center table. Carved on the apple are the words “For the fairest” Well, when this happens, there is instant chaos. Every goddess scrambles for the apple, arguing that they are the most beautiful. They demanded that Zeus decide.

9. AthenaHeraAphrodite golden apple

10. Zeus was smart – he knew that if HE picked, he’d get in trouble somehow. So he chose a human prince named Paris to make the decision. It came down to Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. They each promised Paris something wonderful. Hera – “I will give you power.” Athena – “I will give you victory in battle.” Aphrodite – “I will give you the love of the most beautiful woman alive.” Paris

11. Paris is human. He chooses the girl. Unfortunately for everyone, that girl was married to the king of another country. She was Helen, married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris manages to get to Sparta, and Helen falls in love with him at once.

12. Yes, this Sparta. About 300 years earlier than the Persian War. So you know these guys must be for real.

13. A husband’s revenge Menelaus is VERY angry – angry enough to gather together thousands of ships and sail across the ocean to Troy. The war lasts ten years. Many men die And there does not appear to be an end because no one will surrender….. Until……

14. The Trojan Horse A very clever Spartan named Odysseus comes up with a plot: the Spartans build a huge, hollow wooden horse and hide a few soldiers inside. The rest of their troops pretend to leave. The Trojans (dummies) believe this is a gift and bring it inside the walls of Troy. After night falls, Spartans come out of the horse and let their fellow warriors into Troy. All the Trojans die.

16. Odysseus – trickster and hero So the Odyssey picks up the story after the war has ended. All the warriors – except one – manage to make their way home. Odysseus has been stranded on an island for nearly ten years (on top of the ten years of war) until finally Athena takes pity of him.