1. The Epic of The Odyssey

2. Epic Traits An Epic is a long narrative poem
We learn everything important about cultural values of that culture from epics
Epics embody who we are and what we should be, similar to a literary mirror
The story of life itself
Large and ambitious projects

3. 2 kinds of Epic According to C.S. Lewis
Primary Epics generally anonymous-arose in cultures that do not rely primarily on literacy or writing (oral tradition).
Examples-The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Beowulf.
The Bard must call on his resources when telling the tale: Repetitious sequences, epithets, and fragments that fit inside the poetic meter/formula to help bards tell the tales
He works the same way as an improvisational musician (live concerts vs a cd) given the audiences interests.

4. 2 kinds of Epic According to C.S. Lewis
Secondary Epics make up the vast majority of epics-has an author that wrote and published the epic (no oral tradition) they are in response to the primary epic
Written in verse-Aeneid, Dante’s Inferno, and Paradise Lost.

5. Epic Hero traits Embodies ideals and values that the culture admires
Larger than life figure who undertakes great journeys
Possesses super human strength, craftiness, and confidence
Helped or harmed by interfering gods
Emerges victorious from perilous situations

6. Odysseus
Known for his multifacetedness and polytropos—being resourceful and able to approach a problem from many vantage points. He has not only strength, but cunning, leadership, and military skill.
Greek cultural self-portrait of what it means to be Greek.
Odysseus also plays the role of bard or poet telling his story. —Remember that Odysseus is a master of cunning and deceit which begs us to figure out if he is telling the truth of what happened to him and his crew. How is he the only survivor? He says that monsters ate/killed them; funny how those monsters only show up when he’s telling the story and the rest of the story is more natural.

7. Super Important Epic Conventions
Epic Simile-a simile that tells a story for several lines within its comparison. Begins with “as” and ends with “so…”
Epithet-adjectives that describes a person or thing
Medias Res-in the middle of things (The Odyssey begins in the middle of the story and then is told with flashbacks)
Hubris-excessive pride (Odysseus’ flaw)
Simile: “then, as doves or thrushes beating their spread wings against some snare rigged up in thickets—flying in for a cozy net but a grisly bed receives them—so the women’s heads were trapped in a line, nooses yanking their necks up, one by one so all might die a pitiful, ghastly death” (lines )
Epithets: Dawn with her rose red fingers
wine-dark sea
clear-eyed goddess

8. Arête: Virtue of Excellence
Something all Greek people strive to have
Odysseus can do anything that is called upon him.
Penelope is also the perfect picture of a wife.
The swineherd, Eumaus, and Penelope’s maid, Eurycleia, are valuable and loyal persons of excellence.
Argos,Odysseus’s dog, is the best dog.

9. More Epic Conventions
Epic Plot
Epic setting
Strange creatures
Divine intervention
Large-scale events
Treacherous weather
Includes fantastic or exotic lands
Involves more than 1 nation