1. By Homer? The Odyssey

2. Who is Homer? NO YES

3. Homer Who was he?When did he live? Some believe he was a blind Greek poet that wandered from town to town reciting his poetry Would have been accompanied by a lyre Others say that the epics are simply collections of Greek poems Nobody can agree on this Years vary from 1100 BCE to 600 BCE BCE = Before Common Era Birthplace: Unknown The Homeric Question concerns the doubts and consequent debate over the identity of Homer Still not this one

4. Homer’s Poetry Theorized to have been written down in the latter part of the 6 th century BCE. Before that, it was recited by minstrels. Poetic Features Simplicity of language Swift movement of narrative Characters with uncomplicated motives Actions that are true to human nature Plots that blend the joys of living with the tragic sense of life Long, musical lines Focus on a single unified theme or action in the epic cycle

5. History Behind The Odyssey The Trojan War Prince Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy, kidnapped King Menelaus of Sparta’s wife, Helen The Greeks then declared war on Troy Odysseus (Greek, our main character) conceived a clever plan to make a gift of a large wooden horse Trojans thought the horse was a peace offering to end the war Trojans stayed up late and celebrated their victory Actually used to transport soldiers into the middle of Troy

6. Trojan Horse In the middle of the night, the soldiers left the belly of the horse and let the rest of the army in the gates. They then killed the people and burned the city of Troy.

7. Odysseus Latin for Ulysses King of Ithaca Wife: Penelope Son: Telemachus Menelaus needed Odysseus’ help in the Trojan War Odysseus didn’t want to fight and pretended to be insane A servant put Telemachus in the path of his plow When Odysseus swerved to miss his son, he was proven sane Ended the Trojan War with his horseplay (get it?)

8. After the Trojan War Odysseus wandered for 20 years Lived through many trials attempting to return to Penelope These trials/adventures are the plot for The Odyssey Homework Use your Reader’s Guide to help you read Book IX Pages 145-162 Fill in the blanks and bring it back ready to help with next time’s activity/discussion.