Epic Hero Notes The Odyssey

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Epic Hero NotesThe Odyssey
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Themes for The Odyssey

• Loyalty, devotion and courage in the face of
  great adversity or challenge
• 2) The Greek ideal of a strong body and a strong
  intellect

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Themes for The Odyssey

• The wandering hero
• The triumph of good over evil
• 5) Obedience to the laws of the gods

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General Notes on the epic

• EPIClong narrative poem that traces the
  adventures of a hero (originally recited orally)
• 7) EPIC HEROa legendary figure who usually
  represents the goals and virtues of an entire
  nation or culture

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General Notes on the epic
8) In an epic, gods and goddesses often
interfere in the heros affairs, sometimes to
help protect and sometimes to hurt or punish
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General Notes on the epic
9) The adventures of the hero take the form of a
series of separate events, each a brief story on
its own, as the hero moves from one challenge to
another.
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General Notes on the epic
10) HOMERthe author of the Iliad and the
Odyssey a wandering minstrel who lives around
800 BC. He was thought to have been blind.
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General Notes on the epic
11) The purpose of an epic was to entertain and
to teach lessons about society.
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Characteristics of an Epic Hero

• Wise
• Clever
• Successful at winning
• Athletic
• Comes from nobility or royal blood

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Characteristics of an Epic Hero

• Self-sacrificing
• Immense physical strength
• Love of danger (to the point where they seek it
  out)
• Respect for justice and law (especially of the
  gods)
• Adventurous

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Characteristics of an Epic Hero

• Relationship with the gods (where they help or
  hinder success)
• Leaders among the population
• Love of homeland and family
• Hubris