Odysseus

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Odysseus Journey

• It took him HOW LONG to get home?

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Homer(the author)

• Blind poet and bard
• Very little is known about his life
• Probably lived in the 8th or 9th century
• Responsible for the first written literature
• Wrote two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey

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Epic Poem

• Long narrative (story-telling) poem
• Cant be told in one sitting
• Complex stories about several main characters
• Cover many years
• Often about the adventures of heroes

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What Makes an Epic Hero?

• Strong, but no super powers
• Faithful to his family, his country, and his god
• Brave
• Intelligent
• Help from a higher force or being

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The Trojan War

• Fought during 12th century BC (before Christ)
• Homer wrote about it in the Iliad 2000 years
  later
• Many movies have been made about it Troy
• Trojans LOST the war the Greeks won

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Heroes of the Trojan War

• Many heroes fought in the Trojan War
• Achilles (Brad Pitt)
• Hector (Eric Bana)
• Paris (Orlando Bloom)
• Odysseus
• Achilles is the main
• character of the Iliad (the
• book before The Odyssey)

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Trojan Horse

• Odysseus ideathanks to Athena
• Held 100 men inside
• Won the war for the Greeks after 10 years of
  fighting

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Odysseus

• King of Ithaca
• Brilliant military leader
• Athenas favorite
• Built the Trojan Horse

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Odysseus Flaws

• Pride
• Lack of vigilance (keeping an eye on things)
• Easily tempted

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The Voyage Home

• Odysseus and his crew set sail for Ithaca
• Approximately 600 miles
• Should take only a few weeks
• Takes 10 years (also spent a couple of years
  fighting the war, so he was really gone closer to
  20 years)

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TROY
Ithaca
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Why so long?

• LOTS of stops on the way
• Women
• Monsters
• Gods

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