The Odyssey:

1
The Odyssey

• A Background

2
The Odyssey

• 3000 Years ago
• Great war stories recalling historical facts
• Written by Homer
• Two books The Iliad and the Odyssey

3
The Odyssey

• Homers second epic
• Details the attempts of Odysseus to return home
  after winning the Trojan War

4
Epic

• Long narrative poems that tell of the adventures
  of heroes who in some way embody the values of
  their civilizations
• Typically used to teach virtues moral ideals of
  a society

5
Epics

• Greek The Iliad and the Odyssey
• Roman Aeneid
• French Song of Roland
• Italian Divine Comedy
• Sumerian Gilgamesh
• English Beowulf

6
The War-Story Background

• Found in the Iliad the war epic
• Action is the 10th and final year of the Trojan
  War
• Menelaus King of Sparta whose wife, Helen, ran
  off with Paris, a Trojan Prince

7
Heroes of the Trojan War

• Agamemnon King and leader of the Greek forces
• Achilles the greatest of all Greek warriors
• Odysseus the hero of the second epic, and a
  prominent figure in Greek history

8
Odysseus Hero in Trouble

• Heroes were thought of as aristocratsa
  privileged class
• Difference Odysseus is in troublehe must submit
  to Agamemnon
• He is at the whim of the gods

9
Hero in Trouble

• Story marked by melancholy and a feeling of
  disillusionment
• Odysseus is plagued by misfortunethe opposite of
  what we think a hero should have

10
Odysseus Misfortune

• The monsters do not know of his military prowess
• Odysseus has already been away from his wife for
  10 years
• Odysseus has not seen his son, Telemachus, since
  he was a toddler

11
The Wooden-Horse Trick

• Odysseus created the wooden horse (Trojan Horse)
• It is a trapit is filled with warriors who open
  the gates of Troy at night when the Trojans were
  asleep
• The Greek army withdrew from sightthis is a
  dishonest means of battle

12
The Ancient World and Ours

• Harshfilled with violence
• Worldly goods may simply have been pots and pans,
  not gold
• Palaces may simply have been mud huts
• Struggles represent the struggle for survival

13
A Search for their Places in Life

• Odysseus is searching for homeparallels the
  plight of the Greek people
• People feel the need to belong somewhere
• Odyssey begins in the middle, with Telemachus

14
Place in Life

• Telemachus need for father reflects societys
  need for guidance
• Odysseus is similar to Zeus in this regard
• Odysseus represents every Greek person in search
  of security in a hostile world

15
Relationships with the Gods

• Myths stories that use fantasy to express ideas
  about life that cannot be expressed easily in
  realistic terms
• Homer is religious the Odyssey represents the
  struggle every Greek had with the Gods/Survival
• Alter Ego the opposite of the hero

16
Who was Homer?

• No one really knows
• Believed to be a blind minstrel from Chios
• Probably just a legend
• Rhapsodes singer of taleshistorians

17
How Were Epics Told?

• Oral Tradition the Odyssey was spoken long
  before it was written down
• Most myths usually taught a religious story

18
How Were Epics Told?

• Homeric or heroic similes compare heroic or epic
  events to simple and easily understandable events
• These stories were probably not told in one
  eveningthey were too long
• Homer and other poets were similar to comedians

19
A Live Performance

• Poems were frequently sung
• These affairs were a big dealpeople dressed up
  for them

20
Cast of Characters

• Achaeans or Argives Greek peoplereferred to as
  both
• Argives specifically refers to those fighting at
  Troy

21
People and Places

• Aeaea home of Circe, the witch Goddess an
  island
• Alcinous King of Phaeacia
• Calypso goddess-nymph who keeps Odysseus for 7
  years

22
People and Places

• Cicones people of southwest Thrace
• Charybdis female monster who sucks in water
  three times a day (explains the tides)

23
People and Places

• Circe witch-goddess who turns Odysseus men into
  pigs
• Eurylochus crewmember of Odysseus

24
People and Places

• Lotus Eaters people who eat Lotus blossoms feed
  them to Odysseus men makes men forgetful
• Phaeacia island ruled by Alcinous

25
People and Places

• Polyphemus cyclops who was blinded by Odysseus
• Cyclops children of Poseidon who were shepherds,
  but know for their barbaric nature

26
People and Places

• Scylla female monster with six serpent heads
  she was opposite Charybdis
• Teiresias blind prophet from Thebes present in
  many Greek stories
• Thranakia island of Helios cattle

27
People of Ithaca

• Antinous Penelopes main suitor
• Eumaeus swineherd and loyal servant of Odysseus
• Eurycleia Odysseus old nurse

28
People of Ithaca

• Eurynome Penelopes housekeeper
• Penelope Odysseus faithful wife
• Telemachus Odysseus son, who never gives up
  looking for Odysseus

29
Major Gods in the Text

• Apollo god of mercy
• Athena favored the Greeks during the Trojan war
  assisted Odysseus on his return home
• Helios sun god

30
Major Gods in the Text

• Poseidon becomes an enemy to Odysseus the alter
  ego already referred to