Introduction to the Odyssey Key Ideas: The Odyssey The Odyssey is an epic. An epic is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero. The epic hero often portrays the goals and values of the society Epics are based in part on historical fact, blending legend with truth. Homer Epic Poet Also known as a bard or rhapsodes Homer There are many theories about the blind poet Homer, who is credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer is said to have lived between 900 and 700 B.C. Would travel from city to city to tell his story Treated with great respect/hospitality Greek Ideals • Strong body and strong mind • Loyalty, devotion, fortitude • Obedience to the laws of the gods • Practice hospitality (Xenia) • Burial customs Epics at a Glance The Epic and Epic Hero In literature, the epic is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero. The epic hero is a larger-than-life figure who undertakes great journeys and performs deed requiring remarkable strength and cunning. Epic Heroes can possess flaws (i.e., excessive pride—also known as hubris) Epic Hero: Characteristics Possesses superhuman strength, craftiness, and confidence. Is helped and harmed by interfering gods. Embodies ideals and values that a culture considers admirable. Emerges victorious from perilous situations. Epic Plot Involves a long journey, full of complications, such as: Strange creatures Divine intervention Large-scale events Treacherous weather Epic Themes Courage The fate of a nation A homecoming Beauty Loyalty Life and Death Oral History Homer’s epics are all that remains of a series of poems that told the whole story of the Trojan War. In later centuries, the Iliad and the Odyssey were memorized by professional reciters, who performed them at religious festivals throughout Greece. The setting for the Iliad is the city of Troy. Why does the Trojan War begin? A beauty contest. The participants were Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. Paris, a Prince from the city of Troy, was the judge. The prize - a golden apple inscribed “to the fairest.” The goddesses bribed Paris to choose them over the others. Aphrodite’s offer was the best. Paris chose her. What prize did Paris receive? The world’s most beautiful woman – Helen of Troy She just happens to be the wife of King Menelaus of Greece. Helen was “kidnapped” by Paris during Paris’s visit to King Menelaus’s house. King Agamemnon, the brother of King Menelaus, gathers all the Greeks. They sail to Troy to wage war. Helen of Troy became the “face that launched a thousand ships.” And the Trojan War begins. It will last for ten years. The Iliad by Homer The Iliad takes place during the tenth year of this war. It tells the story of the Greek warrior, Achilles and his quarrel with Menelaus’ brother Agamemnon, ending with the death and funeral of Paris’ brother Hector. After Hector’s death, the Greeks brought the war to an end thanks to the cleverness of Odysseus ruler of the island of Ithaca. Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts To break up the ten-year war, Odysseus thought of a scheme to make the Trojans think that the Greeks had finally given up. He ordered a giant wooden horse to be left at the gates of Troy. The Trojans, not seeing any Greeks, assumed that the Greeks had fled and left the horse as a peace offering. Athena gave Odysseus this idea They took the horse inside the city, only to find that the horse was filled with Greek soldiers and that Troy was doomed. The Odyssey by Homer is Part II. It is about the hero Odysseus’ long trip home to Ithaca. His trip home takes 10 years. Odysseus’ trip home Epic Formula 1. Invocation of the Muse A formal plea for help to the Muse Calliope. 2. In medias res The epic plunges right into the action -- it begins “in the middle of things.” Flashbacks provide background information. 3. Epic / Homeric Similes:an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration. These compare an extraordinary event to an everyday item: Example: But swift Aias the son of Oïleus would not at all now take his stand apart from Telamonian Aias, not even a little; but as two wine-coloured oxen straining with even force drag the compacted plough through the fallow land, and for both of them at the base of the horns the dense sweat gushes; only the width of the polished yoke keeps a space between them as they toil down the furrow till the share cuts the edge of the ploughland; so these took their stand in battle, close to each other. 4. Metrical Structure Dactylic Hexameter six stressed syllables per line Closely resembles speech. Difficult to maintain meter in translated versions. 5. Stock epithets A descriptive phrase used in place of a noun or proper noun. “Grey-eyed Athena” "I've come, As you surmise, with comrades on a ship, Sailing across the wine-dark sea to men Whose style of speech is very different..." - The Odyssey by Homer Archetypes Wandering Hero Odysseus wanders throughout ancient Greece. Devoted and Loyal Wife Odysseus’s wife Penelope never gives up hope on his return to Ithaca. Decent to the Underworld Odysseus must travel to the underworld for answers. Triumph of Good over Evil Odysseus defeats the many forces of evil in different episodes. HOMEWORK 9/18/14: Read pages 1040 – 1049 Study your GODS CHART for first quiz next Wednesday. .