An Introduction to the Odyssey

“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the storyof that man skilled in all ways of contending, . . .”

An Introduction to the Odyssey

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The Odyssey is a tale of_____________________

______________________________________.

An Introduction to the Odyssey

But, it is also the story of __________________

_________ and of a ______________________

_______________________________________.

_______ provides the background for Odysseus’s story and tells the tale of a ten-year war fought outside the walls of Troy. In Homer’s Iliad

The War-Story Background

The ___________________________________.

• the people of Troy are fighting an alliance of Greek kings because the world’s most beautiful woman,__________, abandoned her husband, __________________ and ran off with ______

__________________.

Troy was located in what is now Turkey.

The War-Story Background

The Iliad provides the background for Odysseus’s story and tells the tale of a ten-year war fought outside the walls of Troy. In Homer’s Iliad

The War-Story Background

the Greeks_________,___________________,

and butchered all the inhabitants, except for those ________________________________.

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Odysseus is not a typical________. He is faced with

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble

• __________________

• ___________________

• ____________________

______________________

Epic Hero

In Homer’s time, epic heroes

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble

• _____________________________________

_______________________________________

• _____________________________________

• _____________________________________

Before the Trojan War, Odysseus

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble

• Married ________________

________________________• had one son, ____________

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Odysseus: A Hero in TroubleWhen called to serve in the Trojan War, Odysseus

• pretended to be ______

_______________(he______ ____________, plowed his field, and __________________)

• revealed his sanity to _______________ (who was placed in front of the plow)

The Wooden-Horse TrickDuring the Trojan War, Odysseus

• Performed ____________________________

_______________________________________

• thought of the _______________________ that lead to the defeat of Troy

The Wooden-Horse Trick• Odysseus’s plan was to build an enormous

wooden horse and hide Greek soldiers inside.

• The horse was left outside the gates of Troy, and the Greeks “abandoned” their camp.

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The Wooden-Horse Trick• The Trojans thought the horse was a peace

offering and brought it into the walled city.

• At night, the men hidden in the horse came out and opened the gates to the entire Greek army.

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The Ancient World and Ours• Odysseus’s world is ________,________, and

____________.

• The “__________” that he and his men raid might have been nothing more than _______ and_______________________.

• The “____________” they carry off from town might have been only_____________, ______ and ___________.

A Search for Their Places in LifeThe Theme of the Odyssey

Odysseus and his family are searching for

• the _______________ with ___________ and

_________________________

• their____________________

A Search for Their Places in LifeThe Structure of the Odyssey

The story begins with Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Telemachus is searching for his father because he

• ____________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

• _____________________________________

_______________________________________

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A Search for Their Places in LifeThe Structure of the Odyssey

Readers learn that Odysseus

• Is___________________, longing to get home

• has been gone for ______________ - he has spent _______________ and _____________

_______________________

• is in the middle of “______________” and searching for _____________

Relationships with GodsIn Homer’s stories, a god can be an ___________

________________________________________.

• Odysseus is known for his ________________, so he receives aid from ________

____________________.

• Odysseus can also be ______

_____________. Odysseus’s nemesis is ____________

___________ who is known for arrogance and brutishness.

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Relationships with GodsMyths in the Odyssey

Greek ________ plays an important role in the Odyssey.

• Homer is concerned with the ______________

_____________________________________.

• For Homer,________________________, including ______________________.

Relationships with GodsMyths are traditional stories, rooted in a particular culture, that usually explain a belief, a ritual, or a mysterious natural phenomenon.

• Myths are essentially religious because they are concerned with the relationship between human beings and the unknown or spiritual realm.

Epics are ______________________ that tell of the _________________________ who in some way ___________________________________.

Epics and Values

More about Epics

• The Greeks used Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, to ______________________.

More About Epics

Epics use _______________ and a serious tone and often include ______________

,_________,_________, and__________.

Epics and Values

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Epics and ValuesThe Epic Tradition

All epic poems in the western world owe something to the basic patterns established in Homer’s epics.

• The Iliad is the primary model for an epic of war.

• The Odyssey is the model for an epic of the long journey.

Epics and ValuesJourney

The ____________________ is found in many stories in western literature, including

• fairy tales

• novels, such as The Incredible Journey, Moby- Dick, and The Hobbit

• movies, such as The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars

Epics and other tales were probably told by wandering bards or minstrels called_____________. _______________ were

The Telling of Epics

• The__________,__________, and __________of their time

• responsible for spreading news about ___________ or ______________,_____, and ___________________

Epics were originally told aloud.

The Telling of Epics

• They followed basic story lines and incorporated

________________________.• Most of the words were improvised to fit a

particular __________________.

• Epics included ____________________ that compare ____________________________

___________________________________.

Formulaic Descriptions

Formulaic descriptions gave the singer time to think ahead to the next part of the story. The oral storyteller had formulas for

The Telling of Epics

• the arrival and greeting of guests, eating of meals, and taking of baths

• describing the sea (“wine-dark”) and Athena (“gray-eyed Athena”)

Homeric, or Epic, Similes

• In the Iliad, the singer uses a Homeric simile to describe how Athena prevents an arrow from striking Menelaus.

The Telling of Epics

She brushed it away from his skin as lightly as when a mother

Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweet sleep.

Epics such as the Iliad and Odyssey were probably told _________________________________.

The Telling of Epics

• Singers might have summarized part of the tales, depending on how long they stayed in one community.

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No one knows for sure who Homer was.

Homer

• Later Greeks believed he was______________

__________________, from the island of Chios.• One scholar suggests Homer

was a __________ because ________________ played such an important role in his stories.

• Some scholars think there were two Homers. Some think he was just a legend. [End of Section]

The End