The Iliad/Odyssey

Homer’s Iliad

Homer is said to be the first teller of adventures of all times. He was not the first author because in his day stories were passed down---they were told. He was a blind man whose date of birth is unknown.

Eris, Goddess of Discord

Angry because she was not invited to the wedding of the Sea Goddess Thetis to King

Peleus, Eris tossed the Golden Apple marked “To the Fairest” into the banquet.

The Fairest

Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena wanted the apple

Zeus would not choose, he did not want the goddesses angry with him

Paris was asked to make the decision

The Decision

Hera offered to make Paris ruler of Europe and AsiaAthena offered to let him lead Sparta in a victory over the TrojansAphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world

Paris Chooses Aphrodite The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen, the wife of King Menelaus

Aphrodite helps Paris seduce and kidnap Helen

The Beginning of War

King Menelaus called on all those who were loyal to him.

They gathered a huge army, and built a thousand ships to carry the army to Troy

Helen of Sparta was now called “Helen of Troy”

She was “The face that launched a thousand ships”

The Trojan War

The battle raged for 10 years

Many great heroes lost their lives

A prophet predicted that Troy could be captured only with the help of Achilles.

The Hero Achilles

Knowing of the prophecy, and worried that her son would be killed in war, Achilles’ mother dipped him in the river Styx to make him immortal. His only weakness was the place on his heals where she held him. During the war, Achilles is forced to give up his war prize, a slave girl, to Agamemnon, and so he refuses to fight.Patroclus, his friend, asks Achilles if he may ride out in his armor so the Trojans would lose heart.

Achilles

Achilles agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to wear his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.

Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector.

Achilles kills Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the walls of Troy.

Finally Paris, aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound.

10 Years of War

The Gods are tired of watching men kill each other, and decide to help end the war. Athena whispers an idea in the Spartan hero Odysseus’s ear.

                                 

                 

The Trojan HorseOdysseus tells them they will build a huge horse of wood.Some would climb inside and hide. The rest would sail around the tip of the island, where they could not be seen. One would stay behind and tell the Trojans that he had been abandoned by the Greeks, and that the horse was an offering to Athena.

The Fall of Troy

The Trojans believed the trick.

They had a huge banquet to celebrate the end of the war.

At night the men from inside the horse came out and unlocked the gates to the city.

The Burning of Troy

The city is invaded by the army.

The Trojans are drunk and spent from their night of revelry, unable to fight back.

The Spartans destroy and burn the city.

Aphrodite saves Helen from the destruction.

The War Ends

King Menelaus accepts Helen back.

The Warriors can now return home.

Odysseus leaves for home, and his wife and son.

THE ODYSSEY

What is an Epic?

Epics are long, narrative poems that tell the adventures of heroes who in some way embody the values of their civilization.

What types of epics are the Iliad and the Odyssey?

Iliad – War Epic

Odyssey – Journey

The Epic HeroThe Protagonist of the Poem

He/She embodies the values of his /her culture or nation

Must be of noble class, military prowess, and virtue

How were heroes characterized in Homer’s day?

Special Aristocrats or Demigods

Placed somewhere between Gods and ordinary humans.

How is Odysseus different from other heroes?

Hero in TroubleCursed by Poseidon

Clever (not just brute strength)

Did not want to go to war

Why did Odysseus object to the Trojan War?

He believes no war should be fought over an unfaithful woman (Helen)

He wants to stay at home with his wife and newborn son

Odysseus attempts to “Draft Dodge”

Tried to appear insane by planting salt instead of seeds.

Draft recruiters throw his son in front of his plow

Odysseus reveals his sanity by avoiding running over Telemachus

The Epic Begins

Odysseus been gone 20 years

Telemachus is 20 years old

Suitors have invaded his house, robbing him of his inheritance, and attempt to marry his mother Penelope (Odysseus’s Wife)

Penelope and her suitors

Epic Conventions

A serious and somber toneThough there may be lighter moments, the overall tone is usually serious

Grandiose styleThe poem is typically written in a complex or lofty style in order to distinguish it from lower works of art

Epic Simile/Metaphor

Throughout the work, there will be extended comparisons between one element of a character and something exterior.

Catalogs/Genealogies

Lists exist to expound upon:Character Traits

Background Information

Relationships among characters

Importance of Objects

The Supernatural

The active participation of the gods

Divine InterventionWhen a supernatural being steps in to save the hero

Psychics and Seers

Witchery

Birds as Omens

In Medias Res

To Begin in the Middle

Many epics begin in the middle of the action.

We first meet Athena imploring Zeus to help Odysseus

The earlier action will be told later

Epithet

An expanded description of a character in order to characterize him/her

“cool-headed Telemachus”

“Icarius’ daughter Penelope”

Invocation

The opening of the myth includes an open prayer to a god or goddess (or some higher power)

This invocation often asks for inspiration in telling the tale from the muse Calliope

It also serves as an introduction for the action.