The Iliad and The Odyssey:

The Back-story

Who wrote the Odyssey? Homer - He was a blind minstrel, or

bard

Wrote 2 epics: long, narrative poems

The Iliad is a war epic

The Odyssey is a long journey epic Odyssey = journey

Both were written about 800 BC and told about events that happened in 1200 BC

What is an Epic?

The oldest literary form or genre

A long story poem involving:

A great hero with supernatural qualities (more modern: super powers)

The gods and goddesses take an active part in helping or hindering (Poseidon is Odysseus’ enemy and represents

all the bad traits of O. while Athena helps O and represents all of his good traits)

Epic

The fate of an entire race of ppl is often at stake

Heroes found their greatest glory in battle

It involves a struggle that the culture of the hero values The hero embodies the values of their culture;

used to teach these values.

Begins with an invocation ( prayer to the muse of poetry)

A minstrel is a entertainer who told

stories and sang songs -Like Kanye

without the drama

Both a historian and an entertainer

Minstrels BORROWED material from

legends, epics and myths already

known by the ppl;

Used descriptions and phrases that were

familiar to the people called EPITHETS

They made the stories as simple as

possible

Stories were told repetitively.

There was no written history.

Homer outshone other minstrels of his

day because of his:

Originality of ideas

Expression and effect he had on his

audience

Meant to teach a lesson--EVERY

SINGLE episode in the ODYSSEY is an

ALLEGORY for a real life situation.

Allegory

A symbolical narrative

A story that represents something else

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- life of

Christ

The Lord of the Rings-Life of Christ

Animal Farm- WW2

Avatar - save the world!!

Two Part Story

The Iliad, then the Odyssey…

The Iliad

Tells of the war between Greece and Troy

(located in present day Turkey.)

Provides the background for the Odyssey and

Odysseus

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Iliad

The War lasted ten years

In reality, it possibly

began because the

Greeks tried to control

trade routes.

Purportedly because

Paris runs off with

Menelaus’s wife, Helen

of Troy

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The Iliad According to myth: Paris, a prince of

Troy, kidnapped Helen, queen of Sparta

and wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta.

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The Iliad

The Greek kings banded together and sent armies in 1,000 ships to attack Troy. (Helen is known as “The face that launched a thousand ships”.)

Gods and goddesses took sides in the war.

For nine years, there was no victory.

The Iliad

Finally, Odysseus

devised a plan: The

Trojan Horse.

But it was probably more like

this…

And then this

A graveyard full of Trojans

The Iliad

The Greeks conquered Troy; the Trojans were slaughtered and the city was destroyed.

The Greeks set out for home in their ships.

Many gods and goddesses were offended when Greeks desecrated temples and did not make offerings. (The beginning of O’s troubles.)

The Odyssey

Epic poem of the long journey home that begins in media res.

Greeks would have been familiar with Odysseus as a hero from the Iliad

Tells of Odysseus’ adventures trying to return home to Ithaca; his wife’s trials at home; and how his son grows up without a father.

The Odyssey

It took TEN years for him to sail

home…

And this is why:

Why ten years…

Hubris – excessive pride

Gods and goddesses:

• Hera favored the Trojans

• Angers Poseidon

Main Characters Odysseus (Ulysses): Super human hero

from Ithaca

Penelope: his wife

Telemachus: Odysseus’ son

Circe: a Witch

Antinous: takes over O’s home while O

is away

Gods/Goddesses

Athena: Goddess of wisdom She is on Odysseus’ side and represents all of his

good traits: courage, loyalty, bravery

Poseidon: god of the sea He is against Odysseus and represents all of his

bad traits: Mouthy, reckless, prideful

Zeus: King of the gods

Hermes: Messenger of the gods

Aeolus: god of the winds

Greek Values and Beliefs

Believed it was wrong for any man to have hubris: excessive pride or arrogance

The character of a man was very important: courage, loyalty to home and family

Man was not the master of his own fate; he was a pawn in a chess game Could not control his own fate but he could control

how he reacted to the gods’ interfering or meddling (Odyssey is all about O’s reactions…temper, temper, temper)