"The Odyssey" Background Quiz

Epic

A long, narrative poem that tells about the adventures of a hero who reflects the ideals and beliefs of a nation/race

Hero

Odysseus (King of Ithaca)

Villain(s)

Those who anger the gods/ go against Odysseus/Greeks

Damsel in distress

Penelope (Queen of Ithaca)

Vast setting

Greece/Mediterranean Sea/Underworld

Supernatural powers 

gods/goddesses/Monsters

Glorification of the hero in the end

Odysseus is revered for his heroic prowess

The Odyssey

an epic that recounts the adventures of Odysseus, embodying the ideals/beliefs of the Greeks. Odysseus’s journey takes him all around the area of Greece and/Mediterranean Sea (vast setting)

Odysseus is described as…

Honorable/Honor, Cleverness/Guile

Homer

Wrote The Odyssey

-Lived around 700 BC

-Greatest of ancient Greek poets: his works are known to be the oldest works of Western literature

Epic hero

Odysseus (is not like ordinary people), excels in strength, a specific skill (his craft or guile; often seen as quick-thinking), and courage. He values honor and has the help of Athena (goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare)

Hubris

(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

Epic Simile

A comparison between two things, using ‘like’ or ‘as’ and going on at great length and detail

How did the Trojan War start?

started after Paris, the son of the king of Troy (King Priam), ran off with Helen, the queen of Sparta (King Menelaus). This caused the Greeks and Trojans to begin a war that lasted ten years (the storyline of the Iliad).

How long was Odysseus away from home?

20 years

The Three Stages of a Hero’s Journey:

1. Separation

2. Initiation

3. Return

In Media Res

in the middle

What gift from Greeks created the saying “Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts”?

The Trojan horse.

Trojans / Troy

(current day Turkey)

-King Priam

-Paris

-Hector

-Aphrodite*

AchaeanCiting the Poem:

(Greeks) / Greece

-King Agamemnon (Mycenae)

-Sacrifices his daughter

-Iphigenia

-King Menelaus (Sparta)

-Married to Helen (She leaves/stolen by Paris)

-King Odysseus (Ithaca)

-Achilles

-Athena*

-“The Trojan Horse”