Odyssey Notes

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

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

Archetypes of the epic are exemplified in…

“Holding Out for a Hero“ by Bonnie Tyler and/or Star Wars

The Odyssey is 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)

Important traits

Honorable / Honor, Cleverness / Guile

The Odyssey was written by who?

Homer

Who was Homer?

• 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

Epithet

A brief, descriptive phrase that helps to characterize a person or thing. ONLY an epithet if it is repeated!

Epithet examples

• Odysseus is referred to as “master mariner and soldier“ or “old contender“

• Dawn comes with “fingertips of rose”

• The ocean becomes a “wine dark sea“

Epic simile

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

In Media Res

In the middle

Three stages of a hero’s journey

1. Separation

• Call to adventure

• Refusal of the call

• Crossing the first threshold

2. Initiation

• The road of trials

• Meeting with the goddess

• Woman as temptress

• Atonement with the Father

• Apotheosis

• The ultimate Boone

3. Return

• The refusal of the return

• The magical flight or rescue

• Crossing of the return threshold

• Master of two worlds

• Freedom to live

The Trojan War

• The Trojan War 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).

• Odysseus’ ten-year journey home is told for a total of 20 years

How long is Odysseus away from home for?

20 years total

The Trojan Horse:

“Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts“

Trojans / Troy

• King Priam

• Paris

• Hector

• Aphrodite

• Gods and Goddesses go back and forth between: Rewarding loyalty and punishing disobedience

Achaeans (Greeks) / Greece

• King Agamemnon (Mycenae); sacrifices his daughter (Iphigenia)

• King Menelaus (Sparta); married to Helen (she leaves / is stolen by Paris)

• King Odysseus (Ithaca)

• Achilles

• Athena

• “The Trojan Horse“ (Beware of Greeks bearing gifts)