Homer as a storyteller
Homer : regarded as one of the greatest authors in history, 2 of his best poems in the Iliad and Odyssey
How the Odyssey was composed & performed
The Odyssey is a 24 book story that tells the journey of the hero Odysseus sailing home after the Trojan War and reclaiming his kingdom.
When the Odyssey takes place the ancient Greeks didn’t have an alphabet so they couldn’t have written anything down at the time these events were supposed to happen.
The Odyssey does mention Bards who would’ve recited myths, so the Odyssey was probably an oral poem until they could write it down
Odyssey as an Epic Poem
nothing in the textbook so info from Google
Epics have seven main characteristics:
Long - 24 books
Central figure/Hero - Odysseus
Quest/Mission - return home and reclaim kingdom
Amazing deeds - defeating monsters
starts in the middle of the story “in medias res” - starts with Telemachus
Monsters, Magic, Gods - Cyclopes, Circe, Athena…
Different locations - Ithaca, Ismarus, Aeaea…
Literary features - epithets, similes
Plot
Odysseus seeks to return home to Ithaca after 20 years away fighting and trying to get home he gets lost and all 600 of his men die in horrific circumstances. Once he finally gets back there is the problem of the suitors trying to marry his wife and take his throne.
one confusing thing is that the events aren’t in chronological order because Homer uses flashbacks to try make people want to read on