Witches: Calypso & Circe
• Hinder Odysseus’ desire to go home.
• CIRCE: First ruthless and cruel, then
becomes helpful
• CALYPSO: gentle and charming but
also controlling
The Challenge of Ogygia & Calypso

What is the nature of these trials?
• No progress
• Essentially being “damned”
• Being stuck in a rut, unable to move
forward
NOTES: Add to “Odysseus’s
Adventures” chart (next slide)
Challenge of Ogygia & Calypso

Character flaw:


loneliness
giving up hope (becomes
Calypso’s husband for this
reason)
 Lessons learned:

Don’t lose sight of your goal.

Submit to the will of the gods.


Be patient.
There are some things over which an individual
has no control.
Homer’s
Odyssey
The Homecoming Themes
NOTES
Understanding Literary Archetypes
An ARCHETYPE is:
• An original pattern or a model; a
prototype after which other things
are modeled.
•a universal theme that manifests itself
differently on an individual basis
“Arche” = ancient
“Typos”= pattern
Metaphor: “Life is a voyage. Each of
us is on a personal voyage of life.”
Human Emotions: Odyssey shows:
What humans do and how they suffer in
consequence for their actions.
NOTES
How they face their challenges.
• There is almost no emotion that Homer
doesn’t describe his characters having or
arouse in the reader.
Odysseus’ development
NOTES
Each trial Odysseus encounters changes
him and teaches him about himself.
He learns humility and patience.
His final trial:
At the end he must prove himself to
his enemies and reclaim his
household.
Society in peacetime and the
importance of the oikos (household)
• Oikos is a self-contained unit.
• In his absence, Odysseus’ oikos is being
corrupted by the suitors.
• Books 1-4 and 13-24 deal with the
household.
Suppose you had been gone
from home for many
years, and during that time,
your loved ones had
no word from you and no idea
what had happened to you.
What would you expect them
to do in your absence?
If you had not seen a close relative—
a grandparent, a parent, or a
sibling—for a long time, how would
you react when you were reunited
with him or her? What thoughts,
feelings, and problems do you think
you might have?
Write about such an imagined
reunion. (5 min.)
Role of the gods and fate in human
lives
• Zeus, at the beginning, says mortal
men must not blame men for their
misfortune.
• Athena aids Odysseus.
• Odysseus brings on Poseidon’s wrath.
• Fate, interference by the gods and
human action combine to form an epic
that is gigantic in scale.
Parallel THEMES in “Homecoming” books:
The development of
Telemachus
• From an inexperienced, naïve youth to
a hero.
The trials / tests Penelope faces
•How she meets adversity;
•She, too, must pass tests of character
and “prove” herself.
Read with a purpose: NOTES
As you read, think of the ways
Odysseus has been tried and what
he has learned.
 What themes of universal
significance do you think this epic
is intended to tell?
•How have Odysseus’ wife and son
experienced parallel “voyages”
of their own?
As you read, consider:
NOTES
What opposing forces,
external or internal, are in
conflict?
Oral Epic Features
• Formulaic phrases (epithets)
• Repeated scenes and descriptions
• Similes
• Dramatic monologues