AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
ODYSSEY
Let’s start from the
beginning…
 3,000 years ago
 Greece
 Story telling tradition- stories were passed
down by telling them rather than writing
them.
 Hundreds of stories were memorized and
passed down from generation to generation
A teller of stories…
 Homer (Homeros in
Greek)
 Told of two great war
stories in Greek: the Iliad
and the Odyssey.
 Iliad was a story about a
ten-year war that
destroyed the city of Troy
(sound familiar?)
So, what happened?
 Helen, who was
considered the most
beautiful woman in the
world, left her husband
and Greek king,
Menelaus, to run off with
Paris, a prince of Troy.
 Menelaus, angry that his woman left him,
rounds up some men to begin a war between
Sparta and Troy.
 His army? Old admirers /suitors of Helen,
who swore to defend anyone who ends up
with her
War Wages
 The Spartans
(Menelaus’
crew) destroy
allies and
everything
around Troy, but
can’t get
through Troy’s
walls.
 What do they
do? Build a
wooden horse!
The Trojan Horse
 They “offer” the horse as a peace offering. By
then, everyone was tired of the war that had
been going on for almost 10 years.
 The Horse gets through the gates while
Spartan soldiers are hiding inside.
 The Trojans celebrate the end of the war by
partying it up and drinking.
 Bad idea
 While everyone was asleep, the Greeks exited
the wooden Horse and destroyed anything in
site.
Too bad for Helen and Paris
It’s said that
because of Helen’s
beauty, Menelaus
decided not to kill
his cheating wife.
Instead, he let her
live.
So how does the Odyssey fit
in?
 Odysseus was one of the Spartan soldiers who fought on
Menelaus’ side. The Trojan horse was his idea.
 After the war, the Spartans felt victorious and boasted of
how awesome they were.
 Because of Odysseus’ arrogance (meaning, he was
bragging about himself), the gods decided to punish him.
 They make his journey home twice as long, and twice as
difficult.
The long road home…
 That is why the story is
called “The Odyssey”
 It is an Epic Journey
 Odysseus’ journey is
prolonged by
monsters, gods,
goddesses, nature,
shipwreck, and foolish
men.
Epic
 Epics are long narrative poems that tell of the
adventures of heroes.
 They are told to teach the virtues and values
of a culture.
 The Iliad and the Odyssey were told by Homer
to teach about the culture of the Greeks
Characteristics of an Epic
Usually includes the following:
 Physically strong hero of national or historical
importance
 A vast setting-covering a large portion of the
world for a journey
 A quest or journey in search of something of
value (love, gold, weapon, map, etc.)
 Supernatural forces involved (gods,
creatures, magic, amazing tasks)
 The hero glorified at the end
The Theme of The Odyssey
 The theme of the story is about finding one’s
proper place in life and learning humility.
 Odysseus never wanted to go to war in the
first place. He didn’t think it was a good idea
to go to war over a cheating wife.
 When he returns from his adventures, his #1
concern is his own wife: Has she cheated
since he’s been gone?
The Religion
 What we consider to be myth today, was at




one point someone’s religion.
Each god or goddess played an important
role in everyday life
Zeus- god of the sky and ruler of all the
gods/goddesses
Athena- goddess of wisdom
Poseidon-god of the sea who is brutal and
violent
While reading the Odyssey
 Keep in mind external and internal conflicts.
Odysseus will face many external conflicts
because of the monsters & gods.
 It doesn’t matter whether he fails or
succeeds. The journey there, and what is
learned, is what’s most important.
 His internal conflicts are about controlling his
temper, his ego, his urges…
“Man is
nothing
without the
gods.”
-Poseidon