The Adventures of
Odysseus
Invocation
Sailing from Troy
Learning Goals:
I can explain what an invocation is.
I can identify the invocation in the opening
of The Odyssey.
I can explain the purpose of the opening
lines.
I can infer the lessons Odysseus and his
men learned based on evidence from the
poem.
Think, Pair, Share…
When you are getting ready
to do something very
important and serious… do
you have any rituals to help
you prepare?
The Invocation
The nine muses were
the daughters of Zeus
and Mnemosyne (the
goddess of memory).
The poet (Homer) is
probably calling upon
Calliope, the muse of
epic poetry, to help
him tell the story of
Odysseus.
Reading the Invocation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Guided Highlighting
Highlight the point where the poet invokes (calls
upon) the muse and label it: “invocation”
Highlight the phrases that describe Odysseus. In
the margin, note what does the poet want us to
know about Odysseus from the beginning?
Highlight the phrases that characterize
Odysseus’ journey. List the different things he
encounters in the margin.
Highlight where the poet describes the fate of
Odysseus’ men. In the margin, note who is
responsible for this fate.
To Answer:
1. What is an invocation?
2. What do you know about Odysseus so far?
3. Which of the two translations (Fitzgerald
or Fagles) is better and why?
In Media Res
Jumping “into the
middle of things”
Besides the
invocation, there is no
introduction. The
action immediately
begins.
This is true for most
epic poems.
Sailing from Troy
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Guided Highlighting
In the summary, highlight the portion that describes why
Odysseus is now going to explain how he began his
adventure.
Highlight the epithet in the first line and label it.
In the second stanza, highlight the positive qualities
Odysseus possesses.
In the third stanza, highlight Odysseus’ feelings about
Ithaca.
In lines 40-45, highlight what Odysseus did on Ismarus.
In lines 45-49, highlight Odysseus’ command to his men
at Ismarus and how his men behaved.
In lines 50-69, highlight the result of this conflict - how
do we know what happened to Odysseus’ men?
Now Answer:
Using evidence from the reading, answer the
following questions with complete sentences at
the bottom of your paper:
1. What is your first impression of Odysseus?
Which of his qualities do you admire?
2. What mistakes were made on Ismarus and who
made them?
3. What lessons do you think were learned on
Ismarus?
Remember this??
Carried by the
wind (by ship)
The Cicones
Attacked by the
Cicones.
-First warned men
to leave quickly
-Then fought all
day
Lost many of
his men
Line 40-41: “The wind
that carried west from
Ilium brought me to
Ismarus, on the far shore,”
Line 42-43: “…on the
coast of Cicones. I stormed
that place and killed the
men who fought.”
Line 52: “This was an army,
trained to fight on horseback”
Line 55: “So doom appeared to
us.”
Line 46-47: “Back, and quickly!
Out to sea again!”
Line 57-62: “My men stood up
and made a fight of it… one by
one, gave way.”
Line 63-64: “Six benches were left
empty on every ship that evening
when we pulled away from death.”