The
Odyssey
By Homer (not Simpson)
Homer
• Homer is thought to have been
born between 700 and 1000 B.C.
• According to tradition, he was
blind.
• He composed these tales orally
by assembling a number of
earlier and shorter narrative
songs.
The Odyssey Vocab
• An epic is a long narrative poem
about the adventures of a hero
whose actions reflect the ideals and
values of a nation or race.
The Odyssey Vocab
Epic Hero
• An epic hero is a larger-than-life figure who
embodies the ideals of a nation or race.
• Epic heroes take on long, dangerous
adventures and accomplish great deeds
• They are known for having great courage and
often possess superhuman strength
• Odysseus is an epic hero, yet, because he is
human, Odysseus displays human faults.
The Odyssey
Epic Hero
Examples of Epic Heroes
• Beowulf
• Frodo
• Hercules
• King Arthur
• Achilles
• Luke Skywalker
The Odyssey Vocab
Epic Simile (Homeric Simile)
• An epic simile (aka. Homeric simile). It
compares unlike subjects. Epic similes
contain words such as like, or as, and
may extend for a number of lines.
• In this example, Homer compares the
bodies of the men killed by Odysseus
to a fisherman’s catch heaped up on
the shore
The Odyssey
Epic Simile:
Think of a catch that fishermen haul in to a
half-moon bay
in a fine meshed net from the whitecaps of the
sea;
how all are poured out on the sand, in throes
for the salt sea,
twitched their cold lives away in Helios's fiery
air:
SO lay the suitors heaped on one another.
The Odyssey
Epithet
“When the young Dawn with fingertips of
rose came in the east…” (Line 68)
This use of “with fingertips of rose” to
describe the personified Dawn is a
famous epithet—or a descriptive phrase
that presents a trait of a person or thing.
The Iliad
The Odyssey, with Odysseus and his
men, is the sequel to the Iliad.
In other words, the Odyssey picks up
where the Iliad left off.
The Iliad-The Trojan War
• Greece and Troy
were traditionally
rivals. Their
quarreling finally led
to a 10 year war.
• It started with the
love story of Paris
and Helen (the most
beautiful woman)
aka Helen of Troy.
The Iliad—The Trojan War
• Paris takes Helen
back to Troy as
his wife
• Helen is already
married to King
Menelaus
The Iliad--Achilles
• Achilles is the epic hero
in The Iliad.
• Kleos—everlasting glory
• He is a great warrior but
is not known for his
intelligence
Achilles Heel
• Ironically, Achilles is
killed by a poison
arrow to the only
vulnerable place on his
body—His heel.
Achilles Heel
Achilles had been
dipped Into The
River Styx as
a baby. His Heel
was the only
part of his body
not protected.
The Iliad—The Trojan War
The Trojan Horse
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”
• Troy finally fell thanks to the guile of
Odysseus. The Greeks pretended to give
up. They built a huge wooden horse as a
gift to the goddess Athena
The Iliad—The Trojan War
After the Trojan War
The Odyssey Begins…
Odysseus lived on the
island of Ithaca with his
wife, Penelope, and son,
Telemachus. He had
been warned if he went
to Troy he would not
return to Ithaca for 20
years!
He tried to avoid going, but
he had sworn to help
Menelaus (loyalty).
The Odyssey, the beginning of
an adventure of a lifetime…
• Odysseus fought at Troy for 10 years
• He came up with the idea for the
wooden horse that ended the war
• His journey home from the Trojan
War is the beginning of Homer’s epic,
The Odyssey…
STOP HERE
The Odyssey
The Odyssey is an epic story that is a
significant piece of literature.
Odyssey means journey
There are 24 books, each book
was written on a scroll and would
have taken about an hour for the
bard to recite (sing)
The Odyssey—Odysseus, the Hero
Odysseus is one of the first
Greek mythic heroes
renowned for his guile as
well as his muscle.
The Iliad begins with Wrath
The Odyssey begins with Man
BOOK-ONE-INVOCATION
Homer begins by
announcing the
subject and asking
a Muse—one of the
nine goddesses of
the arts, literature,
and sciences—to
inspire and help
him write.
What we missed—Book 2-8
• After the victory at Troy, Odysseus’ fleet
of 12 ships and 720 sailors begin the
voyage back to Ithaca
• Held captive for 1 year by Circe
• Held captive for 7 years by Calypso
• Saves his men from the Lotus Eaters
The Odyssey—Odysseus, the Hero
Yet another weakness
of our hero is lust.
Odysseus enjoys
women.
• He stayed with Circe
for one year before
his men reminded
him of home. He also
stayed with Calypso
for seven years.
The Odyssey—Book 9
• We begin the story in media res (middle
of the story)
• Odysseus tells his story to King Alcinous
• Describes himself as formidable
• He encounters the Lotus Eaters
• Two crewmen and a runner refuse to
return after eating the flower
• Odysseus drags them back to the ship
The Odyssey—book 9 New Coasts
and Poseidon’s Son
• Odysseus and crew go to Polyphemus’
cave and eat his food (customary)
• Xenia—guest/host relationship
• Ody foreshadows the strong wine
• His men warn him to return
• Poly returns and eats two of them
• Then two more, then two more
• Ody and crew sharpened a large stick
The Odyssey—book 9
The Odyssey—book 9
• Odysseus offers the wine to Poly
• He tells him that his name is Nohbdy
• Poly promises to eat him last
• Poly passes out from the wine
• Ody and four crew stab his one eye
• Poly cries out that Nohbdy has tricked
me—his fellow Cyclopes ignore him
The Odyssey—book 9
• To escape the cave, Ody ties his men to
the underbellies of sheep
• He clings to a huge ram
• When Poly lets them out to graze, they
escape
• He steals Polyphemus’ herd
The Odyssey—book 9
(prideful human)
• Odysseus taunts Polyphemus as they sail
away from his island
• Poly throws boulders at his ship, nearly
destroying it
• Ody continues to brag, tells Poly his real
name
• Poly uses this info to have his dad,
Poseidon, curse Ody’s voyage home
The Odyssey—book 9
End Here
Begin Book 10
The Odyssey—book 10
The Grace of the Witch
• King Aeolus (Guardian
of the wind) gives Ody a
favorable west wind to
take them back to Ithaca
• He also gives Ody a
sack of ill wind
The Odyssey—book 10
The Grace of the Witch
• Within sight of Ithaca, Ody’s crew
opens the bag looking for gold
• The ill wind blows them back to King
Aeolus’ island where he refuses to
help again
The Odyssey—book 10
• Boulder throwing cannibals destroy all
but one ship and 45 crewmen
The Odyssey—book 10
• They split up on Circe’s island
• Eurylochus takes his platoon to
Circe’s palace—he finds tame lions
and wolves
• Circe invites them
in and turns them all
into swine—except
Eurylochus
The Odyssey—book 10
• Ody to the rescue!
• He meets Hermes
along the way, who
gives him moly plant
for protection
• Circe attempts her
spell and fails
The Odyssey—book 10
• She then attempts to seduce Ody
• He makes her promise not to do any
“witches tricks”
• He holds out for almost 5 minutes
then jumps into bed with her
• Afterall: Being a man, he could not
help consenting.
The Odyssey—book 10
• Circe turns the swine back into men
• Ody orders them to beach the ship
• Eurylochus argues with Ody, almost
loses his head
• They remain with Circe for 1 year
• The crew are homesick and convince
Ody to depart the island
The Odyssey—book 10
• Circe allows them to leave but they must
go to Hades and speak with the shade of
Tiresias (the blind prophet)
• Ody feels a terrible sense of dread