The Odyssey
by Homer
The Iliad by Homer

The Iliad is a Greek epic.

The Iliad is the prequel to the Odyssey.

The Iliad is set in Troy during the end of the Trojan War. (*The Trojan
War lasted ten years.)

In the Iliad, we are introduced to the cause of the war (Helen),
many famous Greek and Trojan warriors, and the famous story of the
Trojan horse.

The Iliad is a model/renowned war narrative.
The Odyssey

The Odyssey is a Greek epic.

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus journeying home after the
Trojan War. His home is the island of Ithaca. The journey takes ten
years.

The Odyssey is not just about Odysseus’ journey but also what has
happened and is happening at home in his absence.

The Odyssey is a model/renowned journey narrative.

Some unique aspects of the structure:

The Odyssey recounts Odysseus’ journey, but the events of his sea
journey are not relayed in chronological order.

The first four books of the Odyssey focus on Telemachus, and these first
four books are nicknamed “The Telemachy.”
The Path of Odysseus’ Journey
What is an epic?
The epic is a literary form that abides by the following conditions:

Is a long narrative poem

Is based on oral tradition

Focuses on an epic hero (also called a legendary hero)

Focuses on a culture and its values

Uses elevated language
What is an epic hero?
An epic hero (also called a legendary hero) is all of the following:

Larger-than-life (*For Greek mythology, this means the hero falls
somewhere between mortal and immortal, i.e. he is god-like.)

Represents and fights for the values of his culture

Has a reputation and is talked or written about
Background on Odysseus
Before the Trojan War, Odysseus married Penelope and had one son
named Telemachus.
 When called to serve in the Trojan War, Odysseus pretended to be
insane and dressed himself as a peasant so that he wouldn’t have to
go. His disguise was revealed when other soldiers placed his infant son
in front of the plow, and Odysseus did the sane thing: he rescued his
son. Thus, he revealed that he wasn’t insane and had to go fight in the
war (Hamilton 251).
 During the Trojan War, Odysseus fought bravely and helped in many
ways. He is most famous for the plan of using the Trojan horse (Hamilton
273), which has come to be known as one of the most famous tricks in
history.
 Yet, “what really distinguishes [Odysseus] is a quality of mind. In Greek,
this quality is designated by the term metis, which denotes intelligence,
cunning, versatility, and a facility with words” (Murnaghan xiii-xiv).

Formal traits of the Odyssey

Experimental/nontraditional plot (events are not told in
chronological order)

Repetition. Examples include


mention (and descriptions) of dawn

Epithets references to Odysseus as “shrewd,” “wily,” ill-fated,” and
“godlike”

Epithets References to Athena as “gray-eyed” or “owl-eyed”
Homeric simile/epic simile- Homeric similes

1) compare two unlike things

2) are extended similes, meaning they are longer than one line

3) compare significant events to something insignificant or everyday in
order to make the significant event easier to understand.
Greek Mythology

In Greek Mythology, the gods and goddesses are descended from a race of giants
called the Titans (Hamilton 21).

The twelve main gods of Greek mythology, also called the Olympians, are Zeus,
Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Artemis,
and Hephaestus (Hamilton 24).

The head god is Zeus. He is married to Hera but copulates with many other women
(including human women) and has many children.
*A demi-god is half-human and half god. (Example: Perseus)

Both the Iliad and the Odyssey utilize Greek mythology.

During the Trojan War,

The following gods were on the side of the Greeks: Hera, Athena, and Poseidon (Hamilton
255).

The following gods were on the side of the Trojans: Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis
(Hamilton 255).
*Zeus was mainly neutral, but he did act on the side of the Trojans when he sent
Agamemnon a “lying dream” (Hamilton 256).

In the Odyssey, we see Athena act as Odysseus’ “divine counter-part” and
Poseidon act as the antagonist/Odysseus’ nemesis (Murnaghan xv-xvi).
Biographical Information on Homer

We cannot be accurate about the poet’s life due to how long ago
the poet lived.
*Some scholars posit that Homer may not have been a real person.
Others, that Homer may have been female instead of male.

Homer lived around the eighth or ninth century B.C. Therefore, the
Odyssey was written around that time as well.

Plato, a famous Greek philosopher and writer, called Homer “the
father of the tragedies”

The Iliad and Odyssey “are, or rather contain, the oldest Greek
writings we have” (Hamilton 14).
Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New
York: Little, Brown, and Co., 1969. 1942.
Murnaghan, Sheila. Introduction. The Essential Odyssey. Trans by
Stanley Lombardo. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2007.