Odyssey Lecture Notes
Myths
 Myths are stories that use fantasy to express
ideas about life that cannot be expressed
easily in realistic terms.
 Myths are essentially religious because they
are concerned with the relationship between
human beings and the unknown or spiritual
realm.
 In these stories, a god can be an alter ego, a
reflection of a hero’s best or worst qualities.
Epic
 Definition: long narrative poems that tell of
the adventures of heroes who in some way
embody the values of their civilizations.
 Examples from popular entertainment of men
and women that are worthy of being a
hero/superhero: Superman, Wonder Woman,
James Bond, Charlie’s Angels
Qualities of a Hero / Superhero




Strength
Integrity
Courage
Cunning
Supernatural Powers
 Outside or beyond
the known laws of
nature
Epics and Epic Heroes
 Usually represent the concerns and
ideals of countries or geographic areas
 First epics were passed on through the
centuries by oral tradition, or word of
mouth before they were written down
 Musical techniques make the narrative
easier to remember.
Homer
 Greek minstrels - traveling poets and song
writers whose stories were written down to
become the Iliad and the Odyssey.
 Credit for this work has generally gone to a
minstrel named Homer.
 Little is known about Homer, but we do know
that he lived around 800 B.C. and that he
may have been blind.
Oral Storytelling
 Iliad and Odyssey represent a monumental
artistic achievement in storytelling.
 They contain round characters - complex
characters that show varied and sometimes
contradictory traits; they sometimes surprise
us with an action or statement. They are
more like real people than flat characters.
 Flat characters - reveal only one trait, or
aspect of their personality.
Homeric Poems
 Became the basis for Greek education and
culture
 Every Greek who learned to read would read
Homer.
 Epics achieved classic status in 400 B.C.
 The Greek Philosophers Plato and Aristotle
referred to them, and the Greek playwrights
Sophocles and Euripides based their dramas
on the characters and events set down by
Homer.
 Homer’s influence spread throughout the
world.
Plot of the Iliad
 Both epics are based on events that
happened around 1200 B.C.
 The name Iliad comes from Ilion,
another name for Troy, an ancient city
located in what is now Turkey.
 Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War,
and it sets the stage for the Odyssey.
Paris
 A prince of Troy, kidnaps the lovely
Helen, the queen of the Greek city of
Sparta.
Helen
 Known as “the face
that launched a
thousand ships”
because the Greeks
sail to avenge (to
get revenge for) the
insult and to bring
her back to Sparta.
The Greeks
 Rage war against Troy for ten long
years.
 Though each side loses many men, a
stalemate (a deadlock because both
sides are equally strong) results as the
Greeks cannot penetrate the walled city
of Troy, and the Trojans cannot destroy
the Greek ships and fortifications.
The Gods
 During this conflict, a second war is raging on
Mount Olympus, the traditional home of the
gods.
 The gods who favor the Greeks struggle
against the gods who favor the Trojans.
 Acting with surprisingly human emotions, the
gods push the tide of war back and forth with
their interfering.
 They decide that Odysseus will not return to
his home on the island of Ithaca, where he is
king, but will wander the seas for ten more
years, suffering great hardships.
The Plot of the Odyssey
 When The Odyssey
begins, ten years have
passed since the fall of
Troy.
 Odysseus has been
wandering in search of
home and has been
kept from of his goal by
the gods’ decree.
At Home on Ithaca
 His wife and son are faced with troubles of
their own.
 Their troubles represent a second plot in the
Odyssey.
 Dozens of suitors (men who seek to marry
Penelope and take over Odysseus’ kingdom)
try to convince Penelope that Odysseus is
dead.
 The suitors take over Odysseus’ house and
refuse to leave until Penelope chooses one of
them as her new husband.
Third Plot
 The two plots meet to form a third
when Odysseus returns home and must
seek revenge against the suitors.
Themes
 The virtues that are
prized in the
Odyssey are love of
home, loyalty to
family, and
hospitality - as well
as the courage and
cunning that
motivate the heroes
of the Iliad.
Odysseus vs. ???
 Odysseus battles against:
 Natural
 Human
 Superhuman foe
Internal and External
Obstacles
 The Odyssey is the
story of people who
look for peace and
place to belong but
who must overcome
a series of external
and internal
obstacles to reach
that contentment.
Topics
 Wandering
 The sea
 Interference by the gods
 Home and family
 Characteristics of the epic hero