An introduction
A (possibly blind) poet and
bard who probably lived
around 850 B.C.E. He was a
Rapsode, which means a
singer of tales
Traditionally said to be the
author of epic poems The
Odyssey and The Iliad. Or
was he???
Homer didn’t write them, he
composed them to be
performed. We really don’t
know when it was finally
written down or by whom.
 Epic poems like The Odyssey and The Iliad
were not meant to be read silently, but to be
performed and accompanied by a lyre
(early stringed instrument).
 Because they were performed by memory, lots of
repetition is used.
 Back then, this was ENTERTAINMENT! (No movies, no
ipods, no cell phones!)
•Opens in medias res – “in the middle of things”
•Begins with invocation to the muse
•Starts with statement of the theme
•Has a vast setting, covering great distances
•Features a hero that encompasses the virtues
and values of the society
•Shows divine intervention in humans’ lives
•Uses recurring epithets (nick-names)
•Contains long lists (often repetitive) and long
and formal speeches by characters
What did the ancient Greeks value?
 A good relationship with
the gods
 Hospitality to guests
 Physical prowess
 Cunning
 Storytelling
Heroes often had major flaws, which the Gods
generally focused on; Hubris - disrespect for
the gods, lack of hospitality, excessive pride
The Epic Poem
• Long narrative poem about the deeds of an epic hero
Epic Hero
• The central figure of an epic
• Actions are inspiring or noble
Epic Simile/Homeric Simile
• An ELABORATE comparison of unlike subjects
Tragic Flaw
• A weakness in the hero’s character
In Media Res
• The classical tradition of opening an epic not in the chronological point at which the sequence of
events would start, but rather at the midway point of the story.
Flashback
• Writers’ technique in which the author interrupts the plot of the story to recreate an incident of an
earlier time (goes back in time; like giving the reader a memory).
Superhuman
On a quest for
something of
great value
Of mixed
divine and
human birth
Epic
Hero
Has a tragic
flaw
During quest,
goes through
trials and
tribulations in
order to achieve
his goal
Villains try to
keep the hero
from his quest
Before The Odyssey:
The Iliad
Some background
please…
Iliad is the primary model for epic
of war
Contest of the Golden Apple
 “Who is the fairest: Aphrodite, Hera, or Athena?”
Hera offered ownership of all of
Europe and Asia; Athena offered
skill in battle, wisdom and the
abilities of the greatest warriors;
and Aphrodite offered the love of
the most beautiful woman on
Earth, Helen of Sparta.
 Bribery
 The winner – Aphrodite!
 The loser – Menelaus… bye bye Helen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9
SDLEFHQX34
Helen with “the face that
launched a thousand ships”
Considered the most
beautiful woman in the
world
Bride of Menelaus, King of
Sparta
Kidnapped (with divine
help) by Paris, son of King
Priam of Troy
And the Trojan War begins…
 It lasts for nine years.
 Finally the Acheans win
thanks to Odysseus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyuknIqvofk&feature=
related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f57Ohgh82c&featur
e=related
The Trojan Horse
Described in Virgil’s
Aeneid as Odysseus’
master plan to finally
conquer Troy
Tricked the Trojans
into believing it was an
offering for Athena
The War is Over…
 Helen is back in Sparta, safe and
sound, but not everyone gets a hero’s
welcome.
King Agamemnon
 Commander of the (Achean) Greek armies during
the Trojan War
 Murdered by his wife
(Helen’s sister) Clytemnestra
 Revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter during the
Trojan War
The Plot Thickens…
 In his absence she took a
lover, Aegisthus, who aided
her in her plot to kill her
husband
 Then, Orestes, the son
of Agamemnon and
Clytemnestra, killed both
Clytemnesta and Aegisthus
Orestes punishment…
To be forever pursued by the Furies (also called the
Erinyes)
Odysseus is still trying to
make it home to his family!!
Wife, Penelope
Son, Telemachus,
who has grown up without his father.
Tired of seeing her
favorite soldier and his
family suffer, Athena
pleads to Zeus, her
father and ruler of
Mount Olympus, to
allow her to help our
hero home.
 Penelope is not
alone!
 Dozens of suitors, men
who want to marry her,
fill her house, eat her
food, and drink her wine.
They think Odysseus is
dead!
Odyssey is the primary model for epic of the long journey