“The Odyssey”
Homer
Essential Questions
Why must we leave home?
What does life “owe” us, if anything?
Why does a story about one person become a story about all of us?
What does Odysseus represent?
What can Odysseus and his journey teach us now?
Which is more fulfilling the Quest or the Journey?
When can our strengths become our weaknesses?
Why must man journey to find truth?
HOMER (as depicted in sculpture)
Prereading activity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdTigtNMmDQ&feature=youtu.be
Anticipation Guide
Directions:
Rate the following statements on a scale from 1-6. Keep these ratings
in mind as you read the Odyssey and consider whether Homer and various
characters in this poem feel the same way you do.
1----------2----------3----------4----------5----------6
(agree strongly
to
disagree strongly)
1. There's no place like home.
2. Half the fun of going someplace is in getting there.
3. Revenge is sweet.
4. Winning isn't everything; it's how you play the game that counts.
5. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
6. All's fair in love and war.
7. A man's home is his castle.
8. The ends justify the means.
9. Saving face is important to me.
10. What goes around comes around.
11. Good people usually get the reward they deserve.
12. Life is hard.
13. Real men don't show their sensitive side.
14. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
15. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
16. Most people who give gifts, want something in return.
17. You should be willing to die for your country.
18. If mothers and wives were in charge, there would be no war.
19. You should express your anger.
20. I'd rather be a live coward than a dead hero.
21. Only the good die young.
22. You shouldn't indulge freeloaders.
23. Sometimes, a little deceit is necessary.
24. There's a lot of truth in many superstitions.
25. You should take care of yourself and your family first, then worry about the
rest of the world.
http://ncteachdurhamcohortwinzeler.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Odyssey+Unit+Plan.pdf
Homework
What Would You Do?
Directions: In order to better understand some of the situations that characters in
The Odyssey will have to face, take a look at the following situations and decide
what you would choose to do if they happened to you. Write 3-4 complete
sentences for each situation.
1) You have been shipwrecked on an island. You meet a god/goddess who
falls in love with you and wants you to stay with them forever. In return
they will make you immortal. However, all you really want to do is get
home and be with your family. What would you choose? Why?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2) Your husband/wife went off to war with a group of people, many of whom
returned ten years later. Years go by and your husband/wife still hasn’t
returned. A group of men/women, who all assume your husband/wife must
be dead, start courting you, and have proposed. You can’t support
yourself and your son on your own, but you haven’t given up hope that
your husband/wife is still alive and will return. What do you do?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3) You are a young adult who lives with his mother. Your father has been
presumed dead. A large group of men have come courting for your
mother, who doesn’t want to believe her husband is dead. Since she
refuses to pick one of them, they stay at your house, eating you out of
house and home. They are loud and rude to you. You want to get rid of
them, but there is only one of you, and dozens of them. What can you do?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
http://ncteachdurhamcohortwinzeler.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Odyssey+Unit+Plan.pdf
Vocabulary
Plundered – robbed of goods by force
Valor – strength, courage and boldness
Clarion – shrill and clear
Audacity – boldness and daring
Vigilance – watchfulness
Precedence – priority, going first
Insidious – working or spreading harmfully
Vie – to compete for victory
Feign – to pretend
Promontory – a high ridge of rock
Pungent – having sharp bitter taste
Luminous – shining brightly
Perplexity – the state of being puzzled
Oblivion – the state of being forgotten
Flout – to show contempt or scorn
Deference – courteous respect
Auspicious – favorable circumstances
Comely – attractive, handsome, and graceful
Contentiously – in a quarrelsome way
Guile- cunning
Literary Elements
Epic- an epic is a long narrative poem about the deeds of gods or heroes. An epic is elevated in
style and usually follows patterns. The poet begins by announcing the subject and asking the
Muse to help. Early on the poet asks a question, the epic seeks to answer it.
Epic hero – a figure of great, sometimes larger than life , stature. The hero may be a character
from history or from legend and generally possesses traits that are most valued by the society in
which the epic originates.
Epic simile- often called a Homeric simile, it is an elaborate comparison of unlike subjects. For
example Homer compares the body of men killed by Odysseus to a fisherman’s catch heaped on
the shore.
Study Guide
Directions: Take notes as we discuss each section in class.
Sailing from Troy:________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Lotus Eaters_________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Cyclops______________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Land of the Dead_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
The Sirens_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Scylla and Charybdis______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The Cattle of the Sun God_________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
Part 2
20 years gone and I am back again___________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Argus__________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
The Suitors____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Penelope_______________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
The Challenge _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Odysseus’s Revenge__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Penelope’s Test________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Unit 2
Directions: Use your dictionary to define the following terms that are found in Part 2 of Homer’s
“Odyssey.”
Muster
Profusion
Prodigious
Appalled
Stalwart
Calamitous
Timorous
Dissimulation
Caches
Derelict
Chattels
Candor
Rancor
Patrimony
Coddle
Obstinate
Vivacious
Dole
Augury
Steeped
Character List
Alcinous – king of the Phaeacians
Odysseus – king of Ithaca
Calypso – sea goddess who loves Odysseus
Circe – enchantress who helped Odysseus
Zeus – king of the Gods
Apollo- god of music, poetry, and medicine
Poseidon – god of the sea and earthquakes
Athena – goddess of wisdom and warfare
Polyphemus – the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus
Perimedes – crew member
Eurylochus – another member of the crew
Tiresias – blind prophet
Telemachus – Odysseus and Penelope’s son
Sirens- creatures whose songs lure sailors to their deaths
Scylla – sea monster of gray rock
Charybdis – enormous dangerous whirlpool
Hermes – herald messenger of the gods
Eumaeus- old swineherd friend Odysseus
Antinous- leader of the suitors
Eurynome- housekeeper for Penelope
Amphinomous- suitor
Eurymachus –suitor
Greek Mythology - Final Project
Project One: Mount Olympus Newspaper
Create a newspaper that the Gods might have read. You will need to include popular sections
just like a real newspaper: sports, world news, local news, entertainment, comics, advice
column, etc. Make sure that the contents of your newspaper reflect all your knowledge of Greek
Mythology and the Odyssey. Your project will be graded on the amount of knowledge that you
present, the creativity of your project, and all mechanics of good writing.
Project Two: Interviews
You are a famous reporter and have been given an exclusive panel interview with three different
Gods or Heroes from Greek Mythology that we have studied. What juicy information would
your readers want to know? What questions would you want to ask? How and where would
this interview take place? You can either write your interviews as a magazine article, a TV script
(do a video to be shown in class), or do an actual performance in class (anyone that helps you
will earn some extra credit). You will need to submit the final script for a grade along with any
class presentation or video. Your project will be graded on the amount of knowledge that you
present, the creativity of your project, and all mechanics of good writing.
Project Three: Modern Day Epic Adventure
You can write a modern day epic adventure similar to the one that Odysseus took in the
Odyssey. You will need to write the epic in separate books, illustrate each book, and have
similarities to the classic Greek epic. You can either write as a story or create a book with
chapters for each portion of the epic similar to the one you read on the Internet. Your project
will be graded on the amount of knowledge related to the classic epic "The Odyssey" that you
present in your modern epic, the creativity of your project, and all mechanics of good writing.
Project Four: Essay on "Heroism"
You can write a formal essay on "The Nature of Heroism". In this essay, you will need to compare
and contrast the ancient Greek concept of heroism versus the modern definitions of heroism and
what type of new heroes have emerged. Our modern day heroes do not slay monsters or engage
in bloody battles, but have captured the imagination of many Americans. What qualities of
heroism, redefined to these modern day heroes possess versus the classic concept of heroism?
Your project will be graded on the amount of knowledge that you present, the creativity of your
project, and all mechanics of good writing.
Project Five: Research Project
You will do some research on Greek Myths or fables. You will need to give a listing of your
myths, what happens in them, and what is the message or moral learn from these myths. You
must research at least 6 or more myths. You must write a report but can add a chart that shows
all the information on each myth. You will also have to submit an annotated bibliography of your
research sources. (Yes, you can use the Internet.) Your project will be graded on the amount of
knowledge that you present, the creativity of your project, and all mechanics of good writing.