THE ODYSSEY
An Epic Journey
IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
Epic An extended narrative
poem in elevated or
dignified language,
celebrating the feats of
a legendary or
traditional hero.
Odyssey An extended journey or
trip, sometimes for
spiritual reasons.
THE AUTHOR- HOMER
All we know about the
author of the Odyssey is
that he lived some 2700
years ago.
By tradition in ancient
times, Homer was a blind
bard, one of the minstrels
who recited long poems
about heroes of a bygone
age.
THREE SOURCES OF GREEK AND
ROMAN EPIC ADVENTURES

The Iliad- Homer

The Aeneid- Virgil

The OdysseyHomer
THE PLACES OF THE ODYSSEY
MOUNT OLYMPUS
Olympus is a mountain in
northern Greece, rising
to multiple peaks of over
9000 feet.
In mythology, it is the
home of the supreme
gods, who lived there in a
beautiful castle. They
were known as the
Olympians in
consequence.
THE GODS AND GODDESSES
THE DIVINE PLAYERS
Muses- There were nine
goddesses of artistic
inspiration, known
collectively as the Muses.
They were rarely
worshipped, but often
called upon by poets
since they aided memory
as well as creative spark.
THE CYCLOPS
The Cyclops was the son
of the God of
Earthquakes
(Poseidon). He was a
one-eyed giant of the
race that built
Olympus for the
gods.
THE SIRENS
Although Homer describes
the treacherous sweetness
of their singing, he does
not describe the physical
appearance of the Sirens.
Later writers visualized
them in various
combinations of woman
and bird. One source also
had them playing the lyre
and flute in addition to
singing.
WHERE DO WE FIRST SEE ODYSSEUS?
The one at odds with the gods.
 Odysseus is first present in the Illiad .

 We
find Odysseus fighting in the Trojan War.
 When Odysseus was first recruited, he pretended he was
mad because he didn’t want to fight. So, the soldiers
who came to get him threw his son Telemachus in
front of his plow. Odysseus swerved to miss his son,
and they concluded he wasn’t mad.
 So, he had to fight.

His trouble really began when he left the Trojan
war. To know why he had such a treacherous
journey home, we have to know about the war.
THE TROJAN WAR: BRIEF SYNOPSIS
The Trojan War began
when a prince of
Troy eloped with
the wife of a Greek
king. The woman's
name was Helen,
and she became
infamous as Helen
of Troy. Hers was
"the face that
launched a
thousand ships."
Sailing to Troy, they
besieged the city
for nine years.
Homer's other
epic, The Iliad,
concerns this siege
and the many
individual battles
that were fought
between heroes on
both sides.
SPECIFICS ABOUT THE TROJAN WAR

Causes of the War


Eris, Goddess of Discord,
was angry for not being
invited to a wedding
party.
To cause trouble, she
threw an apple into the
banquet (wedding party)
which said, “For the
Fairest.”
ERIS’ APPLE

All of the goddesses at
the marriage party
wanted to be considered
the prettiest, but the
choices were narrowed
to three goddesses.



Hera- Zeus’s Wife
Athena- The Goddess of
Civilization and Wisdom
Aphrodite- The Goddess
of Love and Beauty
WHO GOT TO CHOOSE?
The Son of King
Priam,
PARIS,
was chosen to
decide on the
fairest.
THE BRIBERY



Hera offered power and land.
Athena offered victory in battle.
Aphrodite offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world!
THE CHOICE
 Paris
 Hera
chose APHRODITE
and Athena were offended- WATCH
OUT, PARIS!
HELEN



Aphrodite led Paris to Helen,
the most beautiful woman in
the world.
The problem- Helen was
already married to Menelaus,
the King of Sparta.
Paris kidnapped her? Or. She
went willingly?

We don’t really know for sure. It
is still debated.
MENELAUS’ REVENGE



Needless to say, Menelaus
was not happy.
After reporting the
incident to his brother,
Agamemnon, the Greek
army sailed off to go to
war with Troy.
Helen became known as
“the face that launched
1,000 ships.”
THE GODS AND GODDESSES AND WARRIORS
Greek Warriors
In the Middle
Odysseus and Achilles
(although he claimed he
didn’t fight for them)
Patroclus, Agamemnon,
Ajax, and Diomedes
Hera and Athena
They were still mad at
Paris for not choosing
them!
Zeus- He didn’t like
the Trojans, but he
didn’t want to put
up with Hera’s
nagging.
Trojan Warriors
along with
Paris and Hector
Aphrodite
Ares
(He had a crush on
Aphrodite)
Apollo
(A friend of Hector)
THE WAR
The Greeks were not
doing well in the war.
 Odysseus was believed
to have come up with
the idea that would win
the war for the Greeks.
Athena, the goddess of
wisdom, is said to have
inspired Odysseus with
this idea.

THE PLAN …
In the tenth year of the
Trojan War, the Greeks
tricked the enemy into
bringing a colossal
wooden horse within
the walls of Troy. The
Trojans had no idea
that Greek soldiers were
hidden inside, under
the command of
Odysseus.
That night they opened the city gates to the Greek army. Troy was
destroyed. Now it was time for Odysseus and the other Greeks to
return to their kingdoms across the sea.
THE RESULTS




The Greeks won the war, but angered the gods because
they forgot to say thank you!
The soldiers captured Cassandra and were mean to her.
She was a friend of Athena, who became angry.
Athena asked Poseidon to help her give the Greeks a
bitter homecoming.
Many of the Greek ships were lost at sea.
ODYSSEUS’S JOURNEY

Odysseus fought in the
war for ten years.
Because of the gods’
interference, it took
him ten more years to
sail home. These years
were not all pleasant.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ODYSSEY
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
The story of what
happens to Ithaca
while Odysseus is
gone to war.
Odysseus tells of
his wanderings
during the ten
years trying to
get home.
Odysseus returns
to Ithaca and
joins with
Telemachus to
destroy the men
who have taken
over his home.
WHAT ARE WE READING?
We will be reading from books in each section.
 We don’t have the full text of each book, but
we get the best parts!
