Essentail Questions:
What are the characteristics of an epic hero?
How is an epic different from other types of poetry?
Literary Terms
Epic Hero – A hero who has a to complete a
long journey and is faced with many trials and
tribulations along the way – See Hand out for
further
 Homeric Simile (Epic Simile/Heroic Simile) –
a simile that compares something from the
mythological world to something familiar to
the everyday audience listening to the poem.

Literary Terms

Irony – When the opposite of what is
expected occurs
 Verbal, Situational, and Dramatic
Theme – What the author wants to say about
the human experience. Universal themes are
those that applies to Homer’s audience and
for us today.
 En medias res: To begin in the middle of a
story

Literary Terms
Flashback – interrupting the chronological
order of a story and telling something that
occurred earlier in time.
 Framestory – a story within a story. When
there is a main story and within the main
story there are many different stories
 Epithet – A description that often
accompanies someone’s name. Often used
with larger than life figures Ex: Andre the
Giant

Literary Terms
Extended Metaphor – a metaphor that
continues over several lines of poetry
 Myths – a story rooted in a particular
culture that attempts to explain a belief
ritual, or mysterious natural
phenomenon (see handout for further
info)

Vocabulary 1-10
Tantalize – to tease or torment by
presenting something desirable to the
view, but continually frustrating the
expectations by keeping it out of reach
 Nemesis – One who takes vengeance;
act of retribution
 Chronological – Containing an account
of events in the order of time

Vocabulary 1-10
Mercurial – Light hearted; gay; sprightly;
flighty; fickle; pertaining to quicksilver
 Herculean – Very difficult or dangerous
 Narcissism – A morbid love and
admiration of self
 Elysian – Exceedingly delightful

Vocabulary 1-10
Halcyon – Calm; quiet; peaceful
 Lucid – Bright; clear; easily
understandable; rational or sane
 Chaos – A scene of extreme confusion;
disorder

Odyssey Overview
Book = Chapters in a novel or an act in
a play
 Homeric Simile, or extended metaphor
compares two things in an elevated style
and identifies the two subjects being
compared by the mark of punctuation
called a semicolon

Odyssey Overview
An example of a Homeric Simile found
in the opening of the Odyssey compares
Hermes’ flight to a sea gull catching fish
on lines 41-47
 In this epic there are many Homeric
similes named for the blind minstrel
creator named Homer

Overview Part 1; Books 1-4
About Telemachus, Odysseus’ son who
searched for information to prove that
Odysseus is alive
 Athena (goddess of wisdom) aids him
 Three Greek kings are visited:
Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Nestor
 Telemachus gains wisdom, maturity, and
confidence by completing this voyage

Overview Part II; Books 5-12
About Odysseus, the Greek king who
struggles to return home for 10 years
 The gods, Zeus, Hermes, Aeoleus, and
the goddess Athena aid his journey
home
 Poseidon opposes his journey home
because his son, the cyclops named
Polyphemus wanted his blinding to be
avenged

Overview Part II; Books 5-12
The Cicones, the cyclops, scylla, the
Lastrygonians, and Zeus kill many of
Odysseus’ crew
 Odysseus’ crew is also detained by the
Lotus Eaters and the witch-goddess
Circe turns them into pigs

Overview Part II; books 5-12

Odysseus is the only living being to
travel to the Land of the Dead (a
paradox) to speak to the blind prophet
Teiresias, listen to the sirens’ song, and
survive the narrow waterway straight by
succumbing to Scylla who eats six of his
men, instead of permitting Charybdis to
crash his entire ship in her whirlpool
Overview Part II; Books 5-12
Three beautiful ladies also want to
keeyp Odysseus for their own; Circe
(witch-goddess), Calypso (the nymph
goddess), & the Princess Nausicaa
 Odysseus finally makes it home to
Ithaca, thanks to the sacrifice and
transportation provided by the
Phaeacians of Scheria, one of Ithaca’s
neighbors

Overview Part III; Books 1324
Odysseus finally reunites with his son
and his faithful wife, Penelope, who has
waited for his return for 20 years
 Unfortunately, the suitors don’t want to
believe that Odysseus has returned, but
the Olympian powers of Zeus and
Athena aid Odysseus in this final battle
