Homer’s
The Odyssey
Building Background
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Before traditional literature . . .
• Stories were shared through an oral
tradition.
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Oral Tradition
• Written literature grew out of the oral
tradition, the passing of stories, poems,
and sayings by word of mouth.
• Around campfires and at other gatherings,
people told tales about love, ambition, and
friendship.
• Expressing their human concerns in
stories, they explored universal themes,
insights into life that are true for many
different times and cultures.
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Some Universal Themes . . .
• The importance of heroism
• The strength of loyalty
• The power of love
• The dangers of greed
• Can you find a connection to any of these themes in
modern literature or movies?
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Myths and Legends
• Myth – explains the actions of gods and
the humans who interact with them.
• Legends – are tales that recount the
adventures of a human hero and are
usually based on historical truth.
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The Greek Gods & Goddesses
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The EPIC
• A long narrative poem that tells the
adventures of a larger-than-life hero.
• Epics are often based on legends that contain
a kernel of truth, they are not works of
history but rather works of the imagination.
• Epics portray the past, but it is an imaginary
past
• Epics express the values, ideals, and behaviors
cherished by a society or culture.
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The epic hero
• The hero usually engages in a dangerous journey
or quest that is important to the history of a
society, group, or culture.
• The epic hero:
– Possesses the traits that are highly valued by his
society
– Takes part in long, dangerous adventures and
accomplishes great deeds that require courage
and super-human strength
– May also possess human faults: overly curious,
foolishly cocky, short-tempered, etc.
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In the Middle of Things . . .
• Many epics begin in medias res (“in the middle of
things”), meaning that major events occurred
before the poem begins.
• The hero’s adventures are often recounted in a
flashback.
• The epic hero’s traits are developed by what he
says in narration and dialogue, and by his
actions.
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The Odyssey before it was written . . .
• The Odyssey was not a written story that
Greeks would sit down and read. Rather it
was a performance by a master storyteller,
a poet with a golden voice, singing or
reciting his great tale in verse, crafting
many details as he went. Two techniques
that he used are the
– Epic Simile and
– Epithet
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Epic Simile
• Epic Simile –
–
–
–
–
a simile with a lot of detail; used for emphasis
can go on for several lines
elaborate, more involved than regular simile
describes characters feelings and thoughts or
the magnitude of a battle (ex p. 891)
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Epithet
• An epithet is a:
– Brief, descriptive phrase that helps to
characterize a particular person or thing
• Odysseus is described as a
“master mariner”
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