Introduction to Homer’s,
The Odyssey
9th Literature and
Composition
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The Odyssey Objectives
What’s the focus for today?
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Introduce the theme to The Odyssey
Provide information on the author, Homer
Summarize Odysseus’ journey
Review student presentations for The Odyssey
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The Odyssey Introduction
What is an odyssey?
od·ys·sey
n. pl. od·ys·seys
An extended adventurous voyage or trip.
An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery
Power of Wit
How does Odysseus use wit to his advantage?
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Homer
One of the earliest known poets
Homer was a Greek poet, to whom are attributed
the great epics, The Iliad, the story and siege of
Troy, and The Odyssey, the tale of Odysseus
and his wanderings.
His literature dates back as far
as seventh century b.c.
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The Odyssey
The Route of Odysseus
The story begins in Troy!
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The Odyssey
Helen of Troy
The story begins with Helen, the most beautiful woman in all the land.
When Paris, Prince of Troy, was asked to decide who was the fairest
among the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, he chose
Aphrodite because she promised to give him Helen. Helen’s escape
from her husband, Menelaus, King of Sparta, sparked a ten-year
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battle between the Athenians and Trojans.
The Odyssey
The Trojan War
To recover Helen, Menelaus with the help of other Greek kings and
warriors like Diomedes, Ajax, Achilles, Nestor and Odysseus
launched an expedition under the command of Agamemnon, the most
powerful man in Greece. King Priam of Troy, his eldest son Hector
and Aeneas organized the defense and Troy resisted for ten years.
The gods also took sides: Hera, Athena and Poseidon sided with the
Greeks and Apollo, Ares and Aphrodite, sided with the Trojans. Zeus
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remained impartial and asked the gods not to interfere.
The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus leaves Troy and falls upon the land of the Lotus Eaters
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The Odyssey
Land of the Lotus Eaters
Odysseus and his men angered Zeus by
ransacking a city named Ismarus. Zeus sent a
storm which sent Odysseus and his crew sailing
across the sea to the land of the Lotus Eaters.
The men who tasted the lotus, a strange plant,
lost all desire to return home.
Book 9
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus descends upon the land of the Cyclops
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The Odyssey
Land of the Cyclopes
For many days Odysseus and his
men were lost at sea. One
night they arrived on an island
and discovered a cave full of
goats and sheep. It was the
domicile of the Cyclops,
Polyphemus—son of
Poseidon. He was a giant with
only one eye. Soon they were
trapped because the Cyclops
had closed the cave entrance
with an enormous rock. Not
before long, Polyphemus had
eaten two men for dinner.
Book 9
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus falls upon the island of the Winds
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The Odyssey
Island of the Winds
Next they met Aeolus and his
family who lived on the island
of Aeolia. Odysseus told
Aeolus about his adventures
and after a month, they finally
left the island. As a present,
Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag
which contained all the winds
except the one that would take
them to Ithaca. But, while
Odysseus was sleeping, his
men opened the bag and a
terrible storm swept them away
from the shores of Ithaca.
Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus touches down in the land of the Laestrygonians
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The Odyssey
Land of the Laestrygones
After sailing for many days, Odysseus
and his men ended up among the
Laestrygonians. They desperately
needed to escape because the
Laestrygonians were unfriendly giants
who killed most of Odysseus' men
and destroyed many of their ships.
Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus meets the sorceress, Circe
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The Odyssey
Land of Circe
The survivors ended up at Aeaea,
the island of the sorceress, Circe.
She transformed most of the men
into pigs. The god Hermes gave
Odysseus a herb to help him in
the task of rescuing his crew.
They spent a month with her.
Finally, she told them they had to
travel to the Land of Death.
There, Tiresias, a dead blind
prophet who had accompanied
them to Troy, could tell them how
to get home.
Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus visits Hades in the underworld
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The Odyssey
The Land of Death
Book 11
The mysterious and horrible Land
of Hades is the underworld
where people go when they die.
Odysseus found there the
spirits of people he knew, like
Achilles and his mother.
Tiresias, a blind prophet who
had gone with them to Troy,
showed him the way to reach
Ithaca safely. He also told him
that Poseidon has decided to
revenge Polyphemus and
provided him many other
warnings—one of which
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included the sirens.
The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus slips past the sirens
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The Odyssey
Land of the Sirens
Odysseus explained to his men what
Tiresias had told him. Before the
sirens appeared he put beeswax
in the ears of the men and asked
them to tie him to the mast of the
ship so he could listen to the
sirens' attractive songs.
Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus faces Charybdis and Scylla
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The Odyssey
Land of Charybdis & Scylla
Immediately after the sirens,
Odysseus and his men saw a
cloud of black smoke on the top
of a mountain. It was Scylla, a
horrible monster with twelve
legs and six long necks ending
in ugly heads with mouths full
of teeth. They could not avoid
Scylla without falling into a
terrible whirlpool, Charybdis,
that swallowed the sea and spit
it up again.
Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus visits the land of the Sun
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The Odyssey
Land of the Sun
On Thrinacia, after one month of
continuous bad weather and no
more food to eat, Odysseus'
men—despite the warnings of
Tiresias—decided to sacrifice
and eat some of the cows of
Helios, the Sun God. When they
were finally back at sea, Zeus
sent them his eternal enemy:
Poseidon, the ruler of the sea,
who, with a violent storm,
obliterated the ship.
Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus is held captive on the island of Calypso
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The Odyssey
Island of Calypso
Odysseus climbed on the wreckage of the
ship and after rowing for nine days, he
got to Ogygia, the island of Calypso.
Calypso, the charming nymph who lived
on the island, saved Odysseus' life and
offered him immortality if he stayed with
her. Instead she held him captive for
eight years until Zeus sent Hermes, his
messenger, who ordered her to let him
free. Then he built a ship and sailed for
seventeen days. After another encounter
with Poseidon, exhausted, he reached
the land of the Phaecians: the island of
Phaeacia.
Book 5, 13
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus drifts to the land of the Phaeacians
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The Odyssey
Land of the Phaeacians
Book 6-8
Odysseus arrived at the island
Phaeacia. At the palace,
Alcinous, the King of the
Phaeacians, invites
Odysseus to an athletic
competition and a banquet
where songs of the Trojan
War made Odysseus sad.
Alcinous asked him who he
was. Odysseus then told his
real name and the whole
story of his life. As Ithaca was
not far from Phaeacia,
Alcinous helped him to reach
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Ithaca.
The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithica!
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica
Odysseus finally reached his homeland of
Ithaca only to find his palace overrun
with suitors who were spending his
wealth, slaughtering his cattle, and
courting his wife, Penelope. After many
years, Penelope could no longer hold
off the suitors.
Book 13-14
After almost twenty years away,
Odysseus returned to Ithaca, his
island home where he met
Eumaeus. He was his swineherd
who did not recognized him at
first because he was disguised as
an old beggar. Only Argo,
Odysseus's old dog, knew who
he was.
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica
Telemachus, his son, had sailed to seek
news of his father. He went for advice
to King Nestor in Pilos and to Menelaus
in Sparta. Menelaus informed him that
Odysseus was, against his will, held by
Calypso. Athena then told him to go
back to Ithaca.
Book 2-4, 15
The suitors were waiting to kill
him but he managed to
escape and went to
Eumaeus' farm. There, he
finally met his father. They
planned to get rid of the
suitors who were celebrating
a constant banquet at their
palace.
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica
Odysseus disguised as a beggar got rid of one
of the suitors without revealing his identity.
Penelope thanked him for that and asked
Eurycleia, an old maid, to wash Odysseus'
feet. Eurycleia had been Odysseus' nurse
and recognized him at once by a scar he
had above his knee.
Book 16-20
She promised to marry the suitor
who could string Odysseus’
bow and shoot an arrow
through a line of twelve axes.
Disguised as a beggar, and
with the help of his son,
Telemachus, he planned to
recapture his throne as King
of Ithaca.
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