Introduction to Homer
and
The Odyssey
Why are there so many
translations?
• The Odyssey is three thousand years old!
• Numerous translations exist. Each focus
on different aspects of the story. Some
focus on the poetry, some on the prose,
others on the imagery.
– Imagine playing Telephone with a room full of
painters, poets, rappers, and actors; the same
story would be interpreted beautifully, and
very differently, by each artist.
W.H.D. Rouse
• A British teacher and Latin scholar.
• Translated numerous Latin works
specifically so that they would be didactic
teaching and learning tools.
Rouse, William Henry Denham in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses,
Cambridge University. Press, 10 Vols, 1922–1958.
HOMER:
Made beards cool long before Zack Galifianakis stole a baby.
Facts about Homer the
Author
• Nothing certain; many
theories
• Some scholars believe the
poems cannot be
attributed to a single
“author”
• He was probably a blind
bard who wandered from
place to place reciting
poems
– bard bärd: a composer, singer,
or declaimer of epic or heroic
verse
Homer’s Language
• Attempted to be as natural,
simplistic, and realistic as
possible.
• Tellings occurred most often
after large feasts.
– Audience was usually full, rowdy,
and in party-mode. Short attention
spans abounded.
• Homer had to keep his story
interesting if he expected to be
invited back.
– Word of mouth was the only form
of advertising.
The Odyssey
The epic poem
Our Friend Odysseus
• The hero of The Odyssey goes on one of those
dangerous and long journeys, coming across
many obstacles and fighting for his life
numerous times before being able to return
home after 10 years!
• He comes home to suitors trying to take over
his house.
Why we read The Odyssey
• Considered one of the most important works in
The Canon
– can·on ka-nən\: noun: an authoritative list of books
accepted as: the most influential or important books
that have shaped a culture
• Like Greek Mythology, its widely alluded to in
classic and modern literature.
• It is everywhere; I am not kidding. Pretty much
every high-schooler around the world reads it at
some point. It will come up in conversation.
– Professor Stokol, Harvard-Westlake High School
Homer’s Major Works
•The Iliad
•Hero: Achilles
•Main Conflict: The Trojan War
•The Odyssey
•Hero: Odysseus
•Main Conflict: Odysseus’ attempt to return
home
The Odyssey
Od·ys·sey noun
Etymology: the Odyssey, epic poem attributed to Homer recounting the long
wanderings of Odysseus
1 : a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many
changes of fortune
2 : an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
The Heroism of Odysseus
• The Odyssey is about Odysseus’ adventures
in Ithaca on his way home from Troy.
• He departed from Troy with a fleet of 12
ships carrying 720 men.
• He encounters various monsters who
attempt to keep him from his wife, Penelope
and his son, Telemachus.
• He uses many tricks to get out of these
difficult situations.
Epic
Epic: adjective
Etymology: Latin epicus, from Greek epikos, from
epos word, speech, poem. Date: 1589
: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially
in size or scope <his genius was epic — Times Literary
Supplement> b : heroic
Epic Poem:
•a long narrative poem
describing a hero's deeds
•a narrative poem is one
that tells a story
Epic and Yucky.
Divine Intervention
Tea Time Discussion:
Which is more important:
the journey
or
the destination?
• The following are the first two paragraphs
of The Odyssey. Pay attention to the initial
details of the story.
– What kind of man is Odysseus? How is he
characterized?
– What is important to him?
– Describe the language of the text.
The Story of Odysseus
Book One: What Went On in the House of Odysseus
This is the story of a man, one who was never at a
loss. He had travelled far in the world, after the sack
of Troy, the virgin fortress; he saw many troubles and
hardships in the struggle to save his own life and to
bring back his men safe to their homes. He did his
best, but he could not save his companions. For they
perished by their own madness, because they killed
and ate the cattle of Hyperion the Sun-god, and the
god took care that they should never see home again.
At the time when I begin, all the others who had not
been killed in the war were at home, safe from the
perils of battle and sea: but he was alone, longing to
get home to his wife. He was kept prisoner by a witch,
Calypso, a radiant creature, and herself one of the
great family of gods, who wanted him to stay in her
cave and be her husband. Well then, the seasons went
rolling by, and when the year came, in which by the
thread that fate spins for every man he was to return
home to Ithaca, he had not yet got free of his troubles
and come back to his own people. The gods were all
sorry for him, except Poseidon, god of the sea, who
bore a lasting grudge against him all the time until he
returned.
What did you notice?
Why does it matter?
Book One:
Pay attention to:
•
•
•
•
Athena’s intervention
The suitors
Telemachus
Penelope