The epic
 A long, narrative poem that tells the story about the
adventures of gods or heroes.
 The central character of an epic, called the epic hero,
is a figure of great, sometimes larger-than-life stature.
The hero may be a character from legend or history
and generally possesses character traits valued by the
society in which the epic originates.
Of Epic Proportions
Modern epics
Classic Epics
 Raiders of the Lost Ark
 Beowulf
 Batman
 The Odyssey
 Star Wars
 The Iliad
 Harry Potter
Hero in a myth
 A character who performs amazing feats in a tale
involving supernatural beings and fantastic events.
 He is often aided by magical elements such as help
from the gods/goddesses or predictions and
prophesies by oracles
 Must exhibit admirable qualities such as courage,
loyalty and fairness
The Odyssey is written by Homer
(800 BC)
Also wrote
the Iliad,
another
epic poem
Background for The Odyssey
 Describes what happened to the Greek hero,
Odysseus, in the aftermath of the Trojan War.
 Trojan War sparked when Paris was promised the love
of Helen by Aphrodite after he chose her as the most
beautiful goddess. Problem: Helen was already
married to Menelaus of Sparta.
 To recapture Helen, a Greek force attacked Troy and
dragged on for 10 years. It ended when the Greeks
pretended to depart, leaving behind a wooden horse.
That night the Greeks crept out and conquered the
city.
The Odyssey
 Classic adventure story
 Combines realistic elements of historical events with
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wildly imagined scenes of fantastical places and
creatures
Odysseus is a model of courage, daring and intellect
He pursues his goal (quest) of returning home after
many years at war in the face of many obstacles
He has human traits and failings that make him seem
like a real person
He enjoys life, is too curious for his own good, is too
foolishly arrogant at times & is clever to the point of
being tricky
Symbolic because:
Represents the individual’s
journey through life and
the search for selfknowledge!
Odysseus’s Journey:
 The Lotus-eaters
 The Cyclops
 Aeolia
 Laestrygonians (cannibals)
 Aenea (goddess Circe)
 Land of the Dead (Hades)
 Aenea (Circe prophesies to him)
 The Sirens (lure sailors to destruction)
 The Wandering Rocks (destructive sea rocks)
Journey continued
 Scylla (sea monster)
 Charybdis (whirlpool)
 Cattle of the Sun God
 See map on p. 891 of your textbook