An introduction to
The Odyssey
TIMELINE
1600 - 1100 BCE
Heroic Age
Flourishing of the Greek Empire
--------------------------------------------------------------------------1193 BCE
City of Troy is destroyed
1100 – 750 BCE
Dark Age
750 – 500 BCE
Renaissance of Greek Empire
Time of Homer and Hesiod
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------500 – 400 BCE
Rise and Fall of Athens
Golden Age of Greece
Persian and Peloponnesian Wars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------400 – 300 BCE
Macedonian Invasion
End of Greek Empire
Overview of the Age of Heroes
• The Greek Empire dates back to around 1600 BCE.
• From 1600-1100 BCE, the empire flourished.
• However, it went into a dark age that lasted until around 750 BCE.
The Age of Heroes
• The city of Troy (see map) was
destroyed around 1193 BCE,
likely by Greeks seeking trade
routes through the Dardanelles.
• The Iliad and The Odyssey,
Homer’s immortal epic poems,
are about the Trojan War.
• The epics are part of the
historical credo of ancient
Greece because they tell of a
time when the Greek city-states
were unified and powerful
politically.
The Age of Heroes
• In The Odyssey, Greeks are
referred to as:
– Achaeans
– Argives
– Danaans
– Myceneans
• These names represent the
different cities or island
states of the Greek empire.
• Troy is referred to as Ilium,
one of the names of this
ancient city.
The Ideals of the Heroic Age
• The Heroic Age is a semi-mythical time in the Greek
civilization from 1400 to 1100 BCE.
• While Homer did not live during the Heroic Age, he wrote
about it extensively.
• According to Greek traditions, humans during this time lived
in closer contact with the gods.
• This was the time of the Trojan War (1193 BCE)
• Democratic ideals flourished under the mythical king of
Athens, Theseus.
The Ideals of the Heroic Age
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In ancient Greece, men were judged by arete, not by birth and
could achieve a higher social status by thoughts and deeds.
Three major “sins” in Greece were:
1. Blasphemy against or disrespect towards the gods
2. Treachery or betrayal of a host or guest
3. Shedding or spilling the blood of relatives
The Author
Homer
The Author
• Nearly 3,000 years after they were composed, The Iliad and
The Odyssey remain two of the most widely read stories ever
told, but next to nothing is known about their author.
• What is known is that he was an accomplished Greek bard
that was blind and probably lived in the late 8th and early 7th
centuries BCE.
• His work was inspired by a long tradition of unwritten, oral
poetry.
What is an Epic Poem?
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An epic poem is a long poem that deals with the origins of a
people or nation or religious beliefs.
Epic poems are presented in a structured format. The Iliad
and The Odyssey are composed in dactylic hexameter.
Gods or supernatural beings play a role in epic poetry.
In epic poetry, mortals or heroes fight against great odds
and ultimately triumph, although for humans, death is
always lurking in the distance.
Epic poetry usually contains an detailed scenes of violence
and gore.
The setting of an epic poem is global.
What is an Epic Poem?
• Epic poems are narrated in objective, third person point of
view.
• In an epic poem, the story or narrative starts in medias res, or,
in the middle of things, with an invocation to the gods or
Muses.
• Epic poems pose an epic question that addresses a crucial
theme of human life.
What is a myth?
• A myth is a traditional story whose author
is unknown. It has its roots in the folkbeliefs of cultures and uses the
supernatural to attempt to explain nature,
man and the gods.
• Myths teach us that we are responsible for
our own fate.
• These stories are passed down by wordof-mouth, also called oral tradition.
Why do we read myths?
• Myths explore and challenge ideas of the human
condition
• Myths provide a glimpse into other cultures and
their values
• In our culture today, do we experience heroism,
love, jealousy, war, tragedy, and triumph?
– Think about the news and current
events…can you think of something that
involved one of the above named elements?
What do all epics and myths
have in common?
A HERO!
• A man, often of divine ancestry,
who is endowed with great
courage and strength,
celebrated for his bold exploits
and favored by the gods, with a
noble purpose (will risk and
sacrifice own life)
• A tragic hero suffers as a result
of a tragic flaw – a vice as a
result of internal conflict
The Gods & Goddesses
The Titans
• The Titans, also known as the elder gods,
ruled the earth before the Olympians
overthrew them.
• The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was
de-throned by his son Zeus.
• Most of the Titans fought with Cronus
against Zeus and were punished by being
banished to Tartarus.
• During their rule the Titans were associated
with the various planets.
The Olympians
• The Olympians are a group of twelve
gods who ruled after the overthrow of
the Titans.
• All the Olympians are related in some
way. They are named after their
dwelling place Mount Olympus.
Ahhh…to be Immortal
• Each story has gods,
goddesses, and monsters.
• The gods are immortal.
Immortals are beings who
can not die.
• These gods are much like
real people; they forgot stuff,
they became jealous, they
can be kind or ruthless.
ZEUS
• King of the gods
• God of the sky
• weapon = thunderbolt
• god of justice and
punisher of evil-doers
Aphrodite
• goddess of love; most beautiful of all
goddesses
• Sometimes worshipped as a war goddess
and the goddess of sailors
• She was the essential cause of the Trojan
War. During the war and after she sided
with the Trojans, not the Greeks. She and
Poseidon kept Odysseus from going
home.
Hera
• Zeus’ wife
• Supreme goddess
Ares – “The Bad Boy”
• Zeus & Hera’s son
• god of war
• tall, vain, cruel
Hades
• god of the underworld
• Zeus’ brother
• unpitying and horrible
Apollo
• god of music, light and archery
• drives the sun like a chariot across the sky
Hermes
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V.I.G. – Very Important God
Messenger for the gods
Most clever of all gods
In The Odyssey, Hermes
saves Odysseus from the
island of Calypso.
• In several stories, it is
Hermes’ job to deliver
weapons and saving items
to heroes.
Poseidon
• a.k.a. Neptune; God of the
sea, earthquakes and horses
• Although he is one of the
supreme gods of Mount
Olympus, he spends most of
his time in his watery domain
• Zeus’ and Hades’ brother –
the three divided up creation;
Zeus is the ruler of the sky,
Poseidon is the ruler of all
water and Hades is the ruler
of the underworld
Poseidon contd.
• In The Odyssey, Poseidon wanted to
punish Odysseus for blinding how son. He
could not kill Odysseus because he was
favored by the other gods, so Poseidon
doomed Odysseus to wander the seas
unable to get home.
Athena
• V.I.G. – Very Important Goddess
• goddess of wisdom, war and the
arts
• Zeus’ favorite daughter; sprang
full grown in armor from his
forehead (no mother); allowed to
use Zeus’ weapons, including his
thunderbolt
• Athena LOVES Odysseus; he is
her favorite mortal – remember
summer reading…
Artemis
• Apollo’s twin
• goddess of the hunt
Hephaestus
• god of fire
Dionysus
• youngest of The
Olympians
• god of wine
Iris
• goddess of the
rainbow
Perseus
• half-human/half-god,
son of Zeus
• slays Medusa
Mothers
DEMETER
• Persephone’s mother;
goddess of the
harvest
• Persephone is the
queen of the
underworld; Zeus’
daughter
GAEA
• goddess of the earth
and all living things
• Mother
Earth
Important Monsters
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Cyclops
one-eyed monster
associated with metal
working and weapon
building
represents chaos and evil
father = Neptune
one of the major reasons
Odysseus can’t get home
Sirens
• type of nymph; beautiful
half-woman, half-bird
• lure sailors to their death
with their song that
makes people forget
everything and die from
hunger
• seductive, sensual,
mesmerizing but deadly
Where have you seen
a siren before???
The Odyssey and The Iliad
• These two epic poems tell the tales around the
Trojan War.
• The Trojan War is believed to have taken place in
ancient Troy, around 1200 BCE.
• The ruins of this ancient city in Asia Minor
(Turkey) were discovered in the early part of the
20th century.
• The Iliad is the tale of the war itself, and The
Odyssey is the story of one Greek hero, Odysseus,
as he tries to sail back home to Ithaca.
The Trojan War
• It all begins with a
beauty contest…
• On the side of
Trojans: Aphrodite,
Ares, Artemis,
Apollo, Zeus
• On the side of
Greeks: Athena,
Hera, Poseidon
The Trojan War
You will learn all about the
war and events leading up to
Odysseus’ journey in The
Odyssey from The Iliad
PowerPoint presentation you
will view for homework.
The Epic
The Odyssey
The epic is divided into two parts:
• Part One: The Voyage Home (Books 1-12)
– 1-4: Epic question; Voyage of Telemachus
– 5-8: Odysseus in Ogygia
– 9-12: Court of Phaeacia. Odysseus narrates the story of
his voyage from Troy to Ogygia
The Odyssey
• Part Two: Odysseus Regains His Kingdom (Books 13-24)
– 13-16: Touching reunion scenes with Eumaeus and
Telemachus, who arrive home just after Odysseus
– 17-20: Penelope learns of his arrival and is put into a
sleep. His Nurse recognizes him. His dog barks at him.
– 20-24: Retribution and Reconciliation
The Odyssey
• At the beginning of The
Odyssey, it is almost 20
years after Odysseus left
home to go fight the
Trojans, a task he did
not want.
• He is stuck on the island
of Ogygia, with the
beautiful enchantress
and sea goddess,
Calypso, who promises
him immortality if he
stays with her.
The Odyssey
• The poem starts with an
argument between
Athena and Zeus, and the
epic question is proposed:
– Why is it that Odysseus
chooses a human life of
mortality and
suffering?
• The gods are so moved by
the depth of his human
love for Penelope, they
decide to let him go home
to Ithaca.
The Odyssey
• In the meantime, Odysseus’ son Telemachus is
now grown, and suitors for his mother’s hand
are a huge and dangerous nuisance.
• He heads out on his own voyage to Sparta, to
see if Menelaus and the notorious Helen can
tell him news of his father. (Books 1-4)
• The poem uses this double narrative very
effectively to create suspense and dramatic
tension.
Literary Views of Odysseus
• The epic journey is a genre
that has lasted through
Western literature.
• The untested young hero,
often of uncertain parentage,
goes forth to seek truth, fights
against superhuman odds, and
often travels to the realm of
death itself.
• He achieves glory and rewards,
suffers great losses, and learns
a key lesson of human life: the
inescapable fact of mortality.
It’s all Greek to me!
• Think about allusions to Greek mythology that you
recognize in our society. Any of these come to mind?
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Achilles heel
Herculean task
Apollo 13 mission
Honda Odyssey
Starbucks logo
Olympics & Olympians
Disney movies  who’s King Tritan from The Little Mermaid?
Pandora
Nike
Tennessee Titans
Trident gum
Can you think of some more???