The Odyssey
A little Background
Brief Background



The Odyssey was written by the great epic poet,
Homer.
Written in the oral tradition- passed on by word of
mouth.
Before he wrote The Odyssey, Homer also wrote
The Iliad. In both cases, he is writing about events
that happened in the PAST.
We are about to begin Homer’s Epic
The Odyssey
The Odyssey is the story of the great hero
Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan War.
But before we can begin this epic…we need to
back up a little bit, and get our facts straight.
The Trojan War
Wasn’t Brad
Pitt in a
movie about
this????
before
but
You have probably heard of it
since
our story will pick up where the Trojan War
left off…it is important for us to understand a
little bit about this war (and naturally it’s
exciting to impress people with all of your
awesome Trojan War knowledge! ).
What’s a Trojan?


A person from Troy
One who shows the
qualities of Trojan
soldiers: endurance,
toughness,
determination
Who?

Greeks






Achilles
 Greatest Greek
Warrior
King Agamemnon
Nestor
Odysseus
Patroclus
Menelaus
 Helen’s Husband

Trojans




Hector
 Greatest Trojan
Warrior
King Priam
 Father of Hector
Aeneas
Paris
 Helen’s Abductor
The previous Slide told us about the “Humans” involved
in the war…but if you know anything about Greek
Mythology, the Gods were Big Too:





ZEUS- King of gods and men, who mediates the
disputes of the gods on Mt. Olympus.
HERA- Wife of Zeus. Goddess of marriage.
POSEIDON- God of the sea.
HERMES- Messenger of the Gods. Also god of
travelers and boundaries.
ATHENA- daughter of Zeus. Goddess of wisdom,
battle, and womanly arts.
The previous Slide told us about the “Humans” involved in the
war…but if you know anything about Greek Mythology, the
Gods were Big Too:




ARTEMIS- Apollo’s twin. Goddess of the hunt.
(associated with the Roman Goddess, Diana–
remember the allusion to her in Romeo & Juliet?)
ARES- God of war (savage warfare)
APOLLO- Artemis’s twin. God of the sun, light,
truth, archery, medicine & healing, the arts.
APHRODITE- Goddess of love, lust, beauty.
With whom did the Gods side?

Greeks




Hera
Poseidon
Hermes
Athena
Zeus tries to remain neutral

Trojans




Artemis
Ares
Apollo
Aphrodite
How did it start?





Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited to a wedding
banquet on Mt. Olympus (where the Gods live).
So, to get back at them, she tossed a golden apple inscribed
with “For the Fairest” into the banquet hall.
Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite asked Zeus “Zeus, which of us
is the Fairest (a.k.a. who’s prettier?)?” They wanted him to
decide who should receive the apple!
Zeus would not choose. (He’s no fool!)
Zeus says Paris is an excellent judge of beauty, and refers the
goddesses to him (when in doubt, always pass stuff off to
other people!).
The Judgment of Paris




Paris was King Priam’s son
He was rather weak and cowardly.
When the goddesses appeared to him, they each
offered him a bribe:
 Athena would make him a great warrior.
 Hera would make him ruler of Europe and Asia.
 Aphrodite would give him the most beautiful
woman in the world.
Hmmm, which do you think he chose?
WRONG
ONE!
Who did he choose?



Paris gave the apple to
Aphrodite (are we
really surprised?)
She then took Paris to
Helen, the most
beautiful woman in the
world.
Hera and Athena,
however, vowed
revenge.
Dun,dun,dun…
Helen



She was the wife of Menelaus (he was the King of
Sparta).
Menelaus was the brother of the Greek King,
Agamemnon.
See the problem?
Paris takes Helen
The Greeks Respond




Menelaus asks all of Greece
to help.
Greek armies set off across
the sea to lay siege to Troy
and leave it in ashes.
And so begins the Trojan
War.
Helen is often referred to as
“The Face that Launched a
Thousand Ships.”
Odysseus & Achilles Join the Effort Late

Odysseus didn’t want to fight for Helen.



Achilles was kept back by his mother.



He thought her a faithless woman.
He did not want to leave his home (Ithaca).
Thetis (his Mommy) was a sea nymph who knew he was
fated to die in Troy.
She had dipped him in the river Styx to try and give him
immortality (she held him by the heel).
Both of these great Greek warriors were later called
(forced) into battle where they played important
roles in many battles.
The Battle Rages

Due to the influence of various gods and
goddesses, the war went back and forth for
many years.
Agamemnon


Leader of all Greek forces
during Trojan War
Offended Achilles by
taking his “prize” (a girl
named Briseis) after one
battle
Achilles Pouts 




Because Agamemnon
offended him, Achilles
refused to fight.
Then things went badly for
the Greeks, and they begged
Achilles to return.
Achilles allowed his friend,
Patroclus, to fight in his
place, wearing his armor.
Patroclus is killed by Hector
(who thought Patroclus was
Achilles).
Achilles Returns



Enraged over the death
of Patroclus, Achilles
returns to battle.
His mother gets him
some new armor (aww,
what a nice mommy).
Achilles kills Hector
I
AM
ACHILLES!!!
Achilles Relents



King Priam sneaks into the Greek camp and begs
Achilles to give him Hector’s body so that his son may
have proper funeral rites.
Achilles allows Priam to take the body.
After Hector’s death, Achilles does not have long to live.
The Death of Achilles




Achilles was unconquerable by mortal men,
but Apollo stepped in.
Apollo guided Paris’s arrow into the only
weak spot Achilles had: his heel (your
“Achilles’ heel” is your weakness- get it?)
Achilles dies from the wound.
The remaining Greeks decide his divine armor
should go to the bravest remaining warrior.
Odysseus Wins


Odysseus makes a
speech explaining
why he deserves it,
and he is awarded
the armor of
Achilles.
He then devises the
final plan to end the
Trojan War.
The Trojan Horse


The Greeks pretend to
retreat, leaving behind
a large wooden horse.
The Trojans, in
celebration, drag the
horse inside their city
as a war prize.
The Trojan Horse
Odysseus and many other Greek warriors are
hiding inside the horse.
The Fall of Troy





They wait until the Trojans
are asleep, and then they
come out and slaughter them!
The Trojan War is over!
The Greeks won. 
The Trojans lost. 
Odysseus is the greatest hero
remaining alive…but now he
has to get home…
The Odyssey Begins…


The story of The
Odyssey is about
Odysseus’ journey
home (to Ithaca)
after the Trojan
War.
It’s quite a journey!
The Structure



The Odyssey is generally divided in 24 books (we
are not going to read all of them!)
It begins in medias res- in the middle of things.
Written in dactylic hexameter (Lines made from six
–HEXA- feet)
DACTYL- stressed, unstressed, unstressed syllables
- The first 4 feet are either dactyls or spondees
(stressed, stressed)
- The 5th foot is almost always a dactyl
- The 6th foot is usually a spondee
What is an Epic?
The epic is a long, narrative poem about a serious subject. It contains details
of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture
Epics have 6 main characteristics:
 The hero is of national importance
 The setting is vast.
 The action consists of deeds of great valor
 Supernatural forces—gods, angels, demons—interest themselves in
the action.
 Elevated style (lofty/formal language) The poet retains a measure
of objectivity.
 Follows the quest format