The Odyssey
What is an Epic?
A long narrative poem about a
legendary hero.
Epic Hero-The central figure in a long
narrative who possesses larger-thanlife qualities such as bravery, loyalty,
and heroism.
Epic Simile- a detailed comparison in
the form of a simile that is many lines
in length (uses like or as)
Homer
poet
thought to be blind, but
describes events as a seeing
person
lived around 1200 B.C.E (Before
the common era)
Homer
Wrote The Illiad and The
Odyssey - stories about the war
between the Trojans and the
Greeks which happened
between 900 and 700 B.C.E.
How the Trojan War Starts:
 Goddess of Conflict- Eris- puts out a
Golden Apple for the Most BeautifulHera (Zeus’ wife), Athena, and Aphrodite
(Zeus’ children) quarreled over it
 They ask Zeus to choose- he declines
 Tells them to ask Paris- Prince of Troy;
awards apple to Aphrodite because she
promises him Helen, from Greece
Then…
 Paris and Helen fall in love and run away
to Troy
 Odysseus and Menelaus, Helen’s
husband, demand her return back to
Greece
 Trojans refuse
 Siege of Troy ensues- 1000 ships set sail,
led by King Agamemnon, Odysseus, and
Achilles
 Lasts 9 years
Illiad- Homer’s
st
1
Story
 Story of the last 50 days of the Trojan
War- 10th year
 Trojans were winning because Achilles
leaves war
 Odysseus comes up with idea of Trojan
Horse- a fake peace offering from the
Gods
 Odysseus and his men hide inside the
horse
 Trojans accept the horse and wheel it
into Troy
The Trojan Horse
Greece (Odysseus) Wins the
War
When Trojans fall asleep
at night, Odysseus and
his men jump out and
defeat Troy and burn it to
ruins
Greece wins
The Odyssey
 Odysseus claimed he won the Trojan War all by
himself
 The story of the journey of Odysseus and his
men trying to get home after the Trojan War
 After spending 10 years stranded on an island, it
takes another 10 years to get back to Ithaca
because he is cursed by Poseiden for his
arrogance. Also, Odysseus stabs his son, the
Cyclops in the eye
 an epic about humans on the journey of life
overcoming temptations along the way.
Themes in The Odyssey
 Xenia-the Greek ideal of hospitality, the
guest-host relationship.
 Nostos- homecoming, peace
 Kleos- glory, name, reputation earned in
war
 Odysseus has all three as the epic hero