View
0
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
The Iliad and The Odyssey:
The Back-story
Who wrote the Odyssey? Homer - He was a blind minstrel, or
bard
Wrote 2 epics: long, narrative poems
The Iliad is a war epic
The Odyssey is a long journey epic Odyssey = journey
Both were written about 800 BC and told about events that happened in 1200 BC
What is an Epic?
The oldest literary form or genre
A long story poem involving:
A great hero with supernatural qualities (more modern: super powers)
The gods and goddesses take an active part in helping or hindering (Poseidon is Odysseus’ enemy and represents
all the bad traits of O. while Athena helps O and represents all of his good traits)
Epic
The fate of an entire race of ppl is often at stake
Heroes found their greatest glory in battle
It involves a struggle that the culture of the hero values The hero embodies the values of their culture;
used to teach these values.
Begins with an invocation ( prayer to the muse of poetry)
A minstrel is a entertainer who told
stories and sang songs -Like Kanye
without the drama
Both a historian and an entertainer
Minstrels BORROWED material from
legends, epics and myths already
known by the ppl;
Used descriptions and phrases that were
familiar to the people called EPITHETS
They made the stories as simple as
possible
Stories were told repetitively.
There was no written history.
Homer outshone other minstrels of his
day because of his:
Originality of ideas
Expression and effect he had on his
audience
Meant to teach a lesson--EVERY
SINGLE episode in the ODYSSEY is an
ALLEGORY for a real life situation.
Allegory
A symbolical narrative
A story that represents something else
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- life of
Christ
The Lord of the Rings-Life of Christ
Animal Farm- WW2
Avatar - save the world!!
Two Part Story
The Iliad, then the Odyssey…
The Iliad
Tells of the war between Greece and Troy
(located in present day Turkey.)
Provides the background for the Odyssey and
Odysseus
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Iliad
The War lasted ten years
In reality, it possibly
began because the
Greeks tried to control
trade routes.
Purportedly because
Paris runs off with
Menelaus’s wife, Helen
of Troy
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Iliad According to myth: Paris, a prince of
Troy, kidnapped Helen, queen of Sparta
and wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta.
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Iliad
The Greek kings banded together and sent armies in 1,000 ships to attack Troy. (Helen is known as “The face that launched a thousand ships”.)
Gods and goddesses took sides in the war.
For nine years, there was no victory.
The Iliad
Finally, Odysseus
devised a plan: The
Trojan Horse.
But it was probably more like
this…
And then this
A graveyard full of Trojans
The Iliad
The Greeks conquered Troy; the Trojans were slaughtered and the city was destroyed.
The Greeks set out for home in their ships.
Many gods and goddesses were offended when Greeks desecrated temples and did not make offerings. (The beginning of O’s troubles.)
The Odyssey
Epic poem of the long journey home that begins in media res.
Greeks would have been familiar with Odysseus as a hero from the Iliad
Tells of Odysseus’ adventures trying to return home to Ithaca; his wife’s trials at home; and how his son grows up without a father.
The Odyssey
It took TEN years for him to sail
home…
And this is why:
Why ten years…
Hubris – excessive pride
Gods and goddesses:
• Hera favored the Trojans
• Angers Poseidon
Main Characters Odysseus (Ulysses): Super human hero
from Ithaca
Penelope: his wife
Telemachus: Odysseus’ son
Circe: a Witch
Antinous: takes over O’s home while O
is away
Gods/Goddesses
Athena: Goddess of wisdom She is on Odysseus’ side and represents all of his
good traits: courage, loyalty, bravery
Poseidon: god of the sea He is against Odysseus and represents all of his
bad traits: Mouthy, reckless, prideful
Zeus: King of the gods
Hermes: Messenger of the gods
Aeolus: god of the winds
Greek Values and Beliefs
Believed it was wrong for any man to have hubris: excessive pride or arrogance
The character of a man was very important: courage, loyalty to home and family
Man was not the master of his own fate; he was a pawn in a chess game Could not control his own fate but he could control
how he reacted to the gods’ interfering or meddling (Odyssey is all about O’s reactions…temper, temper, temper)
Recommended