Odyssey Bkgr 2

8/3/2019 Odyssey Bkgr 2

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An Introduction to theOdyssey

The War-Story Background

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble

The Wooden-Horse Trick

The Ancient World and Ours

A Search for Their Places in Life

Relationships with Gods

Epic and Values

The Telling of Epics

Homer

An Introduction to the Odyssey

Feature Menu


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Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the storyof that man skilled in all ways of contending, . . .



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[End of Section]

The Odysseyis a tale of a heros long and perilousjourney home.


But, it is also the story of a son in need of his fatherand of a faithful wife waiting for her husbandsreturn.


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The Iliadprovides the background for Odysseussstory and tells the tale of a ten-year war foughtoutside the walls ofTroy. In Homers Iliad


the Trojan War is in its tenth and final year

the people of Troy are fighting an alliance ofGreek kings because the worlds most beautifulwoman, Helen, abandoned her husband,Menelaus (a Greek king) and ran off with Paris, a

prince of Troy


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The Iliadprovides the background for Odysseussstory and tells the tale of a ten-year war foughtoutside the walls of Troy. In Homers Iliad


the Greeks won the war, reduced the city of Troy

to smoldering ruins, and butchered all theinhabitants, except for those they took as slavesback to Greece

[End of Section]


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Odysseus is not a typical epic hero. He is faced with


difficult choices

post-war disillusionment disrespect from the people

of his homeland


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Before the Trojan War, Odysseus


married the beautiful andfaithful Penelope

had one son, Telemachus


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[End of Section]


When called to serve in the Trojan War, Odysseus

pretended to be insane sohe wouldnt have to go (hedressed as a peasant,

plowed his field, andsowed it with salt)

revealed his sanity to savehis sons life (who was

placed in front of theplow)


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During the Trojan War, Odysseus

performed extremely well as a soldier andcommander

thought of the famous wooden-horse trick thatlead to the defeat of Troy


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Odysseuss plan was to build an enormouswooden horse and hide Greek soldiers inside.

The horse was left outside the gates of Troy,and the Greeks abandoned their camp.


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[End of Section]


The Trojans thought the horse was a peaceoffering and brought it into the walled city.

At night, the men hidden in the horse came outand opened the gates to the entire Greek army.


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[End of Section]

The Ancient World and Ours

Odysseuss world is harsh, violent, and primitive.

The palaces that he and his men raid mighthave been nothing more than mud and stone

farmhouses.

The worldly goods they carry off from townmight have been only pots and pans, cattle andsheep.


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The Theme of the Odyssey

Odysseus and his family are searching for

the right relationships with one another and the

people around them their proper places in life


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The Structure of the Odyssey

The story begins with Telemachus, Odysseussson. Telemachus is searching for his fatherbecause he

is being threatened by rude, powerful men whowant to marry his mother and rob Telemachusof his inheritance

needs his father to return home and restoreorder


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[End of Section]


The Structure of the Odyssey

Readers learn that Odysseus

is stranded on an island, longing to get home

has been gone for twenty yearshe has spentten years at war and ten years trying to gethome

is in the middle of a midlife crisis and searching

for inner peace


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In Homers stories, a god can be an alter egoareflection of a heros best or worst qualities.

Odysseus is known for hismental abilities, so he receives

aid from Athena, the goddessof wisdom.

Odysseus can also be crueland violent. Odysseuss

nemesis is Poseidon, the godof the sea, who is known forarrogance and brutishness.


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[End of Section]


Myths in the Odyssey

Greek myths plays an important role in theOdyssey.

Homer is concerned with the relationshipbetween human and gods.

For Homer, the gods control all things, includingOdysseuss fate.


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Epics are long narrative poems that tell of theadventures of heroes who in some way embody thevalues of their civilization.

Epics and Values

More about Epics

The Greeks used Homers epics, the Iliadand

the Odyssey, to teach Greek virtues.


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[End of Section]

Epics and Values

The Epic Tradition

All epic poems in the western world owe somethingto the basic patterns established in Homers epics.

The Iliadis the primarymodel for an epic of war.

The Odysseyis the model

for an epic of the longjourney.


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Epics and other tales wereprobably told by wandering bardsor minstrels called rhapsodes.Rhapsodes were


the historians, entertainers,and mythmakers of their time

responsible for spreading newsabout recent events or the

doings of heroes, gods, andgoddesses


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Epics were originally told aloud.


They followed basic story lines and incorporatedformulaic descriptions.

Most of the words were improvised to fit aparticular rhythm or meter.

Epics included Homeric, or epic, similes thatcompare heroic events to easily understandable

everyday events.


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Epics such as the Iliadand Odysseywere probablytold over a period of several days.


Singers might have summarized part of thetales, depending on how long they stayed in one

community.

[End of Section]


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No one knows for sure who Homer was.

Homer

Later Greeks believed he was a blind minstrel, orsinger, from the island of Chios.

One scholar suggests Homerwas a woman because home andhearth played such an importantrole in his stories.

Some scholar think there weretwo Homers. Some think he wasjust a legend.

[End of Section]


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The End


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Troy waslocated inwhat is nowTurkey.



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Epic Hero

In Homers time, epic heroes


were placed somewhere the gods and ordinaryhuman beings

experienced pain and death

were always true to themselves


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Mythsare traditional stories, rooted in a particularculture, that usually explain a belief, a ritual, or amysterious natural phenomenon.

Myths are essentially religious because they are

concerned with the relationship between humanbeings and the unknown or spiritual realm.


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More About Epics

Epics use elevated language and a serious tone andoften include elements of myth, legend, folk tale,and history.

Epics and Values


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Epics and Values

Journey

The theme of the journey is found in many storiesin western literature, including

fairy tales

novels, such as The Incredible Journey, Moby-Dick, and The Hobbit

movies, such as The Wizard of Ozand Star Wars


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Formulaic Descriptions

Formulaic descriptions gave the singer time to thinkahead to the next part of the story. The oralstoryteller had formulas for


the arrival and greeting of guests, eating ofmeals, and taking of baths

describing the sea (wine-dark) and Athena

(gray-eyed Athena)


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Homeric, or Epic, Similes

In the Iliad, the singer uses a Homeric simile todescribe how Athena prevents an arrow fromstriking Menelaus.


She brushed it away from his skin as lightly as when amother

Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweetsleep.

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Odyssey Bkgr 2