The OdysseyBackground Information

IN THE BEGINNING…

TitansEnormous

Beings Incredible

StrengthCronus & RheaThe OracleZeus

THE FUTURE

A Family Tree

The 12 Olympians (+2) Zeus: Supreme Ruler;

thunderbolt; Jupiter Hera: Z’s wife & God-

dess of Marriage; Juno Poseidon: God of the

Seas; trident; NeptuneDemeter: Goddess of

the Harvest & Seasons; Ceres

Hades: God of the Under-world; Persephone; Pluto

Hestia: Goddess of Family Peace; Vesta

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom; Minerva

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love & Beauty; Eros; Venus

Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt & Virginity; Diana

Apollo: God of Music, Archery & Medicine:

Dionysus: God of Wine; Bacchus

Hephaestus: God of Craftsmen; Vulcan

Hermes: Messenger God; Mercury

Ares: God of War; Mars

The Muses: Daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne

(memory)

History Astronomy Tragedy Comedy

Song

Lyrics

Dance

Poetry

Homer

Homer was a blind minstrel who came from the Greek Island, Chios.

Traveling entertainmentTold stories—some

long, others short, usually in the evenings.

Epic PoemsEpics are long narrative poems that tell

of the adventures of heroes who embody the values of their particular civilizations.

Homer’s Iliad is the model for War EpicHomer’s The Odyssey is the model for

the long journey home.Example: Huckleberry Finn & The Hobbit

Heroes In Homer’s day,

HEROES were thought of as a special class of Aristocrats.

Heroes were somewhere in between the gods and ordinary humans.

The might experience pain & death, but they were always sure of themselves & never gave up on their “mission.” A Hero in Trouble:

Odysseus

The Hero’s Journey—Joseph Campbell1. Departure

“Call to Adventure”Refusal of the “Call to Adventure”Supernatural aid

2. InitiationRoad of TrialsMeeting with the gods—”Belly of the Whale”Woman as temptress

3. ReturnRefusal to returnRescue Master of two worlds

Odysseus’s Journey Home

After the Trojan War, Odysseus begins his journey home to Ithaca.

The Lotus EatersThe Cyclops—Son of PoseidonAeolus—God of the WindsLaestrygonians—giant cannibalsCirce—witch goddess; turns men to pigs

Erebus—Land of the DeadSirens—1/2 woman; ½ birdScylla—sea monster with 6 headsCharybdis—deadly whirlpool (3 x daily)Helios—Sun God; “don’t eat cattle”Calypso—beautiful goddess –kept

Odysseus for nearly 7 yearsPhaecians—Alcinous & NausicaaHome to IthacaReunited with family

Ithaca—the people at homePenelope—O’s beautiful & faithful wifeTelemachus—O’s & P’s sonLaertes—O’s fatherEumaeus—old swineherder & friend of

OEurycleia—O’s old nurse, T’s governessAntinous & Eurymachus— suitors

of Penelope