TheThe OdysseyOdyssey

WE who

Made the

Ruins...

Greek’s Vs Trojan’s

Where’s my wife?Odysseus

From Troy to Ithaka in 10 hard years

Odysseus’ BoatOdysseus’ Boat

Means of Means of TransportTransportMeans of Means of TransportTransport

EPIC: a narrative poem (long) BIG in scope [a character in the midst of

the Sky, the earth, Gods and men) the recounting the deeds and trials of a

legendary hero. Common patterns: Far-off exotic lands and

people versus HOME.

Epics usually involves QUESTSQUESTS (a (a search for something or someplace.)search for something or someplace.)

Reveals IDEALS of CULTURE

The epic reveals the ideals of the culture (the model which one might aspire to, as exemplified in the hero, one who has overcome challenges successfully).

What are ideal behaviors are often an implicit criticism of the way things are NOW, (when the story is told vs when the events happened.) – e.g. Hospitality in the Odyssey

What is an IDEALIDEAL?

Ideals are those things believed to be desirable by the culture for a “good life.”

ALSO, Look For and MARK...

Separation, Margin, Aggregation Examples of Story-telling Expressions of grief or sorrow, The Role of Mentors Jot down parallels to other books in the

margins

IMPORTANT TERMS

MUSE: One of the nine sister goddesses in Greek model of the universe said to preside over various kinds of song and poetry and the arts and sciences.

EXPOSITION: those parts of the story that

explain what is going on, what has happened in the past or what will happen. Some exposition may speak directly to the theme.

“Epithet”— a formulaic set of words that identify someone by some quality, an appositive. FORMULAIC MEANS IT IS USED OVER AND OVER.

EPIC SIMILE: an extensively developed simile whose length may run from two lines of poetry to twenty. They are part of the poetry and beauty of the book, they are written in a very elevated style, and inattentive readers will lose their way in them.

The Odyssey captures civilization at a The Odyssey captures civilization at a turning point!turning point!

Why Important? the question of motivation in The Odyssey

Why do the Men Not Act On Their Own VOLITION? – Waiting for the Gods

—

• The conception of “The Muse” speaking through the bard represents the “old way” of seeing the world.

•What were unconscious men like? • Record of the

Birth of Consciousness?

•The birth of Individualism (Iliad vs Odyssey)

ORIGINS Of The Poem

How was it performed?

A hypothesis: The Oral Tradition

(the need for formulae)

Tradition and doubt about Homer

ANOTHER THESIS: – Homer as editor

Relationship of the Iliad to Odyssey, a few observations

Tips for READING

Think of It as a Play, cast actors in the role and imagine you can see them, don’t just “turn the pages and let your eyes go over it.” Don’t speed read it. Make it a movie in your head.

Read with a Pen!

Identify the pronoun references of all unclear pronouns

underline all the epithet’s

bracket the epic similes

Do NOTDo NOT READ FOR THE GIST ALONE,

BEWARE: Who is Speaking at any time.

Where does the story present a crisis: How does the character react: A crisis is a moment when one has to make

a decision, to react in one of any number of ways; one’s actions at a crisis moment, and one’s reactions to those moments later tell us what kind of person is here.

Agamemnon’s Mycenae

Mycenae as it must have looked at the time of the Trojan War

(1275-60 BC) The Foremost

Kingdom in Greece

The Lion’s Gate of Mycenae…(a liminal image!) Constructed shortly

before the Trojan War 4.5 meters at lintel weighs 18 tons later Greeks thought

Mycanae’s walls were built by Kyklopes

Another Thesis...

Origins in Ritual of a Sun God Cult....– Obstacles are part of the Rites of Initiation,– pay attention to numbers of men etc,animals, Helios

RELATES TO WHAT PREVIOUS IDEA?– Puck’s Speech and our discussion of the

relationship of ritual and myth to literature.

Another Thesis?

“The Bear-son story” Archetypal– Beowulf– Basic Story: Underworld, return and

Restoration– Textual Hints:

• “Otis”

• Homeric Hymns,

• Sysphos