The Odyssey

1. The Odyssey Written by Homer Written Approximately 1200 B.C. Translated from Greek by Robert Fitzgerald

2. What is a Myth? • A Myth is a traditional story from a particular culture • It usually explains a belief of that culture, a ritual of the culture, or a mysterious natural phenomenon • A Myth deals with humans and the unknown or, humans and gods. • *Many times the god is an alter ego, or a reflection of the hero’s best or worst characteristics • *Types of myths: Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian • *Topics of Myths include: nature, creation, semi-historical. • *Ancient Greek mythology is the influential and richest type. One will find its influence in literature, sculpture, and painting. • *The earliest sources of Greek mythical tales are the works of the poets Hesiod and Homer.

3. Creation Myths: Hesiod • The Theogony is a poem by Hesiod (8th-7th century BC) was a Greek oral poet • describing the origins and genealogies of the gods of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC. • Hesiod's Theogony is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety of Greek traditions concerning the gods, • tells how they came to be and how they established permanent control over the cosmos. • first Greek mythical cosmogony( a theory concerning the coming into existence or origin of the universe, or about how reality came to be.

4. Greek religion was polytheistic. What does the Greek root “poly” mean? So, now what do you think polytheistic means?

5. The Olympians12 immortals who dwelt in a palace on Mount Olympus (can you identify them all)

6. Zeus / Jupiter • King of the gods • God of air • Uses Thunderbolts as his weapon • Womanizer – married his own sister • Son of Cronos and Rhea • Most powerful Jupiter is so named because it is so big – it is the “King of Planets”

7. Poseidon / Neptune • God of the sea and earthquakes • Made horses • Trident is weapon • Amphitrite is his wife • Zeus’ brother • Son of Cronos and Rhea • 2nd most powerful Neptune is so named because the blue looks like water

8. Hades / Pluto • God of the Underworld and Wealth • King of the dead but he is not Death • Zeus’ brother • Son of Cronos and Rhea • Has a helmet that makes the wearer invisible • Persephone (Spring) is his wife • NOT EVIL! (but he is unpitying) • 3rd most powerful

9. Hephaestus / Vulcan • God of fire and the forge • Son of Zeus and Hera • Ugly • Lame because he was thrown off Mt. Olympus for interfering with a fight between Hera and Zeus • Husband to Aphrodite

10. Hera / Juno • Queen of the gods • Protector of marriage • Wife/sister of Zeus • The peacock is her symbol (because of the eye-look) • Cows are sacred to her (ox-eyed Hera) • Jealous No planet, but there is an asteroid named after her plus a city in Alaska

11. Hermes / Mercury • Messenger god and the god of thieves • Greek Trickster figure • Very fast • Son of Zeus and Maia • Loves Aphrodite • Greeks believed he guided souls to Hades The Hermes Asteroid Mercury revolves around the sun so fast, it was named for the messenger god. One year is faster than one day on Mercury

12. Phoebus Apollo • God of truth, light, archery, and healing • Sun god in some myths (Helios is the sun god in other myths) • Son of Zeus and Leto • Wolves, dolphins, and crows are sacred to him • Has the Oracle of Delphi Apollo asteroids are near-earth asteroids

13. Artemis / Diana • Apollo’s Twin sister • Goddess of the hunt, wild things, and crossways • She is the moon goddess sometimes • Virgin goddess • As Diana, she is also a goddess of light The Artemis navigation satellite

14. Ares / Mars • Son of Zeus and Hera, but both hate him • God of War • The Romans glorify him, but the Greeks make him out to be a coward • He has three children with Aphrodite: Phobos (panic) and Deimos (fear) are twins Mars and its moons, Phobos and Deimos

15. Hestia / Vesta • Zeus’ sister – Oldest of the original gods • Goddess of the hearth and home • Gave up her spot on Mt. Olympus for Dionysus • Worshipped daily • A virgin priestesses served her for 30 year time periods • Does pretty much nothing in mythology Asteroid Vesta

16. Eros / Cupid • God of love • Son of Ares and Aphrodite • Often portrayed as a child, but not always. • He has wings • Uses a bow and arrow – arrows cause one to fall in love Eros is a near earth asteroid

17. Pallas Athena / Minerva • Goddess of wisdom and defensive war • Daughter of Zeus and Metis (titan) – she popped out of his head after he swallowed the pregnant Metis • She carries a shield with Medusa’s head on it Minerva was a tiny robot designed by the Japanese to land on an asteroid, but got lost in space.

18. Demeter / Ceres • Daughter of Cronos and Rhea • Goddess of vegetation • Had powers of growth and resurrection • Her daughter is Persephone The asteroid Ceres was the first asteroid ever discovered and is one of the largest (about the size of Texas). It almost became a designated as a planet

19. Dionysus / Bacchus • Son of Zeus and Semele • God of wine and happiness • In some areas of Greece, his worship was outlawed ( thought too be dirty). The Bacchus asteroid

20. Aphrodite / Venus • Goddess of beauty and love • Mother of Eros/Cupid • Wife of Hephaestus/Vulcan but lover of Ares/Mars and other guys Venus is so named because it is a beautiful planet and can be easily seen with just the eye * Born from the foam in the sea caused by the attack of Cronos/ Saturn on Ouranus/Uranus ”

21. Where was ancient Greece? Greece is a country in Europe. Greece

22. 1666: The Great Fire of London When and where was ancient Greece? AD BC 2500 3000 2000 4000 3500 1500 1500 1000 2000 1000 500 0 500 1000 BC – 323 BC: Ancient Greece 790-1060s: The Viking Age 55 BC - 400 AD: Roman Britain 3100 BC – 1069 BC: Ancient Egypt

23. Socrates 470-399 B.C. • Socrates was a philosopher of Ancient Greece. • A philosopher is someone who tries to explain the nature of life • Sought truths about broad concepts such as truth, justice, and virtue. • Socrates thought people could learn best by asking questions. This method of questioning is still called the Socratic method. He also thought that philosophers could study human behavior to learn how to improve society.

24. The Death of Socrates • The trial of Socrates was based on two charges: corrupting the youth and impiety (immorality and sin). More specifically, Socrates’ accusers cited two ‘impious’ acts: ‘failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges’ and ‘introducing new deities.’ 501 chosen jurors voted to convict him. • Socrates was ultimately sentenced to death by drinking a hemlock-based liquid. A well-known account of the trial was given by one of Socrates’ student, Plato. • The trial is one of the most famous of all time. Whether Socrates was punished unjustly is a thought-provoking and contested issue, which to this day inspires discussions about the nature and meaning of justice.

25. Plato 428-348 B.C. • Plato was a student of Socrates. • Plato later teaches Aristotle. • He started a school called The Academy. • Plato’s writing took the form of a dialogue between teacher and student. • Wrote Plato’s Republic- proved one of the most intellectually and historically influential works of philosophy and political theory.

26. Aristotle 384-322 B.C. • Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. • His writings cover many subjects, including physics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. • He wrote The Poetics-offers an account of what he calls poetry, drama and comedies, tragedy, satires, lyric poetry, and epic poetry.

27. A look inside the Greek Alphabet. Compare and contrast this to our own English alphabet. What do you notice?

28. What similarities are there between ancient Greek schools and our school? At school we learn reading, writing and math. We also learn singing and musical instruments. Only children from rich families can go to school, because you have to pay. Girls don’t usually go to school, they are mostly educated at home. We start school at the age of seven and stay until we are about fourteen. After school most children learn a job or trade. The richer ones might go to Athens to study with a philosopher.

29. Greek Contributions • The Greeks invented the Greek crane. • This is a catapult that the Greeks invented. It could throw 300 lb. stones at walls/buildings.

30. How have the ancient Greeks influenced our buildings? Look at buildings in your area or in pictures. Can you spot any of these Ancient Greek features? capitals cornices columns a pediment

31. Greek Architecture The Greeks invented three common and influential forms of columns. DORIC IONIC CORINTHIAN

32. Political: Athens was the first democracy. • Democracy: type of government where people vote. • Well, actually, Athens was a direct democracy where people vote on everything. • The U.S. today is a representative democracy, where we vote for people to make decisions for us.

33. Direct participation was the key to Athenian democracy. In the Assembly, every male citizen was not only entitled to attend as often as he pleased but also had the right to debate, offer amendments, and vote on proposals. Every man had a say in whether to declare war or stay in peace. Basically any thing that required a government decision, all male citizens were allowed to participate in.

34. What’s an Epic? • An Epic is a long narrative poem • Tells about the adventures of a hero • Usually epics embody the values of the cultures they are written for • The Iliad and the Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek virtues. • Values: honor, bravery, hospitality, intelligence, respect for the gods, loyalty to home and family • Major faults: disrespect for the gods, lack of hospitality, excessive pride “hubris” • Iliad is primary model for epic of war • Odyssey is primary model for epic of the long journey

35. Characteristics of the Epic • Begins in medias res (Latin for “it begins in the middle of things”), then flashes back to explain action leading up to that point • Begins with an invocation (calling upon a god for inspiration) or prayer to a god or gods • Always begins with a statement of theme • Contains many epithets • Contains long, formal speeches by many characters

36. Homer Not This Homer… This Homer • Singer “rapsode” of tales/ from the island Chios • historians and classicists can only speculate about the life of this man (details are few) • thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person • . We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. • All historians/entertainers of Homer’s time did not write their stories/facts down. • The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived.

37. Now, close your eyes and envision this as I read the following to you! • The banquet is over and the fire has collapsed to a bed of embers. Amid bursts of laughter and boisterous conversation, serving maids clear the remains of bread and meat from the long wooden table. From his place at the head of the table, the lord of the hall signals to a man holding a stringed instrument starts to play while the guests shift their attention and slowly ease their talk. Then he begins to sing. Chanting rhythmically, occasionally touching the strings of his lyre, he sings of gods, heroes, and monsters; of love, war, travel, death, and homecoming. A stillness upon the hall and the listeners fall under the spell of his words. The singer of tales is working his magic. • This is an example of what it would be like to hear the tales of Homer and other storyteller’s.

38. Sequel to the Iliad (900 and 700 BC) • The Iliad focuses on the days toward the end of the Trojan War (mid 1200s BC) • The Odyssey focuses on one of the soldiers that fought in the Trojan War returning home 20 years after the war—Odysseus . • The Iliad and the Odyssey together were considered sacred to the Greeks—much like the Bible to many people today. • Both books were not originally written down but were recited orally • 2 ways they were presented : sung with musical accompaniment • Both contain Homeric similes & epithets

39. The Trojan War • The Judgment of Paris- The Golden Apple Contest • Spartan King Menelaus’ wife Helen (the face that launched a thousand ships) left him for the young Prince Paris of Troy. • Greeks attacked Troy • Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, led the siege. • Odysseus (main character in the Odyssey) was another hero of the war. • Odysseus was known not only for being a strong hero, but also for being a wise/smart hero. • Another Greek hero, Achilles, died in the final year of the war “Achilles Heel” • Trojan Horse & Greek forces were victorious!

40. OdysseusHero of The Odyssey • Wife: Penelope Son: Telemachus Kingdom: Ithaca • Great soldier of the war • Originally tried to get out of going to the war—pretended he was crazy • Came up with the wooden-horse trick that lead to Troy’s collapse. • The Odyssey is the account of Odysseus’ journey home after the war.

41. Odysseus’ Journey

42. Meter in The Odyssey • The Odyssey was written in a dactylic hexameter. Each line of the epic has 6 metrical feet. The first five feet are dactyls which are composed of a long sound and 2 short sounds. The last foot of each line is always a spondee which is made up of 2 long sounds.

43. Three Major Plot Strands of “The Odyssey” • (1)Story in Ithaca about Odysseus’ wife and son as they await his return. • (2)Tale of Odysseus’ wanderings during the ten years following the Trojan War. • (3)Odysseus returns to Ithaca and joins forces with his son, Telemachus, to destroy their enemies.

44. Motifs in The Odyssey • Hospitality • Respect for the Gods • The Importance of Lineage • Loyalty • Pride and Honor • Resisting Temptation • Live Life to the Fullest • Self-discipline • The Importance of Leadership • Revenge, Justice, & Reconciliation • Fate

45. Edith Hamilton • an American educator and author who was “recognized as the greatest woman Classicist”. • Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes is a book written by Hamilton, published in 1942. • It retells stories of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology drawn from several classical sources. • The book has become one of the most powerful and critically-acclaimed books of the Western world.

46. 2 Film Allusions • 2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, Doctor Strangeglove). The movie is about creation by design- computers and their part in them- computers that can misfunction and cause destruction. • Alludes to the Trojan Horse (monolith), Names (Tycho & Dave Bowman), Monolith (creates a forgetting effect), a human relies on brute strength & a monster relies on genius (irony).

47. O’ Brother Where Art Thou? • *The film is a 2000 adventure story directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Cohen (The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, Fargo,etc). • Set in 1934 Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely based on Homer’s epic poem. • *In the opening credits explicitly state the story of the film is based on epic poem by Homer. • *The similarities between O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey are numerous, ranging from the obvious to the obscure. • Joel Cohen has been quoted as saying: “It just sort of occurred to us after we’d gotten into it somewhat that it was a story about someone going home, and sort of episodic in nature, and it kind of evolved into that. It’s very loosely and very sort of unseriously based on The Odyssey.”

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