Background on The Odyssey

1. Background on The Odyssey The Trojan War, Homer, and The Epic Poem

2. Background on The Odyssey – The Trojan War • Wedding of Peleus & Thetis: Peleus was a mortal who married a sea goddess Thetis. Many were invited to their wedding, except the goddess Eris (meaning strife, chaos). Enrage, Eris planned her revenge. She showed up to the wedding & placed a golden apple which said “To the fairest.” All the goddesses claimed it was theirs, so to end the argument, a mortal was asked to choose the fairest. He was Paris. • Paris’ Judgment: While Hera promised him power, Athena glory in battle, Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman on Earth. Thus, Paris chose Aphrodite. • Abduction of Helen: With Aphrodite's help, Paris is able to go to Sparta & take Helen, who was married to Menelaus, back to Troy. This is the beginning of the Trojan War.

3. Background on The Odyssey – The Trojan War • Menelaus gathered his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and all the ruler of Greece, also called Archaea, including Odysseus, Nestor, & Achilles, and they set out for Troy. • They laid siege on Troy for nine years, but it’s not until Odysseus comes up with the plan of the Trojan horse, that the Greeks are able to destroy Troy. • After the win, the survivors head home to their different fates. The Odyssey tracks Odysseus’ attempt to return to Ithaca.

4. History of Ancient Greece • We may know little of Homer, but we do know about the time he wrote about and the time he lived in. • Mycenaean Period (Bronze Age) 1600-1100 BCE: Greece was made up of kings in well-fortified palaces, supported by a strong bureaucracy that collected taxes & supplies, keeping track of everything with a simple writing system known as Linear B. According to Homer, this is the Heroic Age and the setting of the Trojan War (Troy was a real city that was set in present day Turkey).

5. History of Ancient Greek (Cont.) • Dark Ages (Iron Age) 1100-800 BCE: Historians are not sure why, either invaders or environmental factors, but this is a time when the writing system was lost, population levels dropped, palaces and towns were abandoned. In their place where local chieftons ruled with large herders. • Archaic Period (“Greek Renaissance”) 800-480 BCE: This is the time of Homer where city-states (like Athens & Sparta) developed, there was a shift from herding to fixed agriculture, population exploded, there was colonization, development of Greek alphabet, and religious locales like Olympia & Delphi became prominent. It is in his nostalgic poetry that harkens back to a time of heroes, before the Dark Ages, that Homer writes his epic masterpieces.

6. Homer & History • Legend has it that Homer was a blind poet who told his stories in the form of songs and then wrote them down. Historically, we know little of Homer, but it is most probable that he was a bard who fashioned together the epic stories of the Trojan War and The Odyssey in songs. Later generations then wrote these poems down that harken back to the Heroic Age of the Mycenean Period 1600-1100 BCE.

7. The Epic Hero • So, it was with a mix of history & legend that Homer writes about his epic hero – Odysseus. Most epics follow a pattern/cycle: • Hero possesses supernatural abilities/qualities. • Hero is charged with a quest. • The hero is tested throughout the quest. • The hero is aided with mythical beings, magical & helpful animals, & human helpers. • The quest reached a supernatural world • The quest reaches a low point where the hero almost gives up. • The hero is “resurrected.” • The hero reaches the aim of the quest.

9. Plot Structure of The Odyssey • Odysseus: Books 5-8____Books 13-14 • Telemachus: Books 1-4______________Book 15 Books 9-12: Odysseus’ Flashback Stories Book 16-24: Reunion

10. Homer’s Style – The Epic Simile • An epic simile is a simile (a comparison of two unlike things) that is elaborated on in length. • Ex: Your name has gone out under heaven like the sweet honor of some god-fearing king, who rules in equity over the strong: his black lands bear both wheat and barley, fruit trees laden bright, new lambs at lambing time-and the deep sea gives great hauls of fish by his good strategy, so that his folk fare well. • Homer compares Penelope to what?

11. Themes to Look for • Loyalty • Pride & Honor • Leadership • Social Justice • Fate vs. Free will • Hospitality • Homecoming

12. Poseidon • POSEIDON (puh-SYE-dun or poh-SYE-dun; Roman name Neptune) was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. Although he was officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus, he spent most of his time in his watery domain. Poseidon was brother to Zeus and Hades. These three gods divided up creation. Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades had dominion of the Underworld and Poseidon was given all water, both fresh and salt.

13. Athena • ATHENA (a-THEE-nuh; Roman name Minerva) was the goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war. She was the patron goddess of Athens. Her symbol was the owl. She was originally the Great Goddess in the form of a bird. By the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom . • She was born from Zeus’ head after he had swallowed Metis (whom it was predicted would overthrow Zeus).

14. Hermes • HERMES (HUR-meez; Roman name Mercury) was the messenger of the gods and guide of dead souls to the Underworld. A prankster and inventive genius from birth, Hermes aided the heroes Odysseus and Perseus in their quests. Hermes was the son Zeus and a mountain nymph.

15. Nymphs were young, divine and beautiful female spirits of trees, water and other aspects of nature, each had specific names. Naiads were nymphs of springs, ponds and rivers Dryads were nymphs who lived in trees and died when the tree died. Nereids were nymphs of the ocean. The Muses/s were The Greek goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. They were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. The number of Muses varies over time; initially there was but one, and later there is mention of three, and then nine. Other Deities: Nymphs & Muses

16. Other Creatures • A Gorgon is a monstrous feminine creature whose appearance would turn anyone who laid eyes upon it to stone. There were three of them, but the only mortal was Medusa. Their bodies were covered with impenetrable scales, with hair of living snakes, hands made of brass, sharp fangs and a beard. • A Cyclops was a one-eyed monster. • A centaur was part man, part horse. • A satyr was part man, part goat. • A minotaur was part man, part bull.