Greek Mythology and the Odyssey

Click to edit Master title style,Click to edit Master text styles,Second level,Third level,Fourth level,Fifth level,*,Greek Mythology and the,Odyssey,The,Odyssey,Epic poem-,long, narrative poem that tells about the adventures of a hero who reflects the ideals and values of a nation or race.,Composed sometime around,800 B.C. 600 B.C.,Composed by,Homer,a. Homer did not create the,Odyssey, he simply wrote it down. However, Homer was rumored to be a,blind,storyteller. He would NOT have been able to write.,b. The,Odyssey,was being told,orally,through storytellers long before Homer wrote it down,Characteristics of the EPIC:,1.Has an epic hero,2. Often written in poetry form but not always,3. Often includes myths, legends, and history,4. Usually has a serious tone and language,5. Deals with a quest,6. Often based on some truths,7. Includes epithets & flashbacks,8. Usually involves a battle and oftentimes a single combat like Achilles fighting Hector or the final showdown between Harry and Lord,Voldemort,Other National EPICS are:,Greek =,The Iliad by Homer Spanish = El Cid,Roman = The,Aeneid,by Virgil,American = Forest Gump,English = Harry Potter Series,Percy Jackson & Olympians,Series,Epic Hero,1. A,larger-than-life figure, usually male, who embodies the ideals of a nation or race.,2. Take part in,long, dangerous adventures,and accomplish great deeds that require,courage,and,superhuman strength,.,3. Often, the,divine world of the gods,or other supernatural forces will interfere with the,human world,of the epic hero.,Some epic heroes:,- Harry Potter,- Frodo from,Lord of the Rings,- Luke Skywalker from,Star Wars,Epic Simile,Simile,- comparison of two unlike things that uses the word,“like” or “as.”,Epic Simile,- an elaborate, more involved version of a regular simile.,- great length and detail,- extends for,several lines,- also called the,“Homeric,Simile”,Just,as,an angler poised on a jutting rock,flings his treacherous bait in the offshore swell,whips his long rodhook sheathed in an,oxhorn,lure,and whisks up little fish he flips on the beach-break,writhing, gasping out their lives . . . so now they,writhed,gasping as Scylla swung them up her cliff and there,at her caverns mouth she bolted them down raw,screaming out, flinging their arms down toward me,lost in that mortal struggle . . .,Epithets,Epithets,- brief, descriptive phrases that helped to characterize a particular person or thing.,-,repetition,of a phrase,Odysseus is described as:,“master mariner”,“old contender”,“man of twists and turns”,“great tactician”,- remember: he initiated the idea of the,Trojan horse-,source of the Greeks defeating Troy,The Iliad,and the,Trojan War,Paris,Prince of,Troy,and son of,King,Priam,and,Queen,Hecuba,fell in love with another mans wife and took her back to his kingdom of,Troy,with the interference of the gods, one goddess in particular,Helen, known as the most beautiful woman and the,face that launched a 1,000 ships,“runs away” with Paris and her absence enrages her husband,Trojan War may have occurred around,1200 B.C.,and established the background for,Homers epics,The mini-version of the,Legend,is,Family LoyaltyHow far would a person go for his brother?,Menalaus, King of,Sparta, is upset and seeks the advice of his brother,Agamemnon, King of,Mycenae, who is,power hungry,and wants control of all lands, especially Troy; he convinces his jilted brother to go after his wife and wage a war against Troy to get her back and regain some of the dignity his brother has lost. Together they utilize their power as kings to gather as many great warriors to fight for their cause.,Agamemnon,The war lasted,10 years, during which time many,heroes,emerged.,Fighting for the Greeks ( Under rule of King Agamemnon),Odysseus (the hero of,The Odyssey),Ajax (almost giant like warrior who was unable to kill the greatest Trojan warrior but wounded him),Achilles (the Greek hero of,The Iliad,and the greatest warrior),AJAX,Fighting for the,Trojans,Brothers Prince,Hector,and Prince,Paris,Prince Hector (the greatest Trojan warrior) defends his country to the death,Prince Paristhe one who brought Helen to his kingdom and brought destruction to his home,The Iliad,and the,Trojan War,The Iliad,Homers 1,st,Epic,Serves as a,prequel,to,The Odyssey,The epic only deals with about,20 days,in the,10,th,and final year,of the,Trojan War,Homer concentrates on one main Greek hero,Achilles, and one main opposing hero for the Trojans,Hector,.,As the epic begins,Achilles,is,furious,with,King Agamemnon,over a slave girl,Briseis, and sulking in his tent,refusing to fight.*The epic begins in the middle or in media,res,*,The Trojans start winning and beating back the Greeks.,But, when Hector kills Achilles best friend,Patroclus, Achilles becomes enraged and returns to battle for the sole purpose of destroying Hector.,After,Hectors,death, Achilles is,killed by Paris, but the Trojans never recover from the loss of Hector and finally, Troy falls.,The Horse That Ended The War,After Hector is killed, unless the Greeks get inside the,walls,of Troy, the war would most likely continue.,Odysseus, King of,Ithaca,and a,“master strategist”,devises the plan of building a giant,Trojan horse,to represent a gift to the Trojans.,As the Trojans believe that the Greeks have given up and decided to go back home,they wheel the large wooden horse inside the walls of Troy,.,While the Trojans are,sleeping, after a night of partying and celebrating the end of the war, several Greeks, led by Odysseus,crawl out of the horse, open the gates, and after a massive amount of bloodshed,Troy burns and the Trojan War ends,Hubris is excessive pride or arrogance,It can lead to rash behavior and to not thinking clearly in serious situations,HUBRIS AS A CHARACTER FLAW,AGAMEMNON,King of MycenaeAllows his pride to get the better of him when he refuses to give,Chryseis,back causing disease and fire to rain down on the Greeks, courtesy of the god Apollo. Once he does he give her back,he takes someone elses girl,causing another big problem for the Greeks.,ACHILLES,He allows his pride of losing his slave girl,Briseis,and love interest to,Agamemnon,get the best of him and,refuses to continue fighting at Troy,.until his dear friend is slain by the Trojan Prince Hector causing his,desire for revenge,and eventually,his death all because of pride,Odysseus,Hero in,The Odyssey,also exhibits,hubris,which angers the gods and leads to many difficulties and hardships for him.,What is the,Odyssey,about?,- Tells of Odysseus adventures as he makes,his way home,from Troy,He was gone for a total of,20 years,10 years at war and 10 more years trying to get home,- He has a fleet of,12 ships,carrying about,720 men,- Back at home (Ithaca),-,Penelope (wife of Odysseus),and,Telemachus,(son of Odysseus),are waiting for Odysseus return while suitors have taken over Ithaca, hoping that she will marry one of them,- Odysseus encounters many,mythical beings and has to fight his own personal “demons” and overcome his own character flaws,during his return home,