The Odyssey. By Homer

Transcription

1 The Odyssey By Homer Greek Myth-Greek myths are fictitious stories which were used as a means of explaining the origin of the world. They also detailed the lives and adventures of various gods, goddesses, heroes, and mythological creatures. Some of these stories may be exaggerations and elaborations of actual historical events in which human kings and heroes became viewed as gods because of the great feats they accomplished. These myths were originally performed as oral poetry and today they still have significant influence on the culture of Western Civilization. Epic Poem-An epic poem is a long narrative poem that celebrates the deeds of legendary heroes. An epic cannot be told in one setting, and is not limited to Earth; the tales instead are complex, revolving around several main characters and spanning over many years. Homer s Odyssey depicts Odysseus journey from the end of the Trojan War in Troy to his home of Ithaka over a span of twenty years. Some translations retain the format of a poem while others are in prose story form. Epic Hero-An epic hero is a man who seems able to conquer most problems he encounters even though he does not possess any supernatural powers such as the gods. Often these heroes are born of a god and a human. The epic hero is intelligent, faithful, and brave; although he often feels fear, he overcomes his fears because he knows he has responsibilities, which are mainly to defeat evil and allow goodness to prevail. Sometimes, however, a higher force or being will help him on his quest. This greater force does not do things for him but rather help him to do things on his own. Tragic Hero-The tragic hero represents the same characteristics as the archetypal hero-brave, intelligent, courageous-however, the tragic hero is cursed with a fatal flaw that leads to tragedy. Epic Journey-The purpose of an epic journey is for the hero to achieve a goal, many times to return home or to obtain something valuable. In the process of achieving their goal, the hero must endure challenges and face multiple various obstacles in which they must succeed in order to continue on.

2 Definitions/Explanations Homer- Greek epic poet believed to be alive around BC. Homer wrote both the Iliad which takes place during the Trojan War and the Odyssey which takes place after the war. The Homeric question addresses the concerns many scholars have raised over Homer s identity and whether he ever existed at all. Trojan War -a great war fought between Greece and Troy; the Greeks sailed to Troy to recover Helen of Troy, the beautiful wife of Menelaus who had been abducted by Paris; after ten years the Greeks (via the Trojan Horse) achieved final victory and burned Troy to the ground. Archetype- an original model on which similar things are patterned, in The Odyssey Odysseus represents the archetypal hero. Odysseus- A legendary Greek king of Ithaka and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey, Odysseus is husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laërtes and Anticlea. Odysseus is renowned for his guile and resourcefulness. He is most famous for the ten eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan horse trick. God/Goddess- an immortal, supernatural being who is the subject of traditional sacred stories; Greeks believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses who were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite was the goddess of love, while Ares was the god of war and Hades the god of the dead. Mortal-human, subject to death Immortal-undying, not subject to death Cyclops (kyklops)-a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead Siren (sierene)-three dangerous bird-women, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island

3 Character List Agamemnon (ag-uh-mem-non)-king and commander of Greek forces in the Trojan War, brother of Menelaus Alcinoos (al-sin-oh-us)-king of the Phaeacians to whom Odysseus tells his story Amphinomis (am-fin-eh-mes)-a suitor for Penelope Antinoos (an-tin-oh-us)-a leader among the suitors Arete (uh-ret-eh)-queen of the Phaeacians, wife of Alcinoos, and mother of Nausikaa Athena (uh-thee-nuh)-daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom, skills, and warfare Cronus (KRO-ness)-Titan ruler of the universe, father of Zeus Eumaios (yoo-mee-us)-an old swineherd and friend of Odysseus Eurykleia (yoo-rih-kly-uh)-a housekeeper for Penelope Eurymakhos (yoo-rim-uh-cuss)-a suitor Helen-wife of Menelaus and queen of Sparta, her abduction from Sparta by the Trojans caused the Trojan War Hermes (HER-meez)-herald and messenger of the gods Kalypso (kah-lip-so)-a sea goddess who loved Odysseus Kharybdis (kah-rib-dis)-an enormous and dangerous whirlpool Kirke (SIR-see)-an enchantress who helped Odysseus Laertes (lay-ur-teez)-odysseus father Melanthius (meh-lan-thih-us)-brother of Melantho, abuses the beggar in Odysseus palace Melantho (meh-lan-tho)-sister of Melanthius, maid in Odysseus palace, also abuses the beggar Menelaos (men-eh-lay-us)-king of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen, he helped lead the Greeks in the Trojan War Nausikaa (naw-sik-ay-uh)-the beautiful daughter of King Alcinoos and Queen Arete Nestor-king of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan War, Telemakhos visits him for information about his father s whereabouts Penelope (peh-nel-uh-pee)-odysseus wife Polyphemos (pol-ih-fee-muss)-the cyclops who imprisoned the Greeks Poseidon (poh-sye-dun)-god of sea and earthquakes Skylla (SILL-uh)-a sea monster of gray rock Telemakhos (tel-em-uh-kus)-odysseus and Penelope s son

4 Teiresias (ty-ree-see-as)-a blind prophet who advised Odysseus from the underworld Zeus (ZOOS or ZYOOS)-kings of the gods Roman Numerals A numeral is a symbol used to represent a number. Our digits 0-9 are often called Arabic numerals. Each letter used in Roman numerals stands for a different number. Roman Numeral Number I 1 V 5 X 10 L 50 C 100 D 500 M 1000 A string of letters indicates that their values should be added together. For example: XXX: =30 VIII: =8 XVI: =16 If a smaller value is placed before a larger one, we subtract the smaller from the larger. For example: IV: 5-1=4 XIX: 10+(10-1)=19

5 XXIV: (5-1)=24

6 Greek Alphabet