HOMER’S THE ODYSSEYBackground Information on

The Odyssey is an epic.

An EPIC is a long poem that is usually passed down by word of mouth before it gets put in writing.

An EPIC follows a HERO on some type of journey.

The Odyssey is an epic.

You have probably watched, or at least have heard of, Star Wars. This is an example of an epic in movie form.

The Odyssey is an epic.

The Odyssey tells the story of a king named Odysseus during the ten years it takes him to travel home from the Trojan War.

The Trojan War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36-H0-Vsps

The Trojan War

The events of the Trojan War are often referenced in popular culture (other books, TV, movies, music, etc.)

Where have you heard this story before?

The Trojan War

The Trojan War

The story as we know it goes like this… The Trojan War began sometime

between 1300 and 1100 BCE after Queen Helen of Sparta was abducted by the Trojan prince Paris.

Helen’s husband had over 1000 ships full of men invade Troy to get Helen back.

One of these men included the Greek hero Odysseus.

The Trojan War

The war lasted over ten years. The last battle occurred after the

Greeks left a large wooden horse outside the gates of Troy.

Greek soldiers were hiding in the horse, and they snuck out and attacked at night.

This attack was led by Odysseus.

The Trojan War

Trojan Horse

The Trojan War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbiR6IMf5KQ

Trojan War Epics

Two epics, both written by Homer, depict the Trojan War

The Iliad = takes place towards the end of the war

The Odyssey = takes place in the years following the war as Odysseus returns to his home in Ithaca

The Odyssey is the sequel to The Iliad.

Homer

Not much is known about Homer, and some people wonder if he ever existed at all

He was probably born between the 12th and 8th centuries BCE, and lived in Greece

No exact date of birth is known because Greece did not really keep track of dates until the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE

It is also thought that Homer may have been blind

Homer

What to look for when you read The Odyssey was originally written

as a poem, but the version we read in class will be in prose Prose = the text reads like a story, with

paragraphs instead of lines and stanzas

What to look for when you read What heroic traits does Odysseys

have? Are they the same traits or different

from the ones Atticus Finch possesses?

What to look for when you read What is Homer trying to teach his

readers about morality (right vs. wrong)?