Warm-up What characteristics must a hero have? Name a hero that you know. Why is this person a hero?

Introduction to the Odyssey

Key Ideas: The Odyssey The Odyssey is an epic. An epic is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero. The epic hero often portrays the goals and values of the society Epics are based in part on historical fact, blending legend with truth.

Epics at a Glance In literature, the epic is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero. The epic hero is a larger-than-life figure who undertakes great journeys and performs deed requiring remarkable strength and cunning.

Epic Hero: Characteristics Possesses superhuman strength, craftiness, and confidence. Is helped and harmed by interfering gods. Embodies ideals and values that a culture considers admirable. Emerges victorious from perilous situations.

Epic Plot Involves a long journey, full of complications, such as: Strange creatures Divine intervention Large-scale events Treacherous weather

Epic Themes Courage The fate of a nation A homecoming Beauty Loyalty Life and Death

Homer There are many theories about the blind poet Homer, who is credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer is said to have lived between 900 and 700 B.C.

Oral History Homer’s epics are all that remains of a series of poems that told the whole story of the Trojan War. In later centuries, the Iliad and the Odyssey were memorized by professional reciters, who performed them at religious festivals throughout Greece.

The setting for the Iliad is the city of Troy.

A beauty contest. The participants were Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. Why does the Trojan War begin? A beauty contest. The participants were Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera.

Paris, a Prince from the city of Troy, was the judge. The prize - a golden apple inscribed “to the fairest.” The goddesses bribed Paris to choose them over the others.

beautiful woman -- Helen Aphrodite’s offer was the best. Paris chose her. What prize did Paris receive? The world’s most beautiful woman -- Helen

She just happens to be the wife of King Menelaus of Greece.

King Agamemnon, the brother of King Menelaus, gathers all the Greeks. They sail to Troy.

Helen of Troy became the “face that launched a thousand ships.”

And the Trojan War begins. It will last for ten years.

To break up the ten-year war, Odysseus thought of a scheme to make the Trojans think that the Greeks had finally given up. He ordered a giant wooden horse to be left at the gates of Troy. The Trojans, not seeing any Greeks, assumed that the Greeks had fled and left the horse as a peace offering.

They took the horse inside the city, only to find that the horse was filled with Greek soldiers and that Troy was doomed.

The Odyssey is about the hero Odysseus’ long trip home to Ithaca. His trip home takes 10 years.

Odysseus’ trip home

Cyclops P. 1212 Using this picture only, write 5 character traits for the cyclops (ONLY one can be based off his appearance) Write one prediction for what you think will happen with the Cyclops in the story.

Name Ms. Gombos English I 2 October 2017 Warm-Up: Grab the textbook with YOUR name in it (bookmarks we made). If you don’t have one, see me. Name Ms. Gombos English I 2 October 2017 Warm-Up: When you are selecting character traits, what aspects of the character do you analyze?

Character Maps Cautious Lines 1-132 Odysseus “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Be sure to include line #s in parenthesis Cautious Odysseus Consider Odysseus’s actions…What does this say about him as a person?

Character Maps Trait Cautious Lines 133-175 Odysseus “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Find evidence to support your chosen character trait Trait Cautious Odysseus Consider Odysseus’s actions…What does this say about him as a person?

Character Maps Trait Cautious Lines 176-298 Odysseus “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Find evidence to support your chosen character trait Trait Cautious Odysseus Consider Odysseus’s actions…What does this say about him as a person?

This shows he is cautious because he knew that there might be danger and he provided “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Cautious Odysseus Explain how that evidence you provided shows he is that character trait…

Warm-up 1. What happens to the cyclops’s eye? 2. What character trait could we give for the cyclops and why? USE YOUR CHARACTER TRAIT SHEET…

Character Maps Trait Cautious Lines 299-388 Odysseus “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Find evidence to support your chosen character trait Trait Cautious Odysseus Consider Odysseus’s actions…What does this say about him as a person?

Character Maps Trait Cautious Lines 389-End Odysseus “A wineskin full/ I brought along, and victuals (food) in a bag/ for in my bones I knew some towering brute/ would be upon us soon” (lines 111-114). Find evidence to support your chosen character trait Trait Cautious Odysseus Consider Odysseus’s actions…What does this say about him as a person?

Plot Diagram 1 event 2-3 events 2 events 1 event 1 event

3 October 2017 Warm-Up: What goes into an introductory paragraph?

Consider the characteristics that make an epic hero Consider the characteristics that make an epic hero. Does Odysseus show the qualities of a good leader? Using ample evidence from the text, identify at least three qualities (good or bad) that Odysseus possesses and whether or not this makes him a true epic hero. Write a well-developed argumentative essay supporting your claim.