Introduction to the Epic Read book ten minutes! The Odyssey!

Journal #5 0 Part I. Make a list of people (male and female) who are generally considered heroes. Try to come up with as many as you can. Then identify the heroic qualities of each person next to his or her name. 0 Note: This person or group of people can be from any point in history, past or present.

Journal #5 Continued… 0 Part II. Look over your list to identify which qualities seem essential to every hero. Write those qualities here. Be prepared to share with the class.

The Epic Poem Traits of Epic Poetry  A long, narrative poem on a serious subject matter  Centered on the actions of a heroic figure (the Epic Hero)  Begins with the poet asking a Muse for inspiration (asks for help!)  Purpose of Epic stories 1.To entertain 2.To inspire 3. To educate

The Epic Hero  Typically male  Has a goal  Embarks on a long journey  Ruthless to enemies  Has struggles (battles) with natural & supernatural beings  Bravery, wits, & skill is tested in battle  Man/Woman of action  Excels in skill, strength, & courage  Always obtains his goal  Accepts challenges / invites problems  Has a mentor  Supernatural will help / hinder him  Travels over vast setting

Invocation of the Muse  A technique used in most epics where the poet pleads with one of the Muses (the nine goddesses of the creative arts) for assistance (help) in writing or telling his story.  Captures the audience’s attention – and gives highlights (like a movie trailer) of what the audience will hear.

More Epic traits … Concerns The fate of a nation or a whole group of people is in question. Supernatural Some form of supernatural being or power intervenes. Battles Story includes extensive and large-scale battle scenes Vast settings The setting is vast, crossing large areas of land, sea, or outer space.

Epic Traits Continued…  Good vs. Evil The primary conflict in an epic is good against evil; good and those who support it will likely win.  Massive Quantities In an epic, there are many things to be counted – the number of characters, ships, settings, good guys, bad guys, etc.

In medias res 0 A technique used in most epics 0 A Latin term meaning: 0 Means the story starts in the middle of the action.

Homer  Believed to have been a blind traveling minstrel.  The word “homer” is theorized to mean “set to verse”  Created both Illiad and Odyssey approximately around 750 BC (400 years after the events took place)  Homer’s epics are the cornerstone of the Western literary tradition

Homer Later Greeks believed he was the blind minstrel, or singer, from the island of Chios. Conspiracy Theories! One scholar suggests Homer was a woman because home and hearth played such an important role in his stories. (Whaaat??!) Some scholars think there were two Homers. Some think he was just a legend.

Epics and Values The Epic Tradition All epic poems in the western world owe something to the basic patterns established in Homer’s epics. The Iliad is the primary model for an epic of war. The Odyssey is the model for an epic of the long journey.journey

Before the Story Starts… 0 The Iliad provides the background for Odysseus’s story and tells the tale of a ten-year war fought outside the walls of Troy. In Homer’s IliadTroy 0 the Trojan War is in its tenth and final year 0 the people of Troy are fighting an alliance of Greek kings because the world’s most beautiful woman, Helen, abandoned her husband, Menelaus (a Greek king) and ran off with Paris, a prince of Troy 0 In Homer’s Iliad: the Greeks won the war, reduced the city of Troy to smoldering ruins, and butchered all the inhabitants, except for those they took as slaves back to Greece

The Wooden-Horse Trick During the Trojan War, Odysseus performed extremely well as a soldier and commander thought of the famous wooden-horse trick that lead to the defeat of Troy

The Wooden-Horse Trick Odysseus’s plan was to build an enormous wooden horse and hide Greek soldiers inside. The horse was left outside the gates of Troy, and the Greeks “abandoned” their camp.

The Wooden-Horse Trick The Trojans thought the horse was a peace offering and brought it into the walled city. At night, the men hidden in the horse came out and opened the gates to the entire Greek army. (“Peek-a-boo!)

ODYSSEUS is our hero, the protagonist of the Odyssey. He spends half his time as our narrator and half as our main character only.

ODYSSEUS is the king of the rocky Greek island of Ithaca. The Odyssey tells the story of his voyage back to Ithaca from the Trojan War.

ODYSSEUS is trying to get back to his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. When the story begins, ODYSSEUS is in his tenth year of travel.

The Ancient World and Ours Odysseus’s world is harsh, violent, and primitive. The “palaces” that he and his men raid might have been nothing more than mud and stone farmhouses. The “worldly goods” they carry off from town might have been only pots and pans, cattle and sheep.

A Search for Their Places in Life The Odyssey: The story begins with Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Telemachus is searching for his father because: Telemachus is being threatened by rude, powerful men who want to marry his mother and rob Telemachus of his inheritance needs his father to return home and restore order

Relationships with Gods In Homer’s stories, a god can be an alter ego—a reflection of a hero’s best or worst qualities. Odysseus is known for his mental abilities, so he receives aid from Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Odysseus can also be cruel and violent. Odysseus’s nemesis is Poseidon, the god of the sea, who is known for arrogance and brutishness.

Relationships with Gods Myths are traditional stories, rooted in a particular culture, that usually explain a belief, a ritual, or a mysterious natural phenomenon. Myths are concerned with the relationship between human beings and the unknown or spiritual realm.

Epics and other tales were probably told by wandering bards or minstrels called rhapsodes or minstrel. Minstrels and Rhapsodes were The Telling of Epics the historians, entertainers, and mythmakers of their time responsible for spreading news about recent events or the doings of heroes, gods, and goddesses a medieval singer or musician, especially one who sang or recited lyric or heroic poetry

Epics were originally told aloud. The Telling of Epics They followed basic story lines and incorporated formulaic descriptions.formulaic descriptions Most of the words were improvised to fit a particular rhythm or meter. Epics included Homeric or epic similes that compare heroic events to easily understandable everyday events.Homeric or epic similes

Essential Questions for This Unit What are the characteristics of the epic narrative? What are the characteristics of the epic narrative? Has the ancient epic influenced modern- day storytelling? Has the ancient epic influenced modern- day storytelling?