1. Homer’s The Odyssey
Background Notes

2. Who is Homer?

3. No, not Homer Simpson…

4. An Ancient blind poet
The “bard” who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey between 900 and 700 B.C.

5. The Epic… A long narrative poem that tells the adventures of a hero
Used to teach virtues (values) of a civilization

6. Homer did not compose each epic all at once: he told them in a series of short episodes that could be recited in an evening.
Editors, not Homer himself, organized the epics in 24 books.

7. Characteristics of an Epic
A physically impressive hero (usually famous)
A quest or journey
A vast setting involving much of the known physical world
Descent of the hero into the underworld
Supernatural Forces – Gods, goddesses, monsters, etc.
Glorification of the hero at the end

8. Famous Epics from Around the World
Iliad and Odyssey Greece
Gilgamesh Sumeria
Aeneid Rome
Song of Roland France
Divine Comedy Italy
Mahabharata, Ramayana India
Sundiata Mali

9. Heroes During Homer’s Time
Heroes were a special class of aristocrats, in between gods and ordinary human beings.
No matter what pain they may have experienced, they always displayed CONFIDENCE .

10. The Iliad Setting: 10th year of the Trojan War Greeks vs. Trojans
Theme: War
Important Characters:
Helen, the “face that launched a thousand ships.”
Menelaus, Helen’s Greek Husband
Paris, the prince of Troy
Climax: Trojan Horse (Odysseus’s idea)

11. Troy & Greece

13. The Odyssey
 a long wandering or voyage usually marked by many changes of fortune
Setting: 10 years after the end of the Trojan War
Theme: A Long Journey
A Hero In trouble:
Odysseus, a Greek soldier trying to find his way home to Ithaca

14. “In Medias Res” Means: “In the middle of a sequence of events”
The Odyssey does not begin at the beginning; it starts with Telemachus at 20 years old trying to figure out what to do about his missing dad.

15. The world according to Homer

16. Mount Olympus
Tallest mountain in Greece where all the major Gods and Goddesses meet.

17. Ithaca, Greece
Odysseus is the King of Ithaca. His wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus are waiting for him there.

18. Hero - Odysseus

20. Athena

21. Zeus

22. Poseidon

23. Hermes

24. Circes (Seer-sees)
Nymph - A fairy-like creature

25. The Odyssey