1. The Odyssey
Lesson 5

2. Today we will begin reading the Invocation of The Odyssey.
Materials
The Odyssey Book One Handout-- Student Material pg. 8
Today we will begin reading the Invocation of The Odyssey.
An invocation is an opening prayer; you might have witnessed an invocation at a graduation ceremony or religious service.

3. Epic Poem (Follow along on the top of the page)
Long, book length poem that tells a story about a hero.
Contained Homeric similes-- also known as Epic Similes, are elaborate comparisons between two different objects using like or as.
Simile today= “She is tough as nails.”
Homeric simile= “It’s crackling roots blazed and hissed – as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens – that’s the iron’s strength – so the eye of Cyclops sizzled to someone that describes that person's attributes or qualities. Often, this word or phrase, used to desround that stake.”
Contained epithets-- application of a word or phrase cribe the person, becomes synonymous with the person and can be used as part of his/her name or in place of his/her name.
Catherine the Great
Star-crossed lovers (Romeo and Juliet)
The King of Pop (Michael Jackson)

4. Epic Elements
More about the elements of a poem or story that make it an epic.

5. Annotating the Invocation-- Step 1
We will read the Invocation as a class. Read along with me as I read aloud. We will go back and look at the steps for annotation after our first reading.
Now that we have read it as a class, look at step one of the activity. Using context clues, hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual word, let’s try to define the words in bold font.
What is a synonym? Can you think of a synonym for those words?

6. Annotating the Invocation-- Step 2
Step 2 is asking us define the shaded mythological terms.
Do you recognize any of these terms?
Now that we have identified the ones we know, let’s go over the terms we are unfamiliar with.

7. Why do you think Homer started his epic by speaking to a muse?
Inspirational goddess of literature, science, and the arts
Why do you think Homer started his epic by speaking to a muse?

8. Troy
Site of the Trojan war
The city the Greeks defeated

9. Sun god
Helios
Drove the chariot of the sun

10. Zeus
God of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods

11. Calypso
Goddess nymph
Detained Odysseus for 7 years

12. Poseidon
God of the sea
Enemy of Odysseus

13. Annotating the Invocation-- Step 3
Complete the third step for the annotation. Use the questions in the right margin to guide you as you record your insights and impressions about the text.

14. Objective Summary- Activity 2
Before you write your objective summary, answer the questions that go with activity 2.
Using the answers to questions, draft an objective (does not include your opinion) summary. The summary should be 4-5 sentence in length.