1. An Epic Tale

2. What makes a hero? Write down the names of two or three people, real or fictional, whom you consider heroic. Then take a few minutes to list character traits that you think a hero of any time and place should have. Revisit and add to your thoughts and notes as you read the Odyssey.

3. Homer: To Good to be True?  Known to us as the poet famous for his two Greek epics: Iliad and Odyssey  Greeks believed him to be a blind minstrel Chios  Model for bards or rhapsodes – singers of tales - historians, entertainers, myth-makers Historian?  Homer’s epics have been traced to actual historical events and locations from as early as 1200 B.C.

4. The Iliad: tells the story of a ten year war fought on the plains outside the walls of Troy (Ilion) – A.K.A The Trojan War The Trojan War  people of Troy vs. an alliance of Greek kings (each Greek island had its own king)  Helen – the world’s most beautiful woman who abandoned her husband, Menelaus, to marry a prince of Troy. Model for war epics

5.  The Odyssey: tells the story of Odysseus’s journey home to his wife Penelope after the Trojan War  Model for epic journey in classical literature and in contemporary Western Culture: The Hobbit, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, The Lion King, and Forrest Gump

6. Epic: long narrative poem that tells of the adventures of heroes who in some way embody the values of their civilizations.  Part of an oral tradition  Poets used a repertoire of formulas for describing characters and events  Long narratives – like this – were told over the course of several days, and (we assume) were often summarized in sections in order to complete the story before the bard had to move along. Myth: traditional story that is  rooted in a particular culture  basically religious – involve the influence of gods on human affairs  usually serves to explain a belief, ritual, or mysterious natural phenomenon

7. Iliad and Odyssey were used in schools to teach Greek virtues and establish the conventions of the epic form for later epics such as: Virgil’s Aeneid (Rome) The Song of Roland (France) Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (Italy) Mahabharata and Ramayana (India)

8. Iliad –  Odysseus dodges the draft Wife, Penelope Son, Telemachus Didn’t want to leave them to fight for an adulteress (Helen)  Odysseus wins the war with the Trojan Horse Trick

9.  Odyssey – traces Odysseus’s outward journey home and his inward quest to find his identity, his place in the world  Post-war world Feeling of disillusionment and melancholy What is Odysseus when his war record and heroism no longer determine his place?

10. Unusual Birth Call to Adventure: Odysseus fights in the Trojan War Supernatural Helper: Athena Talisman or special weapon: Odysseus’s wit Crossing the Threshold: entrance into the world of the gods Trials Achievement of Goal: Odyssey makes it home Reconciliation with Parental Figure: Odysseus is reunited with his son Return Home: He can only full return home when he reveals himself to his wife Refusal of the Call: Odysseus pretends to be insane to avoid going to war.

11. Discuss two instances from popular books or movies that allude to one of Homer’s epics.