1. + The Odyssey BACKGROUND INFO

2. + AUTHOR HOMER Little is known about him Storyteller Oral tradition Wrote poem about 720 BC; written about events in 1100s BC

3. + The Iliad Prequel to The Odyssey In The Iliad, Odysseus participates in the Trojan War. Abduction of Helen (Queen of Sparta) by Paris (Prince of Troy) and Aphrodite; her husband, King Menelaus, called soldiers to avenge his honor and bring her back Odysseus’ madness and involvement (King of Ithaca- fought to help King Menelaus) 10 year war ending with Odysseus’ Trojan horse Odysseus angered the gods who wanted Troy to win the war Odysseus’ punishment was that his return home to Penelope (wife) and son, Telemachus would be as difficult as possible Journey began with 720 men and 12 ships

4. + GREEK CULTURE Hierarchy of society Family ties and relationships Polytheism Host/guest relationship

5. + LITERARY DEVICES Epic Poem: a long narrative poem in which heroes of great historical or legendary importance perform valorous deeds. Epics usually possess certain common characteristics: Formal/elevated style and diction Objective author Hero is famous and important Superhuman qualities Gods and supernatural forces Unlimited setting

6. + LITERARY DEVICES CONT… In medias res: “in the midst of things” To begin in the middle of events already happening Author may use flashbacks to reveal previous events

7. + LITERARY DEVICES CONT… Epithets: brief descriptive formulas of people or gods Examples: “Zeus, father of gods and men Laertes’ son, Odysseus Epic simile- a simile of great length and detail,

8. + GREEK CUTURE AND BELIEFS Gods and goddesses resembled humans in many ways Gods controlled all things and took active interest in human affairs, but humans still had free will Mortals must respect gods or suffer consequences

9. + XENIA Hospitality Generosity and courtesy shown to others Reciprocal relationship between host and guest Host provides guest with food/drink and a bath; no questions are asked until the guest states his/her needs Guest must be respectful and not be a burden to the host. Material gifts given Non-material gifts: protection or shelter Zeus Xenios- role as protector of travelers Theoxeny- theme in Greek mythology- humans are hospitable to a stranger who turns out to be a disguised diety (theos) All guests should be treated with hospitality because any of them could be a disguised god or goddess

10. + Author’s purpose and themes To entertain Teach lessons about religion and society

11. + Terms to know… Rhythm: pattern of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables Refrain: the repetition of one or more lines in each stanza Stanza: a grouping of two or more lines in a pattern that is repeated in a poem (compare to paragraph in prose)

12. + 24 books of The Odyssey 6 groups of 4 1-4: adventures of Telemachus (Odysseus’ son) 5-8: Wanderings of Odysseus 9-12: retrospective narrative; Odysseus tells of his adventures 13-16: main narrative resumes 17-20: return of Odysseus to his palace 21-24: denouement

13. + theme * The central topic of the text *Thematic concept- what the reader thinks the work is about *Thematic statement- what the work says about the subject