Before history books…

• Ancient Greeks turned to poets to hear stories of the past.

• These poets traveled from city to city singing or reciting long poetic epics in front of crowds

• These were partly memorized and partly improvised

2 Epic Poems written in 725 B.C. by Homer, a blind poet

The Iliad• First written record

of Greece• Describes the events

of 51 days during the last year of the war when Achilles kills Hector

The Odyssey

• Describes the 10-year journey of Odysseus as he tries to go home to Ithaca after the Trojan War

• He and his men face monsters, giants, cannibals, temptation, and death

What is an epic???

• Told orally, not written, recited from memory by minstrels (traveling entertainers)

• Long narrative poem• Usually serious and formal based on

history or legend• Provide a portrait of a culture

(beliefs, values, laws, and way of life)

What is an epic???• Takes place not here not now

• Supernatural forces usually involved• Focuses on adventures and

achievements of an epic hero

Epic Hero• Represents values of a culture

Epic Hero• Undertakes a difficult journey or

quest

Epic Hero• Has an unusual origin

“You’re a wizard Harry!”

“Even the smallest

person can change the

course of the future.”

“Luke…I am your father.”

Epic Hero

• Has a special ability or weapon

Epic Hero• Has friends and advisors to help him

along the way

Epic Heroes• Has a foil (antagonist who is both similar

and different to the hero at the same time)

The Hero’s Journey

1.Departure:•The Call to Adventure•Refusal of the Call•Supernatural Aid•The Crossing of the Threshold

•The Belly of the Whale

The Hero’s Journey

2. Initiation• The Road of Trials• The Meeting with the Goddess

• Woman as the Temptress• Atonement with the Father• Apotheosis• The Ultimate Boon

The Hero’s Journey

3. Return:• Refusal of the Return• The Magic Flight• Rescue from Without• The Crossing of the Return Threshold

• Master of the Two Worlds• The Freedom to Live

Epic Conventions• Invocation of the Muse: a plea to the

Muse, goddess of poetry, for inspiration

• Noble subject: Subject of importance• Apostrophe: turning aside from

telling the story to comment; address to an absent or imaginary person

• Homeric/Epic Simile: long similes that compare extreme adventure with everyday events, usually many lines long

Epic Conventions• In medias res: in the middle of

things/action• Action on three planes: heavens,

earth, & underworld• Epithet: nickname• Deus ex machina: intervention

by the gods/machinery• Inflated forms of address: long

speeches

Epic Conventions• Heroes: embody the values of

civilization and what the culture is• Catalogues: long lists• Processes: instruction manuals

Vocabulary • Myths: traditional stories rooted

in particular cultures that explain religious beliefs/values and explain natural occurrences

• Archetype: story, character, topic, or theme that represents a familiar pattern repeated throughout literature

Our Hero . . . ODYESSUES

• He is the king of Ithaca• His wife is Penelope; his son is

Telemachus• His greatest supporter is Athena• He was drafted to the war and was

the brains behind the Trojan Horse• Now that the war is over, it is time

for him to return to Ithaca• Here is where our adventure

begins…

General Rundown

• Odysseus will take 10 years to sail from Troy to his home in Ithaca

• He will face many creatures and gods that will make his journey difficult

• His biggest problem is that he has made an enemy of the sea god, Poseidon

• He is traveling with hundreds of his men yet he will be the only survivor

Awaiting him in Ithaca… the beginning

of the story.• He has been gone 20 years• His son, who was only a newborn when

he left, is overrun by over 100 suitors that want to marry his mother

• They are eating through his livestock, ordering around the servants, and refusing to leave

• Athena arrives in disguise and convinces him to go look for information about his father