The Odyssey

Unit 2 Notes

• Anecdote: a brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event told to illustrate a point.

• Extended Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things that extends for several lines or stanzas, even throughout the entire poem.

• Hero: A character who exhibits admirable qualities, such as courage, loyalty, and fairness.

• Author’s Purpose: the author’s reason for writing. Some are to entertain, some are to inform, and some are to persuade.

Unit 2 Notes (Cont.).

• Figurative Language: Language that means more than it literally says. It is often used to create vivid impressions by comparing things that are not similar.

• Tone: The attitude toward the subject that an author conveys in a piece of writing.

• Epic: A long poem about the adventures of gods or heroes.

• Epic Hero: Larger than life figure from history. The hero undertakes a dangerous voyage, demonstrating traits that are valued by the society in which the epic originates, such as courage, loyalty and honor.

Technical Background• The Odyssey contains 24 books• Epic Poem– Long, narrative poem– Starts with an invocation (prayer) to the gods– Adventure– Central heroic figure (Odysseus)– Setting is vast- cover the entire ‘known’ world– Supernatural forces (gods) involved– Serious tone

• Epithet: repeated description of a person– 'Achilles son of Peleus'

• Similes: Comparison of two unlike things using, ‘like’ or ‘as’ – Weak as the doe that beds down her fawns

• Metaphors: comparison of two unlike things • Personification: giving humanlike

characteristics to non-human things/animals.• Imagery: figurative language that gives a vivid

description of something by appealing to one of the five senses.

Literary techniques that are used:

Greek Model Heroes

• Use both the mind and body well

• Well known, high social position

• Actions of hero help decide the fate of a nation/group of people

• Struggle to overcome human weakness

Historical Background The Odyssey begins In Media Res =

in the middle of things• Iliad is the prequel to The Odyssey– Trojan War– Many events that happen in The Odyssey are a result

of the Trojan War• World’s first beauty contest– Paris, a prince of Troy, was to pick the most

beautiful woman/goddess– Contestants were:

• Aphrodite (Goddess of Love)• Hera (Zeus’s wife)• Athena (Goddess of wisdom and war)

• To win, Aphrodite offers Helen as a bribe• Helen is already married!• Paris steals Helen– Her husband, Menelaus, wants her back– Trojan War begins– Helen of Troy (epithet)

“The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships”

• Odysseus– Friends with Menelaus – Obligated to help his friend – He leaves his wife, Penelope and

his infant son, Telemachus

Agamemnon, Menalaus’

brother and King of

Mycenae

Menelaus, King of Sparta

and was married to

Helen

Helen was kidnapped by

Prince Paris of Troy. This upsets Menelaus.

Ancient Greece

Trojan War

• Against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks)

• Lasts 10 years• Neither side is gaining advantage – Gods blamed for taking sides

• Beware of the Greeks Bearing Gifts!• Odysseus has a plan– Use ships to build a horse– Pretend to leave it for the Trojans as a tribute

Trojan Horse

• Pretend to ‘leave’ town but some of the men are inside the horse hiding

• Trojans believe the Greeks left, bring the horse inside, party for their victory, then sleep

• Greeks get out of the horse, sneak the other Greeks into the city, sack and burn it

• Odysseus' cleverness and ego get him into trouble with the gods

• Gods (Poseidon) become angry at Odysseus’ pride (hubris) and curse him to wander

• The Odyssey is about Odysseus’ 10 year return trip