Page 640 in text bookPage 640 in text book

3 Thousand years ago, people living in Greece talked about a great war.

The man credited with recording this war was Homer.

His stories are called the Illiad and the Odyssey.

The Illiad tells about the story of Troy.

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his travels after the war.

Epics are long narrative poems that tell

of the adventures of heroes who show the values of their civilizations (town)

Epics and Values

Greeks used these stories to teach

Later other cultures used the ideas with their own values

Homer’s stories are the heart of the epic tradition

The Odyssey is a model for the epic of long journeys

Other stories such as:

The War Story Background-Violence and

Brutality

In the Iliad- Greeks attacked Troy to avenge insults

The king’s wife ran off with Paris (a young prince of Troy)!

Eventually- Greeks were successful

Brought the city to dust

The king was killed by his wife when he returned.

Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble

In Homer’s day: Heroes were special

Placed between Gods and ordinary humans

The Odyssey is melancholy- post war feelings

Odysseus had great history

No one cared...

Seemed as if people were saying:

“You were a great soldier once- or so they say- but times have changed. This is a difficult world and we have more important things to think about than your record. Nice huh...

Odysseus married Penelope

Very strong woman! (mentally)

Had a son- Telemachus

Didn’t want to go to war

Pretended to be crazy!

King’s men threw Telemachus in front of a cart- Odysseus saved him- NOT CRAZY ANY MORE!

The Wooden Horse Trick

Great soldier and leader

His idea for the horse

Bring a hollow horse into the city walls- jump out at night and start the war

Harsh place with lots of violence

The Ancient World and Ours

On the way home- stole lots of stuff- PIRATES!

Odysseus and family are searching

for the right friends

A Search for Their Places in Life

This is a theme in the story

Theme- big idea of the story/lesson to be learned

Telemachus is 20 at start of story

Threatened by rude men- pressuring mom to marry one of them!

Needs Dad to come save the day!

Problem: Dad’s stuck on an island!

10 years since he left!

Odysseus is in mid-life crisis

Searching for inner peace- a way to re-find himself

We connect- always trying to find ourselves as well

Relationships with the Gods

Myths = traditional stories that explain a belief, ritual, or mysterious natural happening

Myths are basically religious because they talk about relationship between humans and beyond

Homer talked about relationship between humans and the gods

Homer is religious: thought gods control all

Athena is always with Odysseus

She is goddess of wisdom

Odysseus is also known for his mental abilities

Gods can be alter egos- a reflection of the best and worse qualities in a hero

God who works against Odysseus is Poseidon

God of the Seas- known for arrogance and certain brutishness

Sometimes Odysseus is mean too!

Who is Homer?

We’re not really sure...

Think he was a blind singer from Chios

Scholars think he was too good to be true

At least know he was a model for wandering bards called rhapsodes

Rhapsodes or “singers of tales” were historians

Traveled from city to city to tell the “news”

No TV or radios

Would be like an author of Book of Kings in the Bible, a writer of history of WWII, and a famous pop singer were combined into one person!

How Were the Epics Told?

Stories were probably told by people who could not read and write

Only learned stories by hearing them Stories followed basic plot, but most was made up on the spot

Work hard, practice a lot, and need a good audience

Story tellers knew a formula for arrivals, greetings, eating, and bathing Formulas had an advantage- gave singer and audience breathing time

Audience could relax and singer could plan for the next thing

Thinking about the audience we understand the extended comparisons we call Homeric or epic similes today

These similes compare heroic or epic events to simple and easily understandable things today

The stories could not have been told in one sitting

Text is broken up- like it would have been

The audience would want to talk between

We are part of that audience now

A Live Performance

We can guess what it was like as we read

There are references to singers performing

Let’s picture the setting of a performance

Picture a hall full of people freshly showered, doused in body spray, wearing really fancy clothes. Dinner is cooking in the kitchen, lots of people talking. Anticipation is hanging in the air. This famous guy is in town for the weekend with new tricks up his sleeve. What will he present tonight?

This is more modern than Homer’s time, but you get the idea!