Introduction to Homer

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Introduction to Homers, The Odyssey

• Author Mr. Furman
• Class English 1

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The Odyssey Objectives
Whats the focus for today?

• Introduce the theme to The Odyssey
• Provide information on the author, Homer
• Summarize Odysseus journey
• Review student presentations for The Odyssey

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The Odyssey Introduction
What is an odyssey?

• odyssey   n. pl. odysseys
• An extended adventurous voyage or trip.
• An intellectual or spiritual quest an odyssey of
  discovery

Power of Wit How does Odysseus use wit to his
advantage?
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Homer
One of the earliest known poets

• Homer was a Greek poet, to whom are attributed
  the great epics, The Iliad, the story and siege
  of Troy, and The Odyssey, the tale of Odysseus
  and his wanderings.

His literature dates back as far as seventh
century b.c.
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The Odyssey
The Route of Odysseus
The story begins in Troy!
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The Odyssey
Helen of Troy

• The story begins with Helen, the most beautiful
  woman in all the land. When Paris, Prince of
  Troy, was asked to decide who was the fairest
  among the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite,
  he chose Aphrodite because she promised to give
  him Helen. Helens escape from her husband,
  Menelaus, King of Sparta, sparked a ten-year
  battle between the Atheans and Trojans.

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The Odyssey
The Trojan War

• To recover Helen, Menelaus with the help of other
  Greek kings and warriors like Diomedes, Ajax,
  Achilles, Nestor and Odysseus launched an
  expedition under the command of Agamemnon, the
  most powerful man in Greece. King Priam of Troy,
  his eldest son Hector and Aeneas organized the
  defense and Troy resisted for ten years.
• The gods also took sides Hera, Athena and
  Poseidon sided with the Greeks and Apollo, Ares
  and Aphrodite, sided with the Trojans. Zeus
  remained impartial and asked the gods not to
  interfere.

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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus leaves Troy and falls upon the land of
the Lotus Eaters
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The Odyssey
Land of the Lotus Eaters

• Odysseus and his men angered Zeus by ransacking a
  city named Ismarus. Zeus sent a storm which sent
  Odysseus and his crew sailing across the sea to
  the land of the Lotus Eaters. The men who tasted
  the lotus, a strange plant, lost all desire to
  return home.

Book 9
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus descends upon the land of the Cyclops
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The Odyssey
Land of the Cyclopes

• For many days Odysseus and his men were lost at
  sea. One night they arrived on an island and
  discovered a cave full of goats and sheep. It was
  the domicile of the Cyclops, Polyphemusson of
  Poseidon. He was a giant with only one eye. Soon
  they were trapped because the Cyclops had closed
  the cave entrance with an enormous rock. Not
  before long, Polyphemus had eaten two men for
  dinner.

Book 9
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus falls upon the island of the Winds
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The Odyssey
Island of the Winds

• Next they met Aeolus and his family who lived on
  the island of Eolia. Odysseus told Aeolus about
  his adventures and after a month, they finally
  left the island. As a present, Aeolus gave
  Odysseus a bag which contained all the winds
  except the one that would take them to Ithaca.
  But, while Odysseus was sleeping, his men opened
  the bag and a terrible storm swept them away from
  the shores of Ithica.

Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus touches down in the land of the
Laestrygonians
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The Odyssey
Land of the Laestrygones

• After sailing for many days, Odysseus and his men
  ended up among the Laestrygonians. They
  desperately needed to escape because the
  Laestrygonians were unfriendly giants who killed
  most of Odysseus' men and destroyed many of their
  ships.

Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus meets the sorceress, Circe
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The Odyssey
Land of Circe

• The survivors ended up at Aeaea, the island of
  the sorceress, Circe. She transformed most of the
  men into pigs. The god Hermes gave Odysseus a
  herb to help him in the task of rescuing his
  crew. They spent a month with her. Finally, she
  told them they had to travel to the Land of
  Death. There, Tieresias, a dead blind prophet who
  had accompanied them to Troy, could tell them how
  to get home.

Book 10
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus visits Hades in the underworld
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The Odyssey
The Land of Death

• The mysterious and horrible Land of Hades is the
  underworld where people go when they die.
  Odysseus found there the spirits of people he
  knew, like Achilles and his mother. Tieresias, a
  blind prophet who had gone with them to Troy,
  showed him the way to reach Ithaca safely. He
  also told him that Poseidon has decided to
  revenge Polyphemus and provided him many other
  warningsone of which included the sirens.

Book 11
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus slips past the sirens
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The Odyssey
Land of the Sirens

• Odysseus explained to his men what Tieresias had
  told him. Before the sirens appeared he put
  beeswax in the ears of the men and asked them to
  tie him to the mast of the ship so he could
  listen to the sirens' attractive songs.

Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus faces Charybdis and Scylla
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The Odyssey
Land of Charybdis Scylla

• Immediately after the sirens, Odysseus and his
  men saw a cloud of black smoke on the top of a
  mountain. It was Scylla, a horrible monster with
  twelve legs and six long necks ending in ugly
  heads with mouths full of teeth. They could not
  avoid Scylla without falling into a terrible
  whirlpool, Charybdis, that swallowed the sea and
  spit it up again.

Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus visits the land of the Sun
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The Odyssey
Land of the Sun

• On Thrinacia, after one month of continuous bad
  weather and no more food to eat, Odysseus'
  mendespite the warnings of Tieresiasdecided to
  sacrifice and eat some of the cows of Helios, the
  Sun God. When they were finally back at sea, Zeus
  sent them his eternal enemy Poseidon, the ruler
  of the sea, who, with a violent storm,
  obliterated the ship.

Book 12
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus is held captive on the island of Calypso
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The Odyssey
Island of Calypso

• Odysseus climbed on the wreckage of the ship and
  after rowing for nine days, he got to Ogygia, the
  island of Calypso. Calypso, the charming nymph
  who lived on the island, saved Odysseus' life and
  offered him immortality if he stayed with her.
  Instead she held him captive for eight years
  until Zeus sent Hermes, his messenger, who
  ordered her to let him free. Then he built a ship
  and sailed for seventeen days. After another
  encounter with Poseidon, exhausted, he reached
  the land of the Phaecians the island of Scheria.

Book 5, 13
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus drifts to the land of the Phaeacians
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The Odyssey
Land of the Phaeacians

• Odysseus arrived at the island Scheria. At the
  palace, Alcinoo, the King of the Phaeacians,
  invites Odysseus to an athletic competition and a
  banquet where songs of the Trojan War made
  Odysseus sad. Alcinoo asked him who he was.
  Odysseus then told his real name and the whole
  story of his life. As Ithaca was not far from
  Scheria, Alcinoo helped him to reach Ithaca.

Book 6-8
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The Odyssey
The Journey of Odysseus
Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithica!
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica

• Odysseus finally reached his homeland of Ithica
  only to find his palace overrun with suitors who
  were spending his wealth, slaughtering his
  cattle, and courting his wife, Penelope. After
  many years, Penelope could no longer hold off the
  suitors.

After almost twenty years away, Odysseus returned
to Ithaca, his island home where he met Eumaeus.
He was his swineherd who did not recognized him
at first because he was disguised as an old
beggar. Only Argo, Odysseus's old dog, knew who
he was.
Book 13-14
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica

• Telemachus, his son, had sailed to seek news of
  his father. He went for advice to King Nestor in
  Pilos and to Menelaus in Sparta. Menelaus
  informed him that Odysseus was, against his will,
  held by Calypso. Athena then told him to go back
  to Ithaca.

The suitors were waiting to kill him but he
managed to escape and went to Eumaeus' farm.
There, he finally met his father. They planned to
get rid of the suitors who were celebrating a
constant banquet at their palace.
Book 2-4, 15
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The Odyssey
Land of Ithica

• Odysseus disguised as a beggar got rid of one of
  the suitors without revealing his identity.
  Penelope thanked him for that and asked
  Eurycleia, an old maid, to wash Odysseus' feet.
  Eurycleia had been Odysseus' nurse and recognized
  him at once by a scar he had above his knee.

She promised to marry the suitor who could string
Odysseus bow and shoot an arrow through a line
of twelve axes. Disguised as a beggar, and with
the help of his son, Telemachus, he planned to
recapture his throne as King of Ithica.
Book 16-20
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The Odyssey Presentation
What is required?

• Create a (five-seven minute) PowerPoint
  presentation
• Due Date 5/31 (Per.6) 6/1 (Per.4)
• Outline the characters, gods, or goddesses
  involved in the story (book) and how they are
  connected
• Illustrate a brief summary of the book
• Identify one theme, motif, symbol (quotations
  needed for each)
• Identify five examples (each) of simile and
  personification
• Design two classroom activities that could be
  conducted to best analyze and interpret the book
• Project will be worth fifty (50) points!
• Minus ten points for each day late