K

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W What would you like to know?
K What do you know?
L What did you learn?
Start a new section in your notes called The
Odyssey. Copy down this chart and fill it out
about Greek Mythology. This is NOT a journal!
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Greek Mythology
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Greek Mythology
Mt. Olympus
Circe
Zeus
Athena
Aeolus
Poseidon
The River Styx
Hermes
Hades
Calypso
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The Odyssey
By Homer
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Homer Who was he?
Homer was a Greek poet. He is credited with
writing the great epics, the Iliad and the
Odyssey. The Iliad is the story of the siege
of Troy. The Odyssey, the tale of Odysseus's
wanderings and journey to get home from battle.
The place of his birth is unclear, but it was
probably a Greek colony on the coast of Asia
Minor, and his date, once put as far back as 1200
BC, from the style of the poems attributed to him
is now thought to be much later. There is
little doubt that Homer's works were originally
based on ballads (stories passed down orally and
performed for the public), but that they were
much modified and extended. Of the true Homer,
nothing is positively known.
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Mt. Olympus
Olympus was the residence of the divine family,
the twelve most important ruling gods and
goddesses of ancient Greece, who were called the
Olympians. There they all lived together in an
enormous palace, high above the clouds. Olympus
is generally identified with the actual Mount
Olympus, which is the highest mountain in Greece,
but very often it is also identified as some
mysterious region far above the earth.
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Zeus
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus
and Rhea. When he had grown up, Zeus caused
Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and
these gods joined him in fighting to wrest
control of the universe from the Titans and
Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father
and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of
them in the underworld of Tartarus. Zeus was
the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the
god of sky and weather, law, order and fate. He
was depicted as a royal man, mature with sturdy
figure and dark beard. His usual attributes were
a lightning bolt, royal scepter, and eagle.
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Poseidon
Poseidon was the brother of Zeus. He was the
god of the sea and earthquakes, and he was relied
upon by sailors for a safe voyage on the sea.
Many men drowned horses in sacrifice of his
honor. He lived on the ocean floor in a palace
made of coral and gems, and drove a chariot
pulled by horses. Poseidon was a very moody
god, and his temperament could sometimes result
in violence. When he was in a good mood, Poseidon
created new lands in the water and a calm sea.
When he was in a bad mood, Poseidon would strike
the ground with a trident and cause unruly
springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks, and
drownings.
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Hades
Hades is the brother of Zeus. He is the lord of
the Underworld, ruling over the dead. He is a
greedy god who is greatly concerned with
increasing his subjects. Those whose calling
increase the number of dead are seen favorably.
He is exceedingly disinclined to allow any of his
subjects leave. He is also the god of wealth,
due to the precious metals mined from the earth.
He has a helmet that makes him invisible. He
rarely leaves the underworld. He is unpitying and
terrible.
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The River Styx
The River Styx is a river that separates the
world of the living from the world of the dead.
Styx is said to wind around the Underworld nine
times. Its name comes from a Greek word that
means hate, so Styx is the river of hate. This
river was so respected by the gods of Greek
mythology that they would take life binding oaths
just by mentioning its name.
To cross the River Styx, a soul had to be ferried
by Charon, a boatman. He demanded payment, so
the Greeks placed coins in the mouths of their
dead before burying them. Hades' house stood on
the shore of the Styx, and Cerberus, a monstrous
three-headed dog, guarded the house. After
crossing the river, each soul was assigned to its
eternal home by one of three judges.
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Calypso
Calypso was a nymph, the daughter of the Titan
Atlas. A nymph is a minor goddess of nature
that dwells in the mountains, forests, trees, and
waters. She lived on the island of Ogygia.
During The Odyssey, Odysseus washes ashore on
Ogygia. Calypso imprisons him on Ogygia for
seven years.
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Athena
Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the
arts, industry, justice and skill. She was the
favorite child of Zeus.
Athena and Poseidon had been the Greeks' greatest
allies among the Gods, but when Troy fell all
that had changed. They became their bitterest
enemies. The Greeks went mad with victory the
night they entered the city they forgot what was
due to the Gods and on their voyage home they
were terribly punished.
Cassandra was a prophetess. She told the Trojans
each time what would happen they would never
listen to her. She declared that Greeks were
hidden in the wooden horse no one gave her words
a thought. When the Greeks sacked the city, she
was in Athena's temple, under the Goddess's
protection. The Greeks found her there and they
dared to lay violent hands on her. Not one Greek
protested against the sacrilege. Athena's wrath
was deep. She went to Poseidon and laid her
wrongs before him. "Help me to vengeance," she
said. "Give the Greeks a bitter homecoming. Stir
up your waters with wild whirlwinds when they
sail. Let dead men choke the bays and line the
shores and reefs."
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Athena
Because of the wicked way they had treated
Cassandra, Athena had been angry at all the
Greeks indiscriminately, but before that, during
the Trojan War, she had especially favored
Odysseus. She delighted in his wily mind, his
shrewdness and his cunning she was always
forward to help him. After Troy fell she included
him with the others in her wrathful displeasure
and he too was caught by the storm when he set
sail and driven so completely off his course that
he never found it again. Year after year he
voyaged, hurried from one perilous adventure to
another. Ten years, however, is a long time for
anger to last. The Gods had by now grown sorry
for Odysseus, with the single exception of
Poseidon, and Athena was sorriest of all. Her old
feeling for him had returned she was determined
to put an end to his sufferings and bring him
home.
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Hermes
Hermes was the herald or messenger of the
Olympian gods. Hermes is the god of shepherds,
land travel, merchants, weights and measures,
oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and
known for his cunning and shrewdness. It was
his duty to guide the souls of the dead down to
the underworld. Hermes is usually depicted
with a winged cap, winged sandals and the heralds
staff.
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Aeolus
Aeolus was the god of the four winds. He lived on
one of the rocky Lipara islands, close to Sicily.
In the caves on this island were imprisoned the
winds, and Aeolos, directed by the higher gods,
let out these winds as soft breezes, gales, or
whatever the higher gods wished.
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Circe
Circe was the daughter of the sun. She was a
sorceress best known for her ability to turn men
into animals with her magic wand. She is
renowned for her knowledge of magic and poisonous
herbs.
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Epic Poetry
very imposing or impressive surpassing the
ordinary
heroism, bravery, majesty, great horror, great
tragedy, and great triumph
Homer's Illiad and Odyssey Milton's Paradise
Lost Raiders of the Lost Ark
Dante's Divine Comedy The Lord of the Rings
Star Wars
Homer's The Odyssey
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Turn to page 1094!
Cyclops
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Epic Characteristics Chart
Examples from the Odyssey
Characteristic Titles/Definitions
Epic Hero
Epic Plot
Epic Setting
Fill out this chart as we read The Odyssey.
You will use this later.
Archetypes
Epic Themes
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With a partner, answer 's 1-3 on page 1095.
Cyclops
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The Language of Homer Keys to Reading The Odyssey
1. The Simile Also called an Extended, Epic, or
Homeric Simile an extended simile often running
for several lines, used typically to intensify
the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as
decoration elaborate comparisons, or in chains
of comparisons, by which the ordinary world is
"braided" into the heroic world of the epic plot
Often used to describe scenes or characters
and compare them to easily understandable
everyday events/objects.
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Homeric Simile Examples As when the shudder of
the west wind suddenly rising scatters across the
water, and the water darkens beneath it, so
darkening were settled the ranks of Achaians and
Trojans in the plain. But swift Aias the son of
Oïleus would not at all now take his stand apart
from Telamonian Aias, not even a little but as
two wine-coloured oxen straining with even force
drag the compacted plough through the fallow
land, and for both of them at the base of the
horns the dense sweat gushes only the width of
the polished yoke keeps a space between them as
they toil down the furrow till the share cuts the
edge of the ploughland so these took their stand
in battle, close to each other.
What are the similes in these two passages?
Circle them.
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2. Epithets brief descriptive phrases used to
characterize a particular person or thing.
Main characters are often named by prominent
characteristics "Hector of the loud
war-cry "Achilles, breaker of men" "the man
whose name was known for courage Main
characters are often named by kin association or
clan allegiance, to recall famous lineage and to
link sons or vassals deeds to their fathers' or
leaders' fame. "Halfdane's Son" Many times
they look like appositive phrases (if written as
nouns)! Odysseus, raider of cities, stormed the
island.
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Catherine the Great, baby boomers, The
Refrigerator-these epithets are used to
characterize an empress, a generation, and a
football player. Homer uses many epithets as
formulas to characterize places and people. When
Penelope is referred to as "faithful Penelope,"
we all are instantly reminded of her outstanding
character trait.
A Famous Epithet Mystery One of Homer's most
famous epithets is the descriptive phrase "the
wine-dark sea." Since wine is red or white or
yellowish, and the sea is none of these hues, the
description is puzzling. Some say that the
ancient Greeks diluted their wine with water and
that the alkali in the water changed the color of
the wine from red to blue. Others think the sea
was covered with red algae. Still others suggest
that the Greeks were colorblind. But Robert
Fitzgerald, the great translator of the Odyssey,
thought about the question when he was sailing on
the Aegean Sea "The contrast of the bare arid
baked land against the sea gave the sea such a
richness of hue that I felt as though we were
sailing through a bowl of dye. The depth of hue
of the water was like the depth of hue of a good
red wine."
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Epithet Practice
Write your answers in your notebook.
1. Dawn is described as "rosy-fingered." What
does this epithet help you see?
2. Make up epithets for at least two characters
that are popular on TV or in the news today
(sports stars? singers?). Make at least one an
appositive phrase.
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3. Allusion reference to a famous person, place,
or event.
Example
When Odysseus' son first sees the palace of
Menelaus, he says "This is the way the court of
Zeus must be."
Circle the allusion.
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Turn to page 1097!
Answer 's 1 and then 1-2
Scylla
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Turn to page 1098!
Scylla
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Reading the Epic
Remember, it is a poem, so there will be sound
devices used.
Alliteration repetition of a consonant sounds at
the beginning of words
"but never have I seen one like Odysseus for
steadiness and stout heart..."
Assonance repetition of vowel sounds within
nonrhyming words.
Try to light the fire
Consonance repetition of consonant sounds within
and at the end of words
"He struck a streak of bad luck"
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Turn to page 1099 and answer 's 1-5. Also, what
reading skill is used in each one?
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www.liquiddragon.com/odyssey.php
lthttp//www.liquiddragon.com/odyssey.phpgt
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The Odyssey Scavenger Hunt on page 1104
Objective Work together to better understand and
interpret The Odyssey.
Directions
1. Open up your group discussion by talking
about the journal. 2. You are going to work
together as a group to compile all of the
answers for the scavenger hunt. Friendliness and
Support. 3. Write your answers on one piece of
paper, but put all of your names on it.
Also, everyone must write answers at some
point! Don't write on the handouts. 4. I will
call up ONE group at a time to use the Smartboard
to answer 2. 5. Remember, everyone should
have their books out and looking up answers
and discussing the questions.
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