The Iliad/Odyssey

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The Iliad/Odyssey

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Homers Iliad

• Homer is said to be the first teller of
  adventures of all times. He was not the first
  author because in his day stories were passed
  down---they were told. He was a blind man whose
  date of birth is unknown.

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Eris, Goddess of Discord
Angry because she was not invited to the wedding
of the Sea Goddess Thetis to King Peleus, Eris
tossed the Golden Apple marked To the Fairest
into the banquet.
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The Fairest

• Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena wanted the apple
• Zeus would not choose, he did not want the
  goddesses angry with him
• Paris was asked to make
  the decision

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The Decision

• Hera offered to make Paris ruler of Europe and
  Asia
• Athena offered to let him lead Sparta in a
  victory over the Trojans
• Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in
  the world

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Paris Chooses Aphrodite

• The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen,
  the wife of King Menelaus
• Aphrodite helps Paris seduce and kidnap Helen

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The Beginning of War

• King Menelaus called on all those who were loyal
  to him.
• They gathered a huge army, and built a thousand
  ships to carry the army to Troy
• Helen of Sparta was now called Helen of Troy
• She was The face that launched a thousand ships

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The Trojan War

• The battle raged for 10 years
• Many great heroes lost their lives
• A prophet predicted that Troy could be captured
  only with the help of Achilles.

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The Hero Achilles

• Knowing of the prophecy, and worried that her son
  would be killed in war, Achilles mother dipped
  him in the river Styx to make him immortal.
• His only weakness was the place on his heals
  where she held him.
• During the war, Achilles is forced to give up his
  war prize, a slave girl, to Agamemnon, and so he
  refuses to fight.
• Patroclus, his friend, asks Achilles if he may
  ride out in his armor so the Trojans would lose
  heart.

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Achilles

• Achilles agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to
  wear his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed
  and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero
  Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.
• Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his
  friend and rage at Hector.
• Achilles kills Hector. He desecrated the body,
  dragging it behind his chariot before the walls
  of Troy.
• Finally Paris, aided by Apollo,
  wounded
  Achilles in the heel
  with an arrow Achilles
  died of the wound.

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10 Years of War

• The Gods are tired of watching men kill each
  other, and decide to help end the war. Athena
  whispers an idea in the Spartan hero Odysseuss
  ear.

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The Trojan Horse

• Odysseus tells them they will build a huge horse
  of wood.
• Some would climb inside and hide.
• The rest would sail around the tip of the island,
  where they could not be seen.
• One would stay behind and tell the Trojans that
  he had been abandoned by the Greeks, and that the
  horse was an offering to Athena.

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The Fall of Troy

• The Trojans believed the trick.
• They had a huge banquet to celebrate the end of
  the war.
• At night the men from inside the horse came out
  and unlocked the gates to the city.

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The Burning of Troy

• The city is invaded by the army.
• The Trojans are drunk and spent from their night
  of revelry, unable to fight back.
• The Spartans destroy and burn the city.
• Aphrodite saves Helen from the destruction.

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The War Ends

• King Menelaus accepts Helen back.
• The Warriors can now return home.
• Odysseus leaves for home, and his wife and son.

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The Odyssey
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What is an Epic?

• Epics are long, narrative poems that tell the
  adventures of heroes who in some way embody the
  values of their civilization.

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What types of epics are the Iliad and the
Odyssey?

• Iliad War Epic
• Odyssey Journey

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The Epic Hero

• The Protagonist of the Poem
• He/She embodies the values of his /her culture or
  nation
• Must be of noble class, military prowess, and
  virtue

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How were heroes characterized in Homers day?

• Special Aristocrats or Demigods
• Placed somewhere between Gods and ordinary
  humans.

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How is Odysseus different from other heroes?

• Hero in Trouble
• Cursed by Poseidon
• Clever (not just brute strength)
• Did not want to go to war

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Why did Odysseus object to the Trojan War?

• He believes no war should be fought over an
  unfaithful woman (Helen)
• He wants to stay at home with his wife and
  newborn son

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Odysseus attempts to Draft Dodge

• Tried to appear insane by planting salt instead
  of seeds.
• Draft recruiters throw his son in front of his
  plow
• Odysseus reveals his sanity by avoiding running
  over Telemachus

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The Epic Begins

• Odysseus been gone 20 years
• Telemachus is 20 years old
• Suitors have invaded his house, robbing him of
  his inheritance, and attempt to marry his mother
  Penelope (Odysseuss Wife)

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• Penelope and her suitors

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Epic Conventions

• A serious and somber tone
• Though there may be lighter moments, the overall
  tone is usually serious
• Grandiose style
• The poem is typically written in a complex or
  lofty style in order to distinguish it from lower
  works of art

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Epic Simile/Metaphor

• Throughout the work, there will be extended
  comparisons between one element of a character
  and something exterior.

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Catalogs/Genealogies

• Lists exist to expound upon
• Character Traits
• Background Information
• Relationships among characters
• Importance of Objects

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The Supernatural

• The active participation of the gods
• Divine Intervention
• When a supernatural being steps in to save the
  hero
• Psychics and Seers
• Witchery
• Birds as Omens

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In Medias Res

• To Begin in the Middle
• Many epics begin in the middle of the action.
• We first meet Athena imploring Zeus to help
  Odysseus
• The earlier action will be told later

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Epithet

• An expanded description of a character in order
  to characterize him/her
• cool-headed Telemachus
• Icarius daughter Penelope

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Invocation

• The opening of the myth includes an open prayer
  to a god or goddess (or some higher power)
• This invocation often asks for inspiration in
  telling the tale from the muse Calliope
• It also serves as an introduction for the action.