Transcript Greece

Greece
A Brief Background
Geography
 Greece is located on
the continent of
Europe, to the east
of Italy in the
Mediterranean Sea.
 The capital of
Greece is Athens.
 Greece is located on
the Balkan
Peninsula.
Geography
Think fast!
 Show me on your fingers:
 Greece is located on the
 1. Florida peninsula
 2. Balkan peninsula
 3. Baklava peninsula
 4. Bavarian peninsula
History
 The beginning of Greek
culture is thought to be
between 3000 and 1600
BCE (Before Common Era).
 Around 800 BCE the Greek
alphabet was created.
 In 508 BCE Athens
became the first
democracy in the world.
History
 By the late third century BCE the Roman
empire was beginning to gain strength, and
by the middle second century BCE Greece
had come under Roman control completely.
 When Rome conquered Greece, the Romans
adopted many of the customs, religious
beliefs, and myths of the Greeks.
Think Fast!
 Show me on your fingers:
 The Greek empire was eventually ruled
by the:
 1. Balkans
 2. Turks
 3. Romans
 4. Greeks
Religion & Culture
 Ancient Greeks were
polytheistic, which means
they believed in many gods
and goddesses.
 A group of gods and
goddesses is called a
pantheon (Zeus is the leader
of the Greek pantheon).
 The Greeks believed the gods
lived on Mt. Olympus (a real
mountain in Greece).
 The Greeks developed the
Olympic Games.
Literature
 Many words in the
English language can be
traced to the Greek
language.
 Homer was a legendary
early Greek poet
traditionally credited
with writing the major
Greek epics The Iliad
and The Odyssey.
These two works
represent a brilliant
retelling of myths and
legends.
Pair Up!
 Share with your partner one thing you
just learned about Greek religion,
culture, or literature.
 Now ask your partner to share one
thing they learned about Greek religion,
culture, or literature.
Myths
 A myth is a story that explains events or
objects that occur in nature or the origin of
customs or traditions.
 The myths we are familiar with today are the
product of generations of story telling.
 The myths used to be passed down from one
generation to the next by word of mouth.
This is called the oral tradition.
Myths
 Myths may contain real events,
characters and places, but they should
not be read as historically true.
 Typical themes in myths include
superhuman deeds, heroism, love,
jealousy, war, tragedy, triumph and the
effects of the gods’ adventures and
powers on the mortal world.
Think Fast!
 Show me on your fingers:
 Myths should be read as historically
true.
 1. This is true.
 2. This is false.
Epic Poetry
An Introduction
An epic poem…
 An extended narrative poem recounting
actions, travels, adventures, and heroic
episodes and written in a high style
 May be written in hexameter verse,
especially dactylic hexameter, and it
may have twelve books or twenty four
books
Epic Poetry
 Epic poems share the same
characteristics
 Epic poets follow the same conventions
when composing epic poetry
 There is also a pattern that is often
followed in epic poetry
Characteristics
 The main character or protagonist is
heroically larger than life, often the
source and subject of legend or a
national hero
 The deeds of the hero are presented
without favoritism, revealing his failings
as well as his virtues
Characteristics
 The action, often in battle, reveals the
more-than-human strength of the
heroes as they engage in acts of
heroism and courage
 The setting covers several nations, the
whole world, or even the universe
 The gods and lesser divinities play an
active role in the outcome of actions
Characteristics
 All of the various adventures form an
organic whole, where each event
relates in some way to the central
theme
 The episodes, even though they may be
fictional, provide an explanation for
some of the circumstances or events in
the history of a nation or people
Pair Up!
 Share with your partner two of the
characteristics of the Epic Poem.
 Now ask your partner to share two of
the characteristics of the Epic Poem.
Conventions
 Poet beings by stating his theme
 The poet invokes a muse to inspire and
instruct him
 The story begins in medias res (in the
middle of things)
 Poet includes catalogs of warriors,
ships, armies, etc
Conventions
 Poet makes use of the epic simile (an
extended simile elaborated in such detail or
at such length as to eclipse temporarily the
main action of a narrative work, forming a
decorative digression)
 Long, formal speeches by important
characters
 Use of patronymics (calling son by father's
name)
Conventions
 Frequent use of epithets (an adjective or
adjectival phrase describing a characteristic
quality of a person or thing: "Aeneas the
true"; "rosy-fingered Dawn"; "tall-masted
ship")
 Journey to the underworld
 Use of the number three (attempts are made
three times, etc.)
 Previous episodes in the story are later
recounted
Pair Up!
 Share with your partner two
conventions found in Epic Poetry.
 Now ask your partner to list two
conventions found in Epic Poetry.
Epic Patterns
1. Council of Gods: the plan of events
2. Appearance of a goddess: a hint of
the future
3. Captivity in the arms of a woman: the
hero held from his destiny
4. The messenger of the gods sends the
hero on
Epic Patterns
5. The hero visits fabulous places: they
obscure his sense of destiny or reveal it
6. The narrator gives the history of times past
7. The hero makes a descent into the
underworld
8. The death of a hero is celebrated with
games
Epic Patterns
9. The hero fights a great battle:
•
•
•
First encounter indecisive
The enemy victorious
The hero enters and brings about victory
10. The hero is reunited with his beloved
or family
Pair Up!
 With your partner, list all ten parts of
the Epic Pattern.
 Raise your hand when you’ve got it.
It’s QUIZ TIME!!!
 Take out a separate sheet of notebook
paper.
 You MAY use your notes.
Quiz Questions
1. Greece is located on: A. North America
B. South America C. Europe D. Asia
2. BCE stands for: A. Before Christ
B. Beyond Christ’s Entrance
C. Beyond
Common Era D. Before Common Era
3. The Romans adopted many Greek:
A. Myths B. gods C. customs D. A, B and C.
Quiz Questions
4. A group of gods is called: A. pantheon
B. clique C. pentagon
5. The Odyssey was written by:
_________.
6. Myths tell: A. exciting stories B. heroic
stories C. why things occur D. how things
used to be
7. Another example of an epic poem is:
_____________________.
Quiz Questions
8. The prefix hex- means: A. witch B. six
C. seven D. nine
9. One characteristic of an epic is:
__________________________________.
10.The Muses are goddesses of: A. the arts
B. sciences C. schools D. A and B
11.“Rosy-fingered Dawn” is an example
of: A. epic simile B. patronymics C.
epithet
Quiz Questions
12.List two events that are part of
the epic pattern.
13.Which goddess favors Odysseus?
______________________
14.Tell one other thing you
remember from the lecture.
15.Tell two things you learned from
Tuesday’s presentations.
The Odyssey
A Beginner’s Guide
Characters - the gods p. 862
Characters men p. 862
Reading Hints - p. 856
Setting
Odysseus’ Route
Timeline
Video Clips
The Truth of Troy
The (Lego) Trojan War
The 15 Second Odyssey