In your W.N., discuss: Who is Homer? Write down everything you
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Transcript In your W.N., discuss: Who is Homer? Write down everything you
Who is Homer?
What is the “original story
pattern” for a heroic adventure?
(you’ll need to take some notes)
Who is Homer?
•Greek Poet
•During 700’s BC, Homer “composed” two
great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
•Epic – long poem describing heroes and
great events.
•Modern tributes to Homer:
• James Joyce – Ulysses
• Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Cold Mountain
The Homeric Age
Why was it called
“The Homeric Age”?
Hero
Mythology
The Odyssey
What is an Epic?
A long narrative poem about a
legendary hero.
Homer
poet
thought to be blind, but
describes events as a seeing
person
lived between 900 and 700 B.C.E.
Homer
Wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey
Both are epic stories about the
war between the Trojans and
the Greeks (which occurred
around 1200 B.C.E.)
Iliad
Story of the last year of the Trojan War (it lasted
10 years)
Troy was defeated when Odysseus and his men
were able to get inside the city
Concealed within the hollow body of an
enormous horse, they secretly opened the gates
to the rest of the Greek forces.
Troy was destroyed.
The Trojan Horse
The Odyssey
Odysseus and his men journey home
after winning the Trojan War
Takes 10 years to get back home to
Ithaca, his kingdom
Archetypal story: It is about humans
on the journey of life overcoming
temptations along the way
Characters – family or close friends
Odysseus (Ulysses)
Penelope – wife
Telemachus - son
Laertes – father of Odysseus
Tiresias – advisor and prophet
Eumaeus – loyal servant who knew
Odysseus from childhood
Characters – gods or monsters
Circe - goddess, enchantress, turned men
into swine
Scylla - monster with six heads, each with
three rows of teeth, who carries off a sailor
in each mouth
Charybdis – Three times a day, this
enormous whirlpool monster destroys ships
Sirens – beautiful women whose songs lured
sailors to steer their ships onto rocks where
they crashed (and the men drowned)
Characters - gods
Hyperion - the sun (distinct from
Apollo, the sun god)
Zeus - leader of the gods
Hermes – messenger of the gods
Persephone – daughter of Demeter &
wife of Hades
Calypso – sea goddess who fell in love
with Odysseus
Characters - gods
Apollo – god of music, poetry, medicine
Poseidon – “earth shaker” – the god of
the seas and earthquakes
Athena – goddess of wisdom, skillcraft,
and warfare
Cronus – father of Zeus, he was a Titan
(forebears of the gods)
Polyphemus – one of the Cyclops and a
son of Poseidon
Characters - mortals
Agamemnon – king of all the Greek
forces
Antinous – leader of the suitors
Amphinomus &Eurymachus – suitors
Perimedes & Eurylochus –
crewmembers
Eurynome – housekeeper to Penelope