The Odyssey background notes.
I. Greek customs:
1. Hospitality-very important to the Greeks because they believed that strangers
could be a god or goddess in disguise testing them.
2. Sacrifices- an important part of Greek religion. They were often conducted in
order to appease the gods and/or for atonement.
3. The gods and goddesses were extremely important in every day life for the
Greek people. They were worshipped and praised through songs, stories, and
sports.
4. Women had practically no political rights. Once married, their property was
given to their husbands. If the husband died, the money and lands were passed
down to the eldest son.
II. The Elements of an epic poem:
1. Epic- a long narrative poem that tells of the adventures of heroes who in some
way embody the values of their civilization.
2. Mostly handed down through the oral tradition. The Odyssey was handed down
by the blind poet Homer. Stories often changed as they were told and retold.
3. The poem opens "in medias res" or "in the middle of things".
4. The setting is vast, covering many nations.
5. Begins with an invocation (prayer) to the Muse. In this case, Calliope, the muse
of epic poetry.
6. Makes use of epithets. Special metaphors utilized by Homer to provide specific
descriptive details and as a metrical tool. EX: the rosy- fingered dawn or the swift-footed Achilles.
7. Contains Homeric similes. These similes compare heroic or epic events to
simple and easily understandable every day ideas.
EX: When Athena prevents an arrow from striking Menelaus, Homer describes it
as follows: "She brushed it away from his skin as lightly as when a mother
Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweet rest.
8. Features long, formal speeches and long lists such as the cataloging of warriors.
9. Contains supernatural intervention in human affairs.
III. Characteristics of an epic hero:
1. Unusual circumstances surround the hero's birth.
2. He faces trials and enemies while struggling on his epic journey.
3. He encounters women as temptresses who threaten the completion of his
journey.
4. At the end of his journey, he must complete a final, difficult task alone.
5. After the final task is successfully accomplished, the hero returns home alone, a
leader of his people.
6. The epic hero is human, and as such, he faces human trials and tribulations. Hi
weakness is his tragic flaw.
7. Has super-human courage and strength.
Homer's The Illiad is the story of the ten year long Trojan War fought between
the Greeks and the Trojans.
Map of Troy and Sparta
The Trojan Horse
The Odyssey is about the ten years it takes Odysseus to travel from Troy after the
war to his home in Ithaca.