Do Now

Do Now

• On your own, complete the

Pre-Reading questions about fate,

heroism, relationships, identity,

Pair and Share

• Share your responses from the

Pre-reading question sheet with your

partner.

• Do you have similar ideas? Do you

disagree on any questions? Discuss

your ideas together.

Essential Questions for The

Odyssey

• FATE vs. CHOICE

– How do our own choices and forces outside of us affect our lives?

• HEROSIM

– What did in mean to be a hero in ancient Greece? How is this similar or different from our

understanding of being a hero today?

• RELATIONSHIPS

Essential Questions for The

Odyssey

• IDENTITY

– How do we create or discover our sense of self and identity?

• HOME

– What is the meaning of home? Why does Odysseus want to get home?

• SOCIETY

– What are the values of ancient Greek society? How do they relate to our own values?

• CHANGE

– How do responses to change reveal character?

Odyssey

• The word odyssey comes from the Greek "οδύσσεια": odusseia, or “journey”

• In modern terms, an Odyssey is defined as “A long adventurous voyage or trip”, or “An intellectual or spiritual quest”

• The Odyssey is not just the story of

Odysseus’s physical journey home from the Trojan War; it is also an emotional

Epic

• from the Ancient Greek adjective

ἐπικός (

epikos), from ἔπος (epos)

"word, story, poem"

• Long, narrative poem about a national

or legendary hero

• The Odyssey

is a long, narrative

Two Epics

• Ancient Greece produces two epics:

– The Iliad and The Odyssey

• The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War • The Odyssey tells of Odysseus’ journey

home

• Composed between 900 and 700 B.C.E. • Originated from oral tradition

An Apple

• The conflict began when the goddess of

Discord, Eris, was not invited to the wedding of King Peleus and Thetis. Eris threw a golden apple marked “For the Fairest” into the

wedding. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena

argued. Zeus refused to judge, and instead told them to ask Paris (most beautiful man in the

Judgment of Paris

• The three goddesses offered bribes to Paris, a Trojan prince. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite, who offered him the most beautiful woman in the

Kidnapping

• Legend has it that Helen, Queen of

Sparta, was the most beautiful

woman in the world at the time. Paris

went to Sparta and abducted her

War!!!

Helen’s husband, King Menelaus, was a

bit annoyed, so he asked his brother

Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and

commander of the Greek armies, to help

him out.

The Greek Heroes

■

Most of the Greek soldiers came

willingly, except for the two strongest

Odysseus

■ Odysseus, King of Ithaca, was reluctant to leave

his beloved wife Penelope and their young son Telemachus.

■ He tried to feign madness by plowing his fields

with salt, but a messenger was suspicious and placed little Telemachus in the way of the plow, figuring Odysseus would plow over him if he was really insane.

■ Of course, Odysseus avoided killing his son, and

Achilles

■

Achilles’ mother, the sea nymph Thetus,

knew her son was fated to die in Troy and

tried to save him.

■

Even though when he was a boy she had

dipped him in the River Styx to protect

him, her motherly instinct wanted to be

sure.

■

She dressed him as a beggar to disguise

him, but Odysseus recognized him and

The Trojan Heroes

■

Troy was ruled by King Priam and

Queen Hecuba, who between them

had 100 children willing to defend

their parents’ kingdom.

■

The Trojans wanted to protect Troy

The Trojan Heroes

■

Hector

■

One of the fiercest warriors of Troy

■

Like Achilles, was fated to die before the

war was out

■

He and Achilles were bitter rivals until

The Trojan Heroes

■

Aeneas

■ A son of Aphrodite

■ Fought bravely for Troy

■ Legend has that he escaped and made his way west of Greece, where his descendants

founded what became Italy and the great

Roman Empire, allowing the Trojans’ glory to thrive long after their defeat.

Feud

■ The war goes on for 9 years, and in the 10th

A Refusal

■ The feud almost throws the balance in favor of

Mistaken Identity

■ To lessen the pressure on the Greeks, a great

Revenge!!!

• Achilles wants to avenge his buddy’s death, so he gets new armor from Hephaestus, and kills Hector…

A Death

• King Priam, who was getting old and tired by now, only wanted the Greeks to return his son Hector’s body for a proper burial.

A Death

• Paris guided an arrow (with the help of Apollo, who sided with Troy) into Achilles’ heel,

which was the one weak spot in his otherwise invincible body.

• Achilles’ armor causes some dissent in the

A Plan

• The only way to defeat the Trojans was to get into their walled city;

Odysseus has an

A Present!

• Some of the Greek army piles into the horse, and the rest of the troops sail to a nearby

island. The Horse is then brought before the walls of Troy and offered as a gift. The

Massacre

• In the wee hours of the night, the Greeks slip out of the horse, and open the gates for the army that has recently returned.

Odysseus’ Fate

Odysseus and his men had been away

from their home of Ithaca for ten

years. The journey home from Ithaca

should have taken about a week, but

ten years after the Trojan War ended,

Odysseus had not come home.

Odysseus’ Fate

One story says that the Gods who were on Troy’s side (they took sides during the entire battle) were bitter and wanted Odysseus to suffer for destroying Troy.

In another version, Odysseus’ pride got the better of him and he bragged (loudly) to all the gods who had bet against the Greeks that he was the greatest and even more powerful than the divine figures.

Poseidon in particular took great offense and