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Iliad & Odyssey. Story of the Trojan War: Set in Troy, action over a few weeks time. Story of the Journey Home: Set in vast spaces, action over ten years time. Homer in Ancient Greece. Earliest Greek Literature Written c. 750 BCE from oral trad. (c. 1200 BCE) Recited by Rhapsodes
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Iliad & Odyssey Story of the Trojan War: Set in Troy, action over a few weeks time Story of the Journey Home: Set in vast spaces, action over ten years time
Homer in Ancient Greece • Earliest Greek Literature • Written c. 750 BCE from oral trad. (c. 1200 BCE) • Recited by Rhapsodes • Epic = long narrative poem about a legendary hero. (The Odyssey is 12,109 lines of verse!) • Cultural Importance for Greeks • Taken as History • Hellenic Unity
Homer • Poet • thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person • lived around 1200 B.C.E
The coward believes he will live forever If he holds back in the battle. But in old age he shall have no peace Though spears have spared his limbs. Cattle die, kindred die, Every man is mortal: But I know one thing that never dies, The glory of the great deed. “Words of the High One” by The Elder Edda
Areté Excellence, virtue, or what makes an individual the best or among the best; usually some combination of physical prowess & persuasive speech or command. Timé Honor, material symbol of status among others, usually capable of being taken away (prize, booty, trophies). Kleos Glory or Fame, understood as public opinion, or what others say or remember.
Acheans Achilles & Patroclus Agamemnon & Menelaus, Nestor Odysseus Penelope, Iphigenia Trojans Priam Hector & Paris (Helen) Gods Characters in the Iliad
Iliad • In medias res: Trojan War Behind the Walls of Troy • Hector as Tragic Hero? • Odysseus’ role
Death and Heroism • The prospect of death drives the heroes to pursue timé (honor). • The hero is defined by his action in the face of mortality, especially in combat or contests. • And resulting kleos (glory) is the hero’s only immortality.
Hector at the Gates of Troy …Achilles was coming closer…On his right shoulder he waved his dreadful spear made of Pelian ash.The bronze around him glittered like a blazing fire or rising sun.At that moment,as he watched, Hector began to shake in fear. His courage gone, he could no longer stand there. Terrified, he started running, leaving the gate. Peleus' son went after him, sure of his speed on foot. Just as a mountain falcon, the fastest creature of all the ones which fly, swoops down easily on a trembling pigeon as it darts off in fear,the hawk speeding after it with piercing cries, heart driving it to seize the preyin just that way Achilles in his fury raced ahead
Achilles abuses Hector’s body Then on noble Hector's corpse he carried out a monstrous act.He cut through the tendons behind both feet, from heel to ankle, threaded them with ox-hide thongs, and then tied these onto his chariot, leaving the head to drag behind. He climbed up in his chariot, brought on the splendid armor, then lashed his horses.They sped off eagerly, dragging Hector.A dust cloud rose above him, his dark hair spread out round him, and Hector's head, once so handsome, was covered by the dust, for Zeus had given him to his enemies to dishonor in his own native land. So all his head grew dirty. (From Book XXII, translated by Ian Johnston)
Iliad • Achilles’ grief • Achilles’ end • Odysseus
Questions about the Iliad • What are the chief motivations for war or conflict in the Iliad? • Compare/Contrast Achilles and Hector as representing heroic ideals. • What is the role of women?
The Odyssey • Journeys • Disguise, Deception & Craftiness (lies!) • Fantastic Voyages • Women in the Odyssey • Homecoming: Loyalty & Order • An epic about humans on the journey of life overcoming temptations along the way.
Structure • 24 Books (chapters): Possibly divided this way because the original written texts were on papyrus rolls, and 24 were needed… • Begins In media res (into the middle of things) • Use of Homeric Epithets ex. “much-enduring, brilliant Odysseus” or “a man of many schemes” ***Identify these as we read!
Translations Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turnsdriven time and again off course, once he had plunderedthe hallowed heights of Troy.Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove –the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sunand the Sungod blotted out the day of their return. . . . (Robert Fagles 1996)
Two Journeys in One Story • Odysseus and Telemachus • Fantastic and Worldly • Tele. journeys to become a man & find his place in the world • Ody. Journeys to get back to his rightful place- doing what he should do • Theme: Heroic Struggles • Monsters (real? Symbolic?) • Finding home • Theme: Nostos (return) • Nestor, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Odysseus • Theme: Xenia • generosity and courtesy towards strangers
6. Aeolia’s Island 7. Laestrygonians 8. Circe’s Kingdom 9. Land of the Dead 10. Sirens 11. Scylla & Charybdis 12. Calypso 13. Ithaca 1. Mt. Olympus 2. Troy 3. Cicones 4. Lotus Eaters 5. Cyclops
Women in the Odyssey • Seduction and Symbol • Danger & Loyalty The Women • Calypso • Nausicaa (& Arete) • Circe • Anticleia • Clytemnestra • Penelope • Charybdis & Scylla • Sirens • Ino….and more!
Some Paper Topics(See also slide 20) • Compare the areté of Odysseus with Achilles (or hector, Gilgamesh, Moses, etc.). How does the quest for honor and glory account for their actions? How important is the recognition of mortality? • Compare the women characters from the Iliad and Odyssey. Clearly the women characters are more prominent in the Odyssey, but in what way are they similar or different? What role do women play in each epic work? • What is the role of women in Homer? Clearly they represent domestic ideals, but they also represent other important values and features in the narrative. Explicate what you think of Homer’s us of women characters in the Iliad and Odyssey. Are there any interesting modern parallels? • The Odyssey is best known for the fantastic series of adventures the Odysseus undergoes. Pick one or two episodes and draw modern parallel. What is the significance of this episode? Does it teach us a lesson or reveal something important about the human condition (or just archaic Greek values)? • Odysseus is constantly trying to get home to Ithaka. He forsakes a goddess (Calypso) and other alluring women (e.g., Circe), so why does he seek out home and a reunion with Peneolpe? What does this tell us about the virtues of Odysseus?
How does Homer portray the relationship between gods and humans in the Iliad and Odyssey? What roles do the gods play in human life? How does this make a difference in the storylines? • In what way does Odysseus’ character develop during the course of the narrative? Does he develop at all? Compare other characters (e.g., Achilles, Gilgamesh, etc.). • An important cultural concept in the Odyssey is xenia – generosity and courtesy to strangers, especially travelers form afar. What role does it play in the narrative? How is it established as a key value? Why might hospitality have held more significance in Homer’s time than it does today? • Draw a comparison between the themes presented in any two of the works we have read thus far (Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis, Exodus, Job, Iliad, Odyssey). Pick a theme that spans both works and discuss how it is similar and/or different, but also tell us why this is interesting or revealing. Use specific examples to illustrate the theme(s) and your main point about its treatment in the stories. • In the Odyssey and the story of Gilgamesh have given us two visions of the underworld. What is the picture of the underworld we are given in these works? Does it resonate with modern versions of the underworld? Why is water so important? Blood?
