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Homer . Blind poet credited with compiling stories and information about a great war around 1200 B.C. First epic is called The Illiad – 10 year war fought outside the walls of Troy War was fought over Helen, who left her Greek husband, Menelaus, to run off with Paris, a prince of Troy.
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Homer • Blind poet credited with compiling stories and information about a great war around 1200 B.C. • First epic is called The Illiad – • 10 year war fought outside the walls of Troy • War was fought over Helen, who left her Greek husband, Menelaus, to run off with Paris, a prince of Troy
Homer (continued) • Second epic is The Odyssey • Story of Odysseus, a Greek soldier, as he tries to return home after the war • ALL EPIC POEMS IN THE WESTERN WORLD OWE SOMETHING TO THE PATTERNS ESTABLISHED IN HOMER’S POEMS
The Epic • Definition – long, narrative poem that tells of the adventures of a hero, who in some way, embodies the values of his or her civilization • Greeks used The Illiad and The Odyssey in schools to teach Greek virtues
Characteristics of an Epic • Physically impressive hero of national or historical importance • Vast setting – involving much of the physical world and sometimes the Land of the Dead • Quest or a journey searching for something of value
Characteristics of an Epic (cont’d) • Evidence of supernatural forces at work • Glorification of the hero at the end • Rooted in a specific culture and society
The Epic • The Illiad serves as the model for the war epic • The Odyssey serves as the model for the epic of the long journey • theme found in • Literature: The Incredible Journey, Moby Dick, The Hobbit • Movies: The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, The Lion King, Forrest Gump
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • In Homer’s time, heroes were placed in a category between the gods and ordinary people. Heroes were always confident and “on top of the world.” • Homer was different – he created a hero in trouble
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble We can relate to Odysseus because: • We have to deal with unfair authority figures • We know the feeling of being lost in a world of difficult choices • We have to work hard to get what we want
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Odysseus had to deal with post-war disillusionment
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Odysseus married a strong woman, Penelope, before the war • Had a son, Telemachus, who was still a toddler when Odysseus was called up by Menelaus & Agamemnon to fight for Troy
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Odysseus did not want to leave home to fight a war over an unfaithful woman so: • He pretended to be insane when Menelaus and Agamemnon came for him. He dressed up as a peasant and began sowing the field with salt. • The kings were smart and threw Telemachus in front of the oncoming plow • Odysseus revealed his sanity by swerving the plow to avoid his son
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Odysseus is known more for his brain than his brawn • He is credited with thinking up the whole idea of the Trojan horse, which led to the victory of the Greeks
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble • Trojan horse • For 10 years, the Greeks couldn’t get inside Troy’s walls. Finally, they built a horse in which the soldiers hid. • They hid their boats and army camps and rolled the horse to the gate as a “peace offering.” • At night, the soldiers came out of the horse, opened Troy’s gates for the Greek army and took Troy by surprise.
The Search for One’s Place in Life • Theme that sets the tone and determines the unusual structure of The Odyssey • Odysseus and his family are people searching for the right relationships with one another and with the people around them. • They want to find their proper places in life.
The Search for One’s Place in Life • Unusual structure • The Odyssey does not start with Odysseus departing from Troy, but with Telemachus, Odysseus’ 20 year old son. • Telemachus is struggling with rude, aggressive suitors of him mom, who want to rob Telemachus of his inheritance.
The Search for One’s Place in Life • Unusual structure (continued) • Reader learns Odysseus is stranded on an island, trying to return to his son and wife. (It has been 10 years since Odysseus left Troy, so it’s been 20 years since he left home.) • Telemachus, meanwhile, is searching for his dad. • Odysseus is also searching for inner peace (midlife crisis)
Relationships with the gods • Myths – stories that use fantasy to express ideas about life that can’t be expressed realistically • Are essentially religious because they deal with relationships between humans and the spriritual realm
Relationships with the gods • Homer concerned with the relationship between humans and the gods. • Often portrayed gods as heroes’ alter egos – was a reflection of the hero’s best or worst quality • Examples: • Athena (goddess of wisdom) – Odysseus’ protector – Odysseus is wise • Poseidon (sea god – known for his arrogance and brutishness) – Odysseus’ adversary – Odysseus can be violent and cruel
How epics were told • No written history in Homer’s time • Rhapsodes – “singers of tales” – historians and entertainers • Oral storytellers used formulas for remembering events like the arrival and greeting of guests, eating of meals, etc. This led to the repetition we find in epics.
How epics were told • Homeric similes – compare heroic or epic events to simple and easily understandable, everyday events • Their length can often be several lines
How epics were told • The Odyssey could not be told in one sitting (11,300 lines) • Rhapsodes would summarize some sections and sing the rest in detail in as many sittings as he had time for • This is how our version of The Odyssey is told
See page 884. How epics were told
