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“The Odyssey”. An Introduction to the Epic Poem. Greek Mythology. People of ancient Greece shared stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes in which they believed. Each god or goddess was worshipped and ruled over certain areas of the Greeks’ lives.
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“The Odyssey” An Introduction to the Epic Poem
Greek Mythology • People of ancient Greece shared stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes in which they believed. • Each god or goddess was worshipped and ruled over certain areas of the Greeks’ lives. • These stories , or myths, explained natural phenomena that could not be explained by science in the ancient world.
ZEUS • Leader of the Olympian Gods • The God of the sky, lightning and thunder. • Carries a thunderbolt as his symbol. • Married Hera (his sister) • Fathered many children with various goddesses and mortals.
HERA • Wife of Zeus • Protector of marriage and the home. • Associated with the peacock because of her great beauty. • She was a vindictive and jealous wife, who frequently outwitted her husband.
POSEIDON • God of the sea • Brother of Zeus • Father of Polyphemus, the Cyclops • Like his brother fathered hundreds of children • Could be difficult and quarrelsome when crossed.
HADES • Jealous brother of Zeus and Poseidon. • God of the Underworld • Violent God who was possessive of every soul in the Underworld. • Rarely left his domain.
ATHENA • Goddess of wisdom, justice, war, civilization, and peace. • Born full grown out of the head of Zeus. • Best-loved goddess on Olympus • Greek city of Athens is named after her. • Protector of Odysseus
HELIOS • God of the Sun • Rode a chariot drawn by horses through the sky bringing light to the earth. • Had hundreds of sacred immortal cattle on the island Thrinacia. • Known by all Greeks that if anyone harmed the immortal cows they would bring forth the wrath of Helios.
HERMES • Messenger of the Gods • Also known as the god of Mischief • Son of Zeus • Carried Apollo’s golden staff and flew around the heavens and earth on winged sandals.
THE MUSES • Goddesses of music, poetry, and the arts • Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory • Nine Muses total • Typically invoked by Greek bards or storytellers to help them tell a poem or a hymn.
ORAL TRADITION • A community’s cultural and historical tradition passed down by word of mouth or example from one generation to another without written instruction. • Often bards or “singers of tales” would travel from town to town recounting tales. • Common mneumonic device used by the Bards was rhyme
WRITTEN TRADITION • The passage of knowledge of one generation to another by written word. • About the 9th century BC written words began to appear
EPIC POEMS • Long narrative poems that tell of the adventures of a hero who embodies the values of their civilization • Primarily passed on by oral tradition until written word developed
HOMER • Estimated birth is about 1200 B.C. • No actual records of his life found • A blind bard who likely traveled sharing his tales. • Credited for gathering stories together and creating epic poems • Most famous epic poems are the Iliad and The Odyssey.
TROJAN WAR • Took place from 1260-1250 B.C. • War began over the abduction of Helen, daughter of the King of Sparta. • Paris, Prince of Troy, abducts Helen. • Clever Odysseus comes up with a plan—the Trojan Horse.
THE TROJAN HORSE • A giant hollow wooden horse. • The Greek men would hide inside. • The horse would be presented as a gift to the Trojans. • Once inside the city the Greeks waited until nightfall and then burst out of the horse and defeated the Trojans
END OF TROJAN WAR • Trojans were slaughtered and city sacked and burned. • Greeks became greedy and did not offer sacrifices to the gods for their victory. • Odysseus, the creator of the Horse, will be punished the most.
