“The Odyssey”by Homer

Imagine…

• There is no TV, Internet, radio, newspapers, magazines or books.

• How did people entertain themselves???

Storytelling

What is an epic???

• An epic is a story that represents a culture• Ancient epics:– Originally oral tales– Entertained– Passed on the history of a place and people– Taught behavior

How do epics relate to ghost stories?

• Just like we enjoy hearing ghost stories especially about a place we know, people in other cultures enjoyed hearing stories about their own culture and heritage.

Modern Day:• Sitting around a campfire,

eating s’mores and listening to a ghost story

Historical Time:• Sitting around a campfire,

listening to an ancient storyteller tell a story about your past

• This is the only way you would hear about your history.

Different Cultures, Different Oral Histories

• African American– Roots by Alex Haley– Haley:• traced his early ancestry • used oral histories from West Africa• Oral histories over 200 years old

• Old English epic• Beowulf by anonymous poet – Beowulf, the warrior, fights against demon dragons

saving the Danes (people from Denmark)– He is crowned king for his heroism and great

strength– He represented his culture:

• Good reputation• Both good warrior and good king • Triumph over evil

• American– Ballads = songs that tell narratives (stories)• “The Wreck of Old 97”

How do our ghost stories relate to our culture?

• What is the cultural connections between:– the voices of ancestors who told epics?

and– The voices of ghosts in ghost stories?

• Ghost is La Lorona – the voice of the ghost is a cultural story, just like epics are for the culture they represent!

The Odyssey…

An epic that represents its culture

What is it?

• Epic poem of just over 12,000 lines and 24 books

• Meant to be performed, recited or sung.• Covers the return of Odysseus from the Trojan

War– Time frame of Odyssey = 10 years– Trojan War = 10 years– He was gone for a total of 20 years!

• An adventure story and romance

Why is it so important?

• “The Odyssey” represents the values of the Greek culture.

• Many other cultures have literature that represents it. Most likely that literature was inspired by “The Odyssey.” – For example: Beowulf

Who wrote it?

• The mysterious Homer

Part 1 Literary Terms

• Epic– Long story told in elevated language (usually

poetry) which relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society

– Ex: “The Odyssey”

• Epic Hero– Larger than life– Usually has the following traits:

• Uncommon strength• Exceptional knowledge• Cunning, courage, daring

– Often goes on a dangerous journey or a quest for discovery

– While encountering conflict he embodies the values of his society or civilization

– Ex: Odysseus

• Myth– Traditional story that is rooted in a particular culture– Is basically religious– Ex: “The Odyssey”, Paul Bunyon, Johnny Appleseed

• Paraphrasing– Restating the content in your own words

• Summarize– Briefly note each event in the order it occurred

Part 1 Vocabulary

• Copy in your notes for homework!– Adversity– Formidable– Profusion– Adversary– Tumult

Part 2 Literary Terms

• Epic/Homeric Simile– Compare heroic or epic events to simple and easily

understandable everyday events– Ex: Line 1185 (p. 1090) – Compares Odysseus stringing

bow to musician plucking a stringed instrument

• Epithet– Adjective or descriptive phrase that is regularly used to

characterize a person, place or thing– Ex: “wine-dark sea,” “rosy-fingered dawn,” “the gray-eyed

goddess Athena”

Part 2 Vocabulary

• Copy in your notes for homework!– Candor– Disdainful– Glowered– Lavished– Aloof