Mythology and the Odyssey

Recap of Mythology

 The gods/goddesses of Mt. Olympus (Chart)  Mythology- Fact or Fiction?

– Nonfiction: prose writing that presents and explains ideas or tells about real people, places, ideas, or events.

What is Greek Mythology?

 Greek Mythology is a collection of myths and legends that Greeks used to explain their world.

– – Seasons changing Planets moving  Although we now view these stories as fiction, the Greeks believed them to be true.

 Hence, the definition of a myth is: – A fictional tale that explains the actions of gods or the causes of natural phenomena and usually involve supernatural elements.

Greeks and Their Beliefs

 Be a legend…be grandiose  Belief in many gods  The gods resembled the Greeks need to be grandiose.

 Their gods were quarrelsome, unforgiving, jealous, vengeful, spiteful, sinful deities  Gods were physically strong, beautiful, and intelligent  The same applies to the heroes in the legends and myths

The World According to the Greeks

 both good and evil comes from the gods  heroes and monsters came from the gods  Mythology has influenced all religions that came after it.

So, how did the Greeks learn about these myths?

 passed down orally  Myths believed to come from (inspired by) the muses – black haired nine  Each presided over a distinct realm – Thalia- comedy – Calliope- epic poetry

What is an Epic Poem?

 long narrative poem about a legendary hero  has a journey with many challenges  setting is in many different places  Gods/Other non-human beings are active in the lives of humans

What is an Epic Hero?

 Hero of great size (physically and socially)  Has super-human courage and strength  Faces supernatural forces  Has characteristics valued by his culture (loyalty,courage,etc.)  Has flaws  May encounter “women as temptresses”  Completes a final task alone

Homer

 Poet  thought to be blind, but describes events as a seeing person  Asked for inspiration from the muses to tell his stories  lived around 1200 B.C.E

 Wrote the

Illiad

and the

Odyssey

- stories about the war between the Trojans and the Greeks which happened between 900 and 700 B.C.E.

the Illiad

 Many question whether the Trojan War actually occurred, but archaeologists have found historical evidence of the war.  The city of Troy fell into the hands of the Greeks.

 The story of this fall is retold in

The Iliad

.

 Was it exactly as told in

The Iliad

?

– No. It was probably fought over commerce and trade between Greece and Asia Minor.

– But Homer’s version (The Iliad) is more exciting!

– Some of the characters may have been based on real personalities.

What’s a Trojan?

 A person from Troy  One who shows qualities like those of the soldiers who defended ancient Troy: endurance, toughness, determined energy

Where’s Troy?

 Troy is across the Aegean Sea from Greece.

 Troy was also called

Ilium

,

Ilion

, and

Ilios

.

 A well-walled city with broad streets and beautiful palaces…until the Trojan War.

When did the Trojan war occur?

 The beginning of the 12 th century B.C.

 1193 – 1184 B.C.

 That’s over 3,200 years ago!

–

B.C. = Before Christ

–

A.D. = Anno Domini (The Year of Our Lord)

Who? How long did it last?

 Greeks (Achaeans) – Achilles • Greatest Greek Warrior – – – – – King Agamemnon Nestor Odysseus Patroclus Menelaus • Helen’s Husband  Trojans – Hector • Greatest Trojan Warrior – King Priam • Father of Hector – – Aeneas Paris • Helen’s Abductor

The war lasted at total of ten years!!

With whom did the gods side?

 Greeks – – – – Hera Poseidon Hermes Athena  Trojans – – – – Artemis Ares Apollo Aphrodite Zeus tries to remain neutral, but he shows empathy for Priam and Hector (Trojans).

How did it start according to myth?

 Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited to a wedding banquet on Mt. Olympus.

 Into the banquet hall, Eris tossed a golden apple inscribed “For the Fairest.”  Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite asked Zeus to decide who deserved the apple.

 Zeus would not choose. (He’s no fool!)  Zeus says Paris is an excellent judge of beauty, and refers the goddesses to him.

Paris

 Paris, the prince of Troy, was the son of King Priam of Troy.

 He was rather weak and cowardly.

 Priam had sent him away from Troy because an oracle prophesied that he would be the ruin of the city.

 When the goddesses appeared to him, they each offered him a bribe: – – Athena would make him a great warrior.

Hera would make him ruler of Europe and Asia. (Power) – Aphrodite would give him the most beautiful woman in the world.

Whom did he choose?

 Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite.

 She then took Paris to Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.

 Hera and Athena, however, vowed revenge.

Helen

 Helen was a daughter of Zeus.

 She was the wife of Menelaus.

 Menelaus, king of Sparta, was the brother of the Greek King, Agamemnon.

 See the problem?

Paris takes Helen and the Greeks Respond

 Menelaus asks all of Greece to help get his wife back.

 Greek armies set off across the sea to lay siege to Troy and leave it in ashes.

 And so begins the Trojan War.

 Helen is often referred to as “The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships.”

Odysseus and Achilles Join Late

 Odysseus didn’t want to fight for Helen.

– – – He thought her a faithless woman.

He did not want to leave his home (Ithaca).

He just had a baby boy (Telemechus).

 Achilles was kept back by his mother.

– Thetis was a sea nymph who knew he was fated to die in Troy.

– She had dipped him in the river Styx to try and give him immortality. (She held him by the heel.)  Both of these great Greek warriors were later called (forced) into battle.

The Battle Rages

 Due to the influence of various gods and goddesses, the war went back and forth for many years.



The Iliad

means “a series of disastrous events.”

Agamemnon (brother of Menelaus)

 Leader of all Greek forces during Trojan War  Sacrificed his daughter (Iphegenia) to Artemis in order to get favorable winds for the ships to sail to Troy  Offended Achilles by taking his “prize” (a girl named Briseis) after one battle

Achilles Pouts

 Because Agamemnon offended him by taking his woman, Achilles refused to fight.

 Things went badly for the Greeks, and they begged him to return.

 He allowed his friend Patroclus to fight in his place, wearing his armor.

 Patroclus is killed by Hector (who thought it was Achilles).

Achilles Returns

 Enraged over the death of Patroclus, Achilles returns to battle.

 His mother procures for him some new armor (made by Hephaestus).

 He kills Hector and desecrates the body.

Achilles Relents

 King Priam sneaks into the Greek camp and begs Achilles to give him Hector’s body so that his son may have proper funeral rites.

 Achilles allows Priam to take the body.

 After Hector’s death, Achilles does not have long to live.

The Death of Achilles

 Achilles was unconquerable by mortal men, but Apollo stepped in.

 Apollo guided Paris’s arrow into the only weak spot Achilles had: his heel.

 Achilles dies from the wound.

 The remaining Greeks decide his divine armor should go to the bravest remaining warrior.

Odysseus Wins

 Odysseus makes a speech explaining why he deserves it, and he is awarded the armor of Achilles.

 He then devises the final plan to end the Trojan War.

The Trojan Horse

 The Greeks pretend to retreat, leaving behind a large wooden horse.

 The Trojans, in celebration, drag the horse inside their city as a war prize.

The Trojan Horse

Odysseus and many other Greek warriors are hiding inside the horse.

The Fall of Troy

 They wait until the Trojans are asleep, and then they come out and slaughter them.

 After ten years, the Trojan War is ended.

 The Greeks won / The Trojans lost.

 Odysseus is the greatest hero remaining alive…but now he has to get home…

The Odyssey Begins…

 The story of

The Odyssey

is about Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.

 It’s quite a journey!

The Odyssey

 The story of the journey of Odysseus and his men trying to get home after the Trojan War.

 Span of 10 years  an epic about humans on the journey of life overcoming temptations along the way.

Characters on the Journey

 Sirens - group of females who lured sailors by their singing

   Circe - goddess, enchantress, who turns men into swine Scylla - monster with 6 heads with 3 rows of teeth, carries off a sailor in each mouth

Characters

 Charybdis - 3 times a day pulls sailors into her whirlpool  Zeus- leader of the gods  Polyphemus- a cyclops son and Poseidon’s

Characters

Aeolus- god of the winds    Tiresias- blind prophet in the underworld Calypso- nymph of the island Ogygia

Characters at Home

Family Tree Anticlea Laertes Odysseus Penelope Telemachus

Let’s get started…

First we have to know what is not included in our text… the

Odyssey

actually starts with Telemachus’ journey.

Now, what about our text…

Odysseus actually recounts most of his journey in the

Odyssey

. Let’s see how this works…