“The Odyssey”

“THE ODYSSEY”HIRA PERACHA

JORDANA QI

HEATHER SHAEFFER

Original papyrus with Homer’s Odyssey(285-250 B.C.)

PLOT BOOKS 1-4• Poseidon hates Odysseus

• Telemachus is Odysseus’ son

• Goddess Athena helps Telemachus

• Suitors want to marry Penelope

• Penelope and weaving

• Telemachus heads off to Pylos

• Telemachus hides from Penelope

• Menelaus vs. Agamemnon

Penelope Unraveling Her Work At Night, Dora Wheeler , 1886

PLOT BOOKS 1-4

• Telemachus visits Menelaus, who missed Odysseus a lot

• Odysseus a previous hero in the Trojan War

• Telemachus vs. Proteus

• The suitors plan to sail and ambush Telemachus for making their lives difficult

• Penelope finds out about TelemachusMap of Troy

PLOT BOOKS 5-7

• Athena begs Zeus to have mercy on Odysseus

• Hermes takes Zeus’s message to Calypso

• Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island

• Sea hardships

• “White armed princess” encounters OdysseusCalypso, Greek vase, 400 B.C.

PLOT: BOOKS 9-16• Odysseus tells the story of his

adventures on the sea• He has travelled to many different

islands to come to where he is now

• He lost all of his crew in many different situations

• The Phoenicians took him back to Ithaca, and left him with all of his treasures

• Athena disguises him as an old man

• Odysseus, disguised, stays with Eumaeus

The Return of Odysseus, Claude Lorrain, 1644

Landscape with Polyphemus and Galatea (Ancient Roman wall painting, 1st century

B.C.)

PLOT: BOOKS 17-20

• Odysseus returns to his own castle, disguised as a beggar.

• He is challenged to a fight by a messenger, ultimately proving his strength, and tells tales of his travels to Penelope, still in disguise.

• The palace is filled with Penelope’s suitors. Odysseus receives signs from Athena and Zeus to defeat the suitors, but waits. ca. 450 B.C.

PLOT: BOOKS 21-24

• The contest to string Odysseus’ bow is underway. Odysseus, still in disguise, wins the contest, leaving all the suitors in horror.

• After making sure the women are safe, Odysseus slaughters all of the suitors and servants disloyal to Penelope and the palace.

• Odysseus finally reveals his identity to Penelope. He fights one last battle against the suitors’ soldiers, which he wins, and Athena brings peace to Ithaca.

Return of Odysseus, Nicholas Monsiau, Early 1800's

EPIC QUALITIES• In Medias Res

• Gods speak of “the great Odysseus” (Book 1)

• Vast Setting

• Begins in Ithaca and continues to Sparta (Books 2-3)

• Odysseus’ journey at sea lasts 10 years

• Invocation to a Muse• “Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story…” (Book 1)

Not THAT Ithaca!

EPIC QUALITIES (CONT’D.)

• Statement of Theme• Mortality of Humans— “Your last

hour has come. You die in blood.” (Book 22)

• Use of Epithets• “Odysseus, the great teller of tales”

(Book 9)

• “the bewitching queen of Aeaea” (Book 9)

• “Calypso the lustrous goddess” (Book 9)

Odysseus as a Guest of the Nymph Calypso, Hendrick van Balen, 1616

EVEN MORE EPIC QUALITIES• Epic Catalogue

• Description of Calypso’s island• “Long-tongued beachcombing birds”, “beds of

violets and tender parsley” (Book 5)

• Epic/Formal Speeches

• King Nestor tells Telemachus a story “in length” about his time in Troy (Book 3)

• Menelaus mourns Odysseus in a “deep”, long, and affectionate manner(Book 4)

• Divine intervention• “Now Zeus who masses the stormclouds hit

the fleet with the North Wind” (Book 9)• “Athena stroked Odysseus with her wand.”

(Book 13)• “Poseidon, quaking with anger at you” (Book

13)Some lovely violets and parsley…

TIRED OF EPIC QUALITIES YET?

• Heroes Embodying Civilization’s Values

• Feast Traditions—Odysseus enjoys the feast and listens to “the lyre that god has made the friend of feasts” (Book 17)

• Descent into the Underworld• “What brings you here, forsaking

the light of day to see the joyless kingdom of the dead?” (Book 11)

Kingdom of the Dead, Gary Stickel, (The Homeric Project)

• Warrior

• Strength—Odysseus “years ago…rose to Philomedes’ challenge, wrestled him, pinned him down with one tremendous throw…” (Book 17)

• Loyalty—Odysseus has taught his son loyalty. Telemachus refuses to pack his mother “off against her will from her own home”. (Book 20)

• Courage—Odysseus quietly thinks through his decisions until he bravely defends his kingdom and kills the suitors in Book 22.

WHO IS THE TRUE HERO?

The Return of Odysseus, Romare Bearden, 1978

MORE HEROIC CODE…• King

• Hospitality—Odysseus treats his hostess, Penelope with grace. “Never a man in the wide world should have fault to find with you…” (Book 19).

• Political Skill—The servants and suitors were held responsible by Odysseus for their actions.

• They “bore the cold weight of the dead…” (Book 22)

• Generosity—Odysseus saves the two men who were loyal to him in his absence.

• Phemios

• Medon “cared for [him] from boyhood…” (Book 22)

Ulysses Killing the Suitors, 1805

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Foreshadowing

• Cyclops curses him: “Hear me – Poseidon, god of the sea-blue mane who rocks the earth! If I really am your son and you claim to be my father – come, grant that Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca, never reaches home. Or, if he’s fated to see his people once again and reach his well-built house and his own native country, let him come home late and come a broken man – all shipmates lost, alone in a stranger’s ship – and let him find a world of pain at home!”

Odysseus and Companions Escape, 550-450 BC(Vessel)

LITERARY ELEMENTS (CONT’D.)• Repetition

• “When young Dawn with her rose red fingers shone once more” (Books 5, 7, 9, 10, 17)

• Kennings• Poseidon is “the Old Man of the Sea”

(Book 17).

• Odysseus is “the man who’d borne long years abroad”. (Book 17)

• Symbolism

• Odysseus’ literally difficult journey symbolizes the social difficulties he faces in getting back to his own kingdom.

The west side of the Palace of Minos and the central courtyard. Piet de Jong.Photographed by Craig Mauzy in 2006

HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CONTEXT

• Homer lived around 8th century B.C.

• However, “The Odyssey "was not written down until almost 500 years later

• Written in a manner more similar to everyday speech

• Great for storytelling!

• Most likely written for all types of audiences

REFERENCES

• Fitzgerald, R. (1962). The odyssey: Homer. Doubleday Publishing Group.

• Homer. (1997-2013). Retrieved from http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/288

• http://www.agathe.gr/id/agora/image/2008.03.0022

• http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tragedy_theater.html

• http://faculty.catawba.edu/cmcallis/history/greece/greece1.htm

• http://flatbushgardener.blogspot.com/2009/06/edible-gardens-chicago-botanic-garden.html

• http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/288862

REFERENCES (CONT’D.)

• http://www.maryshelleyfolkart.com/collections.php

• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/hi_homillod.htm

• http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Be-Ca/Calypso.html

• http://www.sites.si.edu/romarebearden/works/returnOfOdysseus.html

• http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/flaxman-ulysses-killing-the-suitors-t11217

• http://www.travellinkturkey.com/troy.html

• http://www.umich.edu/~homeros/Representations%20of%20Homer's%20Ideas/Marisa-Iliad%20Odyssey/Marisa-Iliad%20Odyssey.htm

• http://www.wga.hu/html_m/b/balen/odysseus.html