The+Odyssey+Notes

“We have not yet even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us.” -Joseph Campbell

THE PERILOUS JOURNEY We’ve always looked at the horizon and wondered what’s out there. For centuries, even when men believed the earth was flat, people stood upon the shore and stared out to sea speculating what they would find if they sailed away. We’ve always journeyed—it is the human story—we leave things behind or move on to something new. Sometimes we return, the journey having marked us and changed our lives. “The journey” is a rich and often used metaphor for life. The Odyssey by Homer recounts the heroic journey of Odysseus who strives against incredible odds to return home. The Background to the Story The Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology, and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. In the tenth year of the Trojan War, the Greeks tricked the enemy into bringing a colossal wooden horse within the walls of Troy. The Trojans had no idea that Greek soldiers were hidden inside, under the command of Odysseus. That night they emerged and opened the city gates to the Greek army. Troy was destroyed. Now it was time for Odysseus and the other Greeks to return to their kingdoms across the sea. Here begins the tale of the Odyssey, as sung by the blind minstrel Homer.

After ten years, the Trojan War is over and the Achaeans head for home—with varying results. Some, like Nestor, come home quickly to find things pretty much as they left them. Others, like Agamemnon, arrive home to find things considerably changed. Still others, like Menelaus, wander for a time but eventually return home safely and little the worse for wear. Odysseus, on the other hand, has been having no end of trouble getting home. As the story opens, we find ourselves in the tenth year since the end of the war, a full 20 years since Odysseus first left his home and wife Penelope to sail off for Troy with the rest of the Achaean forces. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful wife, Penelope. The goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father. Prisoner and lover of the goddess, Calypso, for eight years, Odysseus has a variety of adventures before he arrives home. Self-deception among men and gods makes for a variety of decisions with interesting consequences. (See pages 369-372 of your paperback copy of The Odyssey for a more thorough summary and identification of key characters). Terms to know EPIC: A literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats. EPIC HERO: A figure of imposing stature, of national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance.

LITERARY TERMS:

1) Epic Simile (sometimes called the Homeric simile): An extended simile, used to elevate the style of an epic. These things the famous singer sang. Odysseus was moved; beneath his eyelids, tears ran down his cheeks. And even as a woman weeps, flinging herself across the fallen body of her dear husband where he lies, before his city and his fellow warriors, a man who tried to keep the day of doom far from his children and beloved home; she, clinging to him, wails; and lance on lance, the enemies behind her strike her back and shoulders, then they carry her away to slavery and trials and misery her cheeks are wasted with the pain, the grief: just so, Odysseus, from beneath his brows, let fall the tears of sorrow.

2) Allusion: A brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or ficticious, or to a work of art. Casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. ...Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered dawn...

3) Flashback: An action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understanding. "Tell me, o muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy."

4) Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things using the verb "to be" and not using like or as as in a simile. "Now, however, it is time for the Achaeans to prepare supper while there is still daylight, and then otherwise to disport themselves with song and dance, which are the crowning ornaments of a banquet."

5) Symbol: using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning. "He whom you have slain was the foremost youth in Ithaca, and the vultures shall devour you for having killed him."

Some essential questions to consider as you read ➢ What is an epic hero? ➢ How have our values changed over time? How have they remained the same? ➢ What can we learn about a culture through its literature? ➢ Do the attributes of a hero remain the same over time? ➢ What is the role of a hero in a culture? ➢ How do various cultures reward / recognize their heroes? ➢ Why is it important for people and cultures to construct narratives about their experience? ➢ How is a journey an apt metaphor for our lives?