The_Odyssey_notes_1_

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The Odyssey
By Homer
Mr. Shelton
George Wythe High School
The Odyssey
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Packet Intro:
Cause of the Trojan War:
1.
Historical: over a trade route between the
Black and the Agean Sea
2.
Mythological: over Paris’s stealing of Helen
Queen of Sparta
Literary terms
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Epic: a long narrative poem about the deeds of a
hero
Apostrophe: where someone speaks to someone
non present or non existent
Personification: giving something non-human
human-like qualities
Direct / indirect characterization:
Direct: what is known about the character is simply
stated.
Indirect: what is known about the character is
implied through actions or what others say about
them or body language.
You will encounter the following in The
Odyssey
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Loyalty, devotion, and fortitude
The Greek idea of a strong body and mind
The wandering hero
The triumph of good over evil
Obedience to the laws of the gods
Important characters
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Alcinous: king of the Phaecians, the one to
whom Odysseus tells his story
Odysseus: King of Ithaca, protagonist
Calypso: a sea goddess who loved Odysseus
Zeus: king of gods
Apollo: god of music, poetry, and medicine
Poseidon: god of sea and earthquakes, and
father of cyclops, Polyphemus
Athena: goddess of wisdom
Characters to know
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Polyphemus: the cyclops who imprisons the
Greeks
Penelope: Odysseus’s wife
Laertes: Odysseus’s father
Telemachus: Odysseus’s son
Sirens: creatures whose songs lead sailors to
their deaths
Scylla: a sea monster of grey rock
Important characters continued
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Charybdis: a giant whirpool of destruction
Eumaeus: an old faithful swine herder
Antinous: the leader of the suitors (antagonist
in part 2)
“Prologue”
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1. Homer is “me” in the opening.
2. The man in line 2 is Odysseus
3. Odysseus’s two goals are to save his life and the
life of his shipmates
4. His recklessness led to the destruction of his
men.
5. Homer calls upon the goddess of inspiration (the
Muse) in telling his story (apostrophe).
6. She is daughter of Zeus
“Sailing from Troy”
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1.
2.
3.
7. Ten years have passed since the Trojan war.
8. Odysseus’s fame has gone abroad to the “sky’s rim”
9. Odysseus’s father is Laertes
10. Ithaca is good for a boy’s raising. He would never find a
better place in the world. (even if one would find a house of
gold)
11. His home is Ithaca
12. Three reasons Odysseus’s men were defeated by the
Cicones:
1.The Greeks were drunk
2.The Greeks were outnumbered
3. The Cicones were better trained (to fight on ground or
horseback)
“The Lotus Eaters”
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13. A storm keeps Odysseus from reaching
home after he leaves the Cicones.
Odysseus sent out two men and a runner
14. The men who ate the lotus forget about
home (they only care about the lotus).
15. Odysseus carries his men who have
tasted the plant back to the ship and ties
them under the benches.
16. His men don’t always listen to him.
“The Cyclops”
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1.
2.
3.
4.
17: 4 descriptions of the Cyclops way of life:
They don’t plow or sow by hand (they just
let stuff grow)
They each dwell in a mountain cave
They “deal out rough justice” to wife and
children
Indifferent to what others do (they do what
they want).
“The Cyclops”
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18. He took with him: his 12 best men; goat
skin of Maron’s wine and victuals (food).
19. Descriptions of cyclops:
a. A prodigious man, a brute with one eye.
b. A savage
20. he seemed (like) a shaggy mountain
21. the cave had cheeses and pails for
milking
“The Cyclops”
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22. Polyphemus call Odysseus a “ninny”
because he suggests that Polyphemus would
be afraid of the gods.
23. He eats 2 of Odysseus’s men.
24. Odysseus decides not to kill the cyclops
because they cannot move the rock from the
door (it is too heavy).
“The Cyclops”
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25. He uses the following to escape:
Fallen green olive tree to blind the cyclops
Nectar and ambrosia to get the cyclops drunk
Hot embers and coals to heat and harden the
stake
Nohbdy to trick Polyphemus so that he can’t
get other cyclops to help him
Sheep for he and his men to hide under their
bellies and ride out.
“The Cyclops”
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26. Parts of the curse:
1. O. Never gets home
2. if he does get home, it will be long and
difficult
3. he will lose all companions (shipmates)
4. arrive home under strange (different) sail
5. bitter days at home
O. Tempted the cyclops. Why did he do
this? Could it have been a stupid decision?
“The Cyclops”
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27. Odysseus finally tries to make an offering
to Zeus to “make things right.” Zeus rejects it.
28. This shows that the gods are fickle (they
change often).
29. leadership qualities Odysseus shows?
Smarts, loyalty, determination
30.Flaws he shows?
Stubborn, proud, selfish
“The Land of the Dead”
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