Myths: stories that use fantasy to express ideas about life that cannot easily be expressed in realistic terms.

▪ They are, at heart, religious stories.

▪ They deal with and explore the relationship between human beings and the unknown/spiritual world.

▪ They were once believed to be true.

= mythos (myth): word, saying, speech, tale, story…

μύθος

Scientific: explanations of things in nature Literary: entertainment; good storytelling Religious: give meaning to things in life;

explain the role of the gods in everyday life

Scientific: explanations of things in nature

▪ E.g. Seasons – Demeter & Persephone

▪ E.g. why does the heliotrope (a type of flower) turn its head to follow the sun?▪ In Greek Mythology, Clytie, a nymph, died longing for Helius (the

sun god), turned into a heliotrope, a flower that turns its head to follow the sun as it passes across the sky

Literary: entertainment; good storytelling

Religious: give meaning to things in life; explain the role of the gods in everyday life

▪ E.g. The Moirai (Fates)▪ Clotho – spun thread of life, Lachesis measured it, Atropos

cut it with shears, thereby ending it (life)

They depict and reveal behavior and problems common to all human beings.

▪ Remind us that human nature is the same across time and culture.

▪ Reveal that many social, ethical, and religious attitudes continue through time.

They reflect the attitudes, priorities, and values of the cultures that produced them.

In Greek mythology, gods “did not create the universe… the universe created the gods”

(Hamilton 24).

In the beginning… there was only Chaos.

From Chaos (primordial void/nothingness)

emerged…▪ Gaea: Mother Earth

▪ In Greek culture, more emphasis was placed on Gaea than on Ouranos, reflecting the Greeks’ reliance on the land and the Earth itself.

▪ Ouranos: Father Heaven

Gaea and Ouranos had three types of children, all monsters, the most important of which were the Titans.

One Titan, Cronus, rebelled against Ouranos as a result of Ouranos’streatment of some of his children.

For some time, Cronus (Saturn) and his wife/sister Rhea ruled the universe until their son, Zeus, overthrew his father and conquered the Titans, becoming supreme ruler of the universe.

It was only after Zeus took control and the Olympians and other immortals took their places that humans entered the picture.

In Greek mythology, man was not created in the image of the gods; rather, the gods were in the image of man.

Although Greek religion centered on a pantheon, separate villages worshipped separate gods in many instances.

In many cases, deities existed before the patriarchal religion of Zeus incorporated them.

The Twelve great gods who succeeded the Titans

Lived on Mt. Olympus, which could have either been:▪ The physical mountain in

Thessaly, OR

▪ A mountain in a mysterious region above the Earth.

Olympus was NOT HEAVEN.

1. Zeus (Jupiter)2. Poseidon (Neptune)3. Hades (Pluto)4. Hestia (Vesta)5. Hera (Juno)6. Ares (Mars)

7. Athena (Minerva)8. Apollo (Apollo)9. Aphrodite (Venus)10. Hermes (Mercury)11. Artemis (Diana)12. Hephaestus (Vulcan)

ZEUS God of the sky,

thunder, and justice King and most

powerful of the gods; Ruler of Mount Olympus

POSEIDON God of the sea and

earthquakes Brother of Zeus Odysseus’s enemy

HADES God of the Underworld Zeus and Poseidon’s

brother

HESTIA Goddess of the Hearth

& home

HERA Goddess of marriage

and married women Exceptionally beautiful Zeus’s wife

ARES God of War

ATHENA Goddess of wisdom

and the arts of war and peace

Protector of Odysseus Zeus’s favorite

daughter

APOLLO God of archery, poetry,

music, medicine, and prophecy

APHRODITE Goddess of Love and

Beauty

HERMES Messenger god God of commerce,

speed, and trade

ARTEMIS Goddess of the Wild

Things, the moon, and crossways

HEPHAESTUS God of fire and the

forges – Blacksmith to the gods

According to the Greeks, all departed souls go to the Underworld.

The dead are ferried across the River Acheron (river of woe) by an aged boatman named Charon.

▪ Charon will ONLY ferry into the Underworld those who have been properly buried and who have had the passage fee placed on their lips at burial.

At the gate sits Cerberus, the three-headed dog who permits all the dead to enter, but not to exit.

The Underworld is ruled by the god Hades and his queen, Persephone.

Three Main Divisions of the Underworld:

▪ Erebus: a joyless place where the dead pass immediately upon death and where they slowly fade into nothingness

▪ Tartarus: the great pit that contains the Titans and other tortured souls

▪ Elysian Fields: a sunny underground meadow reserved for special heroes

The trident literally translates into “three toothed”

and was the three-pronged spear of Poseidon. Trident

has three enzymes that fight against tooth decay.

Hermes was the speedy

messenger of the gods, so he’s

the perfect symbol for timely

delivery of flowers.

Ajax was a fierce Greek soldier in the Trojan

War. Ajax cleanser is “stronger than dirt.”

Olympus was the residence of the gods.

Today, Olympus cameras help you take

majestic shots.

The Oracle was a psychic who served as bridge

between gods and men. Today, Oracle is a

manufacturer of database software.

Pandora was the first woman in Greek mythology and

her name means “all gifted.” Pandora radio provides

a wide variety of music.

Nike, Greek goddess of victory, is the obvious choice for a sports related company.

Named after the monstrous predecessors to Zeus, the Titans should be one tough football team.

Atlas, a Titan, was punished by Zeus to hold up

the heavens. Atlas Van Lines are strong enough

to transport all your belongings anywhere.

Literary Elements and

Language Terms Set #2 –

Odyssey Terms

English I Pre-AP

Epic◼ A long narrative poem that tells of the adventures of a

hero who embodies the values of his/her civilization. The adventures will be told in episodes important to the history of a nation or race.

◼Epics will be rooted in a specific

culture and society.The Odyssey, for example, is heavily rooted

in Greek society and culture.

Beowulf is rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture

Epic Conventions

◼ Main character is a physically impressive hero of national or historical importance and of great historical or legendary significance. Odysseus fought for ten

years in the Trojan War and devised the idea of the Trojan horse.

Epic Conventions

◼ The setting is vast in scope, covering great

nations, the world, or the universe.

Odysseus’ travels take him throughout the

Mediterranean World.

Epic Conventions

◼The action consists of deeds of

great valor or requiring

superhuman courage.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus must overcome

many challenges.

Epic Conventions

◼Supernatural forces take interest in

the action of the story. In the Odyssey, the hero encounters gods,

goddesses, sorceresses, monsters, giants, and the

list goes on.

Epic Conventions

◼The author uses a style of

sustained elevation.When the sun had left the splendid sea

and risen up into an all-bronze heaven,

giving light to gods and mortal men and

grain to farmers’ fields, the ship and crew

reached Pylos, a well-built city ruled by

Nestor.

What is being described?

Epic Conventions

Epic Conventions◼ The work begins in

medias res (in the

middle of things), and

much of the necessary

exposition is not given

until later.

Odysseus’s story begins

in the middle of his

journey

E.g. Forrest Gump

Epic Conventions◼ The poet opens by invoking a

muse (a goddess of inspiration)

“Sing to me of the man, Muse, the

man of twists and turns / driven time

and again off course, once he had /

plundered the hallowed heights of

Troy.”

“Rage – Goddess, sing the rage of

Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous,

doomed, that cost the Achaeans

countless losses, hurling down to the

House of Death so many sturdy

souls…”

Epic Conventions

◼ The poet includes

catalogs of warriors,

ships, and armies.

◼ The main characters

give extended, formal

speeches.

◼ The poet makes frequent

use of the epic simile.

Epic Hero◼ The central

protagonist of an

epic who embodies

the important

morals, values, and

virtues of the

society of which he

is a product.

◼ The epic hero is a

larger than life

person who

embodies the

highest ideals of his

culture.

Epic Hero Characteristics

Epic Hero Characteristics

◼The epic hero usually undertakes a quest/journey to achieve something of great value to themselves or society

◼ Not a superman with magical powers, but his aspirations and accomplishments set him/her apart

Epic Hero Characteristics

Epic Hero Characteristics

◼The epic hero is clever and wise,

but capable of error.

Epic Hero Characteristics

◼ The epic hero is

especially skilled both

with and without

weapons.

◼Ordinary laws of nature

are sometimes

suspended/bent for the

epic hero.

◼ Epic hero

experiences typical human emotions, yet is able to master and control these human traits to a greater degree than a typical person

Epic Hero Characteristics

Epic Hero Characteristics

◼Epic heroes live on after

death meaning they are

forever remembered by

those who live after

them…achieving a type of

immortality. As such, the

epic hero strives for honor

and fame.

Literary Elements

Episode

Episode: An incident presented in one

continuous action (not necessarily a book…

one ‘book’ can have many episodes)

◼ a descriptive label/phrase applied to a

person or thing that emphasizes a

particular quality or attribute of what is

being described; often repeated

throughout the text ex. Odysseus is frequently referred to as “the man of

twists and turns.”

Blazing Achilles, the swift runner Achilles

Might god of earthquakes (Poseidon)

As you read, pay attention to how characterization is

achieved through epithets

Epithet

Epithet (cont.)

◼ Six Types of Epithets

Origin/home

Patronymic

Appearance/State

Skill/art

Position

Heroic quality/general

◼An elaborate simile that usually

goes on for a number of lines;

often compares heroic events to

understandable/everyday things.Ex. She brushed [the arrow] away from his

skin as lightly as when a mother / Brushes a

fly away from her child who is lying in sweet

sleep.

Epic (Homeric) Simile

“…landfall, just ahead. Joy… warm as the joy that

children feel / when they see their father’s life dawn

again, / one who’s lain on a sickbed racked with

torment, / wasting away, slowly, under some angry

power’s onslaught - / then what joy when the gods

deliver him from his pains!”

◼an interruption in the narration to

elaborate on what aspect of what

is being talked aboutex. If Homer mentions a gift of wine, he will

digress and describe both the history of the

gift and the history of the giver.

Narrative Drift

Alliteration

◼ The repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Can be as few as two sounds in close

proximity.

Ex: “A great fire blazed on the hearth and the

smell of cedar cleanly split and sweetwood

burning bright wafted a cloud of fragrance

down the island” (Od. 5.65-67).

Greek Cultural

Concepts

Greek Cultural Concepts

◼ Nostos: Greek word meaning “return song” or

“homecoming song”; homecoming

◼ Kleos: Greek word meaning “song of glory”; glory

Odysseus MUST achieve nostos in order to have his

kleos. As such, we can term the Odyssey to be

Odysseus’s nostos – his homecoming song, the story

of his return home. The story herein is not just of a

physical homecoming, however, but a story of the

journey and homecoming of the soul.

Greek Cultural Concepts◼ Xenia: A BIG DEAL; Greek for “hospitality;”

refers to the expectation of generosity and

courtesy to visitors far from home

Guest/host relationship; reciprocal nature

Overseen by the gods, so there is consequence for

violators

◼ Hubris: excessive pride, overconfidence

Look for how this affects the characters in our story!

◼ Metis: Greek for “cunning”