2. Identifying a Text
• For every text that we study, I want us to
identify it by three main categories
– Author
• Nationality Five pieces of
• Dates information in
– Title total
– Genre
4. Text Identification
• Author = Homer
– Greek
– c. 750 BCE
BCE = Before the
Common Era. The
Common Era starts with
the year 1 according to the
way we count years. This
is often called BC and AD
but we are using BCE and
5. Text Identification
• Author = Homer
– Greek
– c. 750 BCE
• Title = Odyssey
• Genre = Epic poem
Marble bust of Homer in the British Museum,
London. Roman copy of a lost Greek original
of the 2nd c. BCE
6. Words: Epic
• Epic = long, narrative poem
– From Greek (G) epos, word, story, poem
7. Words: Narrative
• Narrative = tells a story about characters and
events
– From Latin (L) narrare, to tell a story or give an
account
8. Words: Poem
• Verbal composition like speech in some ways
and like song in other ways, often with a
distinctive rhythm
– From L poema, poem
– From G poiēma, poem or any other result of
creative activity
• From G verb poiein, to make
9. Trojan War: Fact or Fiction?
• Is it a historical event that really took place,
or is it an imaginary event made up by Homer
and other ancient Greek poets?
10. Trojan War: Fact or Fiction?
• Ancient Greeks believed the war was real and took
place about 1200 BCE
• By modern times, most historians believed there had
never been a Trojan War or even a city of Troy
11. Trojan War: Fact or Fiction?
• However, in 1870, German archaeologist Heinrich
Schliemann excavated a site in Turkey that he
identified as Troy
• Most scholars now accept that Schliemann’s Troy is
the Troy that we read about Homer
• Many scholars now also believe there is a historical
basis to the story of the Trojan War
14. Odyssey Book 1 Overview
• Homer invokes the Muse
• Assembly of the gods
• Athena visits Telemachus
• Penelope comes down to the great hall
• Telemachus confronts the suitors
• Telemachus goes to bed alone in his bedroom
19. Odyssey Book 2 Overview
• Telemachus summons the men of Ithaca to
an assembly
• Zeus sends an omen
• Telemachus prays to Athena
• Athena answers his prayer
• Telemachus return to the palace and prepares
for his journey
• Telemachus takes command and sets sail
20. Odyssey Book 3 Overview
• Telemachus and his crew arrive at Pylos
• Nestor recounts the fate of Agamemnon
• Athena reveals herself
• Nestor prays
• Going to bed
– Telemachus + Pisistratus
– Nestor + his wife
• Nestor leads a feast in honor of Athena
• Nestor sends Telemachus and Pisistratus off to
Sparta
21. Assembly of the gods (1.12-112)
• What do we learn about how mortals view
gods and gods view mortals?
• Why do you think Homer tells us about
Aegisthus, Agamemnon, and Orestes here?
22. Athena visits Telemachus (1.112-376)
• What do we learn about the situation in
Odysseus’ household?
• Who are the suitors?
• Why can’t Telemachus get rid of them?
• Why does Penelope refuse to choose a new
husband?
23. What do we learn about the
treatment of strangers?
• xenia = Reciprocal relationship of hospitality
between guests and hosts
– Enforced by respect for Zeus, who is the protector of
stranger (Zeus Xenios)
• The word xenos (pl. xenoi) can mean
1. Guest
2. Host
3. Stranger
4. Friend
5. Foreigner
24. Epic Abuses of Xenia
• The Trojan War was caused by a violation of xenia
– Paris ran off with the wife of Menelaus while he was a
guest in his home
• The suitors are abusing xenia
– Overstaying their welcome
– Continuing to eat Odysseus’ food and drink his wine
– No reciprocation toward Telemachus and Penelope
25. Penelope comes down
to the great hall (1.376-419)
• What do we learn about cultural expectations
for women?
26. Telemachus summons the men
of Ithaca to an assembly (2.1-14)
• What do we learn about the way government
works?
• What do we learn about the role of public
speaking in male society?
27. Zeus sends an omen (2.164-179)
• What do we learn about religious beliefs and
practices?
– Halitherses interprets the omen (2.180-198)
– Eurymachus scorns his prophecy (2.199-230)
– So we see Homer representing conflicting
opinions about prophecy
