Ancient Greek Literature:

Homer: Iliad.

1. Beye, Charles Rowan. Ancient Epic Poetry: Homer, Apollonius, Virgil,

with a Chapter on the Gilgamesh Poems. Bolchazy Carducci Pub.,
2006.
 General characteristic
• Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Greek language until
the fourth century C.E. This period of Greek literature stretches from Homer until
the rise of Alexander the Great. Ancient Greek literature provides the foundation
for all of the World literature, in particular Western one.
• In addition to history and philosophy, Ancient Greek literature is famous for its
epic and lyric poetry as well as its drama, both tragedy and comedy. Ancient
Greek tragedy remains among the highest literary and cultural achievements in
Western literature.
• Most of the epic poetry and tragedy has its roots in Ancient Greek religion and
Greek mythology. Greek mythology has exercised an extensive and profound
influence on the culture, arts and literature of Western civilization. Though the
ancient Greek religions, Greek myths remain alive and vibrant, largely through the
epic poetry and tragedies of Ancient Greek literature, and are rich sources for
Western fiction, poetry, film, and visual art.
Pre-classical antiquity
The earliest known Greek writings are Mycenaean, written in the Linear B syllabary*
on clay tablets. These documents contain prosaic records largely concerned with
trade (lists, inventories, receipts, and so on);
no real literature has been discovered. Several theories have been advanced to
explain this curious absence. One is that Mycenaean literature, like the works of
Homer and other epic poems, was passed on orally, since the Linear B syllabary is
not well-suited to recording the sounds of Greek (see phonemic principle). Another
theory is that literary works, as the preserve of an elite, were written on finer
materials such as parchment*, which have not
survived.__________________________
*Linear B Syllabary is a system of writing containing characters for the syllabic
writing of Mycenaean Greek.
*Parchment-is a writing material made from specially prepared skins of animals—
primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over
two millennia.
 Ελληνικό αλφάβητο - Greek
Alphabet
The art of writing was lost to Greece from around 1200 BC, and
for nearly 500 years Greece entered an age of illiteracy.
Around 750 BC, Greek traders came into contact with
Phoenicians, who used a script called an alphabet. This alphabet
was a wonderful invention, because it allowed them to use just
around 30 letters or so to make many different sounds, and it was
also much easier to use than pictorial scripts, such as cuneiform.
The Greeks adopted this alphabet and added vowels, which made
it even more versatile and easy to use. This early version of the
alphabet is actually very similar to the alphabet we use today!
Greek Letters: Α α - ἄλφα; Β β - βῆτα; Γ γ - γάμμα; Δ δ - δέλτα
Map of Phoenicia and its
Mediterranean trade routes
At first, the new found
creation of writing was used by
government for the
proclamation of laws, so that
ordinary people could
understand them. Writing was
later used to record public
decisions, and then finally as
more and more citizens became
literate, or able to read, Greek
literature was developed.
Solon, Cleisthenes, Pericles.
 Epic literature
• An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily
involving a time beyond living memory in which occurred the extraordinary
doings of the extraordinary men and women who, in dealings with the gods or
other superhuman forces, gave shape to the moral universe that their
descendants, the poet and his audience, must understand to understand
themselves as a people or nation
• Epic Literature: The greatest literatures of the early Greek period were the
Homeric Epics. These were epic poems which described the glorious deeds of
great Grecian heroes. Epic poems are long poems, which don’t rhyme, and
describe a serious topic, which is usually important to a culture. Homeric Epics
described the great deeds of the warriors of Greece, who led the war against
Troy, a rival state.
 The founder of Epic literature in Ancient Greece
At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of Homer,
the Iliad and the Odyssey.
The figure of Homer is shrouded in mystery. Although the works as they now stand
are credited to him, it is certain that their roots reach far back before his time (see
Homeric Question). The Iliad is the famous story about the Trojan War. The work
examines the war through the person of Achilles, who embodied the Greek heroic
ideal.
While the Iliad is purely a work of tragedy, the Odyssey is a mixture of tragedy and
comedy. It is the story of Odysseus, one of the warriors at Troy. After ten years
fighting the war, he spends another ten years sailing back home to his wife and
family. During his ten-year voyage, he loses all of his comrades and ships and makes
his way home to Ithaca disguised as a beggar. Both of these works were based on
ancient legends. The stories are told in language that is simple, direct, and eloquent.
Both are as fascinatingly readable today as they were in Ancient Greece.
Homer: “ friend with an understanding heart is worth no less than a brother ”

Homer was born between the 9th and 8th century B.C., while others believe
that he might have lived in the early 12th century. The birthplace of Homer is
still uncertain. Ionia, Smyrna and Chios are believed to be Homer’s home.
Many speculations about Homer’s life were analyzed through his works,
specifically The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Scholars believe that he was blind. As a result, most of his busts and statues
were carved with sightless eyes. In addition, he was depicted with thick curly
hair and beard.
Homer was portrayed as an influential leader in Plato’s «The Republic». In
addition, Aristotle described him as a unique poet of his time in his work, «The
Poetic».
Even though historians cannot decide whether an actual poet named Homer
ever really lived, these stories were the inspiration for much of Greek literature.
Stories about the Trojan War survived orally for about 400 years until Homer—
whoever he was— somewhere around 700 B.C.E. wove some of them into an
epic poem. The distance shows up in the poem sometimes in such details as
Homer’s unawareness of how chariots were used in battle.
An account of the origins of the Trojan War as
recounted by Homer. Historical background.
• According to the Greeks themselves, the Trojan War was a 10-year siege of the
city by a consolidated force of mainland and island kings and their armies. The
traditional date for the fall of Troy is 1184 B.C.E.
• It occurred during the Mycenaean Age (c. 1500–1150 B.C.E.), named after
Mycenae: the largest, wealthiest city on the mainland, ruled by Agamemnon.
• According to Homer, it was fought because Paris (or Alexandros), the son of King
Priam of Troy, abducted Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta.
• King Agamemnon, Menelaus’s brother, led an armada of a thousand black ships
to Troy to avenge the insult and to retrieve Helen.
• Homer’s Iliad does not tell the entire story; rather, it deals only with about 51
days during the 10th year of the siege.
• Let’s discuss about one of Homer’s works – Iliad.
• In the 10th year of the Trojan War, tensions are running high among the Achaeans (super-old name
for the Ancient Greeks). First the priest Chrysies comes to ask their leader, King Agamemnon, to
release his daughter Chrisseid, whom Agamemnon’s was holding captive. (“I love her more that my
wife). When Agamemnon refuses, the priest prays to the god Apollo to send the plague against the
Achaeans.
• After nine days of plague the Achaeans assemble against and demand that Agamemnon give the
girl back. Agamemnon eventually agrees, but only if he gets to take Briseis, the girlfriend of Achilles
the greatest warrior of Achaeans. The main episode of the tenth year of the war, which is the main
subject in the Iliad, is the anger of Achilles against Agamemnon because of the captive girl taken
from him by this latter.
• Even though Achilles gives her up, he becomes so enraged that he refuses to fight anymore. And he
prays to his mother, Thetis, who happens to be the goddess, to convince with the other gods so that
the Achaeans will start getting defeated in the battle and realize how much they depend on him.
• Achilles mom definitely spoils him. She gets Zeus, the king of the gods, to agree to Achilles request.

• Sure enough, the Trojans make a successful counterattack, led by Hector, their greatest warrior.
Several days of violent fighting follow, at the end of which Trojans have the Achaeans pinned against
the beach, and are threatening to burn their ships.
• At this point, Achilles's best friend Patroclus asks for permission to go into battle in the
Achilles’s place. Achilles grants Patroclus request and even lets him wear his armor.
Patroclus gambit is successful – when the Trojans see him, they think he must be Achilles,
and become absolutely terrified.
• But the plan does not go as planned, however, as Hector kills Patroclus with the help of the
god Apollo and the minor Trojan warrior named Euphorbus. Hector then takes the armor
off Patroclus’s body.
• When Achilles learns of the death of his friend, he experiences terrible grief and swears
revenge. He sends his mother, Thetis to get a new suit of armor made specially for him by
the fire-god Hephaestus.
• The next day Achilles rejoins the battle and kills many Trojans including Hector in one-on-
one battle. But Achilles isn’t satisfied. For next 9 days, he continually abuses Hectors body in
gruesome ways, even after Patroclus has received a proper funeral. The gods don’t like this.
They send a message down to Achilles telling him to give up the body. When the Trojan king
Priam – Hectors father- comes unarmed, by night to ask for his son’s body, Achilles agrees.
Two men eat together and experience a moment of shared humanity. Achilles grants the
Trojans a grace period to perform their funeral rituals. The poem ends with the funeral of
Hector though we know that soon Achilles will die and Troy will be captured.
Agamemnon – the king of Mycenae, the
leader of Greeks in the Trojan War. Burial
mask of Agamemnon.
Why was he killed by his wife, Clytemnestra?
What was the character of Agamemnon?

• What is the story of Agamemnon?

• What happens to Agamemnon in Iliad?
• What was the role of Agamemnon?
• Why did he kill his daughter?
«Yes, Chrysies approached the Achaeans' fast ships
to win his daughter back:
"Agamemnon, Menelaus – all Argives geared for war!
May the gods who hold the halls of Olympus give you
Priam's city to plunder, then safe passage home.
Just set my daughter free, my dear one . . . here,
accept these gifts, this ransom. Honor the god
who strikes from worlds away – the son of Zeus, Apollo!”»
*** ***
«What god drove them to fight with such fury?
Apollo the son of Zeus and Leto. Incensed at the king
he swept a fatal plague through the army – men were dying
and all because Agamemnon spurned Apollo's priest.»
Chrysies. Chrisseid. Briseis.
Who was Chrysies? Who was Chrisseid?
What Chrysies was asking for Agamemnon?
Who was the women who was given to Achilles, and
then taken by Agamemnon?
What Briseis was famous for?
Who was Briseis in The Iliad?
Is Briseis Achilles wife?
Achilles and Patroclus.
Achilles heel.
Who was Achilles' mother?
What river was Achilles dipped in
as a boy? [the river Styx]
Why did Achilles refuse to fight in
the middle of the war?
How many times did Achilles yell
"Hector" outside the Trojan walls?
What weapon finally killed
Achilles?
What Greek god helped Paris to
defeat Achilles?
What was Achilles' only
weakness?
Hector the noble– the great hero of
Troy.

• Who were Hector's parents?

• What was the character of Hector?
• Compare Hector to Agamemnon and
Achilles.
• Who was the ill fated son of Hector?
• Who was Hector's wife, who tried to
discourage him from fighting Achilles?
• Who kills Hector in Troy?
• . After he had killed Hector, how did Achilles
react to Hector's death?
• What happened to Hector in the Trojan
War?
Priam – the king of Troy.
"I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before – I put my lips to the hands
of the man who killed my son."

• Where is the treasure of Priam now?

• What does Priam say to Achilles?
• What does Priam mean? Why this
name was given to him? ("redeemed“)
• Does Priam forgive Achilles?
• Was Priam a good king?
• What happened to Priam and Hecuba?
• Was Priam a real person?
• Why did Neoptolemus kills Priam?
• What was the character of Priam?
Cassandra -one that predicts misfortune or
disaster
• Who were parents of Cassandra?
• What was Cassandra's Curse?
• How did Cassandra of Troy die?
• How did Cassandra get her gift of
prophecy?
• Who violates Cassandra and is
punished by Athena?
• Who was Cassandra's brother?
• What could you say about the
character of Cassandra?
The Helen of Troy
• What does Helen of Troy symbolize?
• According to legend, who was Helen of
Troy's father?
• Which suitor was eventually chosen as
Helen of Troy's husband?
• Why did Paris feel entitled to marry
Helen of Troy?
• What was Helen's role in the Trojan
War?
 Helen of Troy
Who on earth could blame them? Ah, no
wonder
the men of Troy and Argives under arms
have suffered
years of agony all for her, for such a
woman.
Beauty, terrible beauty!
A deathless goddess—so she strikes our
eyes!
Paris (Alexandros) of
Troy
• What happened to Helen of Troy
and Paris?
• What was the name of the man
whom Hector killed in order to
save Paris?
• Who was the man Paris gave the
sword of Troy to, before re-
entering the city to find Briseis?
• Why did Paris killed Achilles?
• Which God helps Paris kill Achilles?
• How did Paris of Troy die?
• What was the character of Paris?
Iliad [il′i-ad], n. an epic poem by Homer, giving an account of the
destruction of Ilium or ancient Troy. [L. Ilias, Iliadis—Gr. Ilias, Iliados,
a poem relating to Ilium, the city of Ilos, its founder.]
1. An epic—a long narrative poem dealing with large and important characters
and events—was defined for the world by Homer’s two poems. There are
15693 poetical lines in the Iliad. Classic, didactical pattern.
2. The elements of an epic poem, whose conventions were established by Homer’s
two poems, including heroic characters, the participation of gods and goddesses,
the grand style (including epic similes), beginning the poem “ in medias res”, and
the invocation.
3. In a shame society, the means of control is the inculcation of shame and the
complementary threat of ostracism. The shame-honor worldview seeks an
"honor balance" and can lead to revenge dynamics. A person in this type of
culture may ask, "Shall I look ashamed if I do X?" or "How people will look at me
if I do Y?" Shame cultures are typically based on the concepts of pride and honor,
and appearances are what count.
4. The historical and literary legacy of the “Iliad”
I. Invocation of the Muse (appealing to the Muse)
• Homer, appeals to the Muse of epic Calliope at the beginning of the poem and during
the narration, asks her for inspiration and support, which are the sent to him. Why
does he do it? He is looking for the external support of his poetry.
The location of the song, the source of the song, was considered to be the material part
of the body - the “abdominal barrier”. The “abdominal barrier” was excited by the
Muses, which gave it sound and content. The poet himself, as it was considered, did not
participate in the creative process, he was a conductor of the will of Apollo and Muses.
• The less the poet belonged to himself, less he thought himself, the more truthful was
his story. Related to this was the idea of the Ancient Greeks about the singer as a blind
person. Those who were blind were given an opportunity to renounce the outside
world, focus on internal communication with Muses. As a result, the poet was
understood as a prophet, seer, fortune-teller, interpreter of the will of Muses. He was
equated to Oracle of Delphi.
• As the source of the poetry was considered to be external, the poet was not
responsible for his story. Gods were responsible. So the poet was telling the truth.
The elements of an epic poem: An invocation to the Muse
The poem begins with an invocation to the Muse (Calliope), who sings through the
poet, helping him tell a story he was not there to see for himself.
“Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills
upon the Achaeans.”

“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,
great fighters' souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the first two broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.”
«In medias res»
• «In medias res» (from lat. - “in the middle of the matter”) is the term of
traditional poetics, beginning an action or narration from a central episode of a
plot without prehistory, in the midst of the plot, “in the middle of things” (in the
middle of the story). Often, background is bypassed and filled in gradually, either
through dialogue, flashbacks or description of past events.
• «Hamlet» begins after the death of Hamlet's father. Characters make reference to
King Hamlet's death without the plot's first establishment of said fact. Since the
play is about Hamlet and the revenge more so than the motivation, Shakespeare
uses in medias res to bypass not necessary details.
• Originated in oral tradition, the narrative technique of beginning a story in medias
res is a stylistic convention of epic poetry of «the Iliad» and «the Odyssey» by
Homer. Many things preceded the start of the war. But the poem begins with a
dispute between Agamemnon, the great king, and Achilles, the greatest fighter,
over a slave girl, leading to the “anger of Achilles,” the announced theme of the
poem.
«In medias res». Leda and the Swan by Cesare da Sesto (c. 1506–1510, Wilton).
The artist has been intrigued by the idea of Helen's unconventional birth; she and
Clytemnestra are shown emerging from one egg; Castor and Pollux from another.

• The Roman lyric poet and satirist Horace (65–8 BC) first
used the terms ab ōvō ("from the egg") and in mediās
rēs ("into the middle of things") in his «Ars poetica»
("Poetic Arts", 13 BC), wherein lines 147–149 describe
the ideal epic poet:
“Nor does he begin the Trojan War from the egg, but
always he hurries to the action, and snatches the
listener into the middle of things. . . .”
The "egg" reference is to the mythological origin of the
Trojan War in the birth of Helen and Clytemnestra from
the double egg laid by Leda (mother of Helen) following
her seduction by Zeus in the guise of a swan.
Grand style: lofty, avoid vulgarities, colloquialism. Homeric simile

• Homeric simile, also called an epic simile. It is a detailed comparison in the

form of a simile that have many lines in length. The word "Homeric", is based on
the Greek author, Homer. Many authors continue to use this type of simile in
their writings although it is usually found in classics.
• The typical Homeric simile makes a comparison to some kind of an event, in the
form "like a ____ when it ______." The object of the comparison is usually
something strange or unfamiliar to something ordinary and familiar. The Iliad, for
instance, contains many such similes comparing fighting warriors to lions
attacking wild boars or other prey. These similes serve to take the reader away
from the battlefield for a brief while, into the world of pre-war peace and plenty.
Often, they occur at a moment of high action or emotion, especially during a
battle. In the words of Peter Jones, Homeric similes "are miraculous, redirecting
the reader's attention in the most unexpected ways and suffusing the poem with
vividness, pathos and humor". They are also important, as it is through these
similes that the narrator directly talks to the audience.
Describes the military order of the Greek
hoplite infantry
“But swift Aias the son of Oïleus would not at all now take his stand apart from
Telamonian Aias,
not even a little; but as two wine-colored oxen straining
with even force drag the compacted plough through the fallow land,
and for both of them at the base of the horns the dense sweat gushes;
only the width of the polished yoke keeps a space between them
as they toil down the furrow till the share cuts the edge of the plough land;
so these took their stand in battle, close to each other”
 Example of an Epic simile : fighters as dark ask waters before the
storm
Epic simile, also called Homeric simile, an extended simile often running to several
lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and
to serve as decoration. An example from the Iliad follows:
“As when the shudder of the west wind suddenly rising scatters across the water,
and the water darkens beneath it, so darkening were settled the ranks of Achaeans
and Trojans in the plain”
The comparison in Book 8 between watch fires
on the plain before Troy and stars in the sky.

“As when the stars shine clear, and the moon is bright-
there is not a breath of air, not a peak nor glade nor jutting
headland but it stands out in the ineffable radiance that breaks
from the serene of heaven; the stars can all of them be told and the
heart of the shepherd is glad- even thus shone the watch fires of the
Trojans before Ilius midway between the ships and the river Xanthus. A
thousand camp-fires gleamed upon the plain, and in the glow of each
there sat fifty men, while the horses, champing oats and corn beside
their chariots, waited till dawn should come”.
The elements of an epic poem, whose conventions were
established by Homer’s two poems : Characters.
Homer’s techniques became the conventions of succeeding epic poems in imitation
of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
1. Characters are larger and stronger than men and women are in contemporary
life and are able to achieve great feats of physical strength and courage.
2. Gods and goddesses are more directly involved in human life as well, making
life’s meanings more transparent than they are now. The gods and goddesses are
characters in the poems and will later be called the “supernatural machinery” of
the epic.
3. The epic’s style is lofty and avoids vulgarities and colloquialisms.
4. Even its rhetorical devices are on the grand scale, like its epic similes,
comparisons introduced by “like” or “as” which continue on for many lines (eg.)
II. The Heroic outlook : two sided question.
The essence of the heroic outlook is the pursuit of honor through action. The great man is
he who, being endowed with superior qualities of body and mind, uses them to the
utmost and wins the applause of his fellows because he spares no effort and shirks no risk
in his desire to make the most of his gifts and to surpass other men in his exercise of
them. He courts danger gladly because it gives him the best opportunity of showing of
what stuff he is made. [ Shame culture]
This outlook runs through Greek history from Homer’s Achilles to the historical
Alexander. It persists and even extends its field from an individual to a national outlook.
«It is a creed suited to men of action, and through it the Greeks justified their passionate
desire to vary the pattern of their lives by resourceful and unflagging enterprise». [Source: C.
M. Bowra, The Greek Experience, (New York: Praeger, 1957), pp.20-21, 40-41.]

Spoken by Hector:
“So now I meet my doom. Well let me die—but not without struggle, not without glory,
no, in some great clash of arms that even men to come will hear of down the years!”
The honor of a man is the important center of his being,
but not the only one as we will see later.
The shame culture
The poem begins with a dispute between Agamemnon, the great king, and
Achilles, the greatest fighter, over a slave girl, leading to the “anger of Achilles,”
the announced theme of the poem.
The Greeks lived in what is sometimes called a “shame culture,” an other-
directed culture in which one’s worth is based on how one’s peers value him.
In a shame society, the means of control is the inculcation of shame and the
complementary threat of ostracism. The shame-honor worldview seeks an
"honor balance" and can lead to revenge dynamics. A person in this type of
culture may ask, "Shall I look ashamed if I do X?" or "How people will look at me
if I do Y?" Shame cultures are typically based on the concepts of pride and honor,
and appearances are what count.
A warrior’s worth is based on the prizes awarded him by the army.
• When Agamemnon strips Achilles of one of his prizes—the slave girl—Achilles
loses face. Agamemnon would lose face by backing down to Achilles before the
whole army, which he commands, and so they reach an impasse.
Achilles withdraws from the fight and stays in his tent until his best friend,
Patroclus, wearing Achilles’ armor, is killed in battle by Hector, the greatest Trojan
fighter.
«Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the
words fell from his lips sweeter than honey: ….
• “Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl
away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles;
and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man who by
the grace of Jove wields a scepter has like honor with Agamemnon.
You are strong, and have a goddess for your mother;
but Agamemnon is stronger than you, for he has more people under him.
Son of Atreus, check your anger, I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles, who
in the day of battle is a tower of strength to the Achaeans.“
• And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you have said is true, but this fellow must
be lord of all, king of all, and captain of all, and this shall hardly be”.
• Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean coward," he cried, "were I to give in to
you in all things. Order other people about, not me, for I shall obey no longer”».
Then Achilles, who has been angry with Agamemnon, directs his anger at the
Trojans and Hector. Achilles then avenges his friend Patroclus by killing Hector, he
meets Hector in battle, kills him, and then dishonors the body, refusing to allow it
burial.
• The anger of Achilles ends when Priam, Hector’s aged father and the King of
Troy, travels alone to Achilles’ tent to beg the return of his son’s body.
Priam to Achilles:
“I have gone through what no other mortal on earth has gone through;
I put my lips to the hands of the man who has killed my children”.
Achilles and Priam weep together, and Achilles returns Hector’s body.

When the anger of Achilles ends, so does the poem; its final event is the funeral of
Hector in Troy.
• The Shame culture ************************************************
• This HEROIC OUTLOOK The world of Homer
was composed of courage, bravery and glory in battle. But these qualities were
necessary not only for the honor of a man. They were necessary for a strong city-state
in Greek civilization. These qualities were not self-interested goals alone. Instead, the
warrior fought bravely in service to his city-state. These qualities were the virtue
(goodness) of a man. Virtue was what made man a good citizen, and good citizens
made a great city-state.
[“With a shield or on it!” ; “300 Spartans”: king Leonidas: the narrow coastal pass of
Thermopylae: 480 BCE.]
The world of Homer is a world of war, conflict, life and death for the defense of
Motherland. In the Homeric world of war, men do not have rights, but only duties. By
serving the city-state with their virtuous behavior, they are also serving themselves.
Indeed, there was nothing higher or more sublime in the
Homeric world than virtue.
And Homer's epic poems served as the Bible of ancient Greece right down to the time of
Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. In fact, an education in the classical world
meant the rote memorization of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
 Homer’s subject—warfare—was crucial,
so that most future epics will be about heroes on the battlefield and the honor they win there
fighting for their Motherland According to Homer the most beautiful thing in a world is a military
force preparing for war. As a result there is a lot of information in the sphere of military history.
Book No 4:
“At last the armies clashed at one strategic point,
they slammed their shields together, pike scraped pike
with the grappling strength of fighters armed in bronze
and their round shields pounded, boss on welded boss,
and the sound of struggle roared and rocked the earth.
Screams of men and cries of triumph breaking in one breath,
fighters killing, fighters killed, and the ground streamed blood.
Wildly as two winter torrents raging down from the mountains,
swirling into a valley, hurl their great waters together,
flash floods from the wellsprings plunging down in a gorge
and miles away in the hills a shepherd hears the thunder –
so from the grinding armies broke the cries and crash of war.”
Homer’s world of Gods and
Goddesses.
• Homer's world is a closed and finite world. This is completely unlike our own world
which is a mechanical world, governed by mathematics and fixed physical laws.
Homer's world is a living world – the earth, man, animals and plants are all endowed
with personality, emotion and wills of their own.
• The gods and goddesses were endowed with these qualities. The gods themselves
could appear at any time and at any place. Although the gods had no permanent
relations with the world of men and women, they were interested in their welfare.
They also intervened in the affairs of life, as Homer's Iliad makes abundantly clear. In
general, the gods were the guides and councilors of mortal men and women. Still, the
gods and goddesses often deceived men by offering them delusion rather than reality.
• Homer endowed his gods with a personality and the gods differed from men only (1)
in their physical perfection and (2) in their immortality. In other words, gods and
goddesses, like men and women, could be good, bad honest, devious, jealous,
vengeful, calm, sober, quick-witted or dim. The gods assisted their favorite mortals and
punished those who defied their will.
People like gods and Gods like
people.
• Losev A.: "One can say that Homer has no religion. True, faith in gods and demons
is not denied here, but they are given in a form that has little in common with a
primitive folk religion. Hera, Circe and Calypso are women in luxurious clothes,
drowning in pleasures. They are exactly the same characters in his work of art as
the most ordinary heroes and people. “
• Snell B. : “Homer's religion is not based on fear of the gods at all, not on respect
for them, and not even on love or reverence, but on a sense of surprise.
However, Homer is also surprised by beautiful women, heroes and works of art.
This suggests that surprise is only a more careful examination; and it, of course,
does not cover man as a whole, but leaves a certain distance between man and
the gods, which again puts man in a more natural position. "Homer man is free
before God." He is proud to receive anything from God. But he is humble,
knowing that everything great comes from God”.
People like gods and Gods like
people.
Losev A. “Two circumstances are characteristic of the Homeric interpretation of the gods:
the gods of Homer are humanized. They are attributed not only a human appearance, but
also human passions, the epic individualizes divine characters as vividly as human ones.
Then, the gods are endowed with numerous negative traits: they are petty, capricious,
cruel, unjust. In dealing with each other, the gods are often even rude: on Olympus there
is a constant bickering, and Zeus often threatens to beat Hera and other obstinate gods”.
“In both poems there are many religious - mythological contradictions. Zeus is the
supreme god, but he does not know much what is happening in his kingdom.
• It is easy to deceive him; at decisive moments, he does not know what to do. In the end
of Iliad it’s impossible to understand whom he is protecting, the Greeks or the Trojans.
• There is a constant intrigue around Zeus, often not at all of a fundamental nature, some
kind of domestic and family quarrels. Zeus is a very hesitant ruler of the world,
sometimes even stupid”.
• The system of regulations in the world of Homer
• For Homer, the world was not governed by caprice, whim or chance – what
governed the world was "Moira" (fate, fortune, destiny).
Fate was a system of regulations that control the unfolding of all life, all men
and women, all things of the natural world, and all gods and goddesses.
Fate was not only a system of regulations but a fundamental law that
maintained the world. It is Moira that gives men and women their place and
function in Greek society. That is, it is Moira that determines who shall be slave or
master, peasant or warrior, citizen or non-citizen, Greek or barbarian. It is Moira
that fixed the rhythm of human life – from childhood through youth to old age and
finally death, it was Fate that regulated the personal growth of the individual. Even
the gods had their destinies determined by Moira.
From the Iliad, the goddess Athena expounds on this principle of Fate to
Telemachus when she says the gods may help mortals but "Death is the law for all:
the gods themselves/Cannot avert it from the man they cherish when baneful
Moira has pronounced his doom."
Fate in Homer’s Iliad itself is a
reality, a fact of being
Belinsky V. writes: “What is this“ fate ”that people tremble and which the gods
themselves obey unquestioningly? This is the concept of the Greeks about what we
call rational necessity, the laws of reality, the relationship between cause and
effect. It is an objective action that develops and moves for itself, driven by the
internal strength of its rationality, like a steam engine - goes on without stopping
and not turning off the path, whether she meets a man whom she can crush, or a
stone cliff, which she herself can break into. ”
Homer's view of fate is the first materialistic philosophy in history.
Losev A. : “The existence of gods creates that unity in the picture of
the world, which the epic is not able to capture rationally”.
Gordeziani R: Some go too far and consider Homer to be the “killer of the gods” or
transfer the entire Homeric pantheon to the realm of pure poetic fantasy. Such
arguments are already encountered by Plutarch.
The legacy of Iliad – The Bible of the Ancient Greek world.
• The first enduring legacy is that heroism is defined in the poem as fighting hand-
to-hand in battle for the interests of the community.
1. Considerations for family and community come after that for one’s own
reputation.
2. Hector, who is a very good man, nevertheless chooses his own dignity and
integrity over that of his community and his wife and child.
• The second enduring legacy is Homer’s treatment of the enemy—the Trojans—as
equal in dignity and humanity to the army of Agamemnon and Achilles.
1. Both armies speak the same language, worship the same gods, and live by the
same codes.
2. The Trojans can be seen as more sympathetic, since we see them with their
families, while the Achaeans are an army on the prowl.
 “The Odyssey “
“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.
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,
many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,
fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home”.
Invocation to the Muse.
This poem, is set in peace time, this is reflected in the emphasis on
domestic events, the non-heroic opponents Odysseus confronts on his
journey home, the variety of skills he needs in this different ambience,
and the importance of powerful and interesting women in the poem.
• The main content of the Odyssey is the tale
of the return of the Odyssey to Ithaca after the end of
the war with Troy. This return lasted a very long time and Odysseus removing his men from the
took as long as 10 years. company of the lotus-eaters
The very first stage of the adventures of the Odyssey
are described not at the very beginning, but in the songs
of IX-XII. In these songs, Odysseus himself talks about his
wanderings after sailing from Troy for the first three years.
First, Odysseus with his companions enters the land of
wild people - Kikons, who lived in Thrace. Then to the
peaceful lotophagi (lotus-eaters) that treat him with a
sweet lotus. The lotus fruits and flowers were the primary
food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the
inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. Then he travelled
to the Cyclops island, where the Cyclops Polyphemus, a
savage and cannibal, ate several Odysseus' companions
and almost destroyed him. This is IX song.
• Odysseus then comes to the god of winds Aeolus, who
accepts him very kindly, but rejects after the incident with
the bag where the winds were connected (the companions of
Odysseus opened this bag, thinking to find treasures in it,
and Odysseus again had to ask for shelter from Aeolus).
• Later, Odysseus gets to the robbers the Laestrygonians. They
were a tribe of man-eating giants from ancient Greek
mythology. They were said to have sprung from Laestrygon,
son of Poseidon.
• Then he finds himself in the palace of Circe, a goddess of
magic or sometimes a nymph, enchantress or sorceress in
Greek mythology, who is able to transform her enemies into
animals.
• She kept him for a whole year and then sent him to the
underworld to find out his future fate. This is the X song, and
the conversation of Odysseus with the souls of the dead in
Hades is the XI song.
• In the XII song, the adventures of Odyssey
continue. Through a special trick, he
passes by the island of Siren, half-birds,
half-women, who attracted all the
travelers with his sweet singing and then
devoured (swallow) them. He moved
between the two monsters Scylla and
Charybdis. No one managed to drive
safely between them before.
• Them he moved to the island of Trinacria,
the companions of Odyssey devoured the
bulls of Helios, for which the sea god
Poseidon destroyed all the ships of
Odysseus; and only one Odysseus is
saved, nailed in waves on the island of the
nymph Calypso.
• Thus, songs IX-XII tell of the adventures of Odysseus after sailing from Troy before
arriving at the nymph Calypso. After that, it’s convenient to go to an overview of
the contents of songs I-IV.
• In the 1st song, Odysseus has been living with the nymph Calypso for 7 years,
which, together with the 3 previous years of adventure, is already 10 years old.
The gods decide that it is time for the Odyssey to return home, and Athena Pallas
will follow this return. The action is immediately transferred to the island of
Ithaca, which is the content of the 2nd song.
• On Ithaca, the local sovereign kings suitors for the Hand of Penelope, the faithful
wife of Odysseus, who has been waiting for him for 20 years and has been
protecting his house from plunder by grooms.
• The son of Odysseus Telemachus sets off in search of his father, with the third
song depicting a visit to him by the king Nestor, and in the fourth song portraying
a visit to Menelaus and Helen in Sparta. Menelaus informs Telemachus of
Odysseus being at Calypso. But Telemachus himself disappears from the reader’s
field of vision right up to the 15th song, where he appears again, but on Ithaca.
• In the song V, Calypso receives an order from Zeus to
release Odysseus, who immediately builds his raft and goes
to Ithaca. However, after 17 days of calm sailing, Poseidon
again overtakes him, raises a sea storm, wrecks the raft of
Odysseus; and Odysseus, only with the help of the
beneficent nymph Ino , swims up to an island unknown to
him, which turns out to be the country of the seafaring folk
of the Phaeaces, who live merrily and freely under the rule
of Tsar Alkinoi.
• In song VI, Odysseus thrown out by the waves meets the
tsar’s daughter Nausicaa, who arrives on the seashore with
her maids and rinses her clothes and escorts Odysseus to
her father’s house. Nausicaa is considered the inventor of
the game of rugby. In VII-VIII songs - Odysseus stays for
several days in the house of Alkinoi, where he talks about
his adventures from Troy to Calypso in songs IX-XII.
• In the XIII song, the Phaeaces deliver Odysseus to Ithaca, for which Poseidon,
who was hostile to Odysseus, turns their ship into rock. On Ithaca, the ever-
present patroness of Odysseus, Athena Pallas, gives him various advices and, for
the sake of security, turns him into an ugly beggar. In songs XIII-XVI, Odysseus is
in the hut of his old slave and faithful swineherd Eumeus, where Telemachus, as
mentioned above, also arrives. Father and son are considering a plan to expel the
suitors from the palace and free Penelope.
• In songs XVII-XX, Odysseus is already in his palace, but still under the guise of a
beggar, which gives him the opportunity to learn in detail the whole situation in
the palace.
• Songs XXI-XXIV already draw Odysseus in its present form. Together with his son,
he interrupts all the suitors, reveals himself to Penelope and settles in his own
house.
• But in the XXIV song he still has to crush the rebellion on Ithaca of supporters of
the suitors; only after this begins his happy peaceful life in his own home after a
20-year break.
What is the main subject of the «Odyssey»?
Professor Grant L. Voth: “The Odyssey” shares most of the characteristics of an epic with
“the Iliad”. Among its thematic concerns, it shares with the Iliad, the hero’s need to win
personal fame and make a name for himself. It features a hero who more than anything else
wants to make a name for himself and achieve enduring fame”.
Arguments: 1) “The episode with the Cyclops illustrates this motif of honor in the poem.
Odysseus does not have to confront the Cyclops, but he does. Despite the loss of six of his best
men, Odysseus adds to his reputation and glory. Once he has escaped, Odysseus makes sure
that the Cyclops knows who it was who bested and blinded him, even at the risk of getting
himself or more of his crew killed by the one-eyed giant. As in the Iliad, in this poem one has
to expose oneself to risk in order to become somebody, a hero with a name that reaches to
the ends of the world”.
2) “Most notably, Calypso offers him immortality but at the cost of reputation, fame, and being
remembered. Odysseus turns down all of them”.
3) “Odysseus could stay home and live a long but undistinguished life, or go to Troy and be
remembered forever. Odysseus goes to Troy. Odysseus constantly chooses the difficult and
dangerous way to keep on adding to his name—to be a mortal hero rather than an anonymous
immortal”.
Grant Voth about Odysseus without sympathy.
The poem is set in peacetime and has an entirely different ambience from the great war
poem on which it is modeled.
1. A third of this poem deals with hospitality and feasts and sacrifices. Odysseus in a way is
fighting to get back home to this kind of life.
2. Odysseus’s antagonists are giants, monsters, witches, and nymphs, who observe none of
the rules of heroic fighting and therefore have to be opposed with wit and guile rather
than the straightforward fair fighting of the Iliad.
3. Odysseus’s triumphant return home is no heroic victory, since—appallingly
outnumbered—he is forced to kill in cold blood 108 suitors for his wife Penelope.
4. Hence his heroic epithet, which translates as “wily” or “many-faceted,” as opposed to
the heroic epithets of the heroes of the Trojan War (e.g., Achilles being described as
“swift-footed”).
5. Hence Odysseus’s ability to tell stories and lie when in a tight spot, as opposed to the
hatred of the heroes of the Trojan War for a man “who says one thing but hides another in
his heart.”
“In medias res”
• Our point of view: The main subject of «the Odyssey» is the tale of the return of
Odysseus to Ithaca after the end of the war with Troy. This return lasted for a very
long time and took as long as 10 years.
• We have left Odysseus on the island of Calypso, he was worn out, all alone, he also
lost his crew. This is the movie. But in Homer’s epic this is the beginning of the epic
poem. Here he tells Calypso about his travels (songs 9-12 in the poem). In these
songs, Odysseus talks about his wanderings after sailing from Troy for the first three
years.
• The island of Calypso was not the first place in the traveling of Odyssey. But Homer
makes this episode the first one, and if so - the most important episode, as he uses
“in medias res” construction. In this case, such a central episode is the woeful
story of a remote and tormented man about his wanderings.
• Why does he consider this point of travelling of Odysseus to be the most
important?
 What does Homer think about the subject of the
“Odyssey”?
• Whom do we see on the island of Calypso? Before us there is a man swallowed by the suffering
after travelling to Hades after his break through the strait of Scylla and Charybdis. Odyssey lost all
his friends. In Hades Odysseus met with his Mother, who was tired of waiting for him and
committed suicide*.
• Homer describes the number of other episodes showing us that the situation is terrible. The gods
begin to worry about the fate of Odysseus, the council of the gods is held, Hermes, the
ambassador of the gods flies to Calypso and gives her a message to release Odysseus. He begins
the construction of a raft. Odysseus worked over his raft for 4 days and on the 5th day sailed
from Calypso.
• At the same time, Athena inclines Telemachus to go in search of his father. There is a meeting of
a popular Assembly on Ithaca and Telemachus is preparing to sail, (song 3) Telemachus arrives to
Nestor, then he goes to Diocles and Menelaus. Telemachus learns that no one saw his father
dead.
• For Homer this is the story of returning home. Odysseus is returning despite all the obstacles.
The Odyssey is full of fairy-tale creatures like giants, monsters, witches, and nymphs. But the
story is full of truth. The truth of the story is not connected with the fantastic creatures -it is
connected to the idea of returning home through various difficulties.
Odysseus and hid Mother in Hades.

"On this the ghost of Teiresias went back to the house of Hades, for
his prophecyings had now been spoken, but I sat still where I was
until my mother came up and tasted the blood. Then she knew me at
once and spoke fondly to me, saying, 'My son, how did you come down
to this abode of darkness while you are still alive? It is a hard
thing for the living to see these places, for between us and them
there are great and terrible waters, and there is Oceanus, which no
man can cross on foot, but he must have a good ship to take him. Are
you all this time trying to find your way home from Troy, and have
you never yet got back to Ithaca nor seen your wife in your own house?”
"'Mother,' said I, 'I was forced to come here to consult the ghost
of the Theban prophet Teiresias. I have never yet been near the Achaean
land nor set foot on my native country, and I have had nothing but
one long series of misfortunes from the very first day that I set
out with Agamemnon for Ilius, the land of noble steeds, to fight the
Trojans. But tell me, and tell me true, in what way did you die? Did
you have a long illness, or did heaven vouchsafe you a gentle easy
passage to eternity? Tell me also about my father, and the son whom
I left behind me; is my property still in their hands, or has some
one else got hold of it, who thinks that I shall not return to claim
it? Tell me again what my wife intends doing, and in what mind she
is; does she live with my son and guard my estate securely, or has
she made the best match she could and married again?'
"My mother answered, 'Your wife still remains in your house, but she
is in great distress of mind and spends her whole time in tears both
night and day. No one as yet has got possession of your fine property,
and Telemachus still holds your lands undisturbed. He has to entertain
largely, as of course he must, considering his position as a magistrate,
and how every one invites him; your father remains at his old place
in the country and never goes near the town. He has no comfortable
bed nor bedding; in the winter he sleeps on the floor in front of
the fire with the men and goes about all in rags, but in summer, when
the warm weather comes on again, he lies out in the vineyard on a
bed of vine leaves thrown anyhow upon the ground. He grieves continually
about your never having come home, and suffers more and more as he
grows older. As for my own end it was in this wise: heaven did not
take me swiftly and painlessly in my own house, nor was I attacked
by any illness such as those that generally wear people out and kill
them, but my longing to know what you were doing and the force of
my affection (love)for you- this it was that was the death of me.'
The council of the Gods
“Then Athena said, "Father, son of Saturn, King of kings,…
it is for Odysseus that my
heart bleeds, when I think of his sufferings in that lonely sea-girt
island, far away, poor man, from all his friends. It is an island
covered with forest, in the very middle of the sea, and a goddess
lives there, daughter of the magician Atlas, who looks after the bottom
of the ocean, and carries the great columns that keep heaven and earth
asunder. This daughter of Atlas has got hold of poor unhappy Odysseus,
and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget
his home, so that he is tired of life, and thinks of nothing but how
he may once more see the smoke of his own chimneys. You, sir, take
no heed of this, and yet when Odysseus was before Troy did he not propitiate
you with many a burnt sacrifice? Why then should you keep on being
so angry with him?"
“And Zeus said,
"My child, what are you talking about? How can I forget
Odysseus than whom there is no more capable man on earth, nor more
liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in heaven?
Bear in mind, however, that Poseidon is still furious with Odysseus
for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the Cyclopes. Polyphemus
is son to Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa, daughter to the sea-king Phorcys;
therefore though he will not kill Odysseus outright, he torments him
by preventing him from getting home. Still, let us lay our heads together
and see how we can help him to return; Poseidon will then be pacified,
for if we are all of a mind he can hardly stand out against us."
Odysseus and Gilgamesh. Odysseus and Sinuhe (servant)
• Let’s compare this story with the story of Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh was tyrant. He was bored. He returned back because he got tired of his
travelling and finally understood what was a real treasure for him.
• Odysseus missed home. After the ending of the war he decided to return home at
once. He did the job he needed to do. He “turned Troy into ash” as his Mother said. He
received already his portion of fame, as he invented the so called Trojan horse.
Everybody knows him, as the god Aeolus says. From the very beginning he knows
where his treasure is. It is his son, kingdom and home.
• Odysseus is tormented by trials on his way back home. He is suffering not of the
dangers he met, but losses he experienced. He seeks home, but cannot return, he
even descends to Hades in order to find his way home, he meets his dead Mother, he
looses his brothers, who were soldiers of his crew.
• Gilgamesh, during the trip, realizes that the main value for a person is his home. But
Odysseus knew it from the very beginning. But his fate is to suffer because of his pride.
He pays for the challenge he threw to the god Poseidon.
Could the Odyssey not go to the Trojan war?
• Odysseus was a king. Homer shows us the society of kings and “aristocrats”, but
they are very much special. These kings were very much close to their community
(“what belongs to master, belongs to us!”). They ate the same food as their
servants ate. They fought together with their warriors. They were first among
equals. Homer shows us the society of kings and aristocrats, but their kingdoms
were patriarchal.
• Such kind of king and aristocracy were respected not for its origin, but for its
courage. So military aristocracy was preoccupied with courage! This fact can
explain a continuing self-assertiveness and independence of the Greek public life.
It was a transitional society.
• Odysseus had to go to the war.
• It was understood by his Mother.
• “With the shield or on it”
The unity of the design of Odyssey and the Iliad

The “Odyssey” was designed by Homer after the Iliad. So it could be considered as the part
of the overall plan. Homer shows us the heroic outlook of the heroic Greek culture at the
time of war and after it. War was the part of the life of those people who were respected for
their bravery. But their courage was not a self-valued entity, it had sense in connection with
respect of the other people and the interests of the Motherland. The king fought and was
brave to be respected and obeyed by his soldiers. If so he was able to rule his kingdom. His
kingdom was his home, Motherland and the sense of life.
• With the help of the Odyssey, Homer embodied the idea of an ideal Greek polis and ideal
lifestyle of the ancient Greek.
• Grant Voth:” Achieving enduring personal fame is the primary motivation for the
warriors of Greece. Sometimes it involves sacrificing the good of one’s community or
family”.
• We: “Achieving the blossom of polis and community is the primary motivation for the
warriors at Greece. Sometimes it involves sacrificing for the good of one’s community or
family”.
"'Cyclops,' said I, 'you should have taken better measure of your ODYSSEUS and CYCLOPS
man before eating up his comrades in your cave. You wretch, eat up
your visitors in your own house? You might have known that your sin
would find you out, and now Jove and the other gods have punished
you.' ……….
"'Do not,' they exclaimed, 'be mad enough to provoke this savage creature
further; he has thrown one rock at us already which drove us back
again to the mainland, and we made sure it had been the death of us;
if he had then heard any further sound of voices he would have pounded
our heads and our ship's timbers into a jelly with the rugged rocks
he would have heaved at us, for he can throw them a long way.'
"But I would not listen to them, and shouted out to him in my rage, May be he regrets ?
'Cyclops, if any one asks you who it was that put your eye out and
spoiled your beauty, say it was the valiant warrior Ulysses, son of
Laertes, who lives in Ithaca.'
ODYSSEUS ABOUT HIMSELF

«Then Odysseus said: "Pray, Alcinous, do not take any such notion into
your head. I have nothing of the immortal about me, neither in body
nor mind, and most resemble those among you who are the most afflicted…..
As for yourselves, do as you propose, and at break of day set about helping me to
get home.
I shall be content to die if I may first once more behold my property, my
bondsmen, and all the greatness of my house”.»
Curiosity

Odysseus has many character traits that are accentuated by his adventures and
travels. The main ones are his curiosity, his intelligence or deceitfulness, and his
amazing self control. His cunning and self control help him to survive throughout
his journeys but his curiosity sometimes hurts him.
Throughout the story it is evident that one of Odysseus' major character traits is
curiosity. One example of his curiosity was when he visited the land of the Cyclops.
He said that he wanted to go see what the Cyclopes were like because he did not
know if they were "wild savages, and lawless, or hospitable and god-fearing
men."� (IX, 181). Another example of his curiosity was when he passed by the
land of the Sirens. He told his men to tie him up so he would not be enchanted by
the Sirens' songs. He said that if they were going to die, he would like to know what
killed them (XII, 170). Also, throughout the book Odysseus visits people out of
curiosity about them or the gifts they might give him. These are all examples of
how Odysseus' curiosity is portrayed in the Odyssey.
Intelligence
• Besides curiosity, the Odyssey shows that Odysseus is a very intelligent
man. His brilliance is evident in when he told Polyphemus that his
name was "No Body"� which lead to his escape from the Cyclopes'
island (IX, 183). His decision to leave his own boat outside the bay at
the Laestrogonian island showed his smarts because he knew that
there could be a possible attack from the Laestrogonians (X,100).
Another example of his intelligence was shown when Odysseus was
disguised as a beggar and he would fabricate stories about his past so
his true identity would not be discovered. He does this in when talking
to three different people about himself: Athena, Eumaeus, and
Penelope. All of these illustrations shown in the Odyssey show that
Odysseus is extremely smart and cunning.
Self-control
• Along with intelligence, Odysseus exhibits self control throughout his journeys.
One instance of this was when he decides to continue home so he can be with
Penelope despite his urge to stay Calypso who offers immortality and pleasure,
and Circe who tempt him with sex. When Odysseus is insulted and kicked by
Melanthius, a rude goatherd, Odysseus goes against his desire to beat the life out
of Melanthius with his stick which shows his ability to control himself (XVII, 264).
Another example of Odysseus' self control is shown when he decides not to lash
out against Melantho and the suitors when they insult and annoy him when he is
disguised, so he will not ruin his plans (XVIII, 377). These are all examples of
Odysseus' amazing self control.
• All the way through the Odyssey, Odysseus is portrayed as someone who gets
into tricky and dangerous situations with his curiosity but gets himself out of
these situations using his wits and cunning. He also exhibits an amazing ability to
suppresses or control his anger and desires.
Penelope –the wife of
Odysseus
• Who's Penelope?
• What does she do to avoid getting
married?(She weaves a shroud and
says she will not marry until it is
finished)
• Shroud –what is it? (cloth used to
wrap a body for burial)
• Why does Penelope finally finish the
Shroud? (Servants catch her and she is
forced to finish it)
• How long is she able to keep from
marrying? (3 years by weaving the
shroud)
• Why does Penelope test Odysseus with
the moving of the bed? (She does this
because he knows that it can't be
moved and if he gets upset she will
know its really him)
• Is Penelope faithful to Odysseus? (Yes,
she is trying to stall as long as possible
waiting for him to come home)
• How does Odysseus (disguised as the
beggar) get out of telling Penelope his
name and homeland? (he turns the
conversation on her by saying that he
will start crying if he talks about himself)
• What is Penelope telling Odysseus that
is good news to him? (that she really
loves Odysseus and she did not want to
marry any of the suitors)
Women’s characters in the Odyssey
Women characters play a far more important part in this poem than they do in
the Iliad; they are not depicted as slave women.
Helen, Circe, Calypso, and Penelope are formidable, dangerous women who easily
control men and whose power is challenged only by Odysseus (who sometimes
needs divine help to do so).
Helen in Sparta, visited by Telemachus, is marvelously in charge of her household;
Circe changes men into swine; and Calypso captures Odysseus and keeps him with
her until forced to release him by Zeus.
Penelope’s beauty, wit, and intelligence have turned 108 suitors into
metaphorical swine; in the poem’s penultimate scene, she tricks the great trickster
Odysseus into losing his temper, making her the only character in the poem ever
able to do so.
We hope that Odysseus and Penelope will spend the rest of their lives as equals—a
hope that this peacetime poem makes possible in a way the Iliad cannot.
What is the character of
Penelope?
• Who's Penelope? How is Penelope described in the
Odyssey?
• What does she do to avoid getting married
• Shroud –what is it?
• Why does Penelope finally finish the Shroud?
• How long is she able to keep from marrying?
• What is the secret between Penelope and
Odysseus?
• Is Penelope faithful to Odysseus? How does
Odysseus (disguised as the beggar) get out of
telling Penelope his name and homeland?
• What is Penelope telling Odysseus that is good
news to him? What is Penelope a symbol of? (web)
 Circe – a witch in the Odyssey
• Who is Circe? What she is famous for?
• Where does she live?
• What happens to the men after they drink
Circe's potion?
• Why does she do it?
• Who else resides in Circe's home?
• Why did Odysseus stay with Circe for a
year?
• In The Odyssey, how does Hermes assist
Odysseus with Circe?
• Why is Circe an important character in
The Odyssey? Why does Odysseus have
only one ship at this point in the journey?
Calypso - the nymph has been holding
Odysseus on the island of Ogygia.
• How is Calypso described in the
Odyssey?
• What does Calypso say to Odysseus?
• How did Calypso help Odysseus?
• Why did Odysseus leave Calypso?
• Why did Calypso let Odysseus go?
• Who is Calypso jealous of in the
Odyssey?
• What was the character of Calypso?
• What does Calypso symbolize?
• Why is Calypso important?
Tiresias - the blind
prophet
• What is Tiresias advice to Odysseus?
• Why is Tiresias important in the
Odyssey?
• What was the last task Tiresias told
Odysseus to complete?
• Who killed Tiresias?
• What is the role of Tiresias?
• Why is Tiresias important?
• What difficulties does Tiresias predict
for the journey to come?
The legacy of Odyssey and Odysseus
• The impact of the Odyssey and the Iliad on the subsequent history of literature is
incalculable.
1. Together with the Iliad the Odyssey is the main historical souse for
understanding Antique Greece and its unique culture.
2. Both Achilles and Odysseus bequeathed an idea of personal heroism that never
disappears.

3. We will encounter Achilles and Odysseus again in Greek tragedy and the works
of Shakespeare, Goethe, Faulkner, and Achebe.

4. We will meet Odysseus again in “The Divine Comedy” by Dante, in many of the
tales from Chaucer and the 1001 Nights.
 Hesiod:

• Hesiod was the first major poet after Homer.

Around 700 BC he wrote Works and Days, which is
a type of farmer’s almanac, which tells the reader
when to plow fields and plant crops. He also wrote
Theogony, which tells the stories of many different
Greek Gods.
• The other great poet of the pre-classical period was
Hesiod. Unlike Homer, Hesiod speaks of himself in
his poetry. Nothing is known about him from any
source external to his own poetry. He was a native
of Boeotia in central Greece, and is thought to have
lived and worked around 700 B.C.E..
 The works of Hesiod
• His two works were “Works and Days” and “Theogony”. The
first is a faithful depiction of the poverty-stricken country life
he knew so well, and it sets forth principles and rules for
farmers.
• Theogony is a systematic account of creation and of the gods. It
vividly describes the ages of humankind, beginning with a long-
past Golden Age.
• Together the works of Homer and Hesiod served as a kind of
Bible for the Greeks. Homer told the story of a heroic past, and
Hesiod dealt with the practical realities of daily life.