The Odyssey Background

Who was Homer?

• A mathematician
• A famous actor and playwright
• A Greek poet
• A group of famous Greek actors

When and where was Homer born?

• born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC, possibly somewhere on the coast of Asia Minor
• born in Springfield, MO 1954
• 1654 in London
• born sometime around 600 BC in Ithaca

What two major works are attributed to Homer?

• The Odyssey and The Aeneid
• The Aeneid and The Iliad
• The Odyssey and The Symposium
• The Iliad and The Odyssey

What is the Homeric question?

• What is a homer
• Who is Homer actually, were the Illiad and Odyssey written by one person, and what are the true origins of the works.
• Are odysseys actually an important topic
• How Homer makes everyone question the true morals of the gods

Epic Poem

• a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
• a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events:
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
• A person who recites epic poems, especially one of a group in ancient Greece whose profession it was to recite the Homeric poems.

Epic Hero

• a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
• a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events:
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
• A person who recites epic poems, especially one of a group in ancient Greece whose profession it was to recite the Homeric poems.

In Medias Res

• in the middle of things
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
• A person who recites epic poems, especially one of a group in ancient Greece whose profession it was to recite the Homeric poems.

Hubris

• in the middle of things
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
• A person who recites epic poems, especially one of a group in ancient Greece whose profession it was to recite the Homeric poems.

Xenia

• in the middle of things
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
• is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality

Rhapsode

• A person who recites epic poems, especially one of a group in ancient Greece whose profession it was to recite the Homeric poems.
• excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance
• a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events:
• is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality