The Odyssey Themes Vocabulary & - PowerPoint Presentation

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The Odyssey

Themes Vocabulary &

Background Information

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World Map

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Map of The Mediterranean Sea

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Map Of Aegean Sea

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Homer’s Greece

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Homer’s view of the world

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Homer’s View of the world

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Homeric Galley

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Modern Recreation

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Homeric soldier

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Greek spear- called a ‘dory’

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Bronze Age Swords

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Homeric shield

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Cuirass (body armor)

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Greaves (shin Guards)

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Helmet

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Wine bowl (Kylix) & Wine skin

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Vocabulary

Epic

-

The word epic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective, “

epikos

”, which

means

a poetic story. In literature, an epic is a long narrative poem, which is usually

related

to heroic deeds of a person of an unusual courage and unparalleled bravery

.

Epic Hero-

a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for

great achievements

or affected by grand events.

Oral Tradition-

oral tradition is information passed down through the generations

by

word of mouth that is not written down. this includes historical and cultural

traditions

, literature and law.

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Fatal flaw-

Also called the tragic flaw

is a literary device that can be defined as a

trait

in

a

character leading to his downfall, and the character is often the hero of the literary

piece

. This trait could be the lack of self-knowledge, lack of judgment, and often it is

hubris

(pride

).

Hubris (pride)-

Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character, which

ultimately

brings about his downfall. Hubris is a typical flaw in the personality of a

character

who enjoys a powerful position; as a result, he often overestimates his

capabilities

to such an extent that he loses contact with reality

.

Invocation to the Muse-

A prayer or address is made to one of the nine muses of

Greco-Roman

mythology. The poet asks for the inspiration, skill, knowledge, or the right

emotion

to finish a poem worthy of his subject matter.

In media res-

Latin for "into the middle of things." It usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in the action.

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Hero’s journey-

is the common template of a broad category of tales that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home

changed

or transformed

.

Homeric simile-

Homeric Similes, also known as Epic Similes, are elaborate

comparisons

between two different objects using like or as. A Homeric Simile, however,

is

used to redirect the reader’s attention in unexpected, humorous, gruesome or heroic

ways

, as well as being much longer. Ex: •“I drove my weight on it from above and bored

it

home like a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwright’s drill that men below,

whipping

the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting, never stopping –So

we

seized our stake with it fiery tip and bored it round and round in the giant’s eye

.”

Homeric Epithets-

an epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality

characteristic

of the person or thing mentioned. Homer uses these as mnemonic devices

to

help speaker and listener remember the poem. Ex: “earth-shaking Poseidon” (This will

be

repeated as a name/description for Poseidon throughout the poem.”

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Patronyms-

a type of epithet which is a component of a personal name based on the

given

name of one's father or grandfather. Ex: Calling Menelaus “Son of Atreus” or

“

Atrides

” (which means “son of Atreus.”)

Pantheon-

from the Greek “pan” meaning all and “

theos

” meaning gods, the

pantheon referred

to all the Gods in the Greek belief system (and, more universally,

to

all the gods of any particular belief system i.e. the Norse pantheon, the Egyptian

pantheon

, the Roman pantheon etc.)

Archetype-

In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action, or a

situation

that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature. An archetype,

also

known as “universal symbol,” may be a character, a theme, a symbol, or even a

setting

. Many literary critics are of the opinion that archetypes – which have a

common

and recurring representation in a

particular

human culture, or

all humanity–

shape the structure and function of a literary work

.

Trickster-

a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or talking

animal

), which exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge, and uses it

to

play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behavior.

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Divine Intervention (Deus ex Machina)-

Deus ex Machina (Latin for “Machine of the

Gods

”) refers to incidence in a story where an implausible concept or character is

brought

into the story in order to make the conflict in the story resolve and to bring about a pleasing solution

.

Arete

(Excellence & Virtue)-

in its basic sense, means "excellence of any kind". The

term

may also mean "moral virtue". In its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function: the act of living up to one's full potential

.

Aristeia

- -

is

a scene in the dramatic conventions of epic poetry as in the

Iliad

, where a hero in battle has his finest moments (aristos = "best"). An

aristeia

can

result

in the death of the hero at the

aristeia's

end

Kleos

(glory)-

is the Greek word often translated to "renown", or "glory". It is related to

the

word "to hear" and carries the implied meaning of "what others hear about you". A

Greek

hero earns

kleos

through accomplishing great deeds

.

Xenia (hospitality)-

(“guest-friendship") is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship.

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Dactylic Hexameter-

also known as "heroic hexameter" and "the meter of epic") is a

form

of meter or rhythmic scheme in poetry. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical epic poetry in both Greek and Latin and was consequently

considered

to be the grand style of Western classical poetry. 12 syllable line; stressed followed by two unstressed syllables. Ex:

This

is the /

for

est prim- /

ev

al

. The /

mur

muring

/

pines

and the /

hem

locks

,

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Traits of an Epic Hero

Hero

is of noble

or divine birth

Has

superhuman

capabilities

Is

a vast traveler

Unmatched Warrior/Speaker/Leader

Battles

Supernatural

Foes

The

hero’s courage and skill will be

tested

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Traits of an epic poem

Encompass’s

a country’s ‘heroic ideal

.’

Takes

place on a vast scale (often all over

earth-even

otherworldly places

)

Involves

superhuman

deeds

Gods

take an active

part

Is

written in a “High Speech” to reflect the grandeur of the subject

matter

Invokes

a muse (Greek, Late & Medieval)

Begins

“in media res”

Contains

a catalog of principle characters

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Themes of an epic poemParental Relationships

Heroism

Hospitality (Moral Codes in General)

Loyalty

Leadership