Iliad and Odyssey

MYTHOLOGY
IN THE BEGINNING….
yths were created in a large part of explain things that the ancient Greeks did not
understand i.e. Where did the world come from? Who created the first being?
yths of Greece and Rome were told orally because the societies were almost
entirely illiterate
hey passed them down in this manner from generation to generation.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
MYTH AND LEGEND…..
egend
True stories that are exaggerated
Frequently deal with heroes
X: Trojan War was a real event, but stories can’t be proven.

MYTH
Myth
•Not necessary true
Created to understand the world around us
Often times involves a supernatural being

8 REASONS FOR MYTHS
xplain natural phenomena
ontrol natural forces – sacrifices, prayer offerings, and rituals
ind people together – common belief
ecord historical events
eography lessons
et examples for peoples behaviors
ustify a social structure
ontrol people
WHY GODS AND GODDESSES
WERE CREATED?
reeks and Romans made their gods in their own image.
hey were also feared.
hey were immortal and could change form.
hey ate nectar, drank ambrosia, and lived on Mount Olympus.

WHY DO WE NEED TO KNOW
THIS?
iterature is filled with allusions to Greek gods and goddesses.
rom the Lightning Thief to Shakespeare
rt is filled with mythological stories as subjects
rom television to the latest science fiction movie
rom Atlas Tires to Superman

THE ILIAD
HOMER’S ILIAD
omer is said to be the

first teller of adventures
of all times.
He was a blind Prophet

whose date of birth is
around- 800BC
ERIS, GODDESS OF DISCORD
RESPONSIBLE FOR TROJAN WAR
Angry because she was not invited to the
wedding of the Sea Goddess Thetis to King
Peleus, Eris tossed the Golden Apple marked
“To the Fairest” into the banquet.
THE FAIREST
phrodite, (goddess of love and beauty) Hera (Zeus wife) , and Athena
(goddess of wisdom, knowledge and skill in battle) ALL wanted the apple.
eus would not choose. He did not want the goddesses angry with him.
aris was asked to make the decision.

THE DECISION
era offered to make Paris ruler

of Europe and Asia.
thena offered to let him lead

Troy in a victory over the
Spartans.
phrodite offered him the love

of the most beautiful woman in
the world.
PARIS CHOOSES APHRODITE
he most beautiful woman in

the world is Helen, the wife
of King Menelaus.
phrodite helps Paris seduce

and kidnap Helen.
THE BEGINNING OF WAR
ing Menelaus called on all those who were loyal to him.
hey gathered a huge army and built a thousand ships to carry the army to Troy.
elen of Sparta was now called “Helen of Troy.”
he was “The face that launched a thousand ships.”

THE TROJAN WAR
he battle raged for 10 years.
any great heroes lost their lives.
prophet predicted that Troy

could be captured only with the
help of Achilles.
THE HERO ACHILLES
nowing of the prophecy, and worried that

her son would be killed in war, Achilles’
mother dipped him in the river Styx to
make him immortal.
is only weakness was the place on his

heals where she held him.
ACHILLES
chilles agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to wear his armor. The next day Patroclus was
killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.
chilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector.
chilles kills Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the
walls of Troy.
inally Paris, aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the

heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound.
10 YEARS OF WAR

he Gods are tired of watching men kill each other and decide to
help end the war. Athena whispers an idea in the Spartan hero
Odysseus’s ear.

GODS AND GODDESS TAKE SIDES
For Troy
Aphrodite
Ares
Apollo
Artemis
CONTINUED
For the Greeks
Hera
Athena
Poseidon
THE TROJAN HORSE
dysseus tells them they will
build a huge horse of wood.
ome would climb inside and

hide.
he rest would sail around the tip

of the islan, where they could
not be seen.
One would stay behind and tell

the Trojans that he had been
abandoned by the Greeks, and
that the horse was an offering to
Athena.
THE FALL OF TROY
he Trojans believed the trick.
hey had a huge banquet to

celebrate the end of the war.
t night the men from inside the

horse came out and unlocked
the gates to the city.
THE BURNING OF TROY
he city is invaded by the army.
he Trojans are drunk and spent from their

night of revelry, unable to fight back.
he Spartans destroy and burn the city.
phrodite saves Helen from the destruction.

THE WAR ENDS
ing Menelaus accepts Helen back.
he Warriors can now return home.
dysseus leaves for home, his wife,

and son.
THE ODYSSEY
WHAT IS AN EPIC?
pics are long, narrative poems that tell

the adventures of heroes who in some
way embody the values of their
civilization.
WHAT TYPES OF EPICS ARE THE ILIAD
AND THE ODYSSEY?
liad – War Epic
dyssey – Journey
MODERN DAY EPICS
tar Wars
orrest Gump
obbit
ord of the Rings
izard of Oz
OTHERS?
ATTRIBUTES OF A HERO
Well aren’t I special!

EIGHT STEP TRANSFORMATION
e usually divide the Journey into eight steps, but you must
remember that the journey is a single process and an individual
adventure towards growth and transformation. As such, the
sequence of events and the duration of the experience will vary
from one person to another.
SEPARATION
(FROM THE KNOWN)
The Call to Adventure
ffers an opportunity to face the unknown.
t promises physical or spiritual gain.
omething must call the hero to action.
Often times they don’t have a choice whether to answer the call or not.
THE THRESHOLD
(JUMPING OFF POINT)
Cool Toys and Cool friends

• Early on the hero receives
assistance from an older
wiser figure.
• This helper may give our
hero a symbol of
protection/something cool to
whoop on people and
animals.
ALLIES
BETTER KNOWN AS
HOMIES
long the journey the hero will find a loyal companion
f they are lucky, it might be several loyal friends.
his cool friends assist the hero on their journey home

INITIATION AND
TRANSFORMATION
The Challenges
he hero will encounter trials and tests along the way.
he hero will meet many foes (bad guys)

The hero will have many
challenges to overcome.
These will help the hero grow stronger,
wiser. They have to learn a lesson.
INITIATION AND
TRANSFORMATION
The Abyss
he greatest challenge is faced here.
he lowest point for the hero on this journey
hey usually break emotionally and submit or give up to the lesson of the journey.
INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
The Revelation and the Atonement
he hero achieves the goal of his/her quest
he hero will gain understanding (rebirth)
ust make peace with the new situation or the new you.
THE RETURN
(WITH A GIFT)
eturn to our everyday life but as a new person.
he essence of the return is to begin contributing to society.

A FEW WORDS
f a hero is properly defined as somebody

who does something dangerous to help
somebody else, then the heroes of Greek
mythology do not qualify.
BECAUSE
hey were a pretty selfish bunch, often with

additional antisocial tendencies thrown into
the bargain--in other words, not exactly role
models for the younger generation of today.
HOW IS ODYSSEUS DIFFERENT
FROM OTHER HEROES?
ero in Trouble
lever (not just brute strength)
id not want to go to war

WHY DID ODYSSEUS OBJECT TO
THE TROJAN WAR?
e believes no war should be

fought over an unfaithful
woman (Helen).
e wants to stay at home with his

wife and newborn son.
o, he tried to pretend he was crazy.
enelaus put him to the test.

ODYSSEUS ATTEMPTS TO
“DRAFT DODGE”
ried to appear insane by planting salt instead of seeds.
raft recruiters throw his son in front of his plow.
dysseus reveals his sanity by avoiding running over Telemachus.

THE EPIC BEGINS
dysseus been gone 20 years.
elemachus is 20 years old.
uitors have invaded his house, robbing him of

his inheritance, and attempt to marry his
other Penelope (Odysseus’s Wife)

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MYTHOLOGY

hey passed them down in this manner from generation to generation.

True stories that are exaggerated

Frequently deal with heroes

X: Trojan War was a real event, but stories can’t be proven.

Created to understand the world around us

Often times involves a supernatural being

xplain natural phenomena

ontrol natural forces – sacrifices, prayer offerings, and rituals

ind people together – common belief

ecord historical events

et examples for peoples behaviors

ustify a social structure

reeks and Romans made their gods in their own image.

hey were also feared.

hey were immortal and could change form.

hey ate nectar, drank ambrosia, and lived on Mount Olympus.

iterature is filled with allusions to Greek gods and goddesses.

rom the Lightning Thief to Shakespeare

rt is filled with mythological stories as subjects

rom television to the latest science fiction movie

rom Atlas Tires to Superman

omer is said to be the

He was a blind Prophet

aris was asked to make the decision.

era offered to make Paris ruler

thena offered to let him lead

phrodite offered him the love

he most beautiful woman in

phrodite helps Paris seduce

elen of Sparta was now called “Helen of Troy.”

he was “The face that launched a thousand ships.”

he battle raged for 10 years.

any great heroes lost their lives.

prophet predicted that Troy

nowing of the prophecy, and worried that

is only weakness was the place on his

inally Paris, aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the

ome would climb inside and

he rest would sail around the tip

One would stay behind and tell

he Trojans believed the trick.

hey had a huge banquet to

t night the men from inside the

he city is invaded by the army.

he Trojans are drunk and spent from their

he Spartans destroy and burn the city.

phrodite saves Helen from the destruction.

ing Menelaus accepts Helen back.

he Warriors can now return home.

dysseus leaves for home, his wife,

pics are long, narrative poems that tell

liad – War Epic

ord of the Rings

Well aren’t I special!

The Call to Adventure

ffers an opportunity to face the unknown.

t promises physical or spiritual gain.

omething must call the hero to action.

Cool Toys and Cool friends