HOMER: THE MAN, THE MYSTERY

HE WAS NOT: THIS GUY

He Was Not From: This Place

He Might Have Looked Like This:

Or This:

Or This:

And He May Have Inspired People Like This:

But…

Though he wrote a few of the most famous texts in our literary history, very little is know about:

• Who he was

• Where he lived, and

• How he came to write The Odyssey and The Iliad

HOWEVER…

Scholars Think That He:

Was blind Composed The Odyssey in the late eighth

or early seventh century B.C. He lived in Ionia, located in eastern

Aegean. Wrote the poems to be sung/performed,

but that he did write them down.

So, What is an Epic poem?

A long narrative poem in elevated style presenting characters of high position in adventures forming an organic whole through their relation to a central heroic figure and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.

Examples: The Divine Comedy

Beowulf The Iliad

The Odyssey Epic of Gilgamesh

The Aeneid

In An epic poem…

A larger than life main character (demigods, heroes, etc.) that embodies the ideals of a particular culture or nation—epic struggle/goal

The gods/goddesses intervene in the events/mortal lives

Setting of upheaval/change. Ex. End of Trojan War.

“Epic” in length. Odyssey=24 books Wide setting—travel spans countries, the

time can span decades

An Epic Poem Contains:

Long speeches in elevated/courtly language to recount events and stories in the fashion of bards—written for performance/song

In-medias-res opening (often) Repetition: epithets—help in both meter

form and establishing character “grey eyed Athena”

Epic similes—extended, ornate comparisons using like or as

The invocation of the muses at the start

Homer DID Invoke the Muse/s:

THE MUSES:

Zeus and Mnemosyne (goddess of Memory)

9 nights=9 muses Sing of the gods and their deeds—”sing”

of the past deeds of a culture Uphold the arts and sciences Inspire and summon the memory in the

arts Authors call for inspiration—epic poetry Homer calls “the muse” and the “muses

THE MUSES

Calliope—epic poetry Clio—history Erato—love poetry Euterpe—music Melpomen—tragedy Polyhymnia—hymns Terpsichore—dance Thaleia—comedy Urania--astronomy

MUSES

MUSES

“THE MUSE”: Calliope (ka-lye-a-pee)

Favorite of Homer

Muse of Epic Poetry

Eldest

Invocation:

Calls to the muse to aid the author Establishes plot Establishes characters Establishes theme Calls to culture/history Employs literary devices like: epithet and

epic simile