Odyssey

Dactylic Hexameter

  • Dactylic Hexameter was considered by the Ancient Greeks and Romans to be the foremost method of recounting classical Epic Poetry.
  • In Dactylic Hexameter each foot contains three syllables, with six feet altogether, giving a total of eighteen syllables per line.

Introduction

  • The Odyssey is the sequel to the Iliad and is written by Homer in Dactylic Hexameter.
  • It describes the ten year Journey of Odysseus (Ulysses, in Roman mythology) to return to his home at Ithaca after the fall of Troy.
  • The Journey is thought to have taken place in the Ionian Islands near the Peloponnese.
  • The Odyssey opens 10 years after the Fall of Troy and halfway through the story or In medias res (‘in the middle of things’).
  • The tale is told as a series of stories in front of an assembly, about events that have occurred previously.

Brief Synopsis

  • Introduction:
    • The Odyssey tells the tell of the last six weeks of his ten year journey to return home after the Trojan War.
  • Books 1-4:
    • These recount Telemachus’ struggle to find Odysseus, his father, after a twenty year absence.
    • Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, is besieged by one hundred Suitors who want to marry his supposed widow and are living in his house.
  • Books 5-8:
    • These introduce Odysseus and recount his release from the island of Ogygia where he was detained by the nymph Calypso. He escapes but is shipwrecked on the lands of the Phaeacians.
  • Books 9-12:
    • Odysseus recounts the tale of his journey and the mythical creatures he encountered to the Phaeacians.
  • Books 13-24:
    • These deal with Odysseus’ return journey to Ithaca, how he proves he really is Odysseus, massacres the Suitors, and becomes King of Ithaca again.

The Story

  • All the ancient editions and most modern translations are divided into 24 books. Some groups of books and certain individual books, have their own titles.
    • The Telemachy:
      • Books 1-4. Telemachus searches for his father, Odysseus, and discovers he is alive.
    • Odysseus
      • Books 5-8. Odysseus is introduced. He has been released from imprisonment by Calypso on the island of Ogygia, but is shipwrecked in the country of the Phaeacians.
    • The Apologoi:
      • Books 9-12. Odysseus recounts to the Phaeacians his struggle to journey home.
    • The Cyclopeia:
      • Book 9. His encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus.
    • The Nekuia:
      • Book 11: where Ulysses meets the spirits of the dead.
    • The Mnesterophonia.
      • Book 22: Odysseus’ slaughter of all the suitors.
    • The Ending:
      • Book 24: The ending.
    • The Telegony:
      • This is a lost alternative ending.

A Satire of The Odyssey

  • True Story
    • True Story, also known as A True History, was a Novel written by the Roman Satirist Lucian of Samosata (125-180 CE).
    • It is a satire on the Odyssey by Homer, and takes the form of an early science fiction story.

 

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