We sail to Ithaca. The adventures of Odysseus
you will organise the successive stages of Odysseus’Odysseus’ journey in chronological order
you will indicate the selected places of Odysseus’ stay on the map and tell about the events connected with them
you will explain idiomatic expressions related to mythology
Before the lesson, familiarise yourself with the history of the Trojans fight against the Greeks and with the history of Odysseus after conquering Troy (from the available source, e.g. Jan Parandowski’s Mitologia).
The Iliad and The OdysseyThe Odyssey by HomerHomer represent the same literary genre, i.e. epicepic (called classic), both of which deal with the theme of the Trojan war. The Iliad focuses on the course of the battle between the Greeks and the Trojans for beautiful Helen. The Greeks owe their victory mainly to the cleverness of Odysseus who invented a ploy with a horse given to the Trojans.
Remember that Odysseus and Ulysses are the same person. The name Odysseus is of Greek origin, while Ulysses is its Latin version.
The main theme of The Odyssey are the adventures of the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, one of the main Greek heroes of the Trojan war, returning from Troy to his home. The plot starts in Odysseus' tenth year of wanderingwandering and lasts for 40 days. We learn about all previous adventures from the hero himself who tells about his experiences at the court of the King of Phaeacians, Alkinoos (Book VIII).
Refer to the dictionary for the meaning of the word odyssey written with a lowercase.
Arrange the stages of Odysseus' journey in the right order.
- Encounter with the cyclops Polyphemus.
- Conquering the city of Ismaros, inhabited by the Cicones.
- Ithaca.
- Odysseus tells Phaeacians his story.
- Stay with Kirke.
- The battle for Troy.
- In the land of lotus-eaters.
- Companions of Odysseus eat oxen of the god Helios on Trinacia.
- Odysseus listens to the singing of Mermaids.
- The Odysseus's ship sails between Scylla and Charybdis.
- Discussion with Tiresias in Hades.
- The Odysseus alone reaches the island of the nymph Calypso.
Learn about the stages of Odysseus' journeyjourney. Then select one of the places on the map and write a few sentences about it in your notebook.
1. Troy It was Odysseus who came up with the trick that led to Troy's defeat. He suggested the builder Epeyos the idea of building a wooden horse. Inside the horse, 12 of the most courageous warriors were hidden, who managed to defeat the city’s defense. Only ruins were left of Troy.
2. The island of Cyclops Polyphemus According to the myth, Cyclopes lived in Sicily. One of Odysseus’s most famous adventures took place here, where he and his companions were imprisoned in Polyphemus’ cave. He escaped thanks to his cleverness, under the belly of a sheep. In this way, the previously blinded cyclops could not see the escapees.
3. Mermaid Island The mermaids inhabited small islands in the Mediterranean Sea, attracting travellers who sailed too close to the shore. Odysseus knew what was ahead so he ordered his sailors to tie him firmly to the ship's mast It was only when they passed the island and the singing of the mermaids quieted that their companions freed Odysseus.
4. Scylla and Charybdis Odysseus was forced to sail through the Strait of Messina, where monsters were lurking on both sides: Scylla and Charybdis Warned by the nymph Circe, he chose a route closer to Scylla, who nevertheless managed to catch several of his companions.
5. Island of the nymph Calypso Nymph Calypso lived on the island of Ogygia near the pillars of Heracles, i.e. the Strait of Gibraltar. Odysseus spent here seven years on his return trip home. Calypso wanted to make him her immortal husband.
6. Ithaca Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, one of the Greek islands. During his absence, the suitors, convinced of Odysseus’ death during the Trojan war, tried to win the hand of his wife, Penelope. And here, the hero from Troy showed his cleverness and defeated all the suitors, regaining his wife and throne.
7. Lotus-eaters In north-east Africa, on the Libyan coast, there was a land of lotus flower eaters, i.e. Lotus-eaters (or Lotophaguses). They were friendly to strangers and very hospitable. The one who tried the lotus flowers was supposed to lose his memory. Odysseus had to take his companions back to the ship by force because they had already forgotten about Ithaca.
Working in pairs, find as many adjectives as you can to define Odysseus. Write them here or in the notebook.
An extended apostropheapostrophe, usually placed at the beginning of an extensive literary work, e.g. an epic, is an invocationinvocation.
Read the invocation from Homer’s The Odyssey and follow the instructions below:
Explain how the Odysseus wandering around the world was shown in the invocation.
Find in the text the reason for the difficulties that occurred on the Odysseus' way when returning to his family home.
OdysejaPieśń pierwsza
Muzo! Męża wyśpiewaj, co święty gród Troi
Zburzywszy, długo błądził i w tułaczce swojej
Siła różnych miast widział, poznał tylu ludów
Zwyczaje, a co przygód doświadczył i trudów!
A co strapień na morzach, gdy przyszło za siebie
Lub za swe towarzysze stawić się w potrzebie,
By im powrót zapewnić! Nad siły on robił,
Lecz druhów nie ocalił: każdy z nich się dobił
Sam, głupstwem własnym. Czemuż poświęcone stada
Heliosowi pojadła niesforna gromada?
Za karę bóg też nie dał cieszyć się powrotem.
Jak było? Powiedz, córo Diosa, coś o tem!Source: [w:] Homer, Odyseja, tłum. Ludwik Siemieński, Wrocław 1992, s. 170–184.
Indicate the direct cause of such a long journey of Odysseus:
- participation in war
- eating the oxen of Helios
- abandonment of wife
- leading to the death of companions
The Odyssey is one of the classics of world literature. To this day, it is the source of motifs and themes used in literature, art and even architecture. From there come the sayings, phrases and phrases without which our language would be very poor.
Using any source, explain the meaning of the idiomatic expressions:
Explain how you understand the statement that the life of every man resembles that of Odysseus?
Keywords
epic, odyssey, Odysseus, Penelope, mermaids singing, Homer
Glossary
epos (epopeja)
odyseja
Odyseusz
Penelopa
Homer
nimfa
syrena
podróż
wędrówka
tułaczka
wyspa
statek
syreni śpiew
koń trojański
inwokacja
apostrofa