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The Odyssey. A Greek Epic. Greek Art & Literature. The Odyssey is a prime example of classical Greek literature. Serves as the foundation for Western Literature. Greek Art & Literature.
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The Odyssey A Greek Epic
Greek Art & Literature • The Odyssey is a prime example of classical Greek literature. • Serves as the foundation for Western Literature.
Greek Art & Literature • Greek literature tells us how the Greeks saw themselves and how they defined human relationships to society.
Greek Art & Literature • GnÔthi Seautou – “know thyself” • Inscribed at the entrance to the Temple of Apollo (important religious center)
“Know Thyself” • Passage refers to an attempt to understand human existence in a hostile world. (i.e., dealing with being a tiny part of an uncontrollable, dangerous world)
“Know Thyself” • Socrates seized on this notion – “The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.”
“Know Thyself” • How you live and why you live is important. • Do your actions make you better? • Does your life have value?
Greek Art & Literature • Art and Literature were both social and functional. • No private art • No “art for art’s sake”
Social Art • Art was created for and performed in communities. • Plays were performed at a yearly festival for the public.
Social Art • Temples and sculptures were open to everyone. • There was no private ownership of art.
Social Art • Greeks believed that a solitary thinker couldn’t find truth. • Thought truth was uncovered through interaction with others.
Functional Art • Simply put, the majority of Greek art and literature focuses on one question: “How should I live?”
The Community • Requirements for citizenship in Athens: male, landholder, and free. • Being a citizen obligated you to fight in the wars.
The Community • Greece was a slave society. • Slavery was not race-based. • Conquered city-states gave up women and children to be slaves.
The Community • Competitiveness was deeply ingrained in the Greek psyche. • Competitiveness hurt democracy, but instilled a passion for excellence.
The Community • Aretê – “excellence” • Greek heroes showed excellence in battle and excellence with words.
The Community • Greeks had a powerful attachment to place. • Home was sacred; you didn’t move around.
The Community • The Athenians had occupied the land for centuries and thought of themselves as “born from the earth” (autochthonous)
The Odyssey Odysseus’s Return Home
The Odyssey • Attributed to Homer. • We really don’t know much about him. • Tradition says he was a blind poet from the island of Chios.
The Odyssey • About the aftermath of the Trojan War.
The Trojan War • 1240-1230 B.C. • Alliance of four Greek kings fought the Trojan empire.
The Trojan War • Agamemnon • Menelaus • Odysseus • Nestor
The Trojan War • War supposedly started when Paris Alexander kidnapped Helen of Troy.
Trojan War • Four Greek kings had been suitors of Helen before she married Menelaus. • Greeks won the war with the Trojan Horse.
The Odyssey • Composed around 725 BC, much later than the actual war. • Originally a song and was later written down
The Odyssey • An epic poem: • Long narrative poem • Setting is a huge space • Gods and supernatural beings
The Odyssey • An epic poem: • Main character – Hero • Hero – reflects values and ideas of society and culture
The Odyssey • An epic poem: • Presents a complete picture of a certain world. • Tells us quite a bit about Greek thought and society.
Odysseus • Simply wants to go home to Ithaca • Home is where he is his fullest self. • Home gives him his identity.
Odysseus • Differs from other classic heroes in that intelligence is his greatest gift. • For him, thinking is a reflex.
