An odyssey, if you will, since The Odyssey, by Homer, will be our first title this year.
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| This is a relatively new edition of The Odyssey, translated by Stephen Mitchell. |
First, A Little Background
The Odyssey is a sequel of sorts to The Iliad, also by Homer. The Iliad tells the story of the war between the Greeks (or Achaeans) and the Trojans.
The war begins when Helen, the wife of a Greek king (Agamemnon) is "kidnapped" and taken to Troy. The Greeks sail over to Troy, lay siege to the city for 10 years, and eventually win the war (and get Helen back) thanks in part to the clever strategies of Odysseus.
You've probably heard the story of the Trojan Horse, right? Yeah, well that was Odysseus's idea. So he's a pretty big hero in The Iliad, but he's even more of a hero in The Odyssey, which tells the tale of his difficult journey back from Troy after the war.
And Now A Little Foreground
When you flip your copy open to Book I, I'm pretty sure that one of the first things you'll notice is that The Odyssey is a poem. An epic poem, to be precise, and it's about 400 pages long.
DON'T FREAK OUT.
For one thing, The Odyssey tells a story, and a pretty compelling one at that. And for another, the wording is relatively straightforward. You can ignore the line breaks and read the sentences the way you would read any other sentences—without pausing until you hit a period or other punctuation mark.
That said, I understand that if you're not familiar with the story of Odysseus, or if this is your first time tackling an epic poem or an Ancient Greek text, there may be times when you find yourself wondering if you've really understood the section you've just read.
If you do find yourself in that situation, do two things:
- Go back to the advice above. (Don't freak out.)
- Click on over to Shmoop.com and check out their Book by Book summary of The Odyssey.
The nice thing about Shmoop's summaries is that they tell you straight up what happens with no in-depth analysis. That can be a big help when you just need some reassurance that you're getting it. And the more you read, the more you'll find that you are getting it, and that will feel good.
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| Poseidon plays a significant role in The Odyssey, as the cover of this graphic novel version of the story suggests. |
Hey—I Know that Guy!
One thing that will help you "get" The Odyssey is that you probably already know some of the tales of Odysseus and his cohort. Greek and Roman (and Egyptian and Norse) mythology have made their way into many
children’s and young adult novels, not to mention the Marvel Universe (any Thor fans out there?), so you're probably going to recognize some of
the gods and goddesses in The Odyssey.
And if you're familiar with books like the Percy Jackson series by Rick
Riordan, or if you just remember some of the fairy tales, folk tales, and
picture books you may have read earlier in life, you'll likely recognize some
of the stories, too, which is great.
In reading The Odyssey, you're getting a chance to explore a piece of literature that has
served as the source material for many modern stories. It’s kind of like
reading a work of fiction that’s set in your hometown: there’s so much that’s
familiar, and there are so many opportunities to say, “Hey—I know that guy,” or “I’ve been to that place!”
Three Thousand Years
Young
As old as The Odyssey
is, all of its stories, which were likely well-loved in their own era, have
held up over time. You won't have to get to far into it before you notice that:
- you actually recognize—and like—a lot of the characters and plot elements from Odysseus’s adventure; and
- there’s some seriously entertaining storytelling going on here.
All of which means that reading an epic poem
doesn’t have to be an epic fail.
Your Assignment
In addition to reading the book, please complete one of the following assignments for our discussion:
1. Write a response to the following question: Considering the role the gods play in the lives of humans in The Odyssey, just how responsible are the human characters for their actions? To what extent do the humans have free will? How much do the choices that humans make ultimately matter? Use examples from the book to support your opinions.
2. Illustrate your favorite scene from the book using the medium of your choice (pen and paper, charcoal, watercolor, collage, a graphic design program of some sort, photography, etc.).
3. Choose a short section of The Odyssey (shoot for at least ten lines) to memorize and recite for the group.
And Finally ...
Bring your book, whatever edition you have, to our meeting on September 25th. See you then!
