Loading...
Summer Tasks for Classical Civilisation A LevelLoading...
This Ebook will guide you through all of the preliminary information that you will need in order to get up to speed with the course.
For those of you who may have never done Classics before there is no need to worry.
The activities here are designed for the complete beginner and soon you will be up to speed
However should you have any questions just get in touch with either Mr Callaghan or me (Mr Beasley)
s.beasley@cwlc.email
s.callaghan@cwlc.email
For those of you who may have never done Classics before there is no need to worry.
The activities here are designed for the complete beginner and soon you will be up to speed
However should you have any questions just get in touch with either Mr Callaghan or me (Mr Beasley)
s.beasley@cwlc.email
s.callaghan@cwlc.email
The Odyssey is Homer's epic of Odysseus' 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off suitors vying for Penelope's hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. The Odyssey ends as Odysseus wins a contest to prove his identity, slaughters the suitors, and retakes the throne of Ithaca.
The three most important aspects of The Odyssey:
The Odyssey is an epic, a very long poem on a single subject. Some epics were composed in order to be performed from memory, and so they include poetic devices to make them more memorable. And many epics, probably including The Odyssey, were written to be performed to musical accompaniment.
The journey of Odysseus from Troy to Ithaca takes ten years — the same amount of time that the Trojan War itself lasted. The extraordinary length of Odysseus' return trip, which should take a matter of weeks, is due to his many antagonists, including the god Poseidon, the many mythical creatures he encounters, and Odysseus' often greedy and lazy crewmen.
Odysseus's most memorable quality is not his bravery or strength — though he is brave and strong — but rather his cleverness. In fact, Homer refers to his protagonist throughout the epic as "wily Odysseus."
The Odyssey is an epic, a very long poem on a single subject. Some epics were composed in order to be performed from memory, and so they include poetic devices to make them more memorable. And many epics, probably including The Odyssey, were written to be performed to musical accompaniment.
The journey of Odysseus from Troy to Ithaca takes ten years — the same amount of time that the Trojan War itself lasted. The extraordinary length of Odysseus' return trip, which should take a matter of weeks, is due to his many antagonists, including the god Poseidon, the many mythical creatures he encounters, and Odysseus' often greedy and lazy crewmen.
Odysseus's most memorable quality is not his bravery or strength — though he is brave and strong — but rather his cleverness. In fact, Homer refers to his protagonist throughout the epic as "wily Odysseus."
Introduction
After an invocation to the Muse of poetry, the epic begins in medias res ("in the middle of things"). Odysseus has been gone from Ithaca for about 20 years — the first 10 spent fighting the Trojan War, the last 10 trying to get home.
Meanwhile, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, tries to fend off over 100 suitors who have invaded the royal palace, seeking her hand in marriage (and a chance of ruling Ithaca), and indulging in great amounts of food and wine at the hosts' expense. Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, is just coming of age (he is approximately 21) and is at a loss as to what to do about the suitors. Mother and son yearn for Odysseus' return.
After an invocation to the Muse of poetry, the epic begins in medias res ("in the middle of things"). Odysseus has been gone from Ithaca for about 20 years — the first 10 spent fighting the Trojan War, the last 10 trying to get home.
Meanwhile, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, tries to fend off over 100 suitors who have invaded the royal palace, seeking her hand in marriage (and a chance of ruling Ithaca), and indulging in great amounts of food and wine at the hosts' expense. Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, is just coming of age (he is approximately 21) and is at a loss as to what to do about the suitors. Mother and son yearn for Odysseus' return.
Books 1-4
The first four books deal with Telemachus' struggle (in fact, Odysseus does not appear in the epic until Book 5). A secondary plot in The Odyssey is Telemachus' coming of age, his own quest, which scholars sometimes refer to as the "Telemacheia."
The goddess Athene appears to the young prince in disguise and advises him to gather an assembly of the island's leaders to protest the invasion of the suitors. Soon after, he is to visit King Nestor of Pylos and King Menelaus of Sparta, old comrades of his father's, to gather from them any news of Odysseus.
At the assembly, the two leading suitors — the aggressive Antinous and the smooth-talking Eurymachus — confront the prince. They accuse Penelope of delaying too long in her choice of a new husband. Telemachus speaks well but accomplishes little at the assembly because the suitors are from some of the strongest families in the area and are impatient with Penelope's delays.
As Telemachus secretly sets off for Pylos and Sparta, the suitors plot to assassinate him. At Pylos, Telemachus learns little of his father but is encouraged to visit Sparta where King Menelaus reports that Odysseus is alive but held captive by the goddess nymph Calypso.
The first four books deal with Telemachus' struggle (in fact, Odysseus does not appear in the epic until Book 5). A secondary plot in The Odyssey is Telemachus' coming of age, his own quest, which scholars sometimes refer to as the "Telemacheia."
The goddess Athene appears to the young prince in disguise and advises him to gather an assembly of the island's leaders to protest the invasion of the suitors. Soon after, he is to visit King Nestor of Pylos and King Menelaus of Sparta, old comrades of his father's, to gather from them any news of Odysseus.
At the assembly, the two leading suitors — the aggressive Antinous and the smooth-talking Eurymachus — confront the prince. They accuse Penelope of delaying too long in her choice of a new husband. Telemachus speaks well but accomplishes little at the assembly because the suitors are from some of the strongest families in the area and are impatient with Penelope's delays.
As Telemachus secretly sets off for Pylos and Sparta, the suitors plot to assassinate him. At Pylos, Telemachus learns little of his father but is encouraged to visit Sparta where King Menelaus reports that Odysseus is alive but held captive by the goddess nymph Calypso.
When handing in the quiz fill in your name and email at the end so I know who's work is who. Thanks