Homer. The Odyssey, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
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| Homer |
Homer's The Odyssey is the second poetic narrative which concludes the legendary journey home to Ithaca of the Greek hero Odysseus after the war of Troy illustrated in Homer's first epic The Illiad. This 8th century B.C.E. poem consisting of 12, 110 lines is the literary antiquity of ancient Greece at its greatest.
Filled with all the imagery of Greek mythology, this sea-faring adventure contains interventions of and meddling in the journey of Odysseus by the Greek gods, many whom are out to destroy his ill-fated voyage. It is a story of family loyalty, tests of courage, the horrors of war and the mortality of men, with strong suggestions of the introduction of historical changes in Greek philosophical culture and beliefs embedded in this tale.
Students may wish to take note of the powerful conversation between Odysseus and the great hero Achilles whilst in the netherworld of Hades. Archeologists and Historians have come to learn a great deal about the meanings of Greek phrases, burial customs and beliefs concerning the afterlife from this most poignant and solemn conversation on mortality, including the ritual of feeding blood to the dead (post-funerary rites).
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