The Odyssey

Humorous new title for the epic.

Why do you think the satirist chose this as the title?

Calypso(c. 1906) George Hitchcock. Oil on canvas.Indianapolis

Museum of Art.

• How has the painter characterized Calypso? Do you think there is any relationship between her white dress and the white clouds?

Ulysses second century

B.C.

• Marble statue of Odysseus

The Ship of Odysseus

part of an Odysseus series by Francois-Louis Schmied

(1930-1933)

• What qualities of this ship are emphasized with the artist’s use of color and shape? Explain.

Odysseus and Polyphem

(1910) Color Print.L. du Bois-Reymond

• Depicts Odysseus taunting Polyphemus as he and his men make their escape. HUBRIS!

Tilla Durieux as Circe

(c. 1912-1913)Franz von

Struck. Oil on paper.

Ulysses Descending into the Underworld (16th century). Giovanni Stradano. Fresco. Vecchio, Florence.

How has the artist distinguished Odysseus from the dead?

Odysseus and the Sirens (19th century)

• How does the artist’s depiction of the Sirens affect your understanding of this scene in the epic?

Scylla and Charybdis from the Ulysses Cycle (1580); Alessandro Allori; fresco; Florence

Athene and Telemach from

Odyssey II (1975); Marc

Chagall; lithograph

What do you think the artist was attempting

to convey or create in

this painting?

The Goddess Athena Disguises Ulysses as a Beggar (18th century); Giuseppe Bottani; Italy

Ulysses and His Son Telemachus (A.D. first century)

This detail of an ancient Roman mosaic shows Odysseus and Telemachus. How does the technique of clustering colored tiles together afftect the kind of image that can be created?

Ulysses and His Dog (c. 1900)

This illustration comes from the late 19th or early 20th century. Compare it to some of the illustrations shown on clay urns from Ancient Greece. What elements do they have in common? How are they different?

This is a detail from an 18th-century

portrait of Penelope. Notice

that she still grieves for Odysseus, even

after 20 years.

What qualities are emphasized in this portrait and how do they compare with

the qualities of Penelope highlighted

in the text.

Trial of the Bow (1929);

N.C. Wyeth;

illustration from The Odyssey of Homer

How does the artist show suspense in this painting?

The Slaughter of the Suitors

(1929); N.C. Wyeth;

illustration from The Odyssey of

Homer

Which one of these people is Odysseus? How do you know?

Death of the Suitors; The

Odyssey (1944); Henry Spencer Moore; black

chalk, wash and ink on paper; U.K.

What mood is created in this drawing? How?

Plaque with the return of Odysseus (c. 460-450 B.C.); Classical Greek

What specific part of Odysseus’ return do you think this represents? Support your answer with evidence from the visual.

by Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker, an American writer of the early 20th century, wrote many poems offering a woman’s perspective on life. In “Penelope,” Parker imagines what Odysseus’ wife might have thought about his journeys.

In the pathway of the sun, In the footsteps of the breeze,Where the world and sky are one, He shall ride the silver seas,

He shall cut the glittering wave.I shall sit at home, and rock;Rise, to heed a neighbor's knock;Brew my tea, and snip my thread;Bleach the linen for my bed.

They will call him brave.

The End