Teaching The Odyssey: Unraveling the Meaning of Homer\’s Epic

Teaching The Odyssey is always a struggle for new teachers and even those of us that have been around for a while. I\’m sure we\’re all familiar with the less than stellar presentations of the epic in the textbooks and workbooks sold to us over and over again. When we force these presentations, students are confused. Sometimes WE are confused. There\’s something missing. To truly appreciate Homer, students must delve beyond its surface level narrative and embrace the context and structure of Odysseus\’ journey.

Unveiling the Ancient World

First, to grasp the essence of The Odyssey, one must first comprehend the historical and cultural context in which it was created. It is a lot to ask students to explore the intricacies of Greek mythology, religious beliefs, and societal norms of the time in order to recognize the significance of various characters, events, and settings within the narrative. Every year it feels like more and more tasks are added to our plates, and the days of brief contextual research projects may be long gone.

This is where we rethink our presentation. The Odyssey is a love story, a story of a son who wants to live up to his father, a story of a man who tells so many tall tales that we all believe them to be true.

Therefore start with the hook: Telemachus. Every textbook barely mentions him until Odysseus returns home, and what a blunder on the part of those books. The young son, heartsick for his father\’s return is the gateway for our students. Of course we hardly have the time to read the entire epic, so set it up for your students! Discuss those first four books of The Odyssey with your students. Make Telemachus and his journey come alive. If our students can relate to anything, they can relate to the yearning for a father\’s love and attention.

Take a look at my first lesson package for the Odyssey. Thorough notes help you discuss Telemachus and the rest of the books of The Odyssey that lead up to Odysseus\’s departure from Troy, all for just $4.00!

Teaching the Depth of the Odyssey

Next, students must understand that The Odyssey is not simply a linear story of Odysseus\’ journey back to his homeland of Ithaca after the Trojan War. The poem is structured as a series of flashbacks and tales narrated by Odysseus himself, while the main story progresses simultaneously. This is where you can have some fun! The various textbook representations of The Odyssey don\’t do a great job of setting up the context and structure of everything that happens from the Lotus Eaters to the Cyclops to Scylla and Charybdis.

Ask your students why all of these fantastical elements happen all together with pages and pages of plot on either side. In fact they happen over the course of 4 books in a 24 book epic. Odysseus relates these amazing encounters to the King of Phaeacia, a man he is surely trying to impress!

Ask your students to inquire about the trustworthiness of Odysseus, a man who absolutely contributes to his own myth. The Odyssey is a journey home, but it is also the journey of a man establishing his glory in the shadow of Achilles, the hero of The Iliad. Students can unlock the brilliance of Homer\’s work when they realize how the character of Odysseus creates his own myth even as Homer develops the overarching themes of heroism, temptation, and the nature of destiny.

Understanding the structure helps students piece together the fragments of the narrative puzzle, revealing the interconnectedness and symbolic significance of each episode. My second lesson on The Odyssey helps students piece together these ideas on their own as you assess their learning and their mastery of ELA standards.

Teaching Lessons for the Modern World

Then it\’s all about Penelope. Is The Odyssey a love story? Absolutely yes! Is teaching The Odyssey a love story too? Well that depends on your approach. His desire for homecoming is more real than anything else he feels throughout the epic. By frontloading the historical framework and intricate structure of Homer\’s epic students can appreciate the power of Odysseus\’s return, his reunion with the son he barely knows, and the first hints at restoring his marriage to Penelope. There\’s a reason Odysseus\’s return to Ithaca and the reclamation of his kingdom is just as long as everything that came before: it is what he has strived for all along. And after all, Penelope is among the coolest, most virtuous, and craftiest women in all of literature. No wonder Athena admires Odysseus; the goddess wishes she had the courage, devotion and composure of Penelope.

Bring your students\’ understanding full circle with my lesson on Odysseus\’s homecoming to Ithaca. Nostos: return, the nostalgia for years past. It is all here.

Teaching the Catharsis of The Odyssey

By the end students should feel the same ecstatic urge that Odysseus feels to reclaim his homeland. That\’s another issue with the presentation of the story in all those textbooks: it isn\’t epic enough! Allow your students to feel the grandeur of the bow shot, the visceral relief of the slaughter of the suitors, and Penelope\’s aching heart, a heart that must test her husband because she cannot allow herself to feel false hope after so long.

Concluding the Odyssey

Teaching The Odyssey becomes a joy students can recognize the importance of context and structure. By understanding the historical and cultural backdrop, students can uncover the layers of symbolism and thematic depth embedded within the poem, and they can begin to interpret the events and characters on their own terms. Similarly, by comprehending the narrative structure, they can piece together the intricate mosaic that reveals the profound messages and lessons that resonate across time. The Odyssey serves as a testament to the enduring power of literature, reminding us that the exploration of context and structure can unlock profound wisdom and meaning.

Have I convinced you that teaching The Odyssey can be fun, fulfilling and engaging?

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