The Iliad and the Odyssey

Two of the earliest works of Western literature are the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were composed by the Greek poet Homer. The poems focus primarily on the Trojan War and its aftermath as well as the relationships between mortal men and the Greek gods. Nobody knows if the poems are based on factual events, and whether Homer was real or not is another long-debated matter. (=Homer may not be the _________

of the author of the Illiad and the Odyssey.) Despite questions about their veracity and authorship, the Iliad and the Odyssey rank among the greatest works in the Western canon.	1단락

The Trojan War was a ten-year conflict between the invading Greeks and the defending Trojans. The impetus for the war happened when the Trojan prince Paris—with assistance from the goddess Aphrodite—abducted Helen, the world’s most beautiful woman and the wife of the Greek Menelaus. Enraged, the greatest Greek warriors joined an army led by Agamemnon, Menelaus’s brother, and sailed to Troy to avenge the insult Paris gave / had given them. Homer’s story, told in the Iliad, starts near the war’s end. According to the Iliad, one of the gods has caused the Greek army to fall sick, and the only way to recover is by releasing one of their captives, the daughter of a priest of the god Apollo. The girl had been claimed by Agamemnon, who releases her, but he then takes one of the captives of Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior, as compensation. Achilles becomes livid when Agamemnon seizes the girl Briseis and refuses to battle the Trojans. 2단락

Agamemnon assaults the city, but this tactic fails without the presence of Achilles. The Greek leader offers apologies and gifts to Achilles—including returning Briseis—but, still not mollified, Achilles refuses. Achilles’s cousin Patroclus begs to be allowed to join the fight. Achilles relents and lends Patroclus his distinctive armor, but Patroclus is killed by Hector, Troy’s greatest warrior and the older brother of Paris, who initially believes he has defeated Achilles, Saddened and further enraged,→Achilles challenges Hector to single combat, slays him beneath the walls of Troy, and proceeds to drag Hector’s corpse behind his chariot as he? circles the city.(= Achilles is eager to a_______ the death of his cousin.) Later that night, thanks to the assistance of the gods, King Priam of Troy enters the Greek camp, finds Achilles, and begs for his son’s body to be returned for a proper funeral. Achilles, touched by the old man’s pleas, permits Priam to depart with Hector’s body. 3단락

They also survive (긍정적)  sailing past the island of the sirens and successfully escape the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis.

At that point in the story, the Iliad comes to an end, and subsequent events are covered in the Odyssey.

(= ________ is followed by _________) The Odyssey focuses on the ten-year journey home by Odysseus, the craftiest of the Greeks. He is the king of Ithaca and left behind his wife Penelope and young son Telemachus when he sailed off to war. While the Odyssey does not start with the end of the Trojan War, it eventually tells the tale of the death of Achilles, the success of the Trojan Horse, which was Odysseus’s idea, and the sacking and burning of Troy. ❶After the war, Odysseus and his men set sail for home but are cursed by the gods Poseidon and Helios, who prevent them from returning to Ithaca. ❷As they try in ______ to get home, Odysseus and his men have numerous encounters with monsters such as  and the witch Circe. ❸Odysseus himself spends seven years on an island with Calypso, a nymph, where he is a virtual prisoner until she relents and permits his departure.❹(긍정적)

Meanwhile, in Ithaca, Odysseus is believed to have perished, so numerous suitors are competing for Penelope’s hand in marriage. She puts them off in the hope that Odysseus will return home, and Telemachus sails off in s______ of his father. After ten years, Odysseus’s men have all died, but he manages to return home at the same time as Telemachus. They? decide to kill the suitors and warn Penelope of their plan. She declares that she will marry / marry with the person who is strong enough / enough strong to bend Odysseus’s great bow and to shoot an arrow with it. Every suitor fails, but Odysseus, who has disguised himself, successfully strings the bow. He promptly shoots a suitor and then he, Telemachus, and some loyal followers slaughter the remaining interlopers.

if(목/보) vs whether (주/목/보)

= truth

The Greatest epic poems of the Western canon

= i_____________

causative role in taking place the Trojan War

= k______________

Troy전쟁 때의 그리스군의 총지휘관

=furious

= placate

= give ___

스킬라 바위에 살던 머리 6개, 다리 12개 달린 여자 괴물.

바다의 소용돌이를 의인화한 여괴(女怪)

=

proceed

= sneakiest

without success in spite of your efforts

키르케 남자를 돼지로 만든 마녀

Odysseus를 유혹한 바다의 요정

In spoken English,

get married is more common than marry

have more than one string to your bow

→to have more than one skill, idea, plan etc that you can use if you need to