The+Odyssey,+ch.+9-10+(Homer)

Homer’s Odyssey (chap 9 and 10) What: Chapter 9 and 10 of the Odyssey pick up on Homer’s epic tale describing the end of the Trojan War and the hero, Odysseus is shipwrecked on the island of Phaeacia where he had a dinner party with king Alkinoos and recalls his adventures in the Mediterranean on his way back to his home of Ithaca. Book 9 focuses on the story of the Cyclops, who traps Odysseus and his men in his cave, but they are able to escape by putting sheep on their backs so the blind Cyclops would let them out. Book 10 focuses on tales of a land of giants, and Circe turning many of Odysseus's men into pigs, before giving Odysseus the quest to go to the land of the dead. When: composed orally around 750-700 BCE Where: Greece Why: reflects the tall stories that were being circulated about the 8th century sailors of the greek world.