Name: Maaida Kirmani
Class Period: 6
Date: 9/19/14
The Odyssey Webquest
TASK 1
Who was Homer?
Follow the link and write 6 facts about Homer. Then click the “>” button at the bottom of the page and write 2 reason why he is important.
About Homer:
- Blind
- Lived with a poets guild
- Wrote Iliad
- blind
- From the island of Chios
- Provided a fixed model of heroism
Importance:
- Established archetypes
- Wrote the odyssey
TASK 2
Write a two to three sentence definition for each of the following using the following link:
Encyclopedia Mythica
GODS
Aeolus is god of the winds. He gave Odysseus a bag of winds to help him home.
Apollo is the god of medicine, archery, poetry, the sun, etc. When he was a baby he stole a cow from his brother but then created a lyre to distract him. His brother loved it so much he never cared about what happened to his cow
Athena is the goddess of wisdom and battle. She was born through floating out of Zeus’ skull
Helios is the old god of the sun. He drove the chariot that was the sun before Apollo took over
Muses are the goddesses of the arts, such as music, theater etc. They are Zeus’ daughters and there are nine of them.
Poseidon is the earthshaker, god of the seas, and horses. Very stormy personality and one of the big three
Zeusis the god of the skies and thunderstorms. Like to hurl lightning bolts to prove an example to others
HUMANS
Laertes is Odysseus’ father and one of the Argonauts
Nausicaa is a princess, was very hospitable to Odysseus
Odysseus is our protagonist and ruler of Ithaca
Penelope is his faithful wife.
Telemachus is his son; he doesn’t like the suitors that are showing up for his mother’s hand in marriage
Tiresias is a blind prophet. He was a woman for seven years because of Zeus.
SUPERNATURAL BEINGS
Calypso is Atlas’ daughter. She kept Odysseus at her island for a long time. She has to stay on the island as a punishment for helping the Titans
Charybdis is a whirlpool and lives in a cave
Circe is a sorceress. She liked to turn men into pigs.
Cyclops/Polyphemus is the big, fat, stupid one-eyed monster that lives on an island and herds sheep.
Scylla lives under a rock and she ate six members of Odysseus’ crew
Sirens are creepy bird lady things, whose voices lure sailors to their deaths.
LOCATIONS
Olympus is where all the gods live and hang out and decide important things
Underworld is Hades’ lair. There are many dead people there all the time.
TASK 3
In what modern day country is Troy located?
Map it!
The city of Troy is located in the modern day country of: Turkey
TASK 4
Follow the link to see a virtual reconstruction of Troy. Click on one of the links (right hand box) to see the reconstruction. Name which section you clicked on and describe what you see in 2-3 sentences.
See it!
Name of site: South Gate
Description: So many stone walls. There are still stones there but in the ancient times, it looked much more immaculate. The stones look like they may fall apart.
TASK 5
Follow the link to find the definition of an Odyssey. Then think of one example in fiction or in history of an odyssey (other than The Odyssey!) Next, use Google Images to find a picture that represents the journey given in your example.
What is an Odyssey?
Definition:an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest
Example: I can connect this to If I stay because when Mia was in her limbo state she was doing a lot of soul-searching and contemplation on whether life was important or not. And in the end she decided and it changed her as a person and she had this newfound knowledge that helped her get on with life. It helped her realize what made life worth it
Picture: How do I put this into a picture?
TASK 6
Follow the link to read the lyrics to two different songs about “home.”
Write 200-300 words about what home means to you. Be specific in your description.
That Place We Call Home
Home is where the heart is. It’s so cliché but in a way, it’s true. Home is the place you reside in, a place where memories happen, where milestones occur. It is the mind palace of your childhood. It’s where you have a family that loves you and takes care of you whenever they can. When I was younger, I wasn’t too sure what it means because I thought that it meant where you lived, however, the first 8 years of my life I have been moving from the northern to the southern part of America and it didn’t make that much sense. Now, I think differently because a home isn’t where the heart is, it’s where your family is. From what I read in the song lyrics, the person in each song has been wandering, can’t find their home. I am one of the few people my age to rightfully earn the title of “World Traveler” and don’t get me wrong, I love it, you get stay at really nice places and eat great food, take pictures you know the usual. But after a few weeks, I miss home, it crosses my mind that life has to get back to normal somehow and the first thing to do is go home. And no matter how small my bedroom appears compared to the places I stayed, it would be the best thing to see after a long trip. I ended up going on a tangent with how the meaning of home connects with your family, so I should get back to that now. Family is such an important thing, and there’s so much more to it than a blood relation. My parents have done a lot for me; helped me with my homework, taken me traveling, and comforting me when I was bullied. And despite the fact that we now disagree on a lot of things, I don’t seem to want to leave them. They gave me a lot of love and I never really returned that, and maybe that’s why I seem so far away in my own home. My home has always been with my parents and even though one day I will move out, I never want to lose it. My home is always with them (even if I can’t say it to them directly, I actually can’t say any of this stuff to them directly)