​Miss Shelton's English Classroom

The Odyssey was written between 800 and 600 BCE, during the Iron Age in Ancient Greece. It is assumed to have been written by a blind Greek poet named Homer, who is believed to have also written The Illiad. However, we really have no way of knowing for sure that the story was written by Homer and we don't know much about him since he lived so long ago. Either way, The Odyssey is one of the most celebrated pieces of ancient literature and has inspired storytelling throughout the millennia.

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The Odyssey is an epic poem and is set in Greece around the twelfth century BCE, during the Bronze Age (hint: a long, long, LONG time ago). The Greeks believed that this was a glorious time period, in which gods visited the earth and there was a surplus of heroic, god-like humans who went around doing epic deeds. Odysseus, the protagonist of The Odyssey, was one of those humans. Odysseus is a classic hero heartthrob - he's strong, handsome, charismatic, hardworking, loyal, brave, well-liked by the gods, etc. etc. etc.

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The story begins at the fall of the city of Troy and follows the Greek warrior Odysseus's journey home, as he fulfills his nostos, which is just a fancy Greek word that refers to a hero's desire to go home. It's what we all experience at the end of a long day. Unfortunately for Odysseus, he has much more to face than a long, traffic-ridden commute to get to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachos. And thus, The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus's journey home, filled with cyclopses, sirens, gods, monsters, and witches.