Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Mythology odyssey odyssey The story of Odyssey comes from a time when storytellers spread tales of heroes and heroic deeds. The Greeks have been known to tell their stories of their heroes in oral tradition. The first few lines of the Odyssey is the narrator asking a Muse to help him tell the story of Odysseus. The story is also filled with dialogue, which might indicate that it is a form of theatre and that these lines were performed orally. From the first few lines, the Odyssey could be recognized as a story that is told rather then read. "Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending", reveals that the narrator is asking a Muse, to inspire him and through him tell a story. If this story was meant to be read, then the narrator should have just started the story, but he mentions a Muse, which deals with Greek Mythology. And Greeks were known to spread stories around through oral story telling. The story should of just started with a narrator speaking to us and not to an audience. The narrator first mentions the audience in line17 when he says, "tell us in our time, lift the great song again." he is referring to a group of people he wanted to tell the story to. It's seemingly obvious that the general audience for this story when it was told were the Greeks. There are numerous references to Greek theology. Line 39 "In the bright hall of Zeus upon Olympos" is a prime example that obviously shows that this story is Greek. Also other many Greek myths and stories are mentioned. The very first lines of the Odyssey make reference to the Iliad and how Odyesseus fought in the war with Troy. "man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years on end, after he plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy." So in a sense the Odyssey is a spin-off of the Iliad. Also the Muse that the narrator is talking to, is the daughter of Zeus. Line 16 "Of these adventures, Muse, daughter of Zeus". Even the names are derived from Greek. Line 21 "for home and wife. Her ladyship Kalypso" The name Kalypso is formed from a Greek verb that means "cover, hide." Even the home of Odysseus is close to Greece. Ithaca is an island off the northwest coast of Greece, Odysseus's home. Line 26 "Ordained for him to make his passage homeward, trials and dangers, even so, attended him even in Ithaka, near those he loved. Yet all the gods had pitied Lord Odysseus, all but Poseidon, raging cold and rough against the brave king till he came ashore at last on his own land." Not only is Ithaca mentioned, but also so are the other Greek gods and Poseidon, who seems to have a grudge to settle with Odysseus. Another aspect of the Odyssey, which suggests that it was probably told orally, are the numerous dialogues. Story telling often involves dialogue and it even seems like this story could be performed on stage as a play. Line 60 "The grey-eyed goddess Athena replied to Zeus:" Line 82 "To this the summoner of cloud replied:" Line 102 "The grey-eyed goddess Athena answered him:" This dialogue that goes back and forth, might indicate that it was intended to be acted out. Even more convincing, some of the writing could be interpreted as stage directions. Line 147 "Straight to the door he came, irked with himself to think a visitor had been kept there waiting, and took her right hand, grasping with his left her tall bronze-bladed spear. Then he said warmly: Some may argue that this quote is just an example of how writers like to describe, in detail, scenes to enhance the imagery, but moreover it seems like the directions a playwright would write. The words "straight to the door he came", describes how an actor/player would walk to the door. The work "irked" would describe the mood. "Took her right hand, grasping with his left her tall bronze-bladed spear. Then he said warmly:", are the obvious directions of how an actor would act out the scene. From the beginning of the story, there are signs that this story could be a story that was told in oral tradition. Also the story represents Greek beliefs and myths, which indicates that it is Greek in origin. History tells us that Greeks told their epic tales in oral form, and it was spread by this method. Finally, the dialogues and some of the writing could be signs that the story was a play, or a story told orally by numerous people to enhance the story. All in all, the Odyssey has many clues that it was a story often told orally in it's time. Bibliography: Word Count: 821
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