Understanding the Odyssey: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historic Documents (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780313308819)

For thousands of years, The Odyssey has resonated throughout the Western world. Homer has been an original source of inspiration to writers, painters, sculptors, and filmmakers, as well as a vital source of information about the mythology, history, and culture of ancient Greece. This casebook uniquely blends commentary and primary documents, situating the epic within historical contexts that are important for students to understand.

The literary analysis chapter is ideal for readers coming to The Odyssey for the first time, introducing the work with a chronology of events and identification of major characters and themes. Topical chapters carefully consider matters of mythology, geography, archeology, and class issues pertinent to The Odyssey. Excerpts from classical and scholarly sources, including Herodotus, Plato, Thucydides, and Bulfinch, help students understand the historical framework, and materials from government documents and newspaper accounts help students make connections betweenThe Odyssey's thematic ideas and current events, such as the September 11th attacks and the ongoing conflict in Ireland.

Author: Claudia Durst Johnson, Vernon Johnson
ISBN-10: 0313308810
ISBN-13: 9780313308819
Publisher: Greenwood
Language: English
Published: 06/30/2003
Pages: 248
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.13lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.42w x 0.88d

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 12/01/2003 pg. 96
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2004 pg. 157