Teacher Guide

The Odyssey Lesson Plan

Relationship to Other Books

One cannot discuss the Odyssey without discussing its companion, the Iliad. The Iliad, which was probably written first and takes place directly before the Odyssey, is a graphic, violent epic about a massive war and siege. The Odyssey, by contrast, is almost a comic epic, an adventure of a man trying to get home to see his family. It's also key to remember that the Odyssey is a love story, in contrast to the Iliad which depicts a war.

The Odyssey has inspired many other works of art — the most obvious is James Joyce's Ulysses, but students who aren't quite up for that might enjoy the Coen Brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou, or Margaret Atwood's short retelling of...

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