大象传媒

After the Trojan War ends Odysseus sails for home - but his eventful journey is going to take 10 years.

The video

The Odyssey

Please note that the animation includes depictions of violence from Greek mythology. We advise watching before sharing with your class.

Synopsis

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, sails for home with his men at the end of the Trojan War. But they suffer misfortune after misfortune and encounter all sorts of obstacles along the way.

They put ashore at the Island of the Lotus Eaters, where the crew are overcome with sleep and Odysseus must rescue them; they are trapped in a cave by the Cyclops, Polyphemus; they must deal with the witch, Circe, who turns the crew into pigs; they must sail past the Sirens, whose song causes ships to be wrecked upon the rocks; they must negotiate the twin terrors of the whirlpool, Charybdis, and the sea monster, Scylla; they must escape from the Laestrygonians, who destroy all but one of Odysseus' ships.

When Odysseus finally makes it home to Ithaca he finds that his wife, Penelope, is resisting the approaches of several suitors.

Teacher Notes

Taken from the complete Teacher Notes. See Resources.

Before watching the video

Look at a map of Greece and the surrounding islands and sea. Explain that pupils will learn about a famous journey from Troy (believed to have been on the north west coast of Turkey) to Ithaca, a Greek Island. Ask children to locate both on a map and to consider the route Odysseus may have taken.

After watching the video

  • And then what? Poor Odysseus and his men have to overcome many obstacles and face many dangers on their journey home from Troy. Ask pupils to complete Odysseus鈥 journey log - which has got into a mess in all the mayhem! - and then to cut and stick the events into chronological order. A template is provided.
  • Battleships. On the grid provided, children plot each of the seven obstacles in the story (Polyphemus, Poseidon, the Laestrogonians, Circe, The Sirens, Scylla, Helios). They then pair up for a game of Ancient Greek battleships, where they choose coordinates at which to fire thunderbolts to destroy their opponent鈥檚 obstacles.
  • Escape plan! Children must imagine they are Odysseus who is charged with advising other travellers of the dangers of the journey. They must choose one of the threats in the story and write a set of instructions to help travellers escape the danger. They could use Odysseus鈥 own escape methods or devise one of their own.
  • Travel brochure. Children choose an island from the story and create a travel brochure or poster for it. How will they 鈥榮ell鈥 the island when they must reference the danger that lurks there?
  • And now for the news. Children work in groups of three to produce a news item about Odysseus鈥 adventure. One plays the news anchor, one plays the interviewer and one plays Odysseus. Groups should use the planning template to make notes on their different parts, making sure Odysseus is ready with his answers. If possible, children could use iPads to record their news items to share with the class. If no iPads are available, they can broadcast live!

Resources - Teacher Notes from Teachit

Comprehensive Teacher Notes covering episodes 6 to 10, including worksheets and activities.

Ancient Greek myths

Click to display the worksheet full-size or print it (taken from the Teacher Notes).

Comprehension questions

Click to display the worksheet full-size or print it (taken from the Teacher Notes).

Play Ancient Greek battleships!

The Teacher Notes for this series have been prepared in partnership with .

Other resources



大象传媒 Teach: Tales from Ancient Greece - audio versions of more popular Ancient Greek myths