[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.78,0:00:11.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A close encounter with\Na man-eating giant,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.08,0:00:14.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a sorceress who turns men into pigs,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.83,0:00:18.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a long-lost king taking back his throne.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.34,0:00:21.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On their own, any of these make\Ngreat stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.96,0:00:25.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but each is just one episode\Nin the "Odyssey,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.54,0:00:32.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a 12,000-line poem spanning years of\NAncient Greek history, myth, and legend.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.90,0:00:36.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How do we make sense \Nof such a massive text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:36.05,0:00:39.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that comes from and tells of a world\Nso far away?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.100,0:00:44.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fact that we can read the "Odyssey"\Nat all is pretty incredible,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.10,0:00:49.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as it was composed before the Greek\Nalphabet appeared in the 8th century BCE.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.44,0:00:52.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was made for listeners \Nrather than readers,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.16,0:00:56.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and was performed by oral poets\Ncalled rhapsodes.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.28,0:01:00.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tradition identifies its author\Nas a blind man named Homer.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.48,0:01:05.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But no one definitively knows whether\Nhe was real or legendary.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.02,0:01:08.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The earliest mentions of him occur\Ncenturies after his era.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.87,0:01:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the poems attributed to him\Nseem to have been changed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.46,0:01:15.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and rearranged many times\Nby multiple authors
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.77,0:01:19.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,before finally being written down\Nin their current form.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.21,0:01:22.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, the word rhapsode means\Nstitching together,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.56,0:01:27.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as these poets combined existing stories,\Njokes, myths, and songs
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.62,0:01:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a single narrative.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.30,0:01:33.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To recite these massive epics live,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.21,0:01:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rhapsodes employed a steady meter,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.70,0:01:37.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along with pneumonic devices,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.56,0:01:42.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like repetition of memorized passages\Nor set pieces.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.20,0:01:46.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These included descriptions of scenery\Nand lists of characters,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.06,0:01:49.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and helped the rhapsode keep\Ntheir place in the narrative,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.70,0:01:54.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just as the chorus or bridge of a song\Nhelps us to remember the next verses.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.16,0:01:56.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because most of the tales were familiar\Nto the audience,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.87,0:02:00.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was common to hear the sections\Nof the poem out of order.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.55,0:02:02.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At some point, the order \Nbecame set in stone
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.86,0:02:07.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the story was locked into place\Nas the one we read today.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.29,0:02:11.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But since the world has changed\Na bit in the last several thousand years,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.51,0:02:15.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it helps to have some background\Nbefore jumping in.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.05,0:02:20.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "Odyssey" itself is a sequel to Homer's\Nother famous epic, the "Iliad,"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.18,0:02:22.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which tells the story of the Trojan War.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.82,0:02:27.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If there's one major theme uniting\Nboth poems, it's this:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.16,0:02:32.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,do not, under any circumstances,\Nincur the wrath of the gods.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.35,0:02:36.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Greek Pantheon is a dangerous mix\Nof divine power and human insecurity,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.91,0:02:40.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,prone to jealousy and grudges\Nof epic proportions.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.84,0:02:45.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And many of the problems faced by humans\Nin the poems are caused by their hubris,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.57,0:02:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or excessive pride in believing themselves\Nsuperior to the gods.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.50,0:02:52.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The desire to please the gods was so great
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.80,0:02:55.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the Ancient Greeks traditionally\Nwelcomed all strangers
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.85,0:02:58.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into their homes with generosity
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.07,0:03:01.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for fear that the strangers \Nmight be gods in disguise.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.97,0:03:05.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This ancient code of hospitality\Nwas called xenia.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.20,0:03:10.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It involved hosts providing their guests\Nwith safety, food, and comfort,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.32,0:03:14.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the guests returning the favor\Nwith courtesy and gifts if they had them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.91,0:03:17.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Xenia has a significant role \Nin the "Odyssey,"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.55,0:03:21.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where Odysseus in his wanderings\Nis the perpetual guest,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.68,0:03:27.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while in his absence, his clever wife\NPenelope plays non-stop host.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.33,0:03:30.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "Odyssey" recounts all \Nof Odysseus's years of travel,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.80,0:03:36.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the narrative begins in medias res\Nin the middle of things.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.03,0:03:40.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ten years after the Trojan War,\Nwe find our hero trapped on an island,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.92,0:03:46.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still far from his native Ithaca and\Nthe family he hasn't seen for 20 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.34,0:03:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because he's angered the sea god Poseidon\Nby blinding his son, a cyclops,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.51,0:03:56.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Odysseus's passage home has been\Nfraught with mishap after mishap.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.27,0:03:59.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With trouble brewing at home\Nand gods discussing his fate,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.42,0:04:04.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Odysseus begins the account\Nof those missing years to his hosts.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.47,0:04:07.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most fascinating things\Nabout the "Odyssey"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.03,0:04:10.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the gap between how little we know\Nabout its time period
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.55,0:04:14.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the wealth of detail the text\Nitself contains.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.67,0:04:17.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Historians, linguists, and archeologists
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.42,0:04:20.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have spent centuries \Nsearching for the ruins of Troy
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.43,0:04:24.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and identifying which islands\NOdysseus visited.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.17,0:04:28.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just like its hero, the 24-book epic\Nhas made its own long journey
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.92,0:04:31.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through centuries of myth and history
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.51,0:04:34.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to tell us its incredible story today.