FRESHMAN ENGLISH 212
Name:
Homer’s Odyssey (translated by Stanley Lombardo)
Reading #2: Book 10 (141-157) GUIDED READING QUESTIONS
Aeolus, The Laestrygonians, and Circe
DIRECTIONS: Answer the numbered questions. [Questions in bullets are
optional—but be sure to look them over, as some may show up on a reading comprehension
quiz]
The Gift from Aeolus
•
What job did Zeus give to Aeolus (line 26)?
•
Lines 35-36—“On the tenth day we raised land, our own / Native fields.” What is the name of
Odysseus’s home?
•
Lines 81-86. Why doesn’t Aeolus help Odysseus a second time?
1. What is in the bag, the gift that Aeolus gives to Odysseus and his crew in lines 24-33. And what is
left out of the bag, to help Odysseus?
2. When Odysseus falls asleep, why do the men open the bag? (lines 41-51) And what happens when
they open it? (line 53)
The Land of the Laestrygonians
• Although Odysseus’s ships moor (put down their anchors) in the bay, where does Odysseus moor
his black ship?
•
How does Odysseus escape from the Laestrygonians?
3.
“Antiphates, / Who meant business when he came” (129-130). What does Antiphates do to one of
Odysseus’s men, who were sent to check out the island?
4. Summarize the next ten lines of the story, lines 131-141.
The Island of the Sorceress Circe
•
They arrive at Aiaia, island of the sorceress Circe. After two days of lying low aboard ship,
Odysseus goes out to explore and on his way back from seeing “smoke / Rising up from Circe’s
house” (165-166), he sees a “great antlered stag” (a male deer) (174). How does the stag help
the men to feel better?
•
Then, half the crew goes with Eurylochus to explore Circe’s house (lines 215-225). Why are they
upset all over again?
•
How does Odysseus learn of his men’s fate?
•
How have the men changed after they are returned from pigs to human (413-424)?
5. Describe the behavior of the “mountain lions and wolves” (228) that surrounded Circe’s house.
6. Describe what happens when the men drink the “potion of Pramnian wine” (251) that Circe gives to
them. What do they become?
7. Odysseus goes out to rescue his men and meets Hermes on the way. Hermes explains, in lines 308322, how he can defeat Circe’s magic. List three things he must do:
a.
b.
c.
8. What does Circe promise Odysseus before he will go to bed with her?
9. How long do the men stay with Circe? And what do they do while they’re there?
Time to Leave
• Before they leave, what happens to the young crew member, Elpenor?
•
How does Circe help the men just after the set off?
10. After Circe agrees to let the men leave, describe what she tells them they must do on their journey
home. The must go to the underworld, the home of Hades and his wife Persephone, to consult the
famous blind seer (soothsayer, fortune teller), Tiresias. There, they must sacrifice a ram and a black
ewe (female sheep).
What information will Odysseus and his crew get from Tiresias, the “great seer” (560)?
ACP: DISCRIMINATING—RANKING (recognizing differences and similarities among things or
situations and distinguishing carefully as to category or rank).
Choose a sentence or passage from the reading that stands out for you for ANY reason (maybe it’s
funny, important, puzzling—any reason). Be sure to cite its page number—and explain why it’s so
important either to the story or to you.
LINE/PASSAGE:
RESPONSE: