Name:____________________
Mallory
The Odyssey
Book 5 Discussion Guide
Part 1 – Vocabulary: Use context clues to determine the meaning of each highlighted word.
Write your definition in the space provided.
1. “Father Zeus, and all you other gods that live in everlasting bliss, I hope there may never be
such a thing as a kind and well-disposed ruler anymore, nor one who will govern equitably.”
Disposed:______________________________________________________________________
2. They will send him in a ship to his own country, and will him more bronze and gold and
raiment than he would have brought back from Troy, if he had all his prize money and had got
home without disaster.
Raiment:______________________________________________________________________
3. “Alas, Zeus has let me see land after swimming so far that I had given up all hope, but I can
find no landing place, for the coast is rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are smooth and rise sheer
from the sea, with deep water close under them so that I cannot climb out for want of foothold.”
Sheer:________________________________________________________________________
4. “Have mercy upon me, O king, for I declare myself your suppliant.”
Suppliant:_____________________________________________________________________
5. There he crept beneath two shoots of olive that grew from a single stock – the one an
ungrafted sucker, while the other had been grafted.
Grafted:_______________________________________________________________________
Part 2 – Short Answer: Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
6. Why is Athena angry with Odysseus’ subjects? What is her hope?
7. Explain the simile used to describe Hermes on page 53.
8. How does Calypso feel about releasing Odysseus?
9. Describe Poseidon's attack on Odysseus in Book 5.
10. Even though Poseidon acknowledges Odysseus's fate, he continues to punish him. Why?
11. Explain Odysseus' reaction to Calypso and Ino's help in Book 5.
12. Explain the significance of the olive shoots under which Odysseus takes shelter.