Name_______________________________________________________ ClassPeriod:________________
TheOdysseyGuidedNotes
Part Two: Homecoming
Book 16 “Father and Son” pp. 1242-1247
Completeeachofthefollowingquestionswiththoughtful,detailedsentences.
1. Athena advises and helps Odysseus to disguise himself as a ____________________
Beggar/old man .
Telemachus
2. Athena appears to Odysseus’ son ___________________
and urges him to rush home to Ithaca
because
_____________________________________________________________________________.
People are trying to kill him and pressuring Athena.
3. When Telemachus arrives home, he joins his disguised father and Eumaeus
___________, the
swineheard
________________.
reveal
4. Athena wants Odysseus to ______________
himself toTelemachus
____________, so she
______________________________________________________________________________
uses her wand to change him back to his youthful appearance
_______________________________________________________________.
And changes his robes to all white (transforms rags)
reunited
5. In book 16, Odysseus and his son are finally __________________.
Read lines 99-10.
Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ emotion reveals __________________________________________
their depth of emotion. Their
______________________________________________________________________________.
Feelings of longing and loss are emphasized.
Telemachus’ character:
He’s a grown man,
What can you tell about Telemachus as a character from this scene? ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
missed his father. Similar to his father because he went on a journey
_____________________________________________________________________________________
as well.
Odysseus’ character:
Based on Odysseus’ interactions with Athena, how can you see a character change? _________________
More emotion
_____________________________________________________________________________________
than before. More freer with his emotions.
Book21“TheTestoftheGreatBow”pp.1250‐1255
Completeeachofthefollowingquestionswiththoughtful,detailedsentences.
1. Penelope proposes an impossible task: the suitors must _________________________________
String the bow and shoot
__________________________________________________,
an
arrow through twelve axe-head sockets which is a task that can only be
done by Odysseus.
2. Penelope states that any man who can_____________________________
complete the challenge can ________________
marry
________.
her
She is
3. Look at Lines 16-19. How does this imagery reinforce the theme of loyalty? _______________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Mourning the loss of her husband and she still loves him.
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4. At Line 46, Odysseus asks both the swineherd and cowherd who they support: Odysseus or the
suitors. When they answer that they support ____________________,
he decides to let them in on
Odysseus
he is Odysseus
the secret that ______________________________.
5. In lines 84-93, Odysseus gives instructions to the swineherd and cowherd. Summarize what he has
them do below. __________________________________________________________________
Lock the doors, keep the women protected, take their
_______________________________________________________________________________.
Armor and make sure to get the bow in Odysseus’ hands.
6. How do the men react when the “beggar” wants his turn to try? ___________________________
They laugh at him
and mock him.
________________________________________________________________.
7. Now Odysseus, still disguised as the beggar, takes his turn. Describe below what happens when he
takes the bow.
He is able to string the bow, which silences the stunned
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
suitors. He then shoots his arrow successfully through all
____________________.
12 axe heads.
The old man is
8. It is at this moment that everyone finally realizes that______________________
really Odysseus.
________________________________________________________________.
Odysseus’character:
How is Odysseus’ hubris tested in this scene? How does this scene emphasize a change in Odysseus as an
He has to endure the taunts and jokes of the suitors.
epic hero? ___________________________________________________________________________
He has matured as a hero, and does not allow his ego to get in
_____________________________________________________________________________________
the way.
Penelope’s character:
What inference can be made about Penelope’s character from her idea of the Test of the Bow? How does
She knows that only Odysseus can
this make her a good match for Odysseus? _________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_______
Complete the task and that the suitors will fail. This demonstrates
Her cunning, which makes her a good match for Odysseus.
_____________________________________________.__________________________
Book22“DeathintheGreatHall”pp.1256‐1261
Completeeachofthefollowingquestionswiththoughtful,detailedsentences.
hero
1. How does this scene support the detail of the return phase of the Hero’s Journey?The
__________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Has to “clean up” the corruption that has taken over his
home.
____________________________________________________.
2. Antinous is drinkingwine
____________________________________
when Odysseus ___________
from a gold cup/goblet
shoots
him with an arrow through the throat.
_____________________________________________________________________________.
3. What simile is used to describe the wounding of Antinous? (Lines 16-20, copy it
verbatim)._____________________________________________________________________
“like pipes his nostrils jetted crimson
4.
______________________________________________________________________________
runnels,
a river of mortal red.”
yellow dogs/cowards
Odysseus then compares the suitors to _____________________________
and tells them
they will die for trying to steal his life.
___________________________________________________________________________.
2
They are
5. How do the remaining suitors immediately react to the death of Antinous? ________________
____________________________________________________________________________
outraged and will try to convince Odysseus not to kill
them.
____________________________________________________.
They took his house
6. What reasons does Odysseus give for killing the suitors? _______________________________
and food, and pursued his wife, took his maids for
_____________________________________________________________________________
themselves
___________________________.
7. The men quickly beg Odysseus for forgiveness, and even begin to use Antinous as a scapegoat by
was their ring leader and pursued Penelope the
claiming that He
__________________________________________________________________
hardest
(payment)
_______________and that they would provide Odysseus withRestitution
__________________________
for
all the supplies they took
________________________________________if
he would just spare their lives. He won’t.
MwahHaha.
8. Read the italicized paragraphs on pp. 1260-1261. This is the bloodiest scene of the poem. To what
are the attackers (Odysseus and Telemachus) compared? In what ways are the men similar?
They are compared to falcons who show no mercy to
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
The flocks of birds they pursue and capture. Odyessus
____________________________________________________________________________
and
Telemachus pick off the suitors one by one.
9. Athena does not intervene in this scene until it is clear that Odysseus has won the fight. Why
She wants to
would Athena not help the hero when he is so clearly outnumbered? ______________________
to give them a chance to prove themselves as heros.
______________________________________________________________________________.
Book23:“TheTrunkoftheOliveTree”pp.1262‐1265
Completeeachofthefollowingquestionswiththoughtful,detailedsentences.
is actually her husband
1. Penelope is having a hard time believing that this stranger _____________________________
Odysseus
__________________,
so she decides to test him.
2. Odysseus cleans himself up, but the true physical transformation was “lent” to him by the goddess
Athena
____________________.
What does she do to him? _________________________________
She makes him taller
and wider (massive), with curly hair. She lavished beauty
____________________________________________________________________________.
____________________________________________________________________________.
on him.
3. Look closely at Penelope’s confused shift in pronouns in Lines 23-26. What may this mean
regarding her alternating hopes and fears?
_______________________________________________________________________________
“how you – how he – appeared” She wants this man to
____________________________________________________________________________.
be Odysseus, but she’s afraid it is a trick.
4. What is the apparent “secret” between the two? (Look at lines 33-53).
____________________________________________________________________________.
Their bed is made from the trunk/root system of an
olive tree, and cannot be moved.
____________________________________________________________________________.
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Olive tree trunk carved by
5. Of what material is the bed constructed? ___________________________________________
Odysseus into a decorative post on their bed.
____________________________________________________________________________.
6. Now that she is certain that this man is her husband, Penelope begs his forgiveness for not
believing him. She begins to blame She
____________________________________________
needed to be sure of his
identity.
____________________________________________________________________________.
She is cunning.
What does this reveal about Penelope as a character? _____________________________.
7.
What simile is used in lines 81 to 91? (copy down the quote where the simile appears)
“his
dear wife, clear and faithful in his arms longed for
_________________________________________________________________________.
as the sun warmed earth is longed for by a swimmer
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
spent in rough water where his ship went down”
What comparison does Homer make to the reunion of Penelope and Odysseus? What does this
reveal about their marriage? ____________________________________________________
Penelope – the safe shore
___________________________________________________________________________
Odysseus – the shipwrecked man who is having to
Fare the sea, looking for land. It also reveals the on___________________________________________________________________________
love they have for each other.
___________________________________________________________________________
Odysseus and
9. How does the epic poem end? Have all prophesies come true? _________________________
Penelope are reunited, and he also gets to visit his
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________.
father. The people of Ithaca are upset about the deaths
of the suitors until Athena comes down and makes
____________________________________________________________________________
peace among them
________________________.
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