The Odyssey
- English 10 - Name: ______________________________ Hour: ______ p.1
The Text
1. The Odyssey is by Homer.
The version we are reading is based on the translation by Robert
Fitzgerald.
A Prologue
2. What do we learn about Odysseus’s crew members in the prologue?
They will all die because they kill Helios’s cattle.
3. Where is Odysseus when the story begins?
He is being held captive on Kalypso’s island.
A Troubled Teen & His Tricky Mother
4. In addition to missing Odysseus, what is Telémakhos’s problem?
“Suitors” have moved into his home -- they are trying to marry
his mother, but they are eating all his food and being rude in the
meantime. His mother doesn’t seem interested in remarrying.
5. What trick has Penelope played to avoid marrying?
She said that before she marries, she had to weave a tapestry in
honor of Odysseus’s father, for his funeral (he is old may die soon).
She weaves all dan and unravels her weaving at night -- until one
of her maids tells the suitors and they make her finish.
6. How does Athena help Telémakhos as he gets ready to leave Ithaka?
She disguises herself as a neighbor and inspries Telemakhos to
leave in the first place. Perahps more importantly, she then disguises herself as Telemakhos himself, then goes around the town,
asking people to join his crew and even getting someone to volunteer his boat for their use. By the time the real Telemakhos shows
up, his crew and ship are ready to go, and he slips out of town to
find out about his father without even telling hsi mother.
Telémakhos’s 2 Stops
Nestor
7. Why does disguised Athena urge Nestor, Telémakhos, and the others
to “slice the bull’s tongue now, and mix libations”? (Hint: Who is the
sacrifice for?) The sacrifice is for Poseidon, who we know Odysseus has already angered. It is important, both for Telemakhos’s
journey and Odysseus’s, that Poseidon be on their good side. This
sacrifice is one step toward making that happen (or at least to not
making him even madder!).
Meneláos & Helen
8. Why does Meneláos recognize the importance of hospitality?
He knows that if no one helped him and his crew on the way home
from the Trojan War, they never would have made it back -- so
he’s happy to open his own home to starngers.
9. What does Homer indicate are Helen’s feelings toward Paris and
Meneláos now?
She seems to regret ever going with Paris -- she calls herself a
“wanton,” which is a woman who is promiscuous and has a bad
reputation. She basically says it was foolish to leave her child and
her husband, who is a good man according to her, for Paris. She
seems satisfied to be back home in Sparta.
10. What does Telémakhos learn from Meneláos about Odysseus?
Odysseus is essentially a prisoner on Kalypso’s island. (Kalypso is
a nymph.) Menelaos got this info from Proteus, a minor god who
serves under Poseidon.
#12 Kalypso Releases Odysseus
11. What does Zeus say Kalypso must – and must not – do for Odysseus?
She has to let him go on a raft he builds, but she should not go
with him or create some kind of magic ship or way to go.
12. According to Hermês, what is Odysseus destined to do?
He must reach home and not waste any more time on Kalypso’s
island, where he has already been for several years.
13. What last arguments does Kalypso make to encourage Odysseus to
stay on her island?
She tries to emphasize the difficult of his sea journey and the fact
that his wife is mortal (meaning she will both age and die. Kalypso
is immortal and has offered to keep Odysseus from aging or dying
as long as he stays with her. But he feels he must go anyway.
#13 Ino Helps
14. After he leaves Kalypso’s island, how does Odysseus survive the
storm Poseidon sends?
A goddess named Ino gives him her immortal protective veil to
use as he is tossed about in the sea -- her returns it to her when he
reaches land.
#14 The Phaiákians of Skhería
15. How does Athena help Odysseus when he washes up on Skhería?
She puts in Princess Nausikaa’s mind to go wash the family laundry down in the river, where she will find Odysseus. Later, Athena
disguises herself as a little girl, leading him to Alkinoos’s palace.
16. What does Nausikaa do for Odysseus?
She gives him clothes and food and gives him tips on how to present himself at her father’s court (he’s supposed to focus on getting
in good with her mom, who makes most of the decisions.)
17. How does Odysseus show his athleticism in Skhería?
He wins their discuss competition after one of the princes taunts
him.
The Odyssey
p.2
18. What prompts Alkinoös to finally stop the minstrel and demand
Odysseus share his identity?
He’s watched Odysseus cry more than once when the peformers
have told stories about the Trojan War. He wants to know why!
#2 Kikonês
19. What happens when Odyssues and his men encounter the Kikonês?
Odysseus’s men fight off a few of the Kikones and start to replenish their supplies from the Kikones stores, but the men (against
Odysseus’s orders) stay too long and take too much. Kikones reinforcements arrive and slaughter many of Odysseus’s men.
#3 Lotos Eaters
20. What happens when Odysseus’s men eat Lotos flowers?
They lose all desire to ever return home and just wish to stay and
eat the lotos. Odysseus and his non-affected men have to tie up
and drag off those who had eaten the lotos.
#4 The Kyklopês Polyphêmos
21. What does Polyphêmos eat?
He starts out eating two of Odysseus’s men -- then eats two more
at least two additional times.
22. Why doesn’t Odysseus kill Polyphêmos the first night that he falls
asleep in their cave?
Polyphemus has rolled a huge stone in front of the opening of his
cave. If they kill him, they’ll never get out.
23. How does Odysseus injure Polyphêmos?
He takes a tree trunk that he finds and sharpens one end, then gets
it hot in the fire. He gets Polyphemos drunk on some wine Odysseus had brought with. When Polyphemus passes out, Odysseus
and some of his men ram the sharpened trunk into Polyphemus’s
eye, blinding him.
24. Odysseus tricks Polyphêmos
The Odyssey
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by telling him his name is
#6
Nohbody, so that when Polyphêmos cries
for help, he says,
“Nohbody has tricked me!”
and his fellow Kyklpes
#7
#8
#5
ignore (or leave) him.
25. How is Odysseus able to escape
Polyphêmos with his remaining men?
He ties Polyphemus’s sheep together in
threes, then has one man hide under each
bunch. In the morning, Polyphemus
rolls away his entrance stone and pets the
sheep as they walk out -- he never realizes the men are beneath them. Odysseus hides beneath the biggest ram and is
likewise able to escape.
26. What huge mistake does Odysseus make
as they leave the Kyklopês island?
He gets cocky and reveals his identity
(name, father’s name, and home!) to Polyphemus, who had thought his name was
“Nohbody.” The now-blind Polyphemus
curses Odysseus and calls upon his father
Poseidon to bring that curse in full force.
If you need to sail home, Poseidon is the
last person you want to have antagonized!
#9
#14
#15
#10
#2
#1
#13
#4
#11
#12
#3
Aiolos, God of the Wind
27. What gift does Aiolos give Odysseus – and how does it turn out to be a curse? He gives Odysseus good winds as they leave -- and also a bag of winds, shoudl they need it. The men think
it is a bag of gold that Odysseus is selfishly keeping for himself. When they are near Ithaka
(home!) and Odysseus finally decides to take a rest, they open it. The bag of wind blows
them all the way back to Aiolos, who will no longer help them, realizing they are both foolish
and cursed.
s
The Laistrygonês
28. Why do they flee the Laistrygonês? They are cannibals and begin to eat Odysseus’s men!
#7 Kirkê the Witch
The Odyssey
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29. What does Kirkê to do Odysseus’s men?
She pretends to host them graciously but gives them a poison that
turns them into pigs! She then puts the pigs (who still have the
mental awareness of men) in a pen.
#10 Skylla & Kharybdis
30. How is Odysseus able to defeat Kirkê?
Hermes gives him a special herb that makes him unable to be
affected by Kirke’s poison. When she tries to transform him, he
pulls his knife on her and threatens his life. When she backs off
and offers her bed to him, he (upon Hermes’s advice) accepts.
They actually spend a year with her. Then, she is willing to give
him valuable advice for their journey.
only path to avoid her would go through Kharybdis, a gigantic
#8 The Shades of Hades
31. According to Teirêsias, will Odysseus reach home?
Yes -- he’s destined to. But if his men “kill the beeves” (kill Helios’s cattle) they will not reach home with him.
#9 Seirênês
32. How is Odysseus able to avoid the Seirênês?
The Seirenes (Sirens) sing enchanting, irresistble songs that lure
shipmen to their deaths on nearby rocks. Listening to Kirke’s
advice, he stuffs his crew members’ ears with beeswax. He is able
to listen because they tie him to the mast of their ship.
33. Skylla is a fearsome creature with 12 legs and 6
heads. As ships pass, she takes one man for each gullet (throat). The
whirlppol that sucks down ships and all the men. So, Odysseus must
sacrifice 6 men to Skylla.
#11 Hêlios’s Cattle & Zeus’s Thunderbolt
34. How is Eurýlokhos able to convince the crew that they should kill
Hêlios’s cattle? He tells them that starvation is the absolute worst
kind of death (and aparently without the cattle, they are starving).
He says they are better off dying at sea because the gods are mad
at them than dying of starvation on Helios’s island. And that’s
what happens: they kill, eat, and then promptly die courtesy of
Zeus’s thunderbolt the minute they sail away.
#15 Home.
35. What is unique about the way Odysseus actually researches Ithaka?
He falls into a deep sleep on the journy and the Phaiakians gently
place him on the shore of Ithaka, along with all of his gifts from
them. When he wakes up, he’s angry that he’s been abandoned in
a strange land, but Athena soon helps him realize it’s home!
36. Why does Athena playfully scold Odysseus in her exchange with
him when he first reaches Ithaka? He’s still tell stories, still being a
trickster -- they share this quality together: they are both wise and
tricky.
37. How does Athena disguise Odysseus when he returns to Ithaka?
She makes him look like an old man (a beggar).
At the Home of the Kind Pig Farmer
The Odyssey - p.5
38. What mortal helps Odysseus when he first reaches Ithaka?
Eumaios, the swineherd (pig farmer)
45. Who is able to string the bow and shoot through the 12 axe heads?
Odysseus!
39. Athena transforms Odysseus back into his true form so that
46. Who is the first suitor to die – and how?
Antinoos -- Odysseus shoots him through the throat with a arrow.
Telemakhos can recognize him.
A Stranger in His Own Home
40. Who recognizes Odysseus just as he enters his home – and then
what happened?
His old dog Argus (a puppy when he left) realizes his master has
returned and then dies.
41. How do the suitors treat Odysseus, disguised as a beggar?
They are pretty rude and condescending. They begrudingly give
him some food and are kind of mockingly kinder when Odysseus
wins in a fight against another beggar.
42. What woman recognizes Odysseus and how?
Eurykleia, his old nurse - she recognizes a distinctive scar just
above his knee. It was from an old boar-hunting accident, when
the boar charged him.
A Bow, 12 Axe Heads, and a Bloodbath
43. Describe the task Penélopê will give to the suitors to win her hand.
They have to do with Odysseus was once able to do: string his old
bow (which alone would take subsantial strength) then shoot an
arrow straight through 12 axe heades.
44. Describe Telémakhos’s attitude during the suitors’ competition.
He’s starting to take more command. He even tells Penelope to
leave, because this is a man’s competition, and it’s his job, as a
man, to observe. She seems happy that he is now stepping up and
acting like a man.
47. What happens to the women who had become too friendly with the
suitors?
After the suitors are dead, these women are forced to come in and
clean up the bodies and blood, bringing all the bodies outside.
Then, the women are taken outside and hanged, having disrespected themselves and their mistress, Penelope.
A Reunion
48. How does Odysseus prove his identity to Penélopê?
They banter back and forth -- she doesn’t quite seem to believe it
is him. Finally, she tells a maide to put his bed in the hall -- he can
sleep out there. He finally cries out that that is impossible, because
their bed is attached to a tree that is part of their house -- he built
it that way! Only a few people knew this -- so he must be Odysseus.
Final Threads
49. Who is happy to see the shades of the suitors in the underworld and
why?
Agamemnon. His wife was unfaithful to him while he was at war
(over Helen, an unfaithful woman), and then his wife’s lover killed
him when he returned, so he is happy to see that SOME woman
(Penelope) is faithful.
50. What deity continues to help Odysseus to the end?
Athena, of course!