Ms. Nguyen
Freshman English
Discussion Questions for The Odyssey by George Palmer
These are focus/study questions, which will help guide you throughout our reading of The
Odyssey. Because our protagonist Odysseus travels to so many places and we meet so many
characters, it may also be helpful to take notes in your notebook as you read along. USE A
SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.
FILL IN YOUR CHART AS YOU GO: CHAPTER, PLOT, CHARACTERS/PLACES,
THEMES
YOUR READING QUIZZES WILL DIRECTLY REFLECT THESE QUESTIONS
BOOK I:
CLASS DISCUSSION…don’t worry about it! You’re welcome 
BOOK II: The Assembly at Ithaca & the Departure of Telemachus
Pay attention to: Omen, the suitors’ attitudes
*What was the omen (symbol of prediction that good/evil will come) that was sent by
Zeus? What were the peoples’ reactions to it? WHAT DOES IT SYMBOLIZE?
*Who’s Athene/Athena, and what is her role/purpose? GODLY INTERVENTION/
DISGUISE 14
*At the end of book II, Eurycleia and Telemachus talk about his leaving. What does
Telemachus ask Eurycleia to do?
BOOK III: At Pylos--Pay attention to: Hospitality and godly intervention
* Why is it important for Telemachus to meet King Nestor (King of Pylos)?
*Why is it significant for Telemachus to meet Nestor’s son, Peisistratus?
*Through this experience, what does T learn about himself and what it means to be a
son?
*Why do you think there is such detailed description of the sacrifices to Poseidon and
Athena?
BOOK IV: What Happened in Lacedaimon--Pay attention to: Hospitality and
Disguise and transformation
*Why did Helen drug the wine? 33
*How does Helen recognize Telemachus?
*What animals does King Menelaus compare the suitors to? 35
*Who is Proteus? Why is he important? What will happen to Proteus when he’s captured,
according to Menelaus? What does Proteus morph into? 36
*What does Antinous plan to do to Telemachus? 41
*Transformation: who comes to visit Penelope while she’s sleeping? 43
*Why do you think Penelope weeps more for Telemachus than for her husband? 44
BOOK V: Hermes Is Sent to Calypso’s Island; Odysseus Makes a Raft and Is
Carried to the Coast of Scheria
Pay attention to: The role of Hermes and godly intervention
*What deceptions (remember SUBTERFUGE) do you find in this chapter? Which
character(s) use lies?
*Why do you think Odysseus would rather be with Penelope than Calypso?
Book VI: How Odysseus Appealed to Nausicaa, and She Brought Him to Her
Father’s House
Pay attention to: innocence, godly intervention, hospitality, and disguise
*Compare and contrast laundry washing from how it’s described in the book to
contemporary ways of washing clothes. 57
*How does Odysseus “transform” in appearance? TRANSFORMATION
*What’s Nausicaa’s initial reaction to Odysseus? What about the maidens?
*What does Nausicaa tell Odysseus to do when he sees her mother?
Book VII: What Happened to Odysseus in the Palace of Alcinous (NARRATION
STARTS)
Pay attention to: godly intervention and hospitality
*GODLY INTERVENTION--Which goddess intervenes to help Odysseus, and what does
she do to him? 62
*What signs does Alcinous give to show his liking for Odysseus?
*How does Athena intervene here? What shape does she take this time?
Book VIII: How They Held Games and Sports in Phaiacia
Pay attention to: Demodocus, the games, hospitality, and song/storytelling of the bard.
*Why do the Phaeicians sacrifice animals before the feast? 70
*Why is Demodocus important? Why might his blindness be important? Think about
the author…
*Toward the end of Book VIII, why does Odysseus cry when the blind minstrel is
singing? How is it similar to when Telemachus cried when visiting King Nestor? 70&78
*Who mocks (makes fun of) and challenges Odysseus to throwing discus? 71
**Sum up the story of Area and Aphrodite with 2 details. How does Hesphaestus
outsmart/out-wit Aphrodite and Ares while they’re in bed? 75
Book IX: The Lotus-Eaters and the Cyclops
pay attention to: The shift in point of view, temptation, hospitality of Cyclops, what it
means to be “civilized,” wit vs. strength, “folly leads to falter”
*At the beginning of Book IX (9), what does Odysseus reveal to King Alcinuous about
himself? 80
*After slaughtering the Ciconians, what mistake do Odysseus’ men make? What’s the
consequence of making that mistake? “Folly leads to falter.” 80
*Who are the Lotus Eaters? 81
*As soon as the men tasted the “honey-sweet fruit,” they did not want to leave the island.
How does their situation relate to the idea of “temptation?” 82
*What is the Cyclops’ land like? 82
*After maiming/injuring Polyphemus, what does Odysseus say his name is? Wit vs.
strength
*How do the men escape Polyphemus’ cave?
Book X: Island of the Winds; the Land of the Midnight Sun; Circe
Pay attention to: foolish actions of the men, superstition (gods/goddesses),
transformation, prophecy
*Why did Odysseus’ men open the bag of winds?
*Odysseus and his men end up at Aeolus’ place again. What negative response do they
get from him? Is he superstitious?
*Who are the Laestrygonians?
*Why did Odysseus’ men open the bag of winds? How does this show Folly Leads to
Falter theme? 92
*Before Odysseus gets to Circe’s palace to save his men, which god intervenes to help?
GODLY INTERVENTION 96
*Circe, the witch, changes Odysseus’ men into pigs and animals. (95) Why does Circe
agree to change the men back? 97
BOOK XI: How Odysseus Visited the Kingdom of the Dead, Hades
*Where do Odysseus and his men go after Circe’s island? What does Teiresias tell them?
*How does Elpenor die? What does he ask of Odysseus? 103
*Odysseus sees his mother in Hades. How’d she die? What else does she tell him? 103
*What does the great warrior Agamemnon tell him?
BOOK XII: The Singing Sirens, and the Terrors of Scylla and Charybdis; The Kine
(cattle) of the Sun
Pay attention to: temptation, disguise, deception (lies), and prophecy
*After Hades, why do Odysseus and his men go back to Circe’s island?
*What does Circe tell them to do, in order for the men to protect themselves from the
Sirens? What does she say about Scylla (the 6-headed monster) and Charybdis (the
whirlpool)?
*What warning does Circe and the blind prophet Teiresias give about Helio’s cattle?
*When Odysseus and his men arrive at Helio’s Island, what big mistake do they make,
not listening to the warning? 121
BOOK XIII: How Odysseus Came to Ithaca ( ODYSSEUS’ NARRATION ENDS)
*What does Poseidon do punish the Phaecians for helping the stranger Odysseus at the
sea port?
*Athena presents herself to Odysseus as a shepherd after she transforms Odysseus. She
asks him where he is from, mostly likely as a test; what does he say?
BOOK XIV: Odysseus and the Swineherd
Pay attention to: Loyalty and hospitality (of Eumaeus)
*How’s Eumaeus connected to Odysseus?
*What parts of Ody’s long story are made up? Are some parts real? 136-138
*What does Eumaeus do for Ody at the end of the Book?
BOOK XV: How Telemachus Sailed Back to Ithaca
Pay Attention to: SHIFT in point of view (goes from Book II to Book XV- back to
Telemachus AND shift back to Odysseus at Eumaeus’), storytelling, OMEN
*What gifts did Menelaus give to Telemachus before he left?
*What’s the omen? What does it foreshadow?
*Who’s Theoclymenos? Why does he want to go with Telemachus back to Ithaca?
*Eumaeus tells Odysseus his story. How did Eumaeus get to Ithaca? How did he
become associated with Odysseus?
BOOK XVI: How Telemachus Met His Father
Pay Attention to: degenerate mass = suitors, Altinuous = alpha suitor. Eumaeus
doesn’t know that Odysseus is Odysseus because he’s in disguise as a beggar.
*Why does Telemachus call Eumaeus “Daddy?”
*After Athena changes/transforms Odysseus, what does he look like?
*Describe the meeting between father and son.
Book XVII: How Odysseus Returned to His Own Home
Pay attention to: Disguise and hospitality
*Who is Argos? Why is he important?
*How do the suitors treat Odysseus? What about Antinous?
Book XVIII: How Odysseus Fought the Sturdy Beggar
Pay attention to: godly intervention
*Who’s Iros? What does Odysseus do to him?
*How does the suitor Eurymachos treat Odysseus?
Book XIX: How the Old Nurse Knew Her Master
*What story does Penelope tell Odysseus in disguise?
*What fake story does Odysseus (in disguise) tell Penelope?
*How does Eurycleia recognize Odysseus? What does Odysseus tell her?
BOOK XX: How God Sent Omens of the Wrath to Come
Pay attention to: Godly Intervention and corruption of hospitality and prophecy
*What was the Omen sent by Zeus?
*What’s Penelope’s response to the omen?
*What’s the prophecy that Theoclymenos talks about?
BOOK XXI: Contest with the Great Bow
Pay attention to ownership of Telemachus and hospitality (how the suitors treat
Odysseus as a beggar)
*Where’d Odysseus’ bow come from?
*What’s the “contest” and what is the significance of it?
*Why can’t Telemachus bend the bow?
BOOK XII: The Singing Sirens, and the Terrors of Scylla and Charybdis
Pay attention to: temptation, disguise, deception (lies), and prophecy
*After Hades, why do Odysseus and his men go back to Circe’s island?
*What does Circe tell them to do, in order for the men to protect themselves from the
Sirens? What does she say about Scylla (the 6-headed monster) and Charybdis (the
whirlpool)?
*What warning does Circe and the blind prophet Teiresias give about Helio’s cattle?
BOOK XIII: How Odysseus Came to Ithaca
*What does Poseidon do punish the Phaecians for helping the stranger Odysseus at the
sea port?
*Athena presents herself to Odysseus as a shepherd after she transforms Odysseus. She
asks him where he is from, mostly likely as a test; what does he say?
BOOK XIV: Odysseus and the Swineherd
Pay attention to: Loyalty and hospitality (of Eumaeus)
*How’s Eumaeus connected to Odysseus?
*What parts of Ody’s long story are made up? Are some parts real?
*What does Eumaeus do for Ody at the end of the Book?
BOOK XV: How Telemachus Sailed Back to Ithaca
Pay Attention to: SHIFT in point of view (goes from Book II to Book XV- back to
Telemachus AND shift back to Odysseus at Eumaeus’), storytelling, OMEN
*What gifts did Menelaus give to Telemachus before he left?
*What’s the omen? What does it foreshadow?
*Who’s Theoclymenos? Why does he want to go with Telemachus back to Ithaca?
*Eumaeus tells Odysseus his story. How did Eumaeus get to Ithaca? How did he
become associated with Odysseus?
BOOK XVI: How Telemachus Met His Father
Pay Attention to: disguise/transformation and hospitality
degenerate mass = suitors, Altinuous = alpha/main suitor. Eumaeus doesn’t know
that Odysseus is Odysseus because he’s in disguise as a beggar.
*Why do you Telemachus call Eumaeus “Daddy?”
*After Athena changes/transforms Odysseus, what does he look like?
*Describe the meeting between father and son.
Book XVII: How Odysseus Returned to His Own Home
Pay attention to: Disguise and hospitality
*Who is Argos? Why is he important? 167
*How do the suitors treat Odysseus? What about Antinous?
Book XVIII: How Odysseus Fought the Sturdy Beggar
Pay attention to: godly intervention
*Who’s Iros? What does Odysseus do to him?
*How does the suitor Eurymachos treat Odysseus?
Book XIX: How the Old Nurse Knew Her Master
*What story does Penelope tell Odysseus in disguise?
*What fake story does Odysseus (in disguise) tell Penelope?
*How does Eurycleia recognize Odysseus? What does Odysseus tell her?
*What’s Penelope’s dream? Where have we seen this before?
BOOK XX: How God Sent Omens of the Wrath to Come
Pay attention to: Godly Intervention and corruption of hospitality and prophecy
*What was the Omen sent by Zeus? find a quote
*What’s Penelope’s response to the omen?
*What’s the prophecy that Theoclymenos talks about?
BOOK XXI: Contest with the Great Bow
Pay attention to ownership of Telemachus and hospitality (how the suitors treat
Odysseus as a beggar)
*Where’d Odysseus’ bow come from?
*What’s the “contest” and what is the significance of it?
*Why can’t Telemachus bend the bow?
BOOK XXII: Battle in the Hall
Pay attention to: REVENGE! and revealing identity
*Who’s the first suitor to get killed? What happens to him?
*After the slaughter of the suitors, what does Odysseus instruct the nurse and maids to
do?
*What are the maids’ punishments? find a quote and cite it.
BOOK XXIII: Odysseus Finds His Wife Again
Pay attention to: reunion, reactions of characters, transformation of O,
*in the beginning of the book, Eurycleia the nurse tells Penelope to wake up because
Odysseus is here. What’s Penelope’s initial (first) reaction?
* What’s Penelope’s initial reaction when she actually sees Odysseus for the first time in
20 years?
*What does clever Penelope do to see if Odysseus is really OdysseuS?
*What is special and unique about Odysseus’ and Penelope’s bed?
*Which god/goddess shows up at the end of the chapter?
*Odysseus tells his story to Penelope. Is it all true?
Book XXIV: How Odysseus Found His Old Father and How the Story Ended
Pay attention to relationships among the men and godly intervention
*Which god/goddess leads the souls of the dead suitors into Hades?
*Which character asks the dead suitors how they died?
*Who do the suitors blame for their death?
*Why is King Laertes (O’s dad) shabby-looking and living on a farm?
*How does Odysseus prove to his father that he is really Odysseus?
*Who’s Eupethes? What happens to him?
LITERARY SOCIO-CULTURAL TERMS
ANCIENT GREECE
ODYSSEY-- (N) A long wandering journey (especially filled with hardships and
notable
experiences).
ORAL TRADITION-- story telling prior to the invention of the Greek Alphabet;
generations of myths, cultural history, and legends passed down by word of
mouth
MINSTREL- Professional singer/story teller; oral tradition with a lyre (an old
acoustic stringed instrument)
BARD- Professional story teller who mastered in the art of storytelling/oral
tradition (no lyre)
HISTORY
1. Takes place circa 1250 BCE after the Trojan War; about Odysseus, the
protagonist, and his odyssey from Troy back to Ithaca
2. Told through oral tradition for hundreds of years until the Greek alphabet
writing system was invented about 1000 BCE
3. The Odyssey wasnʼt written down until about 650 BCE
EPIC POEM
*Narrative poem that is significant to the culture
*Typically about an epic hero, super hero
*Much lineage (family tree, charactersʼ heritage) told through use of metaphors
and epithets
*Hero battles monsters, fictional creatures
*Sometimes has a specific rhyme and meter (blank verse/ free verse)
EPITHET- A character trait tied to particular characters that exemplify charactersʼ
looks, behaviors, or lineage.
EX: Clear-headed Telemachus, Grey-eyed Athena, Dawnʼs rosy fingertips,
Earth Shaker Poseidon, witty Odysseus, wise Penelope