English 9
The Odyssey
Diggs
Reading Guide
Recall from our introduction to the Odyssey that it is Homer’s epic poem about the hero,
Odysseus, as he travels home to his wife and family after the Trojan War. His journey
takes ten years and Odysseus is confronted with many obstacles along the way. Each
obstacle is meant to be a metaphor for the challenges we face throughout life and the
stories contained in the poem were intended to teach the morals and values of Greek
culture to the audience. As you read and analyze some selections from the Odyssey, keep
these things in mind.
Directions:
The Odyssey can be divided into four major parts:
 Books 1-4 (Telemachus’s journey in search of his father);
 Books 5-8 (Odysseus’s departure from Calypso’s island and arrival in Phaeacia);
 Books 9-12 (a flashback in which Odysseus tells the Phaeacians of his
adventures); and
 Books 13-24 (Odysseus’s return to Ithaca, his battle with the suitors, and his
reunion with his wife, Penelope, son, Telemachus, and father, Laertes).
You will choose two selections in our text, Elements of Literature, from Part One (from
Books 5-12) and one selection from Part Two (from Books 16-23) of the Odyssey. First,
read the selections you have chosen. Then…
1.) Complete the study questions for the selections you have chosen. Be sure to
answer all questions with complete sentences!
2.) For one of the selections, write a summary and analysis in paragraph form.
Include the main characters, the basic plot, key details, and the moral or value
being emphasized (and how you know this).
3.) For one of the selections (but different than the selection used in #2) draw a
picture of the most important part of the story. The title of your picture should
correspond with the title of the selection it is illustrating. Write a one sentence
caption explaining what is happening in the picture.
4.) Be prepared to discuss all of the selections you have read during class on
Wednesday, Sept. 21.
All work is due by Wednesday, September 21, 2011.
Part One: The Wanderings
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
Calypso, the Sweet Nymph
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What is a nymph?
Why is Odysseus with Calypso?
Describe Odysseus at this point in his journey.
Describe Calypso’s island. Is it somewhere you would like to go? Why?
Why has Hermes traveled to Calypso’s island?
Why does Calypso lie to Odysseus and tell him that it is her idea to let him go?
What does Calypso offer Odysseus if he stays with her?
How does Odysseus manage to cleverly avoid offending Calypso when she asks
him why he wants to go back to his wife?
9. What moral or value might this part of the Odyssey have been intended to teach
the Greek people? Explain.
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
“I am Laertes’ son…”& The Lotus Eaters
1. Where is Odysseus in this part of the Odyssey? Why is he there?
2. One important value in ancient Greek culture was loyalty to family. How does
Odysseus express this value in this story?
3. Why does Odysseus say his men were “fools” ?
4. What happened to Odysseus’s men at Cicones?
5. What challenge did Odysseus and his men face after they left Cicones?
6. How long were the ships adrift?
7. What is a lotus?
8. What happened to Odysseus’s three men who ate the lotus flowers?
9. What do these two stories tell us about Odysseus’ character?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Cyclops
1. What does the Cyclops Polyphemus represent in the Odyssey?
2. Why do you think Odysseus and his men make an offering to the gods (line 219)?
3. How does Homer make it clear that Polyphemus is a formidable opponent for
Odysseus?
4. In ancient Greek culture, it was believed that visitors, whether known or
strangers, were protected by the gods, and it was very rude to be unwelcoming to
guests. How does Homer relay this value in this story?
5. How does Odysseus make the Cyclops angry initially?
6. a. Why does Odysseus lie and tell Polyphemus that their ship was destroyed by
Poseidon?
b. What does Polyphemus do as a result?
c. Why does Homer use such gruesome details in this scene?
7. Why doesn’t Odysseus just kill Polyphemus when the Cyclops falls asleep?
8. Why does Odysseus pray to Athena? What is he praying for?
9. What is Odysseus’ plan for escape?
10. Odysseus himself serves as captain of the group of men elected to trick the
Cyclops. What does this action tell us about his character?
11. Who comes to help Polyphemus when the men blind him?
12. How has Odysseus tricked Polyphemus by telling the Cyclops his name is
“Nohbdy” (Nobody)?
13. How do the men sneak past the Cyclops when he opens the cave?
14. What weakness does Odysseus show as the men leave the Cyclops’ island?
15. Polyphemus offers a curse on Odysseus as he leaves. What parts come true?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Enchantress Circe & The Land of the Dead
1. When Odysseus’s men arrive in the hall of Circe, what do they find? What does
Odysseus think about this scene?
2. Why do Odysseus’s men go willingly into Circe’s trap?
3. What does Circe give the men? What happens to them as a result?
4. What does Circe do to the men after they fall into her trap? Why?
5. Do you think Odysseus’s men deserved this fate? Why or why not?
6. How does Odysseus save his men from Circe?
7. After saving his men, Odysseus stays with Circe, but he later says that, “in my
heart I never gave consent.” What cultural value is Homer addressing?
8. Why must Odysseus go to the Land of the Dead?
9. What warnings (2) does Teiresias give Odysseus?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis
1. Who is speaking in the beginning of this story? What is she warning Odysseus
of?
2. Have you ever heard the phrase “Siren song?” To what does it refer?
3. There is an expression, “caught between Scylla and Charybdis.” After reading this
section of the Odyssey, what do you think this expression means?
4. Circe tells Odysseus that it is “better to mourn six men than lose them all, and the
ship, too…” Do you agree with her? Why or why not?
5. Why does Odysseus put wax in his men’s ears?
6. How does Odysseus avoid being lured by the Sirens’ song?
7. How does Odysseus try to inspire his men, even though he knows that some will
lose their lives?
8. Describe what happens to the ship as it passes through the straits of Scylla and
Charybdis.
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Cattle of the Sun God
1. Odysseus has been warned not to interfere with the cattle of the sun god, Helios.
What happens that causes his men to disobey this warning?
2. What does Odysseus mean when he says that no man can avoid Helios’s eye (line
858)? What is he trying to warn his men against?
3. How does Eurylochus justify killing the cattle? Do you agree with him?
4. What does Eurylochus suggest the men do to protect themselves against
Odysseus’s warning about the sun god’s fury?
5. How does Odysseus shirk responsibility for what his men have done?
6. What have Odysseus’s men done to enrage the sun god, Helios?
7. What does Zeus do to Odysseus’s men? Why?
Part Two: Coming Home
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Meeting of Father and Son & The Beggar and the Faithful Dog
1. Why does Athena advise Odysseus to return home disguised as a beggar?
2. How does Odysseus’s servant, Eumaeus, treat both Odysseus (who is disguised as
a beggar) and Telemachus, the son of his old master? What does this tell us about
Eumaeus?
3. How does Athena reveal Odysseus’s true identity to Telemachus?
4. How does Telemachus react to Odysseus’s magical reappearance? Why?
5. To what does Homer compare Odysseus’s and Telemachus’s cries? (Note” This is
called a Homeric simile.)
6. Why do you think Odysseus again disguises himself when he returns to his home?
7. Why is Odysseus sad when he sees his old dog, Argos?
8. How does the dog react when he hears Odysseus’s voice? Why is this ironic?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
The Test of the Great Bow
1. What test has Penelope devised for her suitors? (Be very specific!)
2. Why does Penelope weep when she holds the bow?
3. Why would Penelope ask the suitors to perform a task she knows is quite
impossible for anyone but Odysseus himself?
4. Why does Odysseus reveal his true identity to Eumaeus and the cowherd?
5. How does Odysseus plan to defeat the suitors?
6. When Odysseus, disguised still as a beggar, asks to try the bow, why does
Penelope agree?
7. What do you think the suitors are thinking when “the beggar” is able to string and
successfully shoot the bow?
8. What do you think will happen next in the story? Why?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
Death at the Palace
1. Why does Odysseus want to kill Antinuos and the other suitors?
2. What makes Homer’s description of Antinuous’s death especially powerful?
3. How does Eurymachus try to save his own life? Do you believe his explanation?
Why or why not?
4. Odysseus tells the men to “fight [their] way out or run for it” . What has
Odysseus done to make it impossible for the suitors to do either?
5. To what does Homer compare Odysseus and telemachus as they mercilessly kills
the suitors ? (Note: this is called a Homeric simile.)
6. Remember that the events in this epic are meant to teach the Greeks about
important values or morals. What values or morals does this part of the Odyssey
relate?
Remember to answer all questions with complete sentences!!
Odysseus and Penelope
1. Why does Penelope decide she must test the man who claims to be Odysseus yet
again? What does this tell us about her?
2. Why does Telemachus seem angry at his mother’s reaction to Odysseus’s
appearance?
3. Odysseus is transformed from an old, dirty, tired man once again to a beautiful,
“massive,” golden hero. Why do you think Homer included this in this, the end,
of his epic?
4. How does Penelope assure herself of Odysseus’s true identity by suggesting that
the maid move her bed?
5. How does Penelope explain her caution to Odysseus, now that she is sure he is her
true husband?
6. What value or moral does this episode relate to the audience? How do you know?