Name: ____________________________________________________ Introduction to the Odyssey
Pages 640-646
The Epic
1. Who is credited with gathering the stories of a great war in Greece into one epic poem? ________________________________________ 2. What was his first epic, the Iliad, about? 3. According to the Iliad, what was the cause of the Trojan war? 4. What was the author’s second epic, the Odyssey, about? 5. What is an epic poem? 6. What are some examples of stories from Western literature that are about great journeys? 7. Which epic is more widely read, the Iliad or the Odyssey, and why? The War Story Background
8. Fill in this summary for the Iliad using the information from pages 641-­‐642. The ___________________________ attacked _____________________ to get back at _______________________, the prince of Troy, for running off with King _________________________________ wife, _____________________________. The Greek kings banded together and sailed _______________________ ships across the Aegean Sea to attack the walled city of ____________________. The ____________________________ won the war and killed all of the ______________________________ except for those they took back as slaves. Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble
9. What kind of importance was placed on heroes in Homer’s time? 10. How is Odysseus different from most Greek heroes? 11. Why do people identify with Odysseus? In other words, why do people like him? 12. What is the name of Odysseus’s wife? ____________________________________________ 13. What is the name of Odysseus’s son? _____________________________________________ 14. The following paragraph gives us the background story about the epic we are about to read. Fill in the blanks using the information from pages 642-­‐643. When it came time to be drafted, __________________________________, who did not believe in the cause that the Trojan War was being fought for, tried to _________________________ the draft by pretending that he was _____________________________. When ____________________________________ and his brother ___________________________________ came to get _____________________________________ to make him fight in the war, he dressed up as a _______________________________ and began ________________________ a field and sowing it with _____________________. To make Odysseus end his charade, the men threw his _____________________, Telemachus, in front of the ________________. _____________________________ immediately turned the plow aside to avoid running over his son. The Wooden Horse Trick
15. Who was credited for coming up with this trick? _________________________________________________ 16. Explain how the “trick” worked. A Search for Their Places in Life
17. According to page 644, what is one of the main themes of the Odyssey? 18. The story begins with __________________________________, who is now ___________-­‐years-­‐old. His mother ____________________________________ is being pressured by several men to ______________________ one of them. However, their real motive is to rob Telemachus of his _______________________________________. 19. Odysseus is stranded on an _______________________ wanting to come home. It has been ________ years since he fought in the battle at ___________________ and almost __________ years since he left his family behind in Ithaca. 20. While Telemachus is in search of his ____________________, Odysseus is in search of a way out of his ____________________________ _____________________________. 21. What are myths? Relationships With the Gods
22. Myths are essentially ___________________________ because they are concerned with the relationship between __________________________ and the _____________________________ or ________________________________ ______________________________. 23. Who is alongside Odysseus throughout his travels? ___________________________ the goddess of _______________________________. 24. Who works against him? ________________________________ the god of the __________________. Who Was Homer?
25. The later Greeks believed he was a _____________________ minstrel or ____________________ that came from the island of Chios. 26. (Page 645) Homer is often referred to as a rhapsode. What are rhapsodes? 27. Since there was most likely no form of written history during Homer’s time, how was this information passed on? 28. How long would it take someone to tell the story of the Odyssey? Tell The Story
Page 651
1) Who is telling this story? ______________________________________ 2) How does the narrator describe Odysseus? 3) How does the narrator describe Odysseus’s journey? 4) What is Odysseus’s one major goal? _____________________________________________________________________________________ 5) Which goddess tried to keep Odysseus for herself? _____________________________________ 6) Who was the one god that did not have pity on Odysseus during his journey? __________________________________ Calypso (From Book 5)
Page 652-654
1) What are Books 1-­‐4 about? 2) Why does Hermes travel to Calypso’s island? 3) How is Calypso’s island described? Provide at least 4 examples of the imagery provided in this passage. 4) What is meant by lines 71-­‐74? 5) What is the relationship between Odysseus and Calypso like? 6) What warning does Calypso give Odysseus when she decides to let him go? 7) What puzzles Calypso about Odysseus’s constant longing for home? 8) How does Odysseus reply to Calypso’s questions? 9) What hardship does Odysseus encounter after he leaves the island? 10) Who helps him and how? PAGE 655: “Calypso” by Suzanne Vega 11) Read the poem. What real-­‐life, moral struggle does the story of Calypso and Odysseus illustrate? I AM LAERTES’s SON… (From Book 9)
Pages 656-658
1) Who finds Odysseus as he is sleeping in the leaves? 2) How is Odysseus treated that evening when he appears as a guest at King Alcinous’s court? 3) Do King Alcinous and his court recognize who Odysseus is at first? __________ 4) What prompts Odysseus to begin telling the story of his travels to King Alcinous and his court? 5) What does he admit about his encounters with Calypso and the enchantress Circe? 6) What happened on the coast of Cicone? 7) How did Odysseus and his men treat the women of Cicone? 8) What was the behavior of Odysseus’s men like as they were preparing to head back out to sea? 9) What aspects of Cicone army were especially dangerous to Odysseus and his men? 10) What was the result of the battle between Odysseus’s men and the Cicone army? 11) Why do the men have to sail their ship to shore and seek shelter? 12) What does Odysseus say prevented him from making home safely this time? The Lotus Eaters (From Book 9)
Pages 658
1) What happened on the tenth day that the men were out to sea? 2) What were the Lotus Eaters like? 3) What happened when the men ate the Lotus flowers offered by the Lotus Eaters? 4) How did Oysseus deal with the men who ate the Lotus flowers? The CYCLOPS (From Book 9)
Pages 660-670
**The next adventure Odysseus tells of is his run-­‐in with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. 1) Who is Polyphemus? What does he look like? 2) Why is Odysseus the cleverest of the Greek heroes? 3) What leads Odysseus into Polyphemus’s cave? 4) What example does Odysseus give that highlights Polyphemus’s strength? 5) How does the Cyclops react when he first sees the hiding men? 6) What does Odysseus say is the reason they are there? 7) What is the Cyclops reply to him? 8) What lie does Odysseus tell Polyphemus about their ship? 9) What did Polyphemus do to Odysseus’s men? 10) What stopped Odysseus from killing the Cyclops when he had the chance? 11) What plan did Odysseus come up with to defeat Polyphemus and free himself and his men when the Cyclops went out of the cave to do his chores? 12) How did he put his plan in motion once the Cyclops returned to the cave? 13) What does Odysseus say his name is? 14) What happens when Odysseus and his men drive the steak into the monster’s eye? How did the name that Odysseus gave him come in handy? 15) How do the men get out of the cave and escape the monster? 16) What does Odysseus do once he and his men have boarded their ship? 17) Why do Odysseus’s men tell him to “shut up?” What are they afraid of? 18) What does Polyphemus ask of Poseidon when he prays to him? The ENCHANTRESS CIRCE (From Book 10)
Pages 673-675
1) Where do Odysseus and his men land after leaving the island of the Cyclopes? 2) Who does Odysseus a favor and what is it? 3) What happens when the sailors open the bag? 4) Where do Odysseus’s men find themselves after being driven away by Aeolus? ____________________________________ 5) What are Leastrogynians? What do they do to Odysseus’s men? 6) After Odysseus’s ship escapes, where do he and his crew find themselves? Who lives there? 7) Who leads a party of 23 men in exploring the island? ___________________________________________ 8) Why do the wolves and mountain lions behave in such a tame manner? 9) Who speaks up and tells the men that they can take down their guard, and that they should go meet whomever is singing so beautifully? ______________________________ 10) Who was the only man in the party who did not enter Circe’s home? __________________________________________ 11) What happens after the men eat the food and drink the wine that Circe has offered them? 12) What does Hermes give Odysseus on his way to confront Circe? 13) After she frees Odysseus’s men, who does she seduce and convince to stay? ________________________________________ 14) After several seasons of “feasting and other pleasures,” Circe agrees to help the men return home on the condition that _______________________________ travels alone to ____________________________________, home to____________________ and _______________________________ queen of the underworld, and seek the wisdom of the blind prophet ____________________________________. The LAND OF THE DEAD (From Book 11)
Pages 675-677
1) In the Land of the Dead, Odysseus seeks to learn his _____________________________. 2) What sacrifice did Odysseus vow to make to the dead? 3) How did Odysseus get Teiresias to rise up from the dead? 4) How did Odysseus feel when the souls of the dead began to gather and cry out? ____________________________________ 5) According to Teiresias, who is after Odysseus and why? 6) Teiresias tells Odysseus to not raid the cattle of _________________________, or else his ship and crew will be _______________________________. If this happens, ________________________________________ will be the only survivor and will be lost for years. When he finally does arrive home, he will find __________________________ men in his home, eating his livestock and ____________________________ his lady. 7) After killing all of the suitors in his home, how will Odysseus know when to make a sacrifice to Poseidon? 8) What will happen as a result of Odysseus’s sacrifice to Poseidon? The SIRENS: Scylla and Charybdis (From Book 12)
Pages 677-683
1) Where do Odysseus and his men return to after he leaves the Land of the Dead? ___________________________________ 2) Circe warns Odysseus and his men of the ______________________ who sing to __________________ men coasting by. 3) Circe says the sirens will sing a man’s ____________________away. 4) What does Circe tell Odysseus to do to avoid the sirens? 5) If Odysseus wants to listen to the sirens, what does Circe advise him to do? 6) How does Circe describe Scylla? What danger does she present? 7) What danger does Charybdis present? 8) Which land does Circe suggest staying closer to as they pass through the channel between Scylla and Charybdis? 9) According to Circe, it is “…better to lose ________ men to lose them all, and the __________________, too… 10) What will be at Thrinakia as prophesized earlier by Teiresias? _______________________________________________________ 11) What does Circe also warn Odysseus against? __________________________________________________________________________ (Hint: Teiresias gave the same warning…) 12) Before setting sail again, Odysseus tells his ___________________ about the dangers that _______________________ just warned him about. 13) At one point when listening to the sirens, what does Odysseus yell out to his crew? 14) What does Odysseus do when his crew begins to panic in fear upon seeing the smoke and waves? 15) What did Scylla do to the six men she snatched from Odysseus’s ship? 16) After Scylla and Charybdis were behind them, what did Odysseus remember that both Teiresias and Circe forbade him to do? The Cattle of the sun god (From Book 12)
Pages 684-686
1) Odysseus urges his crew to bypass ______________________________________, the island of the _________ god, ________________________, but they insist on going there anyway. 2) Odysseus goes along with it, but makes them promise not to touch the _____________________. 3) Whose idea was it to slaughter the cattle, and what did he say that ultimately convinced the crew to join him? 4) What does Odysseus do when he wakes up to find what his men have done? 5) Helios tells Zeus that Odysseus’s men must be punished, or else…what? 6) How does Zeus end up punishing the men? 7) This event leads us back to the events of Book ________, when Odysseus finds himself on _______________________’s island. CRITICAL THINKING: How many of the monsters or threats to Odysseus in Part 1 of the epic are female? What do you think of the way women are portrayed so far? Name: ______________________________________________ PART TWO: COMING HOME
INTRODUCTION TO PART TWO
PAGE 690
Book 13
1. Who appears to Odysseus when he first returns to Ithaca? _________________________________ 2. What does she advise him to do? _________________________________________________________________________________________ Book 14
3. Who is Eumaeus? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What admirable quality does Eumaeus possess? _______________________________________________________________________ 5. Does Eumaeus recognize Odysseus? _________ Book 15
6. ______________________________ appears to Telemachus. He has travelled to _______________________________________ and ___________________________ to talk to old comrades of his father’s to try to discover if Odysseus is dead or alive. Athena advises him to return to ____________________________. 7. Athena warns Telemachus that the ___________________________ hanging around his father’s palace are planning to ____________________________ him. 8. When Telemachus returns home, he goes to the hut of the _____________________________ first. The Meeting of Father and Son (From Book 16)
Pages 691-694
1. Who embraces Telemachus when he returns to Ithaca? ____________________________________________ 2. Does Odysseus recognize his son? ___________ 3. What is the condition of Penelope according to Eumaeus? How does she spend her evenings? 4. Does Telemachus recognize his father? __________ 5. Why does Telemachus protect “the beggar” (Odysseus)? Who is he protecting him from? 6. Why does Athena return once more? 7. What does Telemachus confuse Odysseus for when Odysseus appears as himself? 8. When Telemachus finally accepts that the stranger is in deed his father, how does he react? The Beggar and the Faithful Dog (From Book 17)
Pages 694-695
1. Why do you think Telemachus didn’t tell his mother that he had seen his father when he first reunited with her? 2. Who (and what) is the one creature that recognizes Odysseus even in disguise? ___________________________________ 3. How is this creature treated now in his old age? 4. How does Odysseus feel upon seeing the creature living in these conditions? 5. According to Eumaeus, what has happened to the servants since Odysseus has been away? THE EPIC CONTINUES
Page 696
Book 17
1. How do the suitors treat Odysseus when he is still in his beggar’s disguise? 2. Who supports and defends him? _________________________________ Book 18
3. Why does Penelope get mad at Telemachus? Book 19
4. After the suitors go to bed, why do Odysseus and Telemachus meet privately? 5. Why does Odysseus want to test the maids? 6. How does Odysseus “test” his wife? 7. How does Penelope react when “the beggar” is telling her stories of her husband? 8. How does the servant Eurycleia find out that the beggar is Odysseus? What does he make her promise? 9. Who casts a spell on Penelope so that she does not realize what has just happened? _______________________________ Book 20
10. Penelope unknowingly gives Odysseus a way to defeat the other suitors when she…. The Test of the great bow (FROM BOOK 21)
Pages 698-702
1. When Penelope comes up with the test for the suitors, she chooses a task that she thinks will be ______________________________________ for them to complete. 2. What is the test? What part does she add to it that makes it even more impossible? 3. What does Odysseus (still dressed as the beggar) ask the swineherd and the cowherd as they left the hall? 4. What is their reply to his question? 5. How does he prove that he is Odysseus? How do they react? 6.
7.
8.
9.
Who insists that the beggar is given a chance to perform the task? __________________________________________ What does Eumeaus instruct all of the women to do at this time? What did Odysseus instruct Telemachus to do earlier? Does Odysseus pass the test? _____________ 10. At the end of this section, what is Telemachus preparing to do? Death at the palace (From Book 22)
Pages 703-705
1. Odysseus must now face over __________ hostile suitors. 2. Who has been the meanest of the suitors throughout the story? _______________________________________ 3. Why does Odysseus go after Antinous first? 4. Where does the arrow hit Antinous? 5. What happens when the suitors go to fetch their weapons? 6. Who did Eurymachus blame for their actions while Odysseus was away? __________________________________ 7. What does Eurymachus offer Odysseus if he agrees to spare his life as well as the rest of the suitors’? 8. After most of the suitors were run through with arrows and lay dying on the floor, what makes the rest of them run out of the hall “…mad with fear”? 9. What does Homer compare Odysseus and his men to at the end of this section? Odysseus and Penelope (From Book 23 )
Pages 706-709
1. What does Odysseus order the maids to do after the battle is over and why? 2. How does Telemachus “pay” them for their work? 3. When Eurycleia first tells Penelope of Odysseus’s return, what does she think might be going on? 4. What is the test (or secret) that Penelope waits to hear before believing that the man is truly her husband? 5. How does she explain her “coldness” towards him after he gets mad at her? 6. How does the story end?