Odyssey Test Books 1-4
Selected Response
Directions: Circle the best answer for each of the following questions. (10 points)
1. Where is Odysseus at the beginning of Book I?
A. Ithaca
B. Phaecia
C. Calypso's Island
D. none of the above.
2. What best describes the gods' attitude towards men?
A. affection
B. hatred
C. frustration
D. none of the above
3. Why does Odysseus's wife have suitors?
A. She wants to remarry.
B. She's pretty, smart, and rich.
C. She's not allowed to be single.
D. none of the above
4. Nestor thinks Odysseus is
A. a brave, smart leader.
B. a coward.
C. not very bright.
D. none of the above.
5. Why does Helen think Telemachos is Odysseus's son?
A. He cries at Menalaos's story.
B. He looks like Odysseus.
C. He is wearing Odysseus's symbol. C. none of the above
6. When Telemachos returns home, Antinoos's plans to
A. ambush and kill him.
B. compromise for gold.
C. ask permission to marry Penelope D. none of the above.
7. It is conventional for epics to open with
A. an epithet
B. a simile
C. personification
D. an invocation
8. To whom does Athena refer when she says: “They all would find death was quick, and
marriage a painful matter?”
A. the young women of Ithaka
C. the suitors
B. the Trojans
D. the widows left after the war
9. “grey-eyed Athena” is an example of what epic convention?
A. an epithet
B. a simile
C. personification
D. an invocation
10. One purpose of repetition in an epic is
A. to entertain the reader
B. to help the poet remember
C. to make it sound interesting
D. to fill in the parts where the poet forget the story
Short Answer
Write your answers to the questions below in two to three complete sentences. Be
sure to answer each question completely. (10 points)
11. What is the trick Penelope plays on the suitors?____________________________
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12. Who is in Odysseus’ house in Ithaka and what are they doing there? _____________
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13. While Telemachos is on his journey, what does he learn about himself and his role as
a son? __________________________________________________________________
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14. How did the ancient Greeks believe guests should be treated and why? ____________
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15. Why is Menelaus to go to the Elysian Field instead of dying as other mortals do? ___
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Grammar
Directions: Circle the verbs and underline the verbs in each of the following
sentences. (10 points)
1. My brother went fishing yesterday.
2. He didn't catch a single fish!
3. Because of this, we didn't have perch to eat.
4. Thankfully, Mr. Michalak offered us some.
5. That perch sure tasted good!
6. But, maybe we should have cooked the fish first.
7. Mom wanted to eat quickly.
8. She just threw the frozen fish on the table.
9. I ate that fish like it was ice cream!
10. I made up this whole story.
BCR
Identify and analyze an example of personification in the following quote from the
Odyssey. (10 points)
“Now they made all secure in the fast black ship,
and, setting out the winebowls all a –brim,
they made libation to the gods,
the undying, the ever-new,
most of all to the grey-eyed daughter of Zeus.
And the prow sheared through the night into the dawn.”