The Odyssey - Book I
“Calling upon the Muse”
1. What tradition does Homer keep when he begins his story?
He evokes the muse of poetry, he also likes to use flashbacks and takes you to the middle of the
story before he gets to the beginning.
2. How will the story of Odysseus end? Write the line that gives the ending in MLA format.
Odysseus will end up being the only one alive. “For their own recklessness destroyed them all”
The Odyssey - Book V
“Calypso, the sweet nymph”
1. Who is sent to Calypso’s island with a message from Zeus and what is the message?
Hermes is sent to Calypso’s island to give information that she needs to let Odysseus go.
2. Why does the poet give such detailed description of Calypso’s island?
The poet gives such a detailed description of the island because in this story, Odysseus keeps
going back to this specific island numerous times throughout the story. This just shows that this
island plays an important role in this story.
3. Find two examples of epithet in this selection.
Zeus- the summoner god
Calypso- the sweet nymph
4. How does Calypso conceal the whole truth from Odysseus when she tells him he may leave
the island?
She does not tell Odysseus that she was forced to tell him that he could leave when Hermes the
messenger tells her that she can’t keep him.
5. What does Calypso promise Odysseus if he stays with her?
Everlasting life, youth, and immortality
The Odyssey – Book IX
“I am Laertes son . . .”
1. Explain how the ancient Greeks viewed guests. What did they do for them?
They viewed their guest as friends and not strangers by treating them like family.
They feed them, clothe them, bathe them, and make them feel like they are at home.
2. What is Odysseus talking about when he says, “But in my heart I never gave consent”?
He never thinks about her being in a true relationship or loving her with his own true heart.
3. In lines 155-175, Odysseus describes the defeat of his men by the Cicones but blames their
refusal to obey him as the cause. Does this reflect poorly on him? How?
Yes, this really does reflect poorly on him because since his men were defeated he shouldn’t be
blaming the Cicones because he chose to tell them what to do and they didn’t want to listen to
him and what he had to say.
4. What is “unyoking time”?
Is the end of the business day or the evening.
5. What does Odysseus mean when he says, “Six benches were left empty in every ship that
evening when we pulled away from death”?
He means that after the war, he lost a lot of his men.
6. Why didn’t Odysseus make it home safely after leaving the Cicones behind?
The storm created by Zeus kept him from making it home safely.
“The Lotus Eaters”
1. On the tenth day of drifting, where did Odysseus land and why did they land there?
Odysseus landed on the coastline of the loutus eaters because he had hit a water current
that dragged him out there.
2. What happens to the men that eat the Lotus? How does Odysseus get them aboard the
ship and keep them from leaving?
After the men eat the lotus, they come to the conclusion that they never want to return
home and stay there forever but then Odysseus is forced to drag them aboard the ship.
3. What technique has the poet used to fill the listeners in on what happened to Odysseus
before he became a captive on Calypso’s island?
The technique that the poet uses is…
He starts at the middle of the story to get the reader’s attention and draw them to the
book.
4. Why do you think he is reciting his tale for King Alcinous?
He recites his tale to explain why he is there and why he had landed there.
5. Find the epic (or Homeric) similes on page 1048 and write them here in MLA format.
What is being compared in each?
His army is being compared to leaves and blades of grass
“This was an army, trained to fight on horseback or,where the ground required, on foot.
They came with their dawn over that terrain like the leaves and blades of spring”.
Another simile…
“ Now Zeus the lord of cloud roused in the north a storm against the ships, and driving
veils of squall moved down like night on land and sea”.
“The Cyclops”
1. Why does Odysseus go in search of the Cyclops?
Odysseus goes in search of the Cyclops by hoping to rest and replenish for the rest of
their journey.
2. How does Homer help the audience sense what Odysseus is up against in lines 226-235?
Homer helps the audience sense what he is describing by using descriptive words such
as…
“ Lord, who sets the earth a-tremble”
3. What does the Cyclops want to know about Odysseus and his men’s presence on his
island?
So he knows what to expect from them and what they are doing there and who they are.
4. Why is Odysseus so bold as to ask for help from the Cyclops?
Because it is said that tradition is that people are supposed to treat people with great
hospitality and to help them with whatever they need.
5. Why does Odysseus not kill the Cyclops while he is asleep?
Because they cant move the rock that is behind him to escape to freedom and they need
the Cyclops to do it.
6. “When the young Dawn with fingertips of rose lit up the world” is an example of what
figurative language technique?
Personification
7. What is ironic about the Cyclops saying he will eat “Nobody” last?
The reason it is ironic because the Cyclops can’t eat nobody if nobody is there and the
word nobody means there is nobody there.
8. How does Odysseus escape the cave?
He stabs him in the eye, then all the men get under the rams and leave by sneaking out.
9. Do you think it was wise of Odysseus to taunt the Cyclops as he and his men were sailing
away? Why?
No, not really, because it is not a really good idea to taunt the Cyclops
Especially, when his father is the god of the sea.
10. What does the Cyclops realize after Odysseus reveals his identity to him?
He realizes that he was being an idiot after thinking nobody was somebody
11. Odysseus’ men beg him not to “bait the beast” again. What do they mean?
Don’t taunt the beast because he can retaliate.
12. How might things have been different if he had taken their advice?
He could have saved some of his men’s lives and he probably could have gotten home
sooner.
13. Rewrite the Cyclops’ prayer from pgs. 1062-1063 in modern English?
“Hear me lord, father of the islands, Promise that Odysseus, son of Leartes, never return home
back with his family. Darken the years for him, wipe out all of the rest of his men that will help
him return home to Ithaca, let him sail miserably home back to his kingdom”.
14. Write a paragraph explaining how Odysseus displays characteristics of an epic hero in
this episode?
He displays characteristics of an epic hero in this episode of this section in so many ways
because just the way he thinks things through and always gets out of situations. In every
story, an epic hero is supposed to think things through very good and well and always get
away with things and always look like some kind of superhero. In this case, Odysseus
displays these kind of characteristics just by his actions and the way he thinks things
through.
The Odyssey – Book X
“Aeolus”
1. Who is Aeolus?
King of the winds
2. How does Aeolus help Odysseus and his men?
He helps them by giving them the winds to get home.
3. What kept the ship from reaching Ithaca?
They wanted to be curious and open the bag of winds and when they open the bag of
winds, it drives them back to Aeolus.
4. Why does Aeolus drive Odysseus and his men away?
Because they didn’t use the gift as it was intended to be used.
“ The Laestrygonians”
1. Who are the Laestrygonians?
A race of cannibals
2. What is the fate of Odysseus and his crew in the land of the Laestrygonians?
They wipe out his men leaving Odysseus with fewer men than there already were and
leaving most of the ships destroyed.
“The witch goddess, Circe”
1. What does the goddess Circe do to Odysseus’ men?
She turns them into pigs
2. How long does Odysseus spend with Circe?
Odysseus spends about 1 year with Circe
The Odyssey – Book XII
“The Land of the Dead”
1. Who was Tiresias?
The blind prophet
2. What does Tiresias do for Odysseus?
Tiresias helps Odysseus by telling him what to do by telling him future events that will
happen to him and his men.
“The Sirens”
1. How does Circe help Odysseus and his crew?
She warns him by advising him about the sirens that they are evil sirens who lure sailors
to their destruction.
2. What prediction did Circe make to Odysseus?
Her prediction is…
That Odysseus’s men are supposed to tie him up and let him listen to the sirens songs and
if he should scream they tighten the rope that is holding him up to the mast of the ship.
3. How does Odysseus keep his men from hearing the siren’s song?
He gives them beeswax to cover their ears.
4. Why do Odysseus’ men tie him to the mast of the ship as they near the island of the
Sirens?
They tied him up so he wont jump overboard the ship near the island of the Sirens.
5. List the temptations the Sirens make.
a.. “This way, oh turns your bows, Achaea’s glory, as all the world allows-Moor and be
merry”.______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b. “Sea rovers here take joy voyaging onward, as from our song of Troy greybeard and
rower-boy goeth more
learned”.______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
c. “On Troy beach teeming, charmed out of time we see. No life on earth can be hid from
our dreaming”.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5. What do Odysseus’ men do when he demands they free him?
They just ignore him and keep their ears closed so that way the sirens songs cant get to
them just like the songs are getting to Odysseus.
“Scylla and Charybdis”
1. What is Scylla according to the story? What was it in real life?
According to the story, Scylla is a female six headed monster .
2. As they pass Scylla how many men are taken from Odysseus?
6 men are taken from Odysseus “His best men”.
3. What is the Charybdis?
The Charybdis is a whirl pool
“The Cattle of the Sun God”
1. Why do Odysseus and his men stop on the Island of the sun god?
They stop on the island to find “cover” for the night storm that is being created by
Zeus. By also stopping to rest for the rest of the journey home.
2. What are they not supposed to do while they are there?
They are not supposed to eat the cattle while they are there.
3. Who is Helios?
Helios is described as the sun god.
4. What does he ask of Zeus when he finds out what Odysseus and his men have done?
He asks Zeus to punish Odysseus’s men and says that they will pay restitution or penalty
for what they have done.
5. What happens to Odysseus’ men?
They were thrown overboard by Zeus who had thrown a lightning bolt into the ship and had
thrown overboard all of the men aboard the ship.
The Odyssey Part II – The Return of Odysseus
The Odyssey - Book XVI
“Twenty years gone, and I am back again . . .”
1. How long has Odysseus been away from home?
Odysseus has been gone for twenty years after his long journey away from home.
2. What has been happening at home while Odysseus has been away?
Numerous suitors are trying to marry Odysseus’s wife Penelope, and plotting to kill his
son before he can inherit the throne.
3. Where did Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, go and why?
He goes to Sparta to look for his father and to learn about his father’s fate.
4. What is Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ plans for the suitors?
They both plan to go in a disguise and go fight and kill the suitors.
“Argus”
1. Who is Argus?
Argus is an old dog that was trained and owned by Odysseus.
2. Why is this part of the book important?
This part of the section in the book is important because it shows how loyal the dog is
and how Odysseus can have that kind of effect on his own dog.
“The Suitors”
1. How are the suitors behaving?
The suitors are behaving like they own the kingdom and acting very ignorant.
2. Who is the main suitor?
Antinous is the main suitor.
“Penelope”
1. Who is Penelope?
Odysseus’s wife.
2. Who does she talk to not realizing who she is talking to?
She talks to Odysseus not realizing that he is the beggar.
“The Challenge”
1. What is the deal Penelope makes with the suitors?
She tells them that the first person to string the bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe
handle sockets will win her hand in marriage.
3. Who wins the challenge?
Odysseus wins the challenge
4. Note, two similes used to describe Odysseus. These are the two similes……
“Dealer in old bows” and “See how he handles it, the sly old buzzard”
The Odyssey – Book XXII
“Odysseus’ Revenge”
1. Why does Homer describe Antinous’ golden cup in such detail?
Because Antinous is about to die so by describing the cup it slows down time and draws
the reader into what is happening in the book.
2. Why is Antinous killed first?
Antinous is killed first because Odysseus wants to take down him first because he is the
main leader of all the suitors.
3. What cultural values are revealed by Odysseus’ explanation for his anger in lines 14411443?
They have angered the gods and dishonored the hospitality rule.
4. Note the epic simile used in this section.
“ Think of a catch that fisherman haul half-way moon bay in a fine-meshed net from the
whitecaps of the sea: how all are poured out on the sand, in throes for the salt sea,
twitching their cold lives away in Helios fiery air: so lay the suitors leaped on one
another.”
5. Why is the simile used in line1484-1485 NOT an epic simile?
The simile is used to describe how sharp the sword was.
In this case the simile is not as complex and doesn’t expand the comparison.
5. Who aides Odysseus in his killing of the suitors?
Athena aides Odysseus in the killing of the suitors.
“Penelope’s Test”
1. Note the epic simile used in this section.
“Athena lent him beauty, head to foot. She made him taller and massive too, with
crisping hair in curls like petals of wild hyacinth but all red-golden”.
2. By comparing the suitors to dying fish what is Homer doing?
He is comparing the suitors to dying fish and reason for this can be well explained that
Homer is trying to relate the killing of the suitors to fish in this way….
He is trying to explain it like this to tell the reader that they all died at one time
Homer is trying to capture the attention of the reader to get them more interested in the
story and explain in detail.
By comparing them to fish dying on land when the suitors are described this way, Homer
is trying to tell the reader that the suitors should not have a glorious death.
3. How does Odysseus react to Penelope’s attitude towards him?
He reacts in anger towards Penelope in the beginning and towards the end when he finds
out about the test he calms down.
4. What is Penelope’s test for Odysseus?
Her test was her telling the maid to move the very own bed that Odysseus made and place
it outside of the bedchamber.
Her whole point of this test was to see if this was really Odysseus ,if he would get mad at
her and tell her something describing the bed that he had made for them both.
“The Ending”
1. With whom is Odysseus reunited?
Odysseus is reunited with his father at the end of this story.
2. Is this a happy ending? How?
In the end of this story it is a happy ending for Odysseus because he is reunited with his
father and his family and is finally at peace in his own kingdom.
But, not such a happy ending for the suitors.
After the suitors a killed Athena demands that Odysseus and the suitors will remain at
peace with what happened.
Therefore, Odysseus is happy to be back in his kingdom and be reunited with his family
and his dad.