Name: _____________________
Pre-AP Freshman English
Date: __________
The Odyssey: Books I – II: Circle the best answers
Note: All spellings are the phonetic versions used by our textbook, Language of Literature.
1. What is a plausible reason The Odyssey begins with Zeus's recount of Aegisthus'
murder?
a. Like the King Arthur legend, treason was inexcusable. Loyalty was viewed as a vital
aspect of order and cultural stability. It is recounted as possible foreshadowing or
warning - building suspense and anxiety.
b. Aegisthus was unjustly murdered because he married the woman he loved. The havoc
love brings sets the stage for this tragedy.
c. Aegisthus' murder is what starts the Trojan War. He was the son of Agamemnon and
he was killed by a Trojan soldier.
2. What custom do the people of this region follow when strangers come to their
region?
a. The Golden Rule
b. They offer their guest the bride of his choice
c. Hospitality
3. What does Telemachus' treatment of his mother show about the views of the
Achaíans toward women?
a. They may love them but males have a higher status so obedience and respect isn't as
great as it is for men.
b. His deep respect shows that they value women.
4. Both Telemachus and his mother have been, in affect, abandoned. Which of the
following best explains how they handle this.
a. They are both proud of Odysseus's accomplishments in the Trojan War and they
patiently wait for his return.
b. Telemachus is upset - Penelope appears patient.
5. Where is Poseidon (which allows the gods to consider helping Odysseus)?
a. Africa: the land of sun-burned
b. South America: the land of spicey food
c. Asia: the land of intelligent women
6. How did Penelope trick the suitors?
a. She got them to give her many gifts, pretending she would marry the one who brought
the most.
b. She said she would choose a husband when she had finished making his burial shroud,
but she was really making it during the day and unraveling it at night so that she would never
finish.
c. She served spoiled meat, they all got sick and she said this was the gods way of telling
them to leave her alone.
7. Who is Mentor?
a. An old teacher from Odysseus's school.
b. Athena in disguise.
8. Antinous, one of the suitors, has a solution for the impasse at the palace.
a. Penelope should marry him the next morning.
b. Penelope should be sent back to her father - who could find another husband for her.
c. Penelope should hold a lottery for the one she will marry.
9. Who does Telemachus tell he is leaving?
a. Only his mother
b. The suitors
c. Eurycleia, his father's nurse
10. Why is Telemachus leaving Ithaca?
a. He can't stand being around the suitors anymore, and he thinks he will grow into a
man if he leaves his mother and fends for himself.
b. He has heard his father is on Calypso (aka Ogygia) and he has gone to find him.
c. He is going to visit some of the great generals of the Trojan War to find out news of
his father.