The Adventures of Odysseus
Study Guide #5
Name: _____________
“Penelope” (excerpt)
1. What reasons does Odysseus give for not answering Penelope’s questions about his homeland and
parents?
2. According to Penelope, what “ruse” did she use to stall her suitors? How long was she able to stall them?
3. What does Odysseus the beggar tell Penelope about her long lost husband?
4. Character traits, life lesson(s), or Hero’s Journey notes:
The Test of the Bow (944-954)
1. What is the test that the suitors must pass to win Penelope’s hand in marriage?
2. When Odysseus (in disguise) asks the cow herdsman and Eumaeus if they would support Odysseus in
killing the suitors if he “dropped out of a clear sky”, how do they respond?
3. Explain the dramatic irony regarding what Penelope says in lines 140-149.
4. Odysseus’s stringing of the bow is compared to the stringing of a harp. What qualities of Odysseus
does this comparison emphasis or draw attention to?
5. What sign does Zeus give that he is with Odysseus?
6. Character traits, life lesson(s), or Hero’s Journey notes:
Death in the Great Hall (955-960)
1. Odysseus first kills Antinous. What detail indicates Antinous is completely unprepared for the attack?
2. Eurymachus tries to convince Odysseus to spare the suitors’ lives. List his arguments.
3. Odysseus holds off the suitors while Telemachus does what?
4. Character traits, life lesson(s), or Hero’s Journey notes:
The Trunk of the Olive Tree (961-964)
1. What gift does Athena grant Odysseus before he meets with Penelope?
2. Odysseus calls Penelope “strange woman” and claims the gods have made her “hard”. What causes him to
say this?
3. What does Penelope imply by the phrase “if man you are …” in line 381?
4. What does Penelope ask Eurycleia to do? How does Odysseus respond to this request?
5. What is unusual about the construction of Odysseus and Penelope’s bed? How is the construction of
their bed symbolic of their marriage?
6. What simile does Homer use to describe Odysseus’ longing for Penelope?
7. Character traits, life lesson(s), or Hero’s Journey notes: