The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
Pages 652-654: “Calypso, the Sweet Nymph”
1. Speculating. Book 5 contains many images that appeal to the senses. Why might there be an
emphasis on sensory images in this section of the epic?
2. Homeric simile. Lines 41-47, what is Hermes flight being compared to?
3. Sensory images. Lines 49-53, what do you hear, see, feel, and smell in this famous description of
Calypso’s home? How does the natural beauty of Calypso’s island compare with the reality of
Odysseus’s situation?
4. Reading Skills: monitor your comprehension. Lines 65-70. Why has Hermes traveled to
Calypso’s island?
5. Lines 88-91, Zeus ordered Calypso to free Odysseus, but the nymph claims that the idea is her own.
Why do you think she does this? What is your opinion of her deception?
6. Speculating. Lines 110-112, consider their similarity in appearance and emotions. What do you
think distinguishes the humans from gods?
7. Lines 101-118, according to Calypso, what would Odysseus gain by staying with her? What does
Odysseus’s response tell you about his feelings for his wife? How has Odysseus managed to say no
to Calypso and still not offend her?
8. Homeric simile. Lines 118-122, what is being compared in these lines?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
9. True or False? Answer these comprehension questions, and support your answer with passages
from the text.
a. Odysseus is trying to return to his home in Ithaca after fighting in Troy.
b. Zeus sends Hermes to deliver a message.
c. Odysseus, content in Calypso’s care, ahs no desire to return home.
d. Calypso promises Odysseus that he will become immortal if he remains with her.
e. With the aid of the sea god, Poseidon, Odysseus is able to escape from Calypso.
Pages 656-657: “I am Laertes’ Son”
10. Analyzing Character. Lines 127-130, what impression of Odysseus do you get from his
description of himself?
11. Theme. Lines 143-146, what central idea of the poem does Odysseus express in this passage?
12. Reading Skills: Expressing an opinion. Lines 156-162, Odysseus, who considers himself a great
leader, blames his unruly crew for the Cicones’ attack. Does their insubordination reflect
unfavorably on Odysseus?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
Pages 658-659: “The Lotus Eaters” and “Troy; It Casts a Spell”
13. Lines 204-215, why does Odysseus tie down the three men? What does this action tell you about
him?
14. Extending ideas. How does this detail, from the third paragraph, support the author’s point that
by the nineteenth century, few historians believed in the existence of the ancient city of Troy?
15. Extending ideas. How does the detail in the closing paragraph support the author’s argument?
Pages 660-670: The Cyclops
16. Drawing Conclusions. Line 219, why do you think Odysseus and his men make an offering to the
gods?
17. Analyzing. Lines 228-234, how does Homer make it clear that Odysseus faces a formidable
opponent in the Cyclops?
18. Interpreting. Lines 243-245, what does the phrase “Fair traffic” mean? What does the Cyclops
mean by these questions?
19. Monitoring your comprehension. After lines 256-261, ask yourself one question about what you
have learned in the story so far. Write down the question and provide the answer.
20. Character. Lines 271-272, what is happening at this point? What does Odysseus’s remark suggest
about his character?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
21. Monitoring your comprehension. Lines 277-283, which details help you visualize this gruesome
scene? Why does Home include such gruesome details?
22. From lines 289-295, why doesn’t Odysseus kill the Cyclops at this moment? What factors must
Odysseus consider in devising a successful plan of escape?
23. Predicting. Lines 311-323, what do you think Odysseus plans to do with the pointed staff?
24. Evaluating. Lines 327-329, as the captain, Odysseus could have simply chosen the men he wanted
for the job rather than drawing lots. Is it wise of him to let the men “toss” for this job, or is he
foolishly risking the future of the whole group by not appointing the men best suited to help him?
25. Foreshadowing. Lines 331-333, Odysseus says that the rams may have entered the cave at “a god’s
bidding.” What does this mean, and what does it suggest about the role the rams will play?
26. Irony. Lines 362-363, what is ironic about the Cyclops saying he will eat Nohbdy last?
27. Homeric simile. Lines 386-391, what is the blinding of the Cyclops compared to?
28. Irony. Lines 398-408, explain the irony of these lines.
29. Expressing an opinion. Lines 408-410, do you think it is wise for Odysseus to laugh, considering
that he and his men are obviously not yet out of danger?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
30. Character. Lines 416-420, how would you characterize Odysseus here?
31. Sequence. Lines 423-432, what steps does Odysseus take to prepare for their escape?
32. Lines 421-442, explain Odysseus’s trick. What do you visualize happening in this scene?
33. Irony. Line 454, what is ironic about this statement?
34. Monitoring your comprehension. Lines 466-469, why are the ‘fellows’ faces’ full of joy and then
grief? Why does Odysseus hush his men?
35. Irony. Lines 486-489, what is ironic about the order that Odysseus gives?
36. Predicting. Lines 502-505, how might Odysseus’s revelation of his name create problems for him
and his men?
37. Evaluating. Lines 517-522, do you believe Polyphemus’s promise? Is he trustworthy? Explain.
38. Line 538, take a few minutes to list what you think are the highlights of Odysseus’s journey so far.
What questions do you have? What do you think will happen next?
39. Making connections. Go back and re-read the invocation that Homer uses to open the Odyssey.
What parts of Polyphemus’s curse come true?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
Pages 673-675: The Enchantress Circle
40. Interpreting. Introduction, what does the sailors’ opening of the bull’s-hide bag suggest about their
relationship with Odysseus?
41. Simile. Line 543-546, what comparison does Odysseus make to emphasize the strange gentleness
of the wild beast’s behavior?
42. Making inferences. Lines 549-554, Circe, like Calypso, is first seen at her loom, singing and
weaving. What inference could you make about women in ancient Greece from this fact?
43. Making connections. Lines 565-569, at what other points in the epic have some of Odysseus’s
men eaten something that made them lose desire for home?
44. Monitoring your comprehension. After lines 570-576, ask yourself one question about what you
have learned in the story so far. Write down the question and provide the answer.
45. In lines 549-583, note your responses to this horrible experience. What have the men done to
deserve being turned into pigs? How does Circe violate the laws of hospitality?
46. Finding details. After conclusion, what other role has Hermes played in the Odyssey?
Pages 675-677: The Land of the Dead
47. Making inferences. Line 603, whom is Odysseus referring to when he uses the term sovereign
Death?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
48. Reading Skills. Lines 630-633, remember Homer’s words at the beginning of the epic (p. 651)
where he revealed how the story would end. According to the excerpt from Book 1, do Odysseus’s
men heed Teiresias’s warning, or does the seer’s prophecy come true?
49. Expressing an opinion. Lines 636-637, so far, everything Teiresias says has already been
recounted by the poet in Book 1. Does knowing in advance what happens lessen your enjoyment of
the epic?
50. In lines 618-658, what prophecy does Odysseus receive?
Pages 678-683: The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis
51. Context clues. Line 663, what is the meaning of the word innocent? What context clues helped you
figure out the meaning of the word?
52. Predicting. Lines 673-678, from what you know of Odysseus, do you think he will take the risk of
listening to the Siren’s song?
53. Idioms. Lines 695-702, people sometimes use the expression caught between Scylla and Charybdis.
What does it mean?
54. Expressing an opinion. Lines 704-706, do you agree with Circe that it is better to sacrifice six
men than to risk losing them all? Explain.
55. Lines 712-716, who else has warned Odysseus to leave Helios’s cattle alone?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
56. Lines 659-716, according to Circe, what dangers lie ahead for Odysseus and his crew? List the
dangers in order from least severe to most severe, and give your reasons for placing the threats in
this order.
57. Expressing an opinion. Lines 718-723, do you agree that it’s best to know about dangers you may
face? Explain.
58. Drawing conclusions. Lines 745-745, why does Odysseus put wax in his men’s ears?
59. Interpreting. Lines 758-760, what does “the Sirens dropped under the sea rim” mean?
60. Character. Lines 793-797, what does Odysseus’s failure to remember Circe’s warning against using
weapons reveal about his self-image?
61. Lines 770-793, think about what kind of leader Odysseus is. What does he tell his men, to reassure
them? What does he decide not to tell them? Why?
62. Homeric simile. Lines 822-827, what things are being compared in this passage?
63. Expressing an opinion. Lines 831-832, do you agree that this scene seems like the worst described
in the Odyssey so far? Why or why not?
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The Odyssey Part One
Reading Questions
Pages 684-686: The Castle of the Sun God
64. Challenging the text. Introduction, since Odysseus is the captain, shouldn’t he have just ordered
his men to bypass Thrinakia? Explain your answers.
65. Interpreting. Line 858, what does Odysseus mean when he says that no man can avoid the eye of
Helios?
66. Questioning. Line 889, who is the “Lord of Noon”?
67. Interpreting. Line 893, what does Eurylochus mean by this comment?
68. Lines 878-894, what is Eurylochus’s “insidious plea”? If you were a member of the crew, would you
be swayed by this argument, or would you heed Odysseus’s warning? Do you think murdering the
cattle is justified, or is it an offense against the god Helios?
69. Character. Lines 915-918, in the Odyssey, Odysseus constantly takes credit when things go well.
Now, when a tragedy occurs, he blames the gods for making him fall asleep. What does this reveal
about his character?
70. Lines 921-930, what exactly has happened to cause the god’s fury?
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