English I
Name: ____________________________
The Odyssey
I.
II.
III.
Read the first four pages (lines 1-169) of Book I, “A Goddess Intervenes.” Use the character
glossary and guided reading questions to help you follow the action.
To the best of your ability, complete pages 2-3 of this handout.
Mark the questions you had trouble answering.
CHARACTERS IN BOOK I (in order of appearance or mention)
Poet
Homer, the narrator, the person telling the story
Muse
Goddess of inspiration
Odysseus (only mentioned)
Away from home for 20 years, currently held captive by the goddess Kalypso
on another island; king of Ithaka, husband of Penelope, father of
Telemakhos
Helios (mentioned)
Sun god, killed Odysseus’s shipmates for feasting on his sacred cattle
Kalypso (mentioned)
nymph or goddess in love with Odysseus, holding him against his will
Poseidon (mentioned)
god of the sea, raging against Odysseus, currently “on vacation”
Zeus
leader of the gods, god of the sky and of thunder, father of Athena
Athena
goddess of wisdom and war, Odysseus’s advocate
Aigisthos, Agamemnon,
Orestes (mentioned)
When King Agamemnon goes to war, Aigisthos becomes his wife’s lover
and kills Agamemnon upon his return; years later, Agamemnon’s son Orestes
Avenges his father’s death by killing both Aigisthos and his mother
Mentes
a sea captain, Athena’s disguise
Telemakhos
prince of Ithaka, son of Odysseus
Suitors
men who want to marry Telemakhos’s mother, Penelope – there are over 100
suitors camping out at her house
Penelope
queen of Ithaka, wife of Odysseus, mother of Telemakhos; has been stalling
The suitors by weaving a shroud (burial cloth) by day & unraveling it at night
Antinoos
one of two “main” suitors, rude and aggressive, name means “no mind”
Eurymakhos
one of two “main” sutiros, clever and smooth-talking
Eurykleia
faithful old servant to the family of Odysseus; nursed by Odysseus and
Telemakhos as babies
Find and copy the lines
Line
Bullet notes, 1-2 key phrases
that answer the questions.
#s
Lines 1-41 – invocation to the Muse, introduction to the story, which begins in medias res
How does the poet invoke
the Muse (ask her for help)?
1


Muse “possesses” him so that he can sing the poem
“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story”
Where is Odysseus first
mentioned (not necessarily
by name)?
What has happened to O’s
shipmates?
At what point in O’s
adventures does the
narrative begin?
Which god hates Odysseus?
Lines 42-128 – conversation between Zeus and Athena on Mount Olympos
Where are the other gods
when the narrative begins?
What is Zeus “meditating on”
(reflecting on)?
What concerns Athena?
What epithet (descriptive
word or phrase) is associated
with Athena?
What epithet is associated
with Zeus?
What is Hermes going to do?
Lines 129-149 – Athena sees the suitors and Telemakhos.
Where does Athena go?
(Be specific.)
How does Athena disguise
herself?
What does she see the
suitors doing?
What evidence do we have
that the suitors are
disrespectful guests?
In what line is Telemakhos
introduced?
How is Telemakhos
described?
Lines 150-367 – conversation between Athena (in disguise) and Telemakhos – line numbers now provided
How does Telemakhos react
when he sees a stranger in
the house?
Comments so far:
150-168
How does Telemakhos
describe what has been going
on in Ithaka?
What do you think
Telemakhos means when he
says, “Who has known his
own engendering?”
What does Athena tell
Telemakhos to do? (There is
more than one instruction.)
195-207,
276-298
260
318-344
Lines 368-500 – Athena leaves and Telemakhos begins to take action.
How does Telemakhos know
that his departing guest is
one of the gods? Find a
phrase that shows how
Telemakhos has changed.
368-374
When is Penelope
introduced, and how is she
described? Why does she
ask the minstrel to stop
singing about the
Homecoming of the Akhaians
(Greeks)?
375-395
What does Telemakhos tell
the suitors to do? How do
they respond? Do you think
they will do what he asks?
414-477
Write a transformation thesis about the change in Telemakhos in this chapter.
Thinking about how structure supports theme: Why does Homer begin his epic here?
______________________________________________________________________________________
Literary terms – examples of these appear in this chapter as well as elsewhere in the story. Briefly define below.
Epic
Epic hero
Invocation of the Muse
In medias res
Epithet