An Introduction to the Odyssey – Guided Notes – Station One
As a group, read pages 641-643 in your textbook to answer the following questions:
1. Almost __________ years ago, people living in _________________ were telling stories about a war.
2. The stories were told by a man named ____________________.
3. The first story, the ____________________, tells about a ____________________ year long war, called
the ____________________ War, fought outside the city of ____________________.
4. The second epic poem, the ____________________, is the story of one Greek soldier,
____________________, who is trying to get back home after the Trojan War.
Epics and Values
5. ____________________ are long ____________________ poems that tell of the adventures of
____________________ who in some way embody the ____________________ of their civilizations.
6. The ____________________ is the primary model for the epic of ____________________.
7. The ____________________ is the primary model for the epic of the long ____________________.
The War Story Background: Violence and Brutality
8. The background for the ____________________ is found in the Illiad, which is set in the tenth and final
year of the ____________________ War.
9. According to the Illiad, the Greeks attacked Troy to avenge the insult suffered by Menelaus, king of
____________________, when his wife, ____________________, ran off with
____________________, a young prince of Troy.
10. The audience of the ____________________ would have known this war story, and Homer’s listeners
would have been fascinated by this story about an unusual hero, ____________________, known as
much for his ______________ as for his strength.
Odysseus: A Hero in Trouble
11. In Homer’s day, heroes were places somewhere between ______________ and _______________.
12. Like the hero Odysseus, we have to face a world of difficult
___________________, to cope with unfair ____________________
figures, and to ____________________ to get what we want.
13. Odysseus was a great from the island of ____________________.
His wife is __________________. His son’s name is __________________.
An Introduction to the Odyssey – Guided Notes – Station Two
As a group, read pages 643-645 in your textbook to answer the following questions:
The Wooden Horse Trick
14. Once he is in Troy, Odysseus proves to be an excellent ____________________; he was responsible for
coming up with the idea of using a huge wooden ____________________ to get men inside the city.
15. Thinking that the ____________________, which was left outside the city gates, was a _____________
offering, the Trojans brought it into the city, and late in the night, the men in side climbed out and
opened the city gates, allowing the Greek army to enter.
A Search for Their Places in Life
16. Odysseus and his family are people searching for the right ____________________ with one another
and with the ____________________ around them.
17. Finding one’s proper place in life is one of the major ____________________ for this epic, and it brings
us into it because we are all in search of our ____________________ and our _______________
selves.
Relationships with the Gods
18. ____________________ are essentially ____________________ because they are concerned with the
relationships between human beings and the unknown or the spiritual realm.
19. In Homer’s stories, a god can be an ___________ _________ for a hero, or in other words, a
____________________ of that hero’s ____________________ or ____________________ qualities.
20. Athena, the goddess of ____________________, is always at Odysseus’s side. This is appropriate
because Odysseus is known for his ____________________ abilities. The god who works against
Odysseus is ____________________, who is known for ____________________ and
____________________. Odysseus himself can also be ____________________ and
____________________, just as Poseidon is.
How Were the Epics Told?
21. Epic poems were originally told ____________________ by people who could not
____________________ or ____________________.
22. ____________________ or ____________________ similes are extended metaphors that compare
heroic or epic events to ____________________ and easily understandable ____________________
events that the audience would recognize instantly.