Study Guide for The Odyssey Quiz Part One. This quiz will be worth 50 points. There will be will 20 multiple choice and matching questions and two short answer questions. Know the following characters: Antinous – Leader of the suitors; he comes up with a plot to kill Telemachus Aegisthus – his story is told at the beginning of the Odyssey; he murdered Agamemnon after he returned home; he also had an affair with Agamemnon’s wife Agamemnon – King of Mycenae, killed by Aegisthus when he returns from Troy; his death is avenged by his son Orestes Athena – the goddess of wisdom and war; she advises Telemachus, advocates for Odysseus, and inspires Penelope Calypso – Odysseus spent seven years on her island acting as her husband; he could not leave because she would not provide him transportation until ordered to do so by Zeus via Hermes; she then provides Odysseus with a raft and provisions Circe – she is a sorceress who turned Odysseus’ men into pigs; Odysseus has to act as her husband in order to have his men returned to human form. Clytemnestra -­‐ Agamemnon’s wife, Helen’s sister, she plots with her lover Aegisthus to kill Agamemnon; this is an act of revenge for Agamemnon sacrificing her daughter Iphigenia Demodocus -­‐ a singer who performs songs for the Phaecian court to entertain Odysseus; he sings of: the fight between Odysseus and Achilles, Ares and Aphrodite, and the Fall of Troy. Elpenor – one of Odysseus' men, dies by falling off of a roof on Circe’s Island Menelaus – King of Sparta, Agamemnon’s brother, Telemachus visits him to find out news about his father Nausicaa – Princess of Phaecia; she is the first one to help Odysseus, she gives him clothes, cleans him up, and tells him how to act in front of her parents Alcinious and Arete Nestor – Telemachus first visits Nestor on his quest for news of his father Orestes – Agamemnon’s son, avenges his father’s murder by killing Aegisthus; he is held up as an example for Telemachus Penelope – Odysseus’ wife, she is harassed by suitors; she stalls them by saying she is weaving Odysseus’ shroud; she, however, rips out the weaving every night. Polyphemus – Poseidon’s son, he is the Cyclops Odysseus tricks, blinds and taunts. Poseidon – God of the sea and earthquakes; he is the main reason for Odysseus’ difficult journey; he is angry about Odysseus blinding his son. Telemachus – Odysseus’ son, inspired by Athena in the beginning of the epic Tiresias – Blind prophet, Odysseus has been instructed to visit him in the underworld Know the following episodes: Laestrygonians – giants that eat many of Odysseus’ men Cyclops – Odysseus loses many men in Cyclops’ cave; he loses more after he taunts Polyphemus from his ship Circe – Odysseus saves his men from living a life as pigs, but loses Elpenor in a freak accident Phaecia – Odysseus lands on this island; this is where he tells the story of his adventures Short Answers Be able to discuss Telemachus and the inclusion of the Aegisthus myth.