study sheets for The Odyssey
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THE
ODYSSEY
unit overview…
STUDY GUIDE(S),
ASSIGNMENTS,
PROJECT
Page 2:
write test-quality questions and answers on each
canto; due as you read cantoes (in class or out of class)
Pages 3-6: complete and commit to memory; due as we
encounter the person, place, etc.
Page 7:
understand and commit to memory; will be quiz on
these elements on _____________
Page 8:
project due on _____________
Daily readings: be prepared for check quizzes at any time
study sheets for The Odyssey
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ENGLISH 9…CANTOES INCLUDED IN THE ENGLISH 9 TEXT’S ABRIDGEMENT OF
THE ODYSSEY…
As you read, write and answer at least 5 test-quality questions and
answers on any seven cantoes; and write at least 10 test-quality questions
and answers on the other seven cantoes. Due on day we read the
canto—or the canto is due.
CANTO NAME (PAGES IN TEXT)
1. Sailing for Troy (683-684)
2. The Lotus Eaters (685)
3. The Cyclops (686-698)
4. The Land of the Dead (698-703)
5. The Sirens (705-707)
6. Scylla and Charybdis (708-709)
7. The Cattle of the Sun God (710-714)
8. “Twenty Years Gone…” (717-722)
9. Argus (723-724)
10. The Suitors (724-726)
11. Penelope (727-729)
12. The Challenge (730-732)
13. Odysseus’s Revenge (733-737)
14. Penelope’s Test (738-740)
study sheets for The Odyssey
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THE ODYSSEY study sheets
know these characters…
Odysseus - The protagonist of the Odyssey. Odysseus fought among the other
Greek heroes at Troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca.
Odysseus is the husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince
Telemachus. He is a favorite of the goddess Athena, who often sends him divine
aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who frustrates his journey at every turn.
Telemachus - Odysseus's son. An infant when Odysseus left for Troy, he is about
twenty at the beginning of the story. He is opposed to his mother’s suitors, but
despite his courage and good heart, he initially lacks the poise and confidence
to oppose them.
Penelope - Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Penelope spends her
days in the palace pining for the husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier
and never returned. Homer portrays her clever and steadfast to her husband.
Athena - Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the
womanly arts. Athena assists Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers, and
she speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus. She often
appears in disguise as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.
Poseidon - God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus's mortal antagonists,
Poseidon is his divine antagonist. He despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the
Cyclops Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home. Ironically,
Poseidon is the patron of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return
Odysseus to Ithaca.
Zeus - King of gods and men, who mediates the disputes of the gods on Mount
Olympus. He sometimes helps Odysseus or permits Athena to do the same.
study sheets for The Odyssey
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Alcinous - King of the Phaeacians, who offers Odysseus hospitality in his island
kingdom. Alcinous hears the story of Odysseus's wanderings and provides him
with safe passage back to Ithaca.
Antinous - The most arrogant of Penelope's suitors. Antinous leads the campaign
to have Telemachus killed. He is the first to die when Odysseus returns.
Eumaeus - The loyal shepherd who helps Odysseus reclaim his throne after his
return to Ithaca. Even though he does not know that the vagabond who
appears at his hut is Odysseus, Eumaeus gives the man food and shelter.
Eurycleia - The aged and loyal servant who nursed Odysseus and Telemachus
when they were babies. She keeps Odysseus's identity a secret after she
recognizes a scar on his leg.
Polyphemus - One of the Cyclopes (uncivilized, one-eyed giants) whose island
Odysseus comes to soon after leaving Troy. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and
his crew and tries to eat them, but Odysseus blinds him through a clever ruse and
manages to escape. In doing so, however, Odysseus angers Polyphemus's
father, Poseidon.
Circe - The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus's crew into swine
when he lands on her island. With Hermes' help, Odysseus resists Circe's powers
and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.
Laertes - Odysseus's aging father.
Tiresias - A Theban prophet who inhabits the underworld. Tiresias meets Odysseus
when Odysseus journeys to the underworld. He shows Odysseus how to get back
to Ithaca and allows Odysseus to communicate with the other souls in Hades.
Calypso - The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on
her island-home of Ogygia. Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until
Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
study sheets for The Odyssey
look up and know these characters, places, events, etc…
Ithaca
lotus
Olympus
the Trojan War
the Mediterranean
Hades
Muse
Helios
Cicones
Cyclopes
Lotus-Eaters
Aeolus
Elpenor
Anticlea
Sirens
Hermes
Phaecians
Eurynome
Hephaestus
the cattle of the Sun God
Homer
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study sheets for The Odyssey
You must know the following…it’s in your text…
The composition of The Odyssey
Date
Place
Author
Etc.
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study sheets for The Odyssey
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Epic Poetry Characteristics…
1. Written in verse; probably sung.
2. Often nationalistic, even xenophobic.
3. Focuses on a larger-than-life hero who embodies his culture’s
values.
4. Opens en medias res.
5. Begins with an invocation to the Muse(s)/god(s).
6. Consists of episodes rather than a single plot line.
7. Setting is large scale, often ranging around the (known) world.
8. The intervention of supernatural figures (gods, demons, monsters,
etc), who are interested in the outcome of the action.
9. Frequent use of epithets (NOUN: 1a. A term used to characterize
a person or thing, such as rosy-fingered in rosy-fingered dawn or
the Great in Catherine the Great. b. A term used as a descriptive
substitute for the name or title of a person, such as The Great
Emancipator for Abraham Lincoln.)
10. May/Should be looked at allegorically.
study sheets for The Odyssey
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ENGLISH 9…THE ODYSSEY PROJECT…
YOU WILL WRITE YOUR OWN PERSONAL “BIG FOOT ODYSSEY”
PLEASE NOTE: YOUR PROJECT MUST BE AN ORIGINAL RETELLING OF THE
ODYSSEY. ANYTHING PLAGIARIZED WILL CONSTITUTE ACADEMIC FRAUD,
WILL RECEIVE A 0, AND WILL BE REFERRED FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION…
MUST BE AT LEAST 1500 WORDS LONG…
WHAT TO INCLUDE…
1) An invocation to the Muse(s)
2) Yourself as the epic hero: you must embody Big Foot’s values
3) Big Foot’s values must be superior to all others
4) You must have and succeed at a goal/quest
5) Action must open “en medias res”
6) Your epic must consist of episodes in which you overcome
difficulties—each adventure must constitute a separate
“canto”—episodes must be recognizable “recreations” of the
original
7) Gods, demons, monsters must
intervene, help, oppose, etc.
8) The setting must be Big Foot High
School—inside and outside
9) You must use epithets