The
Odyssey
By: Homer
Student Name:
Mrs. Harte
English I
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The Odyssey: Character List
Alcinous: king of the Phaeacians, to whom
Odysseus tells his story
Tiresias: blind prophet who advised
Odysseus
Odysseus: king of Ithaca
Persephone: wife of Hades
Calypso: sea goddess who loved Odysseus
Telemachus: Odysseus and Penelope’s son
Circe: enchantress who helped Odysseus
Sirens: creatures whose songs lure sailors to
their deaths
Zeus: king of the Gods
Apollo: god of music, poetry, prophecy and
medicine
Scylla: sea monster of gray rock
Charybdis: enourmous and dangerous
whirlpool
Agamemnon: king and leader of the Greek
(Spartan) forces
Lampetia: nymph
Poseidon: god of the sea
Hermes: herald and messenger of the gods
Athena: goddess of war and wisdom
Eumaeus: old swineherd and friend of
Odysseus
Polyphemus: the Cyclops who imprisoned
Odysseus
Antinous: leader among the suitors
Laertes: Odysseus’ father
Eurynome: housekeeper for Penelope
Cronus: Titan ruler of the universe; father
of Zeus
Penelope: Odysseus’ wife
Perimedes: member of Odysseus’ crew
Eurymachus: suitor
Eurolyochus: another member of the crew
Amphinomus: suitor
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Name: __________________________________________ Date: _________ HR: _____
The Odyssey by Homer
Summary:
The Odyssey described what happened to the Greek hero Odysseus on his way home from after
the Trojan War. According to legend, the Trojan War was sparked when Paris, son of the king
of Troy, ran off with Helen; the most beautiful woman in the world and the wife of Menelaus of
Sparta. A Greek force attacked Troy (in modern-day Turkey) to recapture her and was finally
victorious after ten years of fighting.
Literary Vocabulary:
Narrative poem: a poem that tells a story
Epic: a long narrative poem about the adventures/deeds of gods or heroes
Epic hero: a larger-than-life character from history or legend that embodies all the
characteristics needed to be a hero
Conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces
a. external conflict: when a character struggles against an outside for such as one
character against another character or a character battling nature
b. internal conflict: when a character battles against himself or herself
Paraphrasing: putting literature into your own words for easier understanding
Before we read:
Think of the characteristics needed to become a hero, list them below. You must come up with
at least 5 characteristics that a hero must have.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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As we read:
Throughout the course of the epic, you will write a character analysis of Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey. On the back of this paper,
you wrote down five traits that you believe a hero must have. Now it is up to you to find examples from the epic that characterize
Odysseus as a hero.
On the top row of every column, write one of the five traits in the first box. In the boxes underneath, write examples from the story
that depict Odysseus as an epic hero.
Trait 1:
Trait 2:
Trait 3:
Trait 4:
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Trait 5:
Name: _______________________________________ Date: ______________ HR: ______
The Odyssey by Homer pg. 980-985
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
Sailing from Troy
1. What is your first impression of Odysseus? Which of his qualities do you admire?
2. What lesson can be learned from the defeat of Odysseus and his men at Ismarus?
3. How do Calypso and Circe keep Odysseus from reaching home?
4. What were Odysseus’ feelings when he was with Calypso and Circe?
The Lotus-Eaters
5. What happens to the men who eat the Lotus?
6. What problem does Odysseus have with his men?
7. How do you feel about the way Odysseus responds to the three men that wish to stay on
the island of the lotus-eaters?
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The Odyssey: Summary Sheet
Invocation of the Muse
In the opening section, the author, Homer, asks the muse of epic poetry to help him tell the story
of Odysseus. This is an invocation of prayer.
Sailing from Troy
Ten years after the Trojan War, Odysseus departs from the Goddess Calypso’s island. He
arrives in Phaeacia, ruled by Alcinous. Alcinous offers a ship to Odysseus and asks him to tell of
his adventures.
The Lotus-Eaters
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Name: _______________________________________ Date: ______________ HR: ______
The Odyssey by Homer pg. 986-1004
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
The Cyclops
1. What do you think of Odysseus’ plan to escape from Polyphemus?
2. Before the meeting with the Cyclops, what had Odysseus received from Maron at
Ismarus?
3. How do Odysseus and his man expect to be treated by the Cyclops?
4. Give two examples of each type of personality that Odysseus exhibits in his encounter
with the Cyclops. Use the T chart below.
Positive
Negative
Land of the Dead
5. Whom does Odysseus encounter in the Land of the Dead?
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6. What difficulties does Tiresias predict Odysseus will encounter?
7. Why do you think Odysseus continues on his journey regardless of the bad prophecies?
8. What heroic quality will Odysseus have to rely on the most to continue on his journey:
resistance of temptation, commitment to reach home, inability to allow himself to be
afraid. Choose and defend all that apply.
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The Odyssey: Summary Sheet
The Cyclops
The Land of the Dead
Odysseus and his men sail to Aeolia, where Aeolus, king of the winds, sends Odysseus on his way
with a gift: a sack containing all the winds except the favorable west wind. When they are near
home, Odysseus’ men open the sack, letting loose a storm that drives them back to Aeolia.
Aeolus casts them out, having decided that they are detested by the gods. They sail for seven
days and arrive in land of Laestrygonians, a race of cannibals. These creatures destroy all of
Odysseus’ ships except the one he is sailing in. Odysseus and his reduced crew escape and
reach Aeaea, the island ruled by the sorceress-goddess Circe. She transforms half of the men
into swine. Protected by a magic herb, Odysseus demands that Circe change his men back into
human form. Before Odysseus departs from the island a year later, Circe informs him that in
order to reach home, he must journey to the land of the dead, Hades, and consult the blind
prophet Tiresias
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.
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Name: _______________________________________ Date: ______________ HR: ______
The Odyssey by Homer pg. 1004-1022
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
The Sirens
1. How do Sirens lure sailors to their destruction?
2. How does the danger posed by the sirens compare to that posed by the lotus-eaters?
Which do you think is the greater danger? Why?
Scylla and Chardybdis
3. What are Scylla and Chardybdis, and why do they pose dangers for the travelers?
4. What does Odysseus choose to sail toward Scylla rather that Chardybdis?
5. Was Odysseus right not to tell his men about his decision to sail toward Scylla? What do
you think would have happened if Odysseus told his men everything?
The Cattle of the Sun God
6. What does Eurylochus say to persuade Odysseus’ men to slaughter and eat the cattle of
Helios, the sun god?
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7. Why is Odysseus unable to keep his men from killing the cattle?
8. If you had been in their situation, do you think you would have eaten cattle? Why or why
not?
9. Do the members of the crew deserve the punishment they receive for killing the cattle?
Why or why not?
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The Odyssey: Summary Sheet
The Sirens
Odysseus returns to Circe’s island. The goddess reveals his course to him and gives advice
on how to avoid the dangers he will face: the Sirens, who lure sailors to their destruction; the
Wandering Rocks, sea rocks that destroy even birds in flight; the perils of the sea monster
Scylla and, nearby, the whirlpool Charybdis; and the cattle of the sun god, which Tiresias
has warned Odysseus not to harm.
Scylla and Charybdis
The Cattle of the Sun God
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Name: __________________________________________ Date: _____________ HR: ___
The Odyssey: pg. 1022-1029
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
Twenty years gone and I am back again
1. What are the suitors planning to do to Telemachus?
2. Which Goddess is helping Odysseus as he returns to Ithaca? What is she the goddess of?
Refer to the board or your character sheets to help you.
3. How does Telemachus react to seeing his father?
4. How will Odysseus conceal his identity from the people of Ithaca?
Argus
5. Why do you think Argus waited to see Odysseus before he died? Who is Argus?
Writing Assignment: Answer in 2-3 sentences. Do you think that it is right for Odysseus to
conceal his identity from his people? Why or why not? Do you think it is right for Odysseus to
conceal his identity from his wife Penelope? Why or why not?
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The Odyssey Summary Sheet
Twenty years gone and I am back again
Odysseus has finished telling his story to the Phaeacians. The next day, young Phaeachian
noblemen conduct his home by ship. He arrives in Ithaca after an absence of twenty years. The
goddess, Athena appears and informs him of the situation at home. Numerous suitors, believing
Odysseus to be dead, have been continually seeks the hand of his wife, Penelope, in marriage
while overrunning Odysseus’ palace and enjoying themselves at Penelope’s expense. Moreover,
they are plotting to murder Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, before he can inherit his father’s lands.
Telemachus, who, like Penelope, still hopes for his father’s return, has journeyed to Pylos and
Sparta to learn what he can about his father’s fate. Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar and
directs him to the hut of Eumaeus, his old and faithful swineherd. While Odysseus and Eumaeus
are eating breakfast, Telemachus arrives, Athena then appears to Odysseus.
Odysseus heads for town with Eumaeus. Outside the palace, Odysseus’ old dog, Argus, is
lying at rest as his long-absent master approaches.
Argus
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Name: __________________________________________ Date: _____________ HR: ___
The Odyssey: pg. 1029-1037
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
The Suitors
1. How does Antinous react to the sight of the “beggar”?
2. Why does the “beggar” defend himself against Antinous?
3. If you were Penelope of Telemachus, how would you react to the old beggar showing up
at your home?
4. Why does Penelope want to speak to the “beggar”?
Penelope
5. How has Penelope been able to fend off marrying one of the suitors this long? What did
she tell them she must do before she marries?
6. What does the “beggar” tell Penelope regarding the whereabouts of Odysseus?
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The Challenge
7. What has Penelope agreed to give the winner of the challenge as his reward?
8. What do you think the suitor’s reaction was to the “beggar” being able to string the bow
of Odysseus?
9. As Odysseus and Telemachus face the suitors at the end of this chapter, what do you
think they are going to do to now?
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The Odyssey: Summary Sheet
The Suitors
In the evening Penelope interrogates the old beggar.
Penelope
Pressed by the suitors to choose a husband from among them, Penelope says she will marry the
man who can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through twelve oxhandle sockets. The
suitors try and fail. Still in disguise, Odysseus asks for a turn and gets it.
The Challenge
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Name: __________________________________________ Date: _____________ HR: ___
The Odyssey: pg. 1036-1046
Study Questions
Directions: Read each question carefully. Answer in complete sentences.
Odysseus’s revenge
1. Who is the first suitor to die at the hand of Odysseus? Why do you think he was the first
one harmed?
2. Why does Odysseus tell the men that he is seeking revenge on them? In Odysseus’ eyes,
what have the men done?
3. Summarize the speech of Eurymachus on pg. 1040 when he pleads with Odysseus to
spare his life.
4. How does Odysseus react to that plea of forgiveness from Eurymachus?
5. Describe in your own words the bloody scene of Odysseus’ revenge.
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6. Do you think that Odysseus was justified in his killing of the suitors, after all, they did
think that Odysseus was dead like the rest of the world?
Penelope’s Test
7. What is Penelope’s test and how does Odysseus pass it?
8. Why does Penelope find the need to test Odysseus even though he no longer appears a a
beggar?
9. How is the return of Odysseus to Ithaca been both a happy time and a difficult ordeal?
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The Odyssey: Summary Sheet
Odysseus’ Revenge
Penelope’s Test
The Ending
Odysseus is reunited with his father. Athena commands that peace prevail between Odysseus
and the relatives of the slain suitors. Odysseus has regained his family and his kingdom.
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Student Name:
Date:
Hour:
Characteristics of an Epic Hero
An epic hero is a larger than life character from history or legend. The Illiad and The Odyssey, both written by Homer, were the
stories of epic heroes. Both Achilles (Illiad) and Odysseus (Illiad and Odyssey) are considered epic heroes. In order to be an epic
hero, one must embody the characteristics listed below. Not all epic heroes will have every quality.
Characteristic
Displays the values of
Greece: loyalty, bravery,
honor, pride
Achilles
Hector
An epic hero is superhuman.
He is braver, stronger, smarter
and cleverer than an ordinary
man
The epic hero is on a quest for
something of great value to
him or to his people
Risks death for glory or for
the greater good of society
Strong and responsible leader
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Odysseus
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