Name: ___________________
______________/10
Date: ____________________
Period: __________________
Discussion Questions: the Odyssey Part 1
An Invocation
An invocation is any address to a deity, usually for help of some sort. The epic
traditionally begins with an invocation to the Muse (a request for help in the telling of the tale).
In fact, in an oral culture, the storyteller or "rhapsode" is considered merely a vessel through
which the gods (and particularly the Muses) speak. There are traditionally nine Muses, each
presiding over a different genre of literature. The traditional Muse of epic poetry is Calliope,
although Homer does not address her by name in his invocation at the beginning of the Odyssey.
1. Which God tries to keep Odysseus from reaching home?
__________________
2. Which God speaks to zeus about the plight of Odysseus?
__________________
3. What did Odysseus do to anger Poseidon?
__________________________________________________________________
____________
__________________________________________________________________
____________
__________________________________________________________________
____________
4. What message is the God, Hermes, to give to Kalypso?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
5. How does Athena disguise herself when she goes to Ithaca?
__________________________________________________________________
____________
Name: ___________________
Date: ____________________
Period: __________________
6. Who is Telemakhos?
______________/10
_______________________________________________________
7. What is going on at his home when Athena arrives?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________
8. What advice does Athena give to Telemakhos?
___________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________