Study Guide for
Odyssey
Retake
Spend the most time on the
ones you do not know!
Helios
 sun
god who has cattle
Polyphemus
 Cyclops
Tiresias
 blind
prophet who tells futures
Scylla and Charybdis
 Monsters
Penelope
 Odysseus’
wife
Odysseus
 Epic
hero
Suitors
 They
want to marry Odysseus’ wife and
take his kingdom
Telemachus
 Odysseus’
son
Alcinous
 king
Odysseus is telling his story to
Oral Tradition
 story
passed down by being told
Minstrel
 one
who tells stories to make a living
Myth
A
story that uses fantasy to explain ideas
about life
Epic
A
long narrative poem
Epic hero
 Cunning,
brave, has hubris
Homer
 Blind
minstrel
Greek Values
 helps
explain characters’ motivations
Reciprocity
 mutual
exchange between two people
Hospitality
 treat
all guests with respect
Hubris
 extreme
arrogance; self-pride
Homeric Simile
 The
following quote is an example of what
device?
 “…in one stride he clutched at my
companions and caught them in his
hands like squirming puppies to beat their
brains out.”
Epithet
 “Son
of Laertes and the gods of old”
hubris
 “Men
hold me formidable for guile in
peace and war: this fame has gone
abroad to the sky’s rim”
Poem
 Long,
narrative ____________
Values
 Reflects
the _________ of a nation or race
Universal
 Addresses
___________ concerns
Legendary
 Focuses
hero
on the adventures of a ______
Temptation and Curiosity
 What
are two important themes in the
Odyssey?
Make Odysseus suffer
 Poseidon’s
main purpose in the story is to
God of earthquakes and the
sea
 Who
is Poseidon?
Journey home
 Part
I of The Odyssey is mainly about
Odysseus’
Example of Epic hero
Description
 “Now
I let go with hands and feet,
plunging/straight into the foam beside
the timbers,/pulled astride, and rowed
hard with my hands/to pass by Scylla.”
Odysseus’ loyalty to his family
 The
epithet “Laertes’ son,” frequently
applied to Odysseus, emphasizes
Controls the winds that keep
Odysseus away from home
 Which
statement most accurately
describes the role of Zeus in Odysseus’
adventures?
They do not farm or have laws
 Explain
these lines that describe the
Cyclopes. How does this description of
the Cyclops indicate that these monsters
are not civilized?
 “. . .giants, louts without a law to bless
them. In ignorance leaving the fruitage of
the earth in mystery to the immortal gods,
. . .”
Odysseus is telling his story to
King Alcinous of Phaeacia.
 What
are the circumstances in which the
Odyssey begins?
Is an old beggar
 The
suitors look down on Odysseus when
he first appears because they think he:
Find out who is still loyal
 Odysseus
enters his home dressed as a
beggar in order to:
He tells her how about how
their bed is made
 How
does Odysseus prove to Penelope his
true identity at the end of the epic?
Look in your notes!
 Differences
between text and film are: