Chapter 11 of the Odyssey
http://www.sandystonwalpack.org/Greek_Gods/Greek_Mt.Olympus.jpg
By: Irene, Bari, and Amelia
Key Events
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Went to Hades
Made libations to the dead
Talked to Elpnor, he requested that he
didn’t desert him/bury when he dies
See’s mom, she doesn’t recognize him
Gives his mom and talks to Tiresias
Odysseus and mom reunite (mom
describes life at home)
Doesn’t listen to Arete and tells the story
later
Character Chart
Character God/ Mortal/ Son:/ Daughter
Monster etc: of…
Anticleia
Tiresias
Ghost
Prophet
…that great
heart Autolycus
none
Characteristics, sample
(page)
Epithet:
Caring, informative, and
“noble”(205-220)
Importance to Odysseus:
Anticleia is Odysseus’s mother,
and at the House of Death she
told him how his family is doing
back in Ithaca .
Long-lost,
noble
mother
Intelligent, wise and honest Famous
(110-156)
seer
Importance to Odysseus:
told him what will happen on
the way home and in the
future
Odysseus’ Character
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Pg. 261 lines 408-410
Odysseus tells Alcinous that if he would be happy to stay one more
year with him. Odysseus wouldn’t mind staying longer because he
would have more experiences and adventures. He wants to be more
prepared because he will earn more respect from the people in Ithaca.
This shows he is cocky and arrogant.
Pg. 256 lines 235-243
Odysseus gets upset because he can’t hug his mother because she is
a ghost. He gets very upsets and starts crying and gets very
frustrated. He says “each time the grief cut to the heart” because he
tries to hug her over and over but he can’t. Odysseus eventually
breaks down and starts crying to his mother. The is shows Odysseus
in a weak state of mind.
Pg. 260 lines 383-385 and pg. 262 line 436
Odysseus doesn’t listen to Arete after she tells him to stop telling his
story. He doesn’t listen to a woman which was unusual. Odysseus
starts telling the story again and ignores Arete’s request to stop telling
it. This shows Odysseus he thinks better than woman and woman
don’t know as much as he does.
Monomyth
In the Odyssey, Chapter eleven, some parts of the story
fit different parts of the monomyth cycle. Odysseus
experiences an entry to an unknown location, separation
and receives supernatural aid. Odysseus enters the House
of Death, the place were Circe told him to go to find his
future and way home. The House of Death is a strange
place for a man very much alive to be, and the people, or
ghosts, there are also quite odd. In the House of Death,
Odysseus spots his dead mother. As thrilling as he was, he
became quite upset when he could not hold or touch her
since she was a ghost, and when Odysseus left, to leave
his mother again was very displeasing. Lastly, Odysseus
confronted Tiresias the prophet that told him about what
laid ahead for Odysseus on his way home and for the rest
of his life.
Comparison or contrast to
Genesis or Arabian Nights
In The Odyssey woman play a higher
role than in Arabian Nights because
Athena helps the main character
through all of his problems. Without
Athena Odysseus would never be able
to get the help he needs to return home
to Ithaca.
Epithets
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Odysseus (all in chapter 11)
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Old campaigner
Master of exploits
Renowned
Shining
Deft
Tactful
Athena
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Bright-eyed  gleaming eyed
Greek Culture
The classical Greeks didn’t have much of a
standard religion. Instead, they believed in
different gods and heroes, like the one’s in the
Odyssey. These gods and heroes were
legends that showed “the nature of the world”
and shown much significance to the Greeks
practices or sorts of rituals. The Greek gods
were the source of power, and could never
die. Zeus, like in the Odyssey, was the
biggest, most powerful and important god of
all. Greek gods and goddesses inspired and
was part of the Greek culture
Greek Gods (Teresias)
• Teresias is blind because one day when
he was walking in the woods and
stabbed two serpents, because he did
this he was turned into a woman. The
same thing happened 7 years later and
he was turned into a man. Zues and
Hera were fighting over who gets more
pleasure from making love, so they
tested their theories on
Tiresias. Tiresias sided with Zeus in
saying that it was more pleasurable for
men, and Hera blinds him.
http://odysseus9nh.files.wordpress.com/2008/
03/tiresias.gif
Discussion Questions
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What was Circe reasoning for Odysseus
to go to the House of Death?
How does Odysseus’ personality change
as he goes to the House of Death?
Why did they give us examples of all the
people who lived in the House of Death?