The Odyssey
A Review Game
Odysseus stays with
her for seven years
Calypso
He raises a storm to
destroy Odysseus’s raft
when he sails from
Calypso’s island
Poseidon
The goddess of
wisdom;
she favors Odysseus
Athena
The king of the gods; he
sends down a thunderbolt
which destroys Odysseus’
remaining ship and causes
his crew to drown
Zeus
She turns Odysseus’s
men into pigs
Circe
A character’s
background or
family tree is listed
Catalog
A character brags
about
his past to gain
respect
Boasting
The gods and
goddesses
get involved in
human affairs
Divine Intervention
The present is
interrupted to go
back and tell about
something that
happened earlier
Flashback
The social code of
taking
care of guests and
warriors
Hospitality Code
“‘My name is Noman; aye, and
Noman my father and my
mother called me and all my
comrades.’”
Intelligence
“‘We are not, friends, untried in danger. This new
peril that lies before us is no greater than when the
Cyclops caught and held us fast in his hollow cave.
Yet we found escape . . . I think we shall live to tell the
tale of this day too.’”
Leadership
“I put on my glorious armor and I
grasped two spears in my hand and
took my station on the decked
prow, for there I thought I first
should see appear this Scylla.”
Bravery
“Here Cyclops, take this
wine, and drink after your
feast of human flesh, and
learn how good a drink we
kept hidden within our
ship.’”
Intelligence
“So there I took my stand by it (a large
piece of olive wood) and cut a fathom’s
length away, and this I gave my men and
bade them shape it. They made it
smooth, while I stood by and brought it
to a point and charred it in a glowing
fire.”
Battle Skills
“‘I am Odysseus,
great Laertes’ son.’”
Catalog
Odysseus goes to the
underworld to talk to the
blind
prophet, Teiresias
Visit to Hades
“Zeus now thundered from on high
and hurled his bolt upon the ship.”
Divine Intervention
“Tell me the tale, Muse, of that man of many
changes, he who went wandering so far when
he had plundered Troy’s sacred citadel.”
Call to the Muse
While Odysseus is at
the Land of the
Phaeacians, he recalls his
wanderings and tells Alcinous
what happened to him after
he left Troy
Flashback
Wife of Odysseus
Penelope
Creator of The Odyssey
Homer
 Homer’s first epic about the
Trojan War
The Iliad
These giant cannibals
destroy 11 of Odysseus’s
ships
Laestrygonians
He is the king in charge of the
winds; he places the stormy
winds in a bag so Odysseus can
sail back to Ithaca
King Aeolus
Odysseus is tied to the
mast so he can hear
their song
The Sirens
This king takes
Odysseus in as a
stranger, and Odysseus
tells him about his
travels
Alcinous
Odysseus is warned
not to harm his
cattle
Helios
These characters get
three of Odysseus’s
men to eat a flower
that makes them
forget about their
homeland
The Lotus Eaters
Odysseus lost 72 of his
men to this powerful
army
Cicones
The character takes
a trip to the
Underworld
Visit to Hades
At the beginning of the
epic when the poet asks
for divine inspiration in
telling his story
Call to the Muse
The action of the
epic begins in the
middle
In Medias Res
A phrase that
describes or
renames a person
Epithet
An overused,
descriptive phrase
repeated in the epic;
helps the poet
memorize his work
Stock Phrase
The story begins with
Telemachus going off in
search of his father who
never returned from the
Trojan War
In Medias Res
“But when the dawn
came, early-born and
rosy-fingered.”
Stock Phrase
“‘If, O Cyclops, a mortal man shall
ever ask you how it befell your eye
was blinded so hideously, then
answer thus: it was Odysseus blinded
you, taker of Troy, Laertes’ son who
dwells in Ithaca.’”
•Boasting
•Epithet
•Catalog
“‘Now we come hither before your
knees to pray you give welcome to
your guests and grant us such gifts
as guests should have.’”
Hospitality Code
1000
“‘Odysseus, taker of
Troy”
1000
 Epithet
This monster has 12 tentacle-like
legs, six heads on serpent-like
necks, and triple, razor-sharp
fangs; kills six of Odysseus’ men
Scylla
A long, narrative poem about
a superhuman hero
Epic
The great Greek warrior
killed when a poisoned arrow
hit him in his weak spot
Achilles
 A traveling singer of tales
Rhapsode
This monster swallows
sea water, causing a
dangerous whirlpool
Charybdis