The Odyssey
Homer
An Epic Journey
Who was Homer?
Did he exist? Did he really write
The Iliad and The Odyssey?
Homer
• According to a hymn written in
honour of the god Apollo, he
was a blind man from the
island of Chios, in the eastern
Mediterranean.
• Lived around 850 BC
• Chios was home to a guild
of poets, or rhapsodists,
called the Homeridai, and
seems to be one of the
most likely candidates.
• Geographically Chios lies
to the south of the island
of Lesvos, north of the
island of Samos, and 9
nautical miles from the
western coast of the port
of Tsesme in Turkey.
Homer
• Homer's verses were first set
down in writing around 700 BC,
soon after the Greeks invented
their own alphabet by
incorporating vowels into the
existing Phoenician alphabet.
• The verses were probably
significantly older than this,
because they had been
memorized by traveling bards
who earned a living by reciting
them.
• Bards: a tribal poet-singer skilled
in composing and reciting verses
on heroes and their deeds.
• Muse: The nine muses who
inspire art. The invocation (ex.
beginning of Book 1) typically
occurs at or near the beginning,
and calls for help or inspiration,
or simply invites the Muse to sing
through the author.
Book 1
• As with all epics, the narration of The Odyssey
begins in media res, which literally means in
the middle of. The major events of Odysseus'
journey are told by Odysseus to Alcinous via
flashbacks.
• The Odyssey begins with an epic invocation,
an appeal to one of the muses, the nine
goddesses of the arts.
Book 1 and Book 2
• Questions: Where is
Odysseus?
• What or whom is Athena
disguised as?
• Why do Telemachos and his
mother need Odysseus?
• Why does Odysseus’ wife
have suitors? What do they
want?
• What song does the
minstrel Phemios sing, and
why does Penelope object
to his song?
• What does Athena advise
Telemachos to do?
• What is the function of the
pubic assembly with which
the book begins, and who
called it?
• What are the arguments of
the principal suitors and of
Telemachos?
• Describe the trick that
Penelope plays on her
suitors.
• What specifically does
Athena do to help
Telemachos?
Book 3
• Who is Nestor and how does he know Odysseus?
• What is Nestor’s opinion of Odysseus?
• Does Nestor know significant information about Odysseus
that can help Telemachos find the answer to his quest for his
father?
• Describe Nestor’s reaction when he realizes that Telemachos’s
companion is Athena.
• Who is Orestes?
• Who is Peisistratos?
Book 4 and Book 5
• Who is Menelaos?
• How does the court at Sparta
compare with Telemachos home
in Ithaca?
• What clues cue Menelaos and
Helen that Telemachos is
Odysseus’ son?
• What is Menelaos’ opinion of
Odysseus?
• Describe Antinous’ plan to
destroy Telemachus.
• What is Hermes’ mission?
• What can Hermes do with his
wand?
• Who is holding Odysseus captive?
• Why does Odysseus reject
Calypso’s offer of immortality?
• What is Calypso’s reaction to
having to let Odysseus go?
• What is the main problem
Odysseus faces while traveling by
sea?
• How long does Odysseus remain
drifting at sea?
• What happens to Odysseus at the
end of the chapter?
Book 6
• How does Athena manage to get a sympathetic native
to the seashore to receive Odysseus?
• What “subliminal” message does Athena give to
Nausicaa while she lies sleeping?
• Who is the only person who doesn’t run away from the
terrifying Odysseus? Why doesn’t she run away?
• Is it pure luck that Nausicaa helps Odysseus?
• What does the fact that Odysseus won’t bathe in front
of the girls tell us about the kind of person he is?
• Why won’t Nausicaa let Odysseus ride in her cart?
• What instructions does she give Odysseus?
Book 7
• How does Athena continue to help Odysseus?
• What lifestyle do the Phaiacians have? What
craft are they best known for?
• Why does Odysseus first approach Queen
Arete?
• How is Odysseus treated as a guest?
• How much of his identity and story is
Odysseus willing to reveal at this point?
Book 8
• What is the purpose of the athletic games Alcinoos arranges
to entertain Odysseus?
• How is Odysseus treated?
• With what terms does Seareach inflict his deepest insult and
provocation of Odysseus?
• Who is Demodocos? (hint: remember we discussed a cameo?)
• What songs does he sing and how does it affect Odysseus?
• How is King Alcinoos helping Odysseus to get home?
• Describe the meeting of Nausikaa and Odysseus.
Book 9
• Why does Odysseus begin to tell of his travels?
• What are the attractions of the land of the Lotus
Eaters?
• What are the attractions of the land of the
Cyclops Polyphemos?
• What is human and inhuman about Polyphemus?
• What does Odysseus give the Cyclops as a gift?
Book 10
• Who is Aiolos?
• Why do Odysseus’ companions disobey their captain
and open the bag given him?
• How do even more men die after the bag accident?
• What is Aiaia?
• What does Circe do to some of Odysseus’ men?
• What information or advice does Circe provide
Odysseus?
Book 11
• How does Odysseus summon the souls or shades of
the dead to speak to him?
• What does Odysseus learn from the prophet Teiresias?
• What does he learn from his mother? Why can’t
Odysseus hug his dead mother?
• What should Odysseus do to the suitors at his house?
• Describe the exchanges Odysses has with his former
comrades-in-arms at Troy.
• How does Aias’ ghost respond to Odysseus’ appeal for
reconciliation?
Book 12
• How does Odysseus manage to hear the song of the Sirens
without risking shipwreck?
• What does the proverbial expression “choose between Scylla
and Charybdis” mean and how is this meaning brought about
in The Odyssey?
• How does Odysseus handle the choice?
• What risk does Odysseus see even before he and his men land
on the island of Helios’ cattle?
• How does he seek to prevent catastrophe, and why and how
is he foiled?
• How does he end his
narrative?