Name: ___________________________________________________________
Date: ___________
Period: _______
ODYSSEY COMPREHENSION QUIZZES
Chapters 1-4
1.
Who did Odysseus anger that caused his ship to sink when he was almost home?
a. Naussica
b. Poseidon
c. Ino
d. Athena
2.
What did Demodocus sing about?
a. The Trojan War
b. The land of Phaeacia
c. King Alcinous
d. His love for Nausicaa
3.
What is one reason Nausicaa decided to help Odysseus…
a. All the men refused to help him.
b. He would die if she didn’t.
c. She admired him.
d. He promised her he would marry her.
4.
What word best describes Odysseus in these chapters? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
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Chapter 5
1.
What name did Odysseus give to the Cyclops?
a. Hero
b. Odysseus
c. Someone
d. Noman
2.
How did Odysseus escape the Cyclops?
a. He snuck out underneath a sheep.
b. He killed the Cyclops and left.
c. He tricked him into drinking poison.
d. He reasoned with the Cyclops to let him go.
3.
What god would it anger when the Cyclops was stabbed?
a. Poseidon
b. Zeus
c. Athena
d. Hera
4.
How are Odysseus and the Cyclops alike? Support your answer with evidence from the text. ________________________
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Chapters 6-7
1.
What was in the bag that Aeolus gave to Odysseus?
a. A silver cord
b. A strong hide
c. Three of the four winds
d. Three of the four cardinal directions
2.
What did the Laestrygonians do to Odysseus and his men?
a. The Laestrygonians threw huge rocks at them.
b. The Laestrygonians threw them back into the sea.
c. The Laestrygonians offered them some valuable advice.
d. The Laestrygonians laughed at them.
3.
Who does Odysseus see in the land of the dead?
a. Agamemnon, Achilles, and Hector
b. Priam, Paris, and Helen
c. His father, Agamemnon, and Achilles
d. His mother, Agamemnon, and Achilles
4.
Despite her bewitching treatment, what caused Odysseus and his men to stay with Circe for a year? Support your answer
with evidence from the text. ____________________________________________________________________________
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Chapters 8-9
1.
What does Scylla do to Odysseus and his men?
a. Creates a huge whirlpool which nearly sucks down their ship.
b. Uses her six heads to eat six of the men.
c. Turns some of them into pigs.
d. Sings to them and puts them into a trance.
2.
What does Charybdis do to Odysseus and his men?
a. Creates a huge whirlpool which nearly sucks down their ship.
b. Uses her six heads to eat six of the men.
c. Turns some of them into pigs.
d. Sings to them and puts them into a trance.
3.
How does Odysseus eventually escape from Calypso’s island?
a. Circe rescues him.
b. Odysseus kills Calypso to gain his freedom.
c. Odysseus sneaks out one night and doesn’t get caught.
d. Zeus orders Calypso to let them go.
5.
Which of the challenges that Odysseus faces in Chapters 8-9 is the most dangerous? Support your answer with evidence
from the text. ________________________________________________________________________________________
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Chapters 10-11
1.
How did King Alcinous react to Odysseus’ story?
a. He laughed.
b. He didn’t believe it.
c. They drank to a safe journey home for Odysseus.
d. He cried tears of grief.
2.
What does Athena disguise Odysseus as?
a. A king
b. A beggar
c. A young boy
d. A god
3.
How does Eumaeus help Odysseus?
a. Eumaeus gives Odysseus a cloak and food.
b. Eumaeus vows to protect Penelope and Telemachus.
c. Eumaeus provides him with a list of people still loyal to Odysseus.
d. Eumaeus recognizes him as Odysseus and gives him his valuables back.
6.
Why does Eumaeus help Odysseus? Support your answer with evidence from the text. _____________________________
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Chapters 12-14
1.
What plan does Odysseus reveal to Telemachus at the end of Chapter 12?
a. They will run away together.
b. They will have Eumaeus ambush the suitors.
c. They will reveal Odysseus’ secret identity to Penelope.
d. They will fight back against the suitors.
2.
How does Odysseus (“the beggar”) react when he lays eyes on his wife, Penelope, for the first time?
a. He sheds a single tear.
b. He insults her for entertaining the suitors.
c. He reveals himself immediately.
d. He pulls her into his arms.
3.
What is Penelope’s plan for the suitors?
a. To marry the man who will make the best father for Telemachus
b. To marry no one, sending them all away
c. To marry whoever can shoot Odysseus’ bow through 12 axe handles
d. To marry Eumaeus
7.
How does the author portray the suitors through their words and actions? Support your answer with evidence from the
text. _______________________________________________________________________________________________
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Chapters 15-17
1.
What does Athena do when the suitors threaten Telemachus?
a. She gives Telemachus strength to fight them all himself.
b. She makes the suitors begin to laugh and cry.
c. She kills several of the suitors.
d. She forces Penelope to choose one of the suitors immediately.
2.
Who wins the contest of the bow?
a. Eurymachus
b. Telemachus
c. Antinous
d. Odysseus
3.
How were Odysseus and Telemachus able to successfully defeat the suitors when they were so outnumbered?
a. Athena interfered and helped them win the battle.
b. The suitors were drunk.
c. Reinforcements came in.
d. The dog became vicious, protecting its masters.
4.
The final paragraph from The Iliad reads, “Sometimes in the night, the wind howls over the plain. They say it is the souls of
those who died and left their blood in the land around Troy.” Compare this to the final paragraph in The Odyssey. Below,
describe ways in which the endings to these two stories are SIMILAR and DIFFERENT.
SIMILAR:
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DIFFERENT:
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Goal (Standard)
Reading
Comprehension
Advanced
*
Proficient
*
Partially Proficient
Unsatisfactory
4
3
2
1
Student is able to
comprehend a text, citing
text evidence to support
HIGHER-LEVEL thinking.
-Student gets 26-28
comprehension questions
correct.
Student is able to
comprehend a text, citing
LOGICAL text evidence to
support thinking.
-Student gets 21-26
comprehension questions
correct.
Student is SOMETIMES
able to comprehend a
text, and ATTEMPTS to
cite logical text evidence
to support thinking.
-Student gets 10-19
comprehension questions
correct.
Student is RARELY/NEVER
able to comprehend a
text, and CANNOT cite
logical text evidence to
support thinking.
-Student gets 9 OR LESS
comprehension questions
correct.