The Odyssey Part One
Big Questions:
Directions: Answer these guiding questions as you read through each story
of “Part One” from the Odyssey. These questions will not only help you
understand the text but also help you prepare for reading assessments and the Part One test.
Big Questions: Calypso
1). Why was Odysseus on Calypso’s island for so long?
2). Did Odysseus stay completely against his will? What does this say about his character?
3). Why does Odysseus choose to leave Calypso’s island? What does this say about his character?
4). Based on The Story “Calypso” what can you conclude about Odysseus’s character?
Big Questions: Sailing from Troy
1). When Odysseus’s men were in Cicones, how did they behave?
2). How would you describe Odysseus as a leader? Why ?
3). How does Odysseus’s ego come into play during the re-telling of his story to King Alcinious?
Big Questions: The Lotus Eaters
1). What happened to the men when they ate the Lotus plant?
2). How would you describe Odysseus as a leader in this situation? Why?
Big Questions: The Cyclops
1). How does Odysseus demonstrate that he is cunning and able to think quickly on his feet?
2). Where do we see Odysseus’s ego and arrogance effect his actions/decisions?
3). How does Odysseus’s ego eventually betray him?
4). Where does Odysseus prove himself to be a hero? Where does he disprove his heroic status?
Big Questions: The Land of the Dead
1). Why does Odysseus choose to go to the Land of the Dead?
2). Who provides Odysseus with a prophecy and what does the prophecy reveal?
Big Questions: The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis
1). Identify decisions that Odysseus makes, while leading his men through the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, that define
him as a hero.
2). Identify decisions that Odysseus makes, while leading his men through the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, that do NOT
define him as a hero/leader.
3). Define the characteristics of each monsters.
Big Questions: The Cattle of the Sun God
1). What does Odysseus warn his men against? How would you define Odysseus’s leadership skills based on this
decision?
2). Why did the men discard Odysseus’s warning? Who suggested eating the cows?
3). Where do we see Odysseus acting selfishly in this story? How would you define Odysseus’s heroic status based on this
decision?