The Odyssey Study Guide

Unit 3 Plan- The Odyssey, Homer
Note: The first 5 minutes of each class will be given to complete the Study Guide Questions. You may complete them outside of class as you read and use this time to read or work on your Data Sheets.
Week 1:
Mon-Intro to The Odyssey; The Trojan War and The Illiad; Review Unit Plan, Study Guide, Complete Gods/Goddesses Chart, Watch “Odyssey Crash Course” and beginning of The Odyssey
Tues-Books 1,2
Wed-Book 3
Thur-Book 4, Update/Check Data Sheets, Study Guide
Fri-Book 5, Watch The Odyssey
Week 2:
Mon-Books 6,7; Check Data Sheets, Study Guide
Tues-Book 8
Wed-Books 9,10
Thur-Book 11; Update Data Sheets
Fri- Book 12, Watch The Odyssey
Week 3:
Mon-Books 13,14; Check Data Sheets, Study Guide
Tues-Book 15
Wed-Book 16
Thur-Book 17; Update Data Sheets
Fri- Book 18, Watch The Odyssey
Week 4:
Mon-Books 19,20; Check Data Sheets, Study Guide; Finish The Odyssey
Tues-Book 21
Wed-Book 22
Thur-Book 23, 24, Update Data Sheets
Fri- Test/In-Class Essay; Turn In Data Sheets, Study Guide

The Odyssey Study Guide

Please note: This page and all of the questions for The Odyssey must be completed as we read.

Before you even open your copy of The Odyssey, please go to www.mythweb.com and click on the word Gods.

That will bring you to a page with a picture of the gods.  Click on the woman farthest to the right (she is wearing a funny helmet and has an owl over her right shoulder) to get started.

Fill out this chart with the information found on this website.  Once you click on one of the pictures the names of the gods and goddesses will show up at the top of the screen, just click around until you get everyone!

Please refer back to this while reading The Odyssey!
Odyssey Study Guide
Characters to Know:
Alcínoüs: The king of the Phaeácians. He feeds, shelters, and entertains Odysseus before sending him home to Ithaca.
Antínoüs: The most malicious of Penelope’s suitors. He hatches an evil plot to kill Telémachus.
Arétë: The Queen of the Phaeácians, wife of Alcínoüs, mother of Nausícaa. She greets Odysseus with open hospitality and takes pity on him in her home.
Demódocus: The blind Phaeácian bard. He sings about the Trojan War, causing Odysseus to cry.
Elpénor: The youngest of Odysseus’ men. He falls from Círcë’s roof and breaks his neck. Odysseus encounters him in Hades.
Eumáeus: Odysseus’ loyal pig-herder. He helps Odysseus and Telémachus defeat the suitors.
Eurycleia: The nurse of both Odysseus and Telémachus. She discovers Odysseus’ secret identity and helps him defeat the suitors.
Eurymachus: One of the leaders of the suitors. He throws a stool at Odysseus’ head.
Irus: The beggar.
Arnaeus: He challenges Odysseus to a fight and loses.
Calypso: The sea nymph daughter of Atlas. She traps Odysseus on her island as her romantic companion until Zeus commands her to release him.
Círcë: The enchanting witch who transforms Odysseus’ men into pigs.
Laértës: Odysseus’ father. Odysseus visits him at the end of his journey and tests him.
Meneláus: Son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen. He was a general in the Trojan War.
Mentor: Odysseus’ good friend, whom he entrusts to look after Telémachus.
Nausícaa: The daughter of Alcínoüs and Arétë. She falls in love with Odysseus after meeting him on the Phaeácians beach and guides him to her parents’ home.
Odysseus: The son of Laértës, husband of Penelope, and father of Telémachus. He is the central character of The Odyssey. who loses his way for ten years at sea while on his was home from the Trojan War.
Penelope: The wife of Odysseus and mother of Telémachus. She waits faithfully for twenty years for Odysseus to return home from the Trojan War, fighting off the bold advances of countless suitors.
Polyphémus: A Cyclops and the son of Apollo. He traps Odysseus and his sailors in his cave but is defeated by Odysseus, who pokes out his eye.
Telémachus: The son of Odysseus and Penelope. At Athena’s suggestion, he sails in search of his father. When Odysseus returns, Telémachus assists him in defeating the suitors.
Tiresias: The blind seer from Thebes. Odysseus receives instructions from him in Hades.
Gods
Hades: The son of Cronos, brother of Zeus. He is the king of the underworld.
Deméter The goddess of fertility and harvests.
Dionysus: The youngest of the Olympian gods, as well as the son of Zeus. He is the god of wine and dancing.
Arës: The son of Zeus and Hera. He is the god of war.
Perséphonë: The daughter of Zeus and Deméter, wife of Hades. She is the queen of the underworld.

Vocabulary: (These words will help you in your reading)

Questions: (These questions help you stay on track with the plot of the story. You can answer them on this sheet)
Book I
1. Who does Homer call upon to help him begin telling the story? 
2. Why is Poseidon furious with Odysseus?
3. What advice does Athena give to Telémachus? (this saves his life)
Book II
1. What is the “double-curse” of which Telémachus speaks?
2. What does Athena instruct Telémachus to do?
3. What secret does Telémachus tell Eurycleia?
Book III
1. What does Athena ask for when she prays to Poseidon?
2. Which of Nestor’s children accompanies Telémachus to Sparta?
Book IV
1. What does Meneláus say that causes Telémachus to weep?
2. What does Helen put in the wine?
3. What does Antínoüs plan to do to Telémachus upon his return?
4. What phantom visits Penelope in her sleep?
Book V
1. Whom does Zeus send to persuade Calypso to release Odysseus?
2. What does Poseidon do when he learns of Odysseus’ escape?
3. What does Ino give Odysseus to help him survive the stormy seas?
4. What does Odysseus do with Ino’s gift once he reaches the shore?
Book VI
1. What does Nausícaa ask her parents for permission to do?
2. What reason does Nausícaa give Odysseus for not allowing him to travel with her to town?
3. What does Nausícaa instruct Odysseus to do once he reaches the palace?
4. To whom does Odysseus pray before walking to town?

Book VII
1. What does Athena wrap Odysseus in to hide him from the Phaéacians?
2. In what form does Athena visit Odysseus to lead him to the palace?
3. What does Alcínoüs mistake the stranger for at first?
4. What does Alcínoüs pledge to do for the stranger?
Book VIII
1. For whom does Alcínoüs send to sing at the feast?
2. What does Alcínoüs see the stranger do during the song that tips him off to his identity?
3. What excuse does the stranger give Laodamas for not participating in the games?
4. What does Odysseus ask Demódocus to do?
5. Why does Alcínoüs command Demódocus to stop?
Book IX
1. What did eating the lotus flower do to Odysseus’ three men?
2. What name does Odysseus give the Cyclops when he first asks?
3. What part of the Cyclops’ body does Odysseus injure?
4. What fatal mistake does Odysseus make that allows the Cyclops to curse him?
Book X
1. How does Odysseus’ crew unleash the fury of the winds?
2. What does Círcë offer the men that turns them into pigs?
3. What does Hermes give Odysseus to help him resist Círcë’s spells?
Book XI
1. Where does Odysseus sail to find the entrance to Hades?
2. Who is the first dead soul to approach Odysseus in Hades?
3. Why did Odysseus’ mother die?
4. How did Agamemnon die?
Book XII
1. What does the crew do with Elpénor’s body?
2. What does Círcë tell Odysseus to do in order to resist the Sirens?
Book XIII
1. What does Odysseus do while the Phaeácian crew rows toward Ithaca?
2. Where does the Phaeácian crew hide Odysseus’ presents once they reach Ithaca?
3. In what disguise does Athena visit Odysseus?
4. What does Athena do to Odysseus when she touches him with her wand?
Book XIV
1. What is the pact the stranger makes with Eumáeus?
2. What item of the clothing does the stranger try to get from Eumáeus?
Book XV
1. What advice does Athena give to Telémachus?
2. What treasured gift does Meneláus give to Telémachus?
Book XVI
1. What does Athena instruct Odysseus he must tell Telémachus?
2. What message does Telémachus’ crew send Penelope upon arrival?
3. What lie does Eurymachus tell Penelope about Telémachus?
Book XVII
1. What does Argos do when he sees Odysseus?
2. What does Antínoüs throw at Odysseus?
3. Why does Penelope call for the stranger?
Book XVIII
1. What is the name of the rival beggar who challenges Odysseus to a fight?
2. What does Athena do to Odysseus’ limbs just before the fight?
3. With which suitor is the maid Melántho having an affair?
Book XIX
1. What vision does Telémachus see that alerts him to the work of the gods?
2. What question does Penelope ask to test the stranger?
3. How does Eurycleia discover the stranger’s true identity?
4. What is Penelope’s dream?  What does it represent?
Book XX
1. For what does Telémachus wait silently, his eyes upon his father?
Book XXI
1. What scheme does Athena set into the heart of Penelope?
2. With which servants does Odysseus share his true identity?
3. Where does Telémachus send Penelope? To do what?
4. What does Zeus send as an omen of the suitors’ impending doom?
Book XXII
1. Whom does Odysseus shoot first?
2. For what does Telémachus blame himself?
3. Why do the six suitors’ shafts fail to hit Odysseus?
4. Whom do Odysseus and Telémachus spare?
Book XXIII
1. What does Penelope do when she first sees Odysseus?
2. How does Penelope test Odysseus?
3. Where did Tirésias tell Odysseus to go after slaying the suitors?
4. What gifts must Odysseus offer Poseidon once he gets there?
Book XXIV
1. According to Amphímedon, how did Penelope hoodwink the suitors?
2. What sign does Zeus (the son of Cronos) deliver that causes Odysseus to sign a peace treaty?

Final Discussion Questions: (Be prepared to discuss these questions in class.) 

1. What kind of person is Odysseus?  Support your answer with examples from the text.

2. How old would you say Telemachus is?  Justify your guess.

3. Describe Athena’s relationship with Odysseus.

4. Which of the people that Telemachus visits abroad is most helpful to him?  Justify your answer.

5. Why does Odysseus seem so shell-shocked during Demodocus’ songs?

6. What are the properties of Homer’s afterlife?

7. Why does Athena allow Odysseus to be abused by the suitors?

8. Is it fair or humane to kill the twelve handmaidens?

9. How does The Odyssey resolve?

 
Major Themes in The Odyssey
Home, wandering, and fidelity
The title of The Odyssey has given us a word to describe a journey of epic proportions. Throughout his travels, Odysseus' central emotion is loneliness. We first encounter him as he pines away for home, alone on Kalypso's beach, and he is not above weeping when thinking of home at other points. He also endures great loss through the deaths of his brothers-in-arms from the Trojan War and his shipmates afterward. Loneliness pervades the emotions of other characters; Penelope is nearly in constant tears over her absent husband, Telemakhos has never known his legendary father, and Odysseus' mother explains that loneliness caused her death.
Yet tempering Odysseus' desire to return home is the temptation to enjoy the luxurious surroundings he sometimes finds himself in‹particularly when he is in the company of beautiful goddesses. He happily spends a year on Kirke's island as her lover and does not seem to complain too much about his eight years of imprisonment on Kalypso's island. In both cases, Odysseus expresses little remorse about being unfaithful to his wife‹although infidelity is what he fears Penelope may be succumbing to at home.
That Homer never reproaches Odysseus for his extracurricular romances but condemns the unfaithful women in the poem recalls Kalypso's angry statement about the double standard for immortals: male gods are allowed to take mortal lovers, while female goddesses are not. Likewise, men such as Odysseus have some freedom to "wander" sexually during their geographical wanderings‹so long as they are ultimately faithful to their home‹while Penelope and the other women in The Odyssey are chastised for their lack of chastity. Indeed, Odysseus does remain true to Penelope in his heart, and his desire to reunite with her drives his faithful journey. Fidelity is also central at the end of the poem, when Odysseus tests the loyalties of his servants and punishes those who have betrayed him.
Cunning and disguise
Odysseus' most prominent characteristic is his cunning; Homer's Greek audience generally admired the trait but occasionally disdained it for its dishonest connotations. Odysseus' skill at improvising false stories or devising plans is nearly incomparable in Western literature. His Trojan horse scheme (recounted here and written about in The Iliad) and his multiple tricks against Polyphemos are shining examples of his ingenuity, especially when getting out of jams.
Both examples indirectly relate to another dominant motif in The Odyssey: disguise. (The soldiers "disguise" themselves in the body of the Trojan horse, while Odysseus and his men "disguise" themselves as rams to escape from Polyphemos.) Odysseus spends the last third of the poem disguised as a beggar, both to escape from harm until he can overthrow the suitors and to test others for loyalty. In addition, Athena appears frequently throughout the poem, often as the character Mentor, to provide aid to Odysseus or Telemakhos.
Women as predatory
It is little wonder Odysseus fears Penelope's lapse into infidelity‹women are usually depicted, if anything, as sexual aggressors in The Odyssey. Kirke exemplifies this characteristic among the goddesses, turning the foolish men she so easily seduces into the pigs she believes them to be, while Kalypso imprisons Odysseus as her virtual sex-slave. The Seirenes, too, try to destroy passing sailors with their beautiful voices. The suitors even accuse Penelope of teasing them, a debatable point. But no woman receives as negative a portrait as Agamemnon's wife Kyltaimnestra; the story of her cuckoldry and murder of her husband frequently recurs as a parallel to Odysseus' anxieties about Penelope.
Odysseus' character flaws
Though he is usually a smart, decisive leader, Odysseus is prone to errors, and his deepest flaw is falling prey to temptation. His biggest mistakes come in the episode with Polyphemos as he first foolishly investigates the Kyklops' lair (and ends up getting trapped there), and then cannot resist shouting his name to Polyphemos after escaping (thus incurring Poseidon's wrath). If Odysseus' character changes over the course of The Odyssey, though, it pivots around temptation. After his errors with Polyphemos, Odysseus has his crew tie him up so he can hear‹but not follow‹the dangerously seductive song of the Seirenes. Disguised as a beggar in Ithaka, he is even more active in resisting temptation, allowing the suitors to abuse him as he bides his time. Temptation hurts his crew, as well, in their encounters with Kirke, the bag of winds from Aiolos, and the oxen of Helios.
The power of the gods
The gods exercise absolute power over mortal actions in The Odyssey. To curry the gods' favor, mortals are constantly making sacrifices to them. Conversely, offending the gods creates immense problems, as demonstrated by the oxen of Helios episode and Poseidon's grudge against Odysseus for blinding his son Polyphemos.
Athena is the most visible god in the poem; only under her aegis can Odysseus survive his dangerous adventures, and she lobbies Zeus for his freedom and safety at other points. Her favoritism for him seems justified as a reward for his sacrifices and nobility of character; her distaste for the suitors is similarly understandable.
The power of the gods, who usually care more about their internal disputes than about mortal behavior, is cemented at the end of the poem as Zeus orders a cease-fire between Odysseus and the suitors. Ultimately, the gods decide what happens in the mortal world; lack of free will receives more depth in The Iliad, but is a prominent theme in nearly any ancient Greek text, particularly ones that concern themselves with the omnipotent gods.

Hospitality
The Odyssey nearly serves as a Greek guide to hospitality, or "xenia," which was such a dominant concept in Greece that Zeus was the god of hospitality. Telemakhos and Odysseus receive warm hospitality throughout their journeys from others, usually without even having to give their names. The flip side of the equation, of course, is the suitors, who abuse Telemakhos' hospitality in running through Odysseus' reserves. The other blight on hospitality comes at the end when the Phaiakians, after Poseidon turns into stone their ship that carried Odysseus to Ithaka, decide not to give strangers conveyance anymore.
Telemakhos' miniature odyssey: Paralleling Odysseus' greater journey, Telemakhos' journey at the beginning of the poem is as much a search for maturity as it is one for his father. Athena, who sparks his travels, also grooms him in the ways of a prince. Telemakhos matures from his initial weakness in the face of the suitors into the authoritative man of the house, and his place by his father's side in the climactic battle is well earned and represented.
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