The Odyssey Beginning
What is an epic hero?
An epic hero is
1. the main character in an epic poem, like The Odyssey, and
2. they have superhuman abilities
Which god delays Odysseus' return home?
Poseidon
Why does Poseidon hate Odysseus?
He blinded his son, the Cyclops, Polyphemus.
Where does the journey home (The Odyssey) begin from?
Troy
What do the suitors do when Odysseus doesn't return after the Trojan War?
They eat his food, drink his wine, and demand Penelope marry one of them; being disrespectful.
When we first see Odysseus, where is he?
On the island of Phaeacia/Scheria (King Alkinoos' place).
Setting of the Odyssey
Mediterranean Sea and surrounding islands
(after the Trojan War, near Greece)
How does Odysseus try to get out of going to the Trojan War?
He pretends to be crazy.
Explain what happens at Circe's island
Turned into pigs? lotus eating?
What is the test of the bow?
The man who strings Odysseus's bow and shoots an arrow through twelve axe-heads will marry her.
For how many years was Odysseus gone from Ithaca?
20 years
What makes Calypso let Odysseus go?
Zeus (through Hermes) orders her to release him.
Why doesn't Odysseus just kill Polyphemus while he sleeps instead of gouge his eye ball?
They could not move the stone that seals the cave.
How old is Telemachus when he sees his father for the second time?
at least 20
Why would people have told an ancient epic like The Odyssey?
To entertain, to teach values
At the beginning of The Odyssey, Homer says, "Sing in me, Muse." What are muses?
The Muses are minor gods that are credited with inspiring music and art.
How many heads does the hydra have?
Six
Which creatures do Odysseus and friends encounter after leaving Circe and traveling through the Underworld?
A whirlpool (Charybdis) and a hydra (Scylla)
When does Athena arrive and make herself know to Telemachus?
When he is a teenager? When he wants to find his father?
At the end of The Odyssey, Homer compares someone to the "sun-warmed earth... longed for by a swimmer." Whom is he referring to?
Penelope
Why wasn't The Odyssey written down by Homer?
The Odyssey was performed orally (spoken)/he was blind.
What does Odysseus tell the Cyclops his name is?
Nobody
What information from the blind prophet Tiresias does Odysseus not tell to his men?
Only Odysseus will make it home alive.
Odysseus landed here after his men opened the bag of wind (after Cyclops' island).
Circe's island
The Odyssey begins in medias res, in the middle of the action. How do we know what happened to Odysseus before he lands on the final pit stop of his journey home?
Odysseus has been telling the story of his travels before that point to the people of Phaenicia.