Characters
This goddess is Odysseus’s protector and often disguises herself as Mentor
Who is Athena?
Odysseus begins his journey home after fighting in this war
What is the Trojan War?
This character is the first to hear Odysseus's entire tale
Who is Alcinous?
This recurring theme involves guests, guest-friendships, and hosts
What is xenia/hospitality?
“Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy..."
Who is the narrator?
This loyal swineherd hosts Odysseus when he returns to Ithaca in disguise
Who is Eumaeus?
This island is home to the Phaeacians
What is Scheria?
Odysseus blinds this creature to escape its cave
Who is Polyphemus/the Cyclops?
Telemachus’s journey to Pylos and Sparta represents this broader theme in epic literature
What is coming-of-age/personal growth?
“You must not cling to your boyhood any longer.”
Who is Athena? (to Telemachus)
This suitor is the most outspoken and disrespectful toward Odysseus’s household
Who is Antinous?
Odysseus spends seven years on this island with Calypso
What is Ogygia?
These people give Odysseus’s crew a drug that makes them forget home
Who are the Lotus Eaters?
In Book 2, two eagles swoop down during an assembly, fighting in the sky. This omen symbolizes what key theme of the epic?
What is the inevitability of Odysseus’s return/divine will/fate?
“Nobody—that’s my name. Nobody—so my mother and father call me…”
Who is Odysseus? (to Polyphemus)
This king provides Odysseus with a ship to return to Ithaca
Who is Alcinous?
Telemachus travels to these two cities to seek news of his father
What are Pylos & Sparta?
Telemachus avoids an ambush by the suitors on this leg of his journey
What is his return from Sparta to Ithaca?
The constant tension between loyalty and betrayal is represented by these two (adult) figures who remain faithful to Odysseus while others do not
Who are Penelope & Eumaeus?
"To outwit you in all your tricks, a person or a god would need to be an expert at deceit."
Who is Athena? (to Odysseus)
This prophet in the underworld tells Odysseus how to return home safely
Who is Tiresias?
This is the island where Odysseus's men are turned into pigs, and he stays for a year
What is Aeaea?
What is Crete?
The image of Odysseus’s scar, which identifies him to his old nurse and to his father, symbolizes this theme in the epic
What is identity/recognition/the passage of time?
"You have to suffer, but you can get home, if you control your urges and your men."
Who is Tiresias?