The Odyssey/Cultural Information
Who wrote the Odyssey?
What animal does the Cyclops watch over?
Sheep
Who leads an expedition on Circe’s Island?
Eurylochus, leads an expedition of 20 men.
What animal is on Helios’ Island?
Cattle
What creature is waiting for Odysseus at his home?
His dog, Argos
The Illiad, it is about the Trojan War.
How do the men get trapped with the Cyclops?
A giant boulder that only the Cyclops can move is sealing the entrance.
What does Circe do to Odysseus’ men?
Circe turns the men into pigs
How are the men told to avoid the sound of the sirens?
They are told to put beeswax in their ears.
When fighting the suitors, who does Odysseus kill first and how?
Antinous, ring leader of the suitors. With an arrow he shoots right below the chin, in his neck.
How long has Odysseus been gone from his home?
20 years
What does odysseus say is name is to the Cyclops?
Nohbody
Who helps Odysseus defeat Circe and how?
Hermes, he gives him Moly “ a type of garlic” that makes him resistant to Circe’s magic.
What did Odysseus men do on Helios' Island? What happens to them?
Who helps Odysseus in the fight against the suitors?
Telemachus (his son), Cowherd, and Swineherd
From the StudySync, what are the two prime requisites of leadership?
Skill in battle and the ability to persuade.
How do Odysseus and his men blind the Cyclops?
They get him drunk of wine and run a heated spear they made through the cyclops' eye.
Why is Odysseus going to the land of the dead? Who is he looking for?
He trying to find out his destiny from the blind prophet Tiberius.
How does Odysseus plan to hear the sound of the sirens?
Odysseus plans to have his men tie him to the mast, so he cannot move while he hears the sirens’ song.
What does Penelope think when she first sees Odysseus?
Penelope thinks the gods are playing a trick on her, and suspects that Odysseus is not really there.
DOUBLE POINTS
Explain the role of the basileus in the Odyssey.
Despite the great authority given him by his position, a basileus has limited ability to coerce others to follow his lead. He is only a chief, not a king. Thus in the Odyssey, there are several occasions when Odysseus’ hetairoi simply refuse to obey him.
Odysseus’ helplessness illustrates the fundamental fragility of leadership authority in this type of low-level chieftainship.
How do the men escape the Cyclops?
DOUBLE POINTS
What are the two monsters that Odysseus and his men try to avoid? (name and what are they?)
Scylla and Charybdis
Scylla was a horrible six-headed monster who lived on a rock on one side of a narrow strait. Charybdis was a whirlpool on the other side.
Where does Odysseus end up after he leaves Helios's Island.
Calypso's Island
What is the secret of the bed?
Odysseus carved the bed out of a living Olive tree, and built the bedroom around the bed. The bed cannot be moved because it is attached to a living olive tree.