 HISTORY OF THE ODYSSEY
 THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY
 CULTURAL CONTEXT
 VOCABULARY
 OTHER STORIES
100
This author, although widely known for his epic works, remains largely a historical mystery. About the only thing we know for certain is that he lived in 8th century BC Turkey, and we are not even sure whether he was one person or several working together.
Who is Homer?
100
This event is thought to have begun the Trojan War, and to have involved three major goddesses in the Greek pantheon.
What is the Trial of Paris?
100
This special population can sometimes relate to Odysseus’s experiences, especially his difficult homecoming and his feelings of displacement upon arriving.
Who are veterans?
100
This word can be used to describe an endless, menial, repetitive task, like cleaning your room or disciplining children.
What is a Sisyphean task?
100
This god is incarnated in the mortal hero Rama, on the condition that Rama cannot know his true identity and must prove himself solely through his own goodness and courage.
Who is Vishnu?
200
This is a chart that identifies and defines common plot points in many myths and epics, including The Odyssey, and ends with a hero taking his new place in the old world.
What is the Hero's Journey?
200
This is what Penelope begins creating, in an attempt to delay her remarriage to a suitor she does not love.
What is a burial shroud?
200
This short novel, written by feminist critic Margaret Atwood, explores the perspective of a different but important character whose story in The Odyssey connects with Odysseus’s. It also analyzes the “double standards” applied to men and women in this story.
What is 'The Penelopiad'?
200
This word can be used to describe a person whose moods change quickly and without warning, making it difficult to determine “where” they will be from one day to the next.
What is mercurial?
200
This Iceni queen, who died in 61 AD, led an uprising of the Celtic people against the Roman Empire that has made her a folk legend.
Who is Boudicca?
300
While the events of The Iliad are fictionalized accounts, scholars have agreed that this city really did exist, and was burned at some point.
What is the city of Troy?
300
This is what Odysseus refuses, by choosing to sail away from Calypso’s island and return home to his family instead.
What is immortality?
300
This novel, written by Irish author James Joyce, is inspired by the events of The Odyssey but takes place over the course of a day, instead of twenty years.
What is 'Ulysses'?
300
This word can be used to describe a task that requires extreme, monumental effort on someone’s part, whether they are being serious (talking about completing a life goal) or sarcastic (listening to a boring date talk for an hour).
What is a Herculean effort?
300
This modern law is based on one of Christ’s parables and is meant to protect people who try to help those in distress, presuming that they had good intentions.
What is the Good Samaritan Law/Act?
400
Because Greek alphabetic writing was not “invented” until approximately this date, all stories – even epics like The Odyssey – were told and recited before this historical date rather than being recorded.
What is 800 BC?
400
This character is the first and only mortal being in the entire story who immediately recognizes Odysseus, despite his disguise, after he returns home to Ithaca.
What is his dog/Who is Argos?
400
People usually say that this literary tradition, which is generally thought to encompass all of Europe and the Americas, began with The Odyssey.
What is Western literature?
400
This word can be used to describe something that is gloomy, depressing, or indicative of sorrow.
What is Stygian?
400
In The Ramayana, the villain Ravana has asked for invulnerability against gods and demons, but does not think to include these two groups of beings in his request. This ultimately leads to his downfall.
What are humans and animals?
500
This work, referred to as Homer’s third great poem, may have been burned at the Library of Alexandria and is now lost – possibly forever – to history. All that we have are mentions made of it in other works.
What is 'Margites'?
500
This is Agamemnon’s wife, who murdered him after he returned from Troy. In the Underworld, Agamemnon’s spirit warns Odysseus to beware of a similar betrayal by Penelope.
Who is Clytemnestra?
500
This historical Greek hero, when talking about his education, said that his father made him read the works of Homer so that he could understand leadership and perseverance.
Who is Xenophon?
500
This word, derived from the Greek nostos, means “a longing to return to the past, a fondness for what is gone.”
What is nostalgia?
500
In the story of Hades and Persephone, this is the fruit that Persephone ate to determine how long she must spend in the Underworld each year.
What is a pomegranate?
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