Places
Telemachus and Pisistratus, Nestor's sixth son, go here by chariot.
What is Sparta?
Odysseus sleeps with each of these two goddesses and makes each swear an oath not to plan more hurt or pain for him.
Who are Circe and Calypso?
descriptive language that draws on the five senses
What is imagery?
This sweet, delicious fruit makes men lose their will and forget home.
What is the lotus?
Hermes needs these to fly.
What are magic sandals?
This is the land of the dead, across the stream of Ocean.
What is Hades?
Both times Odysseus needs help escaping captivity by a goddess, this god shows up.
Who is Hermes?
a repeating adjective or descriptive phrase expressing an essential quality of a character or object
What is an epithet?
Odysseus has his men tie him to the mast so that he will not be bewitched and destroyed by this.
What is the Sirens' song?
Circe uses these to turn men into pigs.
What are potions and a wand?
On a mission to learn news of his father, Telemachus arrives here first.
What is Pylos?
This laundry-doing princess feels Odysseus owes her his life.
Who is Nausicaa?
a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character.
What is a foil?
Phemius and Demodocus work in very different circumstances, but they share this professional title.
What is a bard?
The sea goddess Ino keeps Odysseus from drowning by lending him this.
What is a magic veil, or scarf?
This is where Odysseus loses eleven ships.
What is the narrow-mouthed bay of the Laestrygonians? (Their city is Telepylos, on "the rocky stronghold of Lamos")
The shade of this Greek war hero still refuses to speak to Odysseus.
Who is Ajax?
background information, details that provide context, explanation
What is exposition?
Zeus sends two of these to swoop and rip at the heads of men crowded around the council Telemachus calls in Ithaca.
What are eagles?
Thanks to this falling down into an eddy and causing screams, Odysseus awakens on Scheria and jumps from the bushes.
What is Nausicaa's ball?
This monstrous, sucking and belching whirlpool is actually a goddess.
What/who is Charybdis?
She has twelve dangling legs and six long necks with a gruesome head on each and in each face three rows of crowded teeth, pregnant with death.
Who is Scylla?
material wealth that signifies glory OR the honor that comes from being named the subject of heroic legend
What is kleos?
Odysseus brings this to the land of the Cyclops, not knowing whether he will need it as a gift for a xenial host or as something useful for himself and his companions.
What is the wine of Maron?
Odysseus turns this into a hot spear to blind the Cyclops.
What is Polyphemus' walking stick?
The first place the storm blows Odysseus after leaving Troy (also the last place he and his men fight other humans in a realistic, as opposed to fantastical, scenario)
What is Ismarus, where the Cicones live?
This guy himself isn't a windbag, but he has one to give.
Who is Aeolus? (pronounced ee-OH-luss)
tragic pride through which one places oneself on the level of the gods
What is hubris?
Dig a hole with your sword, pour in libations, sprinkle barley on top, promise future offerings, sacrifice an animal, and pour its blood into the hole; then, if you're in the right place, you can do this.
What is speak to the dead?
Instead of horses that cannot be transported back to Ithaca, this king gifts Telemachus a finely crafted bowl, of purest silver, with gold around the rim.
Who is Menelaus?
Geraestus, a promontory on the coast of Euboea, gives this character one of his epithets when, heading home from Troy, he and his men pray to escape disaster and stay there safely overnight.
Who is Nestor?
The name of this Ithacan who lent Telemachus a ship might be confused with the name Odysseus used to trick the Cyclops.
Who is Noeëmon?
when the audience knows more about a character's situation than the character does, foreseeing an outcome contrary to the character's expectations
What is dramatic irony?
The Phaeacians are quick at sprinting, great at dancing, and excellent at most sports, but these are perhaps what distinguish them most.
What are their telepathic ships?
The shade of Elpenor, who fell to his death from the roof of Circe's home in Aeaea, asks Odysseus to go back there and plant this in a tomb commemorating him.
What is the oar he used to row with his companions?
This is the island of the Sun God, Helius; a place with fine, fat sheep and grazing cows; "the joy of mortals" which Tiresias warns Odysseus and his men to leave be.
What is Thrinacia?
The names of any TWO giant cannibals encountered by Odysseus and his men.
Who are Polyphemus and Antiphates?
a tragic flaw, especially a misperception, a lack of some important insight, or some blindness that ironically results from one's own strengths and abilities
What is hamartia?
This is how scrupulous Queen Arete of Scheria breaks her silence after feasting with and observing Odysseus, who has begged her to help him get home.
Where did you get the clothes you're wearing? (because I made them)
When his wife Aphrodite cheats on him with Ares, the master craftsman Hephaestus gets his revenge using these.
What are unbreakable chains he forges, twines around the bedposts, and hangs from the ceiling?