Greek Terms
This is the name for the Greeks' code of hospitality.
xenia
What genre of literature (or type of literature) is The Odyssey?
an epic
Odysseus “drove [his men], all three wailing, to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches” (IX.98-99). What method of characterization iss this?
actions
Why is Poseidon so angry at Odysseus?
because Odysseus blinded his son, the Kyklopes
Which character's story follows the archetypal pattern of "transformation from child to adult"?
Telemakhos
What is "metis"?
cunning, cleverness
epithets
Odysseus says to his men, “‘Dear friends, more than one man, or two, should know those things / Kirke foresaw for us and shared with me’” (XII).154-159). What method of characterization is this?
words
What is the name of Odysseus's kingdom?
Ithaka
Which character best represents the damsel in distress archetype?
Penelope
What does "in medias reas" mean in English?
in the middle of things
What might Odysseus's "abyss" or lowest moment be?
losing all his men / being stuck on Kalypso's island
Odysseus “sat . . . with eyes wet / scanning the bare horizon of the sea” (V.85-87). What method of characterization is this?
appearance
What did the men do immediately after leaving Troy?
raided the Kikones
Which character is best aligned with the trickster archetype?
Hermes
This is the Greek practice of reading signs in birds' actions.
ornithomancy
This is the term for the "hive mind" we all share as humans.
collective unconscious
Odysseus “had a mind to draw / the blade that hung against my side and chop [his crew member who spoke against him], / bowling his head upon the ground” (X.196-204 or page 178). What method of characterization is this?
thoughts
Which servant helped the suitors get weapons during the end battle and, therefore, received a nasty end?
Melanthios, the goatherd
Name three of the five traits of the archetypal epic hero.
mysterious origins, supernatural strength, great leadership, representative of culture's values, human weakness
What is the Greek word for virtue or excellence?
arete
State an idiom that comes from The Odyssey.
stuck between a rock and a hard place, a face that launched a thousand ships, beware of Greeks bearing gifts
Hermes mentions “[Odysseus], most ill-starred by renown / of all the peers who fought for Priam’s town” (V.104-105). This is what method of characterization?
reputation
What was the name of the gateway into Hades?
Erebos
What are the three main parts of the archetypal monomythic cycle (or hero cycle) in order?
departure, initiation, return