Odyssey 1 & 5
In Book 1, which goddess pushes the Olympians to help Odysseus get home?
Athena
In Book 9, what is the name of the Cyclops Odysseus blinds?
Polyphemus
What contest does Penelope announce to choose a husband? (2 part answer)
stringing Odysseus’ bow and shooting through the axeheads
Lucian writes in the Roman Empire but shows off elite Greek education by imitating what “classic” style/period? (2 possible answers)
Classical Athens / “Golden Age” Greek style
In the Hymn, who arranges Persephone’s marriage to Hades?
Zeus, her father
What group has taken over Odysseus’ house, eating his food and pressuring Penelope?
The Suitors
What fake name does Odysseus give the Cyclops?
Nobody
Who is the only person besides Odysseus who reliably recognizes him early on (by a scar)?
Eurycleia (his old nurse)
In “Polyphemus and Poseidon,” Polyphemus says he ate Odysseus’ men because he thought they were what?
Robbers
After Persephone disappears, what does Demeter cause when she withdraws her powers? (2 possible answers)
Famine/Winter
In Book 1, who tells the suitors they are behaving shamefully and should leave?
Telemachus
In Book 10, who turns Odysseus’ men into pigs?
Circe
Which swineherd stays loyal and helps Odysseus?
Eumaeus
In the Judgment-related dialogue, Paris says he’s more qualified to judge the beauty of what animals than goddesses?
goats/cattle
At Eleusis, Demeter disguises herself as an old woman and becomes a nurse for which child?
Demophoön
In Book 5, which nymph has been keeping Odysseus on her island for years?
Calypso
In Book 11, Odysseus travels to the land of the dead. What is this journey called?
Katabasis
Which sea-goddess gives Odysseus a magical veil that keeps him from drowning?
Ino/Leucothea
Paris describes the “male gaze” by saying his eyes “stick” wherever they land—and compares himself to which many-eyed figure?
Argos (the one with 100 eyes)
In the Hymn, what food traps Persephone into spending part of the year in the Underworld?
pomegranate seed(s)
In Book 23, what “test” does Penelope use to confirm Odysseus is really Odysseus?
the bed test — she mentions moving their marriage bed, and he explains it can’t be moved because it’s built around a living olive tree
In Book 12, what do Odysseus’ crew do that guarantees disaster even after they escape monsters?
killing/eating the cattle of the Sun god (Helios)
At the end (Book 24), what stops the cycle of revenge from continuing?
Athena/Zeus imposing peace (the feud is halted by divine intervention)
In the Judgment dialogue, Athena warns Paris about Aphrodite’s magical item that can “bewitch” him. What is it?
girdle
in Hades, Persephone’s “abduction” is rewritten as not by Hades, and as not violent. What ethical issue is raised about this kind of rewriting?
sanitizing/erasing the violence can erase the lived experiences of forced marriage/abduction in antiquity (and shape modern audiences’ first impressions of myth)