Plot Points
Character Traits
Themes
Quote Identifications
100

Odysseus finally lands where in these books?

Ithaca

100

Name one of Eumaeus's essential personality traits.

Loyalty

100

Eumaeus's love for Odysseus helps to show what about Odysseus's leadership?

He's a benevolent leader!

100

"Yes, both of us / are smart. No man can plan and talk like you, / and I am known among the gods for insight and craftiness."

Athena / pointing out the similarities b/w Odysseus and Athena

200

Who helps Odysseus hide his treasure and disguises him as an old beggar?

Athena

200

What cultural practice does Telemachus demonstrate when he welcomes the disguised Odysseus kindly?

Xenia
200

What makes Ithaca home for Eumaeus?

His love for Odysseus, Odysseus's care for him

200

Athena to Telemachus: "'When one darling husband dies, / his wife forgets him, and her children by him. She does not even ask how they are doing.'"

Threat that the suitors pose to Telemachus; Athena's attempts to push Telemachus into maturity/violence

300

Where does Odysseus go first after landing on Ithaca?

Eumaeus’s hut

300

What qualities make an enslaved person "good," according to The Odyssey? -- name three

Loyalty, xenia, gods-fearing

300

What recurring theme is shown when Odysseus hides his identity even from loyal servants?

Trust and mistrust; loyalty

300

"'Father, / I always heard how excellent you are, / at fighting with a spear, and making plans. But what you said just now--it is too much. We cannot fight, the two of us, against such strong men, and so many--there are dozens, not just a handful.'"

Telemachus / his doubt of Odysseus, his immaturity, his lack of "warrior soul"

400

What happens to the Phaeacians after they deliver Odysseus home?

Poseidon punishes them by turning their ship to stone

400

What does Athena admire about Odysseus when she first meets him again in Book 13?

His cunning

400

What does the story suggest about the gods by comparing their love of Odysseus to their dislike of the suitors?

Importance of loyalty and cunning; punishing arrogance and impiety

400

"He longed to leave. As when / a man is desperate for dinnertime / after he spends the whole day with his oxen / dragging the jointed plow across the field, / and welcomes sunset, when he can go home / to eat; his legs are aching on the way-- / just so Odysseus was glad of sunset."

Narrator; epic simile -- Odysseus's desire to go home

500

How does Telemachus avoid the suitors’ ambush on his return from Pylos?

Athena warns him and redirects his ship to a different route

500

What do Odysseus and Telemachus bond over when they meet as father and son?

Violence

500

Name our three main suitors and two easy ways to explain how they are different.

Antinous: aggressive, leader

Eurymachus: middle guy, lies to Penelope

Amphinomous: Penelope's favorite, god-fearing

500

"'Well now, follow me, old man, / fill up on food and wine, then tell me where / you come from, and the troubles you have borne.'" 

Eumaeus / shows his xenia