Characters
This “man of twists and turns” is the hero of The Odyssey, known for his cleverness and long journey home.
Who is Odysseus?
Odysseus blinds this creature in order to escape from his cave.
Who is Polyphemus/the Cyclops?
This island is Odysseus’s home.
What is Ithaca?
This god of the sea punishes Odysseus for blinding his son.
Who is Poseidon?
When Odysseus is called to join the Greek forces in the Trojan War, he experiences this stage.
What is the Call to Adventure?
A long narrative poem, often the length of a novel, that tells the story of a heroic protagonist and their extraordinary deeds.
What is an epic?
She is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who cleverly delays her suitors by weaving and unweaving a shroud, and challenges them to string her husband's bow.
Who is Penelope?
These dangerous creatures lure sailors to their deaths with their beautiful songs.
What are the sirens?
These men overrun Odysseus’s home, hoping to marry his wife.
Who are the suitors?
This messenger god brings news to Calypso that she must let Odysseus go.
Who is Hermes?
Athena’s guidance throughout Odysseus’s journey represents this stage, where a mentor helps the hero prepare.
What is Meeting the Mentor/Supernatural Aid?
Excessive pride or self-confidence that can lead to tragic outcomes
What is hubris?
This goddess of wisdom often appears to Odysseus in disguise to offer guidance and protection.
Who is Athena?
Odysseus must choose between sailing near these two monsters — one a six-headed beast and the other a deadly whirlpool.
Who are Scylla and Charybdis?
This test proves Odysseus’s identity to Penelope.
What is the test of the bed / moving the olive tree bed?
The Sun God, angered that Odysseus’s men ate his cattle, demands their punishment.
Who is Helios?
The crucial stage is the hero's journey, where Odysseus must face his greatest task.
What is the Ordeal?
A figurative language device that gives human qualities to inanimate objects or animals
What is personification?
The one-eyed Cyclops and son of Poseidon who traps Odysseus and his men in a cave.
Who is Polyphemus?
This enchantress turns Odysseus’s men into pigs before eventually helping him.
Who is Circe?
Odysseus reveals his identity during this event.
What is the bow contest?
These creatures devour six of Odysseus’s men from their ship.
What is Syclla?
The stage where the hero journeys home but may face an additional obstacle or two.
What is the Road Back?
"The night was a black velvet cloak" is an example of this figurative language type
What is a metaphor?
This loyal swineherd provides Odysseus with food, shelter, and help upon his return to Ithaca, even before realizing who he is.
Who is Eumaeus?
Odysseus visits this realm to speak with the prophet Tiresias.
What is the Underworld/Land of the Dead?
There were exactly this man suitors for Penelope's hand.
What is 108?
On this island, Odysseus’s men encounter others who eat a strange plant that makes them forget their desire to return home.
Who are the Lotus Eaters?
When Odysseus finally returns home and reclaims his throne, wiser and transformed, he completes this final stage of the Hero’s Journey.
This Ancient Greek code of hospitality to strangers was a sacred custom overseen by Zeus.
What is xenia?