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Home , Alcinous, Odyssey

Characters and Motivations­­Book Thirteen

As you read Book Thirteen, record the major descriptions, actions, motivations, and key quotations of .

Description of Character Traits Key Quotations Actions and Motivations Episode that Reveal Character Traits

After hosting a - Alcinous wishes to help “Come, each of us add a sumptuous great feast, King charitable Odysseus find his tripod, add a cauldron!…” (13.13-14). Alcinous pledges to honorable home after hearing of have his people give hospitable. his adventures in the “The majestic king slaughtered an ox

Odysseus wealth, last few books. He for them to ’ mighty son, Odysseus- aiding him on his instructs his people to of the thundercloud, whose impatient way back home to homesick donate to Odysseus, power rules the world” (13.25-27). . offers a to Zeus, and holds a great “True, but time and again Odysseus feast for a day. turned his face toward the radiant sun, anxious for it to set, yearning Odysseus wishes for now to be gone and home once the feasting to end more....” (13. 31-33). because he is ready to be home.

While Odysseus Odysseus- Odysseus sleeps all the “...first they lifted Odysseus off the sleeps, the men sail relaxed way home and decks--linen and lustrous carpet him back to Ithaca peaceful continues to sleep too- and laid him down on the sand and deposit him on when the men deposit asleep, still dead to the world....” (13.

Ithaca’s shore. him on the shore of 132-134). - Poseidon talks to Ithaca with his newly vengeful Zeus about this angry gained treasures. “Zeus, Father, I will lose all my development, about honor now among the immortals, which he is very Poseidon, upon seeing now there are mortal men who unhappy. Odysseus safely at show me no respect....” (13. 145-147). home, wants revenge upon the Phaeacians and speaks with Zeus about his anger at being unable to get it.

Grade 9: The

Poseidon sinks the Alcinous- Poseidon travels to “...the earthquake god with one flat Phaeacians’ ship, remorseful, to await the stroke of his hand struck her to and King Alcinous wise Phaeacians. When he stone, rooted her to the ocean floor remembers a sees their ship, he and made for open ” (13. Poseidon- … prophecy. Odysseus, turns it to stone which 185-187). vengeful awakening on causes it to sink and angry Ithaca, has an kills all the men. “Oh no--my father’s prophecy years important visitor, Odysseus- ago… it all comes home to me with , who untrusting Alcinous remembers a vengeance now… Hurry friends, discusses with him cunning that it was previously do as I say, let us all comply: stop all that has wily prophesied that our convoys home for every happened on Ithaca Poseidon would wreak chancing on our city! As in his absence. She destruction on his for Poseidon, sacrifice twelve bulls helps him disguise people one day. to the god at once....” (13. 294-295, himself as a 204-206) beggar and Odysseys awakens. At instructs him to go first, he doesn’t realize “Man of misery, whose land have I speak with his that he’s on Ithaca lit on now? What ​are​ they here...” swineherd first because Athena has (13. 227-229). because he is still placed a gray cloud loyal to Odysseus. around him. She visits “Any man--any god who met you- him, at first in disguise, would have to be some champion and he lies about who lying cheat to get past ​you​ for he is because he is all-round craft and guile! You afraid of being tricked terrible man, foxy, ingenious, never by her. Athena notes tired of twists and tricks--so, not that this is proof of even here, on native soil, would you how wily and cunning give up those wily tales that warm he is. After realizing it the cockles of your heart!” (13. is her and discussing 329-334). current events in Ithaca, Athena leaves to “First I will transform you...But you, go call you make your way to the home. swineherd first…” (13. 454, 461).

Grade 9:

In the space below, explain how Odysseus is a complex character.

Odysseus, as usual, is full of contradictions in this book. He begins by praising the Phaeacians because of their generosity in giving him great fortune and helping him home only to immediately become suspicious of them upon awakening and perceiving that he’s not in Ithaca. Additionally, he’s spent the entire epic trying to make his way home, hoping and dreaming of Ithaca, but he does not recognize it when he finally arrives. As Athena points out, he is wily and cunning, but he also frequently doesn’t recognize good things, such as the Phaeacians’ help or Athena herself, until they are revealed to him explicitly. These contradictions within Odysseus’s character make him complex.

Grade 9: The Odyssey

Characters and Motivations­­Book Sixteen

As you read Book Sixteen, record the major descriptions, actions, motivations, and key quotations of Odysseus.

Description of Character Traits Key Quotations Actions and Motivations Episode that Reveal Character Traits

Telemachus - Eumaeus greets “Straight to the prince he returns home and loving Telemachus kindly as if [Eumaeus] rushed and kissed his greets Eumaeus faithful he loved him as a son. face and kissed his shining eyes…” who is then loyal Telemachus, after (16. 16-17). dispatched to meeting Odysseus secretly deliver to Telemachus- disguised as a beggar, “But our new guest, since he’s the news kind offers him arrived at your house, I’ll give him a that her son is polite despite his worries shirt and a cloak to wear, good home. Odysseus, anxious concerning fighting the clothing, give him a two-edged disguised as a suitors alone. Odysseus sword and sandals for his feet and beggar, speaks Odysseus- attempts to give his send him off, wherever his heart with Telemachus clever son a pep talk about desires” (16. 87-90). about challenging caring fighting the suitors the suitors before before Athena comes “It’s hard for a man to win his way seeing Athena and along and instructs against a mob, even a man of iron. leaving to talk with Odysseus to reveal They are much too strong” (16. her. After Athena himself to his son 98-99). removes his after removing his disguise, Odysseus disguise. “.And with those words Odysseus reveals himself to kissed his on and the tears Telemachus, and streamed down his cheeks and wet the two share a the ground, though before he’d tearful reunion. always reined his emotions back” (16. 215-217).

Grade 9: The Odyssey

Odysseus and Odysseus shows his “Two great champions, those you Odysseus- Telemachus come son that he is as name, it’s true. Off in the clouds up with a plan to clever intelligent as was they sit and they lord it over gods destroy the suitors. Strategic rumored by developing and mortal men” (16. 295-297). Odysseus tells a plan for the Telemachus- Telemachus that destruction of the “But now, with daybreak, home you the following day, loyal suitors. Telemachus, go and mix with that overbearing he will again take however, places his crowd. The swineherd will lead me believing a disguise and trust in the gods to into the city later…” (16. 301-303). distract the suitors steadfast help them defeat the so Telemachus can suitors. gather their weapons in the house. They will have few weapons to use, but Telemachus feels that the gods will help them in their fight against the suitors. They decide to also question the female servants to discover who is still loyal to Odysseus, and then they send out a messenger to tell Penelope that Telemachus is home.

Grade 9: The Odyssey

The servant that The suitors desire “... we’d never sleep the night ashore, Suitors- Odysseus and Odysseus’s wife, land, never, always aboard our swift Telemachus sent to evil and property, and their ship, cruising till , patrolling to reveal conniving greed motivates all of catch Telemachus, kill him on the Telemachus’s their actions. spot ” (16. 406-408). … arrival to Penelope announces it to the Penelope tries to stay “... [Penelope] cried out against him: entire crowd. The loyal to Odysseus and ‘You, ! Violent, vicious, Penelope- suitors become her son Telemachus. scheming- you, they say, are the worried because a brave She attempts to best man your age in Ithaca, best group of them has loyal protect her son by for eloquence, counsel. You’re just attempted to confronting this suitors nothing of the sort!’”(16. 462-465). ambush and kill about their plans to Telemachus, but Odysseus/ murder him. “At that the young prince they eventually Telemachus- Telemachus smiled, glancing toward decide to pray to his father, avoiding Eumaeus’s sneaky the gods to see if eyes” (16. 427-428).. they are favored in secretive their to kill Telemachus before acting again. Penelope confronts the suitors after hearing of their plan. Odysseus and Telemachus seemed untroubled when Eumaeus brings them news of the happenings in town.

In the space below, explain how Odysseus is a complex character.

This books depicts Odysseus interacting with someone he cares about more than himself perhaps for the first time since the beginning of the epic. Odysseus is loving and caring with his son, which shows a

Grade 9: The Odyssey much different side of his character; however, his lust for revenge on the suitors and the of battle demonstrates that he still maintains some of his old qualities that made him a famed warrior. His ability to be patient and wait for the opportune time to seek revenge, however, demonstrates the evolution of his character.

Grade 9: The Odyssey