The Odyssey Questions

“The Odyssey” Questions

Introduction p. 1045

1. What makes characters appear especially heroic?

2. What qualities mark Odysseus as a hero?

Odysseus has a “deep heart,” and he bravely fights to bring his shipmates home

3. Explain how being “skilled in all ways of contending”, or versatile, can be a heroic quality.

A person who is skilled in many ways can solve problems and serve society in many different capacities. This increases his or her heroic potential.

Using the character list on p. 1046, classify the character’s relationships to Odysseus based on the descriptions. These are predictions and you should revise this chart as we read.

Helpful to Odysseus Harmful to Odysseus Unclear 4. Based on your chart, do you think Odysseus will be successful or unsuccessful in this story?

Sailing from Troy pp. 1047-1048

5. How does Odysseus’ speech introduce him and illustrate his character?

The speech serves to introduce him and to illustrate his character. He gives details about his background and childhood in this opening speech.

6. What details does he give about his background and childhood in this opening speech?

7. Where is his home and why does he hold it dear?

His home is Ithaca, which has a view of other islands. He says it is rocky but good for a boy’s training.

8. Name some qualities you associate with heroism.

9. For what quality does Odysseus say he is famous?

Odysseus is famous for his guile, which makes him effective in both war and peace.

10. Who has asked Odysseus to tell his tale?

Alcinous, king of Phaeacians, has asked Odysseus to tell his tale. 11. What mistakes did Odysseus and his men make on Ismarus?

Odysseus’ men were greedy and mutinous. They drank wine and feasted on sheep and cattle but paid little attention to people who went inland. The crew’s behavior exposed them to the Cicone army.

12. What do the empty benches in line 63 reveal about the outcome of the battle? Of the type of ship Odysseus sailed in?

The empty benches show the number of men killed in battle. The benches also show how the sailors sat on the boat, possibly to row with oars.

13. What beliefs and values are reflected in lines 65-69?

The sailors’ grief indicates how close they are to one another and how much they honor the men with whom they fight.

The Cyclops (pp. 1050-1063)

14. Conflicts in the Odyssey are signaled before they actually occur. What are some of the warnings of conflict in lines 110-120?

15. Based on Odysseus’ criticism of the Cyclopes, what kind of society do you think the Greeks valued?

16. In lines 127-133, the words alone, remote, and solitude describe how the Cyclopes live separate from others. How might the figurative language “he seemed rather a shaggy mountain reared in solitude” relate to this work’s historical and cultural setting? 17. Lines 171-174 reveal one of Odysseus’ qualities that get him in trouble: he doesn’t listen to his men. Do you think Odysseus should stay and get more information or leave and avoid trouble? Why?

18. What character flaw does Odysseus reveal by refusing to leave the cave?

19. Where is Cyclops when Odysseus and his men enter the cave?

20. Read lines 197-200. Explain the connotation of the word “wandering.”

21. How might figurative language “cast your lives like dice” relate to this work’s historical and cultural setting?

22. In line 215, courtesy meant more than just “politeness” in Greek society. What ancient Greek beliefs regarding the gods, military might, and respect for strangers does Odysseus express in his words to the Cyclops?

23. Why would the Cyclops want to know the location of the Greeks’ ship? 24. Odysseus is prepared to kill Cyclops by stabbing stabbing him in the liver. What factors complicate the Greeks’ attempts at escaping?

25. How do lines 244-250 show Odysseus’ ability to think ahead?

26. What does Odysseus tell the Cyclops happened to his ship?

27. How long did I take them to figure out what Odysseus is doing with the olive tree?

28. What heroic qualities does Odysseus reveal as he plots against the Cyclops?

29. What plan do you think Odysseus has in mind by offering the Cyclops the wine?

30. What do you think Odysseus’ men think of him when they see how the Cyclops responds to the “gift” of wine?

31. Do you think Odysseus has a responsibility to help his men even in the midst of grave dangers? Explain.

32. What does Odysseus plan to do with the stake that he and his men make?

33. What cultural values are represented in Odysseus’ reference to “the gods” in line 323?

34. Reread lines 337-345 and identify the two things that are being compared in this passage. 35. How might the figurative language of simile in lines 340-345 relate to this work’s historical and cultural setting?

36. How many of Odysseus’ men has the Cyclops eaten?

37. Why does Odysseus claim his name is “Nohbody?”

38. Why is this wordplay game important to his survival?

39. What does Odysseus’ gleeful response to his successful trick reveal about his character?

40. Is a hero with a sense of humor ordinary or unusual?

41. What do the other Cyclopes think Polyphemus is saying when he says “Nohbody’s tricked me?”

42. Describe the Cyclops and the type of life he leads.

43. What are the Cyclops’ greatest assets or weapons?

44. What does the conversation between Odysseus and the Cyclops (p. 1059) reveal about the Cyclops’ personality? 45. What details of this speech show that Polyphemus is far less clever than Odysseus?

46. How do the men escape from the Cyclops’ cave?

47. Remember Odysseus’ earlier behavior in which he exalts in tricking the Cyclops. How is this example (p. 1060) similar to or different from the earlier one?

48. What have the Greeks gained by taunting the Cyclops?

49. Despite his heroism, what human weaknesses does Odysseus reveal as he sails away?

50. What do lines 472-494 suggest about the gods’ involvement in the mortal world?

51. Spoils, such as the sheep, often were divided among soldiers by rank in ancient Greece. Odysseus could have taken the larger part for himself. Why might Odysseus want to be generous with his men?

52. What admirable quality does Odysseus show by dividing the sheep among his men? 53. What does the Cyclops ask for in his prayer to Poseidon? The Sirens pp. 1071-1073