The Odyssey Part Two Study Questions

“Sea Perils and Defeat”

1. Who is Aeolus and what gift does he give Odysseus?

2. How do Odysseus and his men get blown back to Aeolus’ island?

3. What kind of people are the Laestrygones?

4. Who escapes the Laestrygones?

5. Where do Odysseus and his companions sail next?

6. What does Circe turn Odysseus’s men into?

7. How long do Odysseus and his men stay on Circe’s island?

8. Where does Circe send Odysseus before he can continue his journey home?

9. Who is Tiresias?

10. What warning does Tiresias give Odysseus?

11. Who tells Odysseus how to avoid the dangers that he and his men will encounter on their way home?

12. What is dangerous about the sirens?

13. Describe the monster Scylla.

14. What is Charybdis?

15. What advice does Circe give Odysseus in order to make it past Scylla and Charybdis?

“The Sirens” and the ”Scylla and Charybdis”

1. What did Circe tell Odysseus to do in order to hear the Siren’s song and survive?

2. How do the other men stop up their ears?

3. What character quality is once again evident in Odysseus?

4. Why does Odysseus send his men closer to Scylla than Charybdis?

5. What happens as Odysseus’s crew passes by these two monsters?

6. What is meant by the expression that someone is “caught between Scylla and Charybdis?” (idiom)

7. Why do Odysseus’s men ignore his warning not to feast on Helios’ cattle?

8. How does Zeus punish Odysseus for his men’s disobedience?