Studied by 4 peopleWhere do we meet Odysseus ?
the palace of the Phaeacians
Who is the king of the Phaeacians ?
Lord Alcinous
What is his first stop on his journey from Troy ?
Ismarus city of the Cicones
What did Odysseus and his men do in Ismarus ?
They ransacked the city killing all the men
What good leadership does odysseus show in Ismarus ?
He divides all the riches from the city equally between all his men
Why are the Cicones neighbouring city’s able to attack them ?
Although Odysseus wants to slip away his men decide to stay and drink and party
What simile describes the Cicones’ neighbours ?
“As many as the leaves and flowers of the spring”
What causes issue for them once leaving Ismarus ?
Zeus causes a stom for 2 days then there is another storm for 9 days
Where does the storm take them ?
The lotus eaters
What does eating the lotus’ do to odysseus men ?
It causes them to lose their sense of nostos
What does odysseus do to remove them from the lotus eaters ?
He drags them back to the ship and ties them below the benches
Where do they go after the lotus eaters ?
The land of the cyclopes
How does Homer make the cyclopes seem bad to a greek audience before even meeting one ?
They don’t have laws
They rely on the gods to farm for them
There are no council meetings and no code of law
Each man lays down the law for his wives and children
They do not know how to make books
Before meeting a cyclops where do they stay
?
Goat island
What does Odysseus do when he arrives on the island of cyclopes ?
He takes 12 men and the goatskin full of unmixed wine and go inside the cyclops cave and they ate they cyclops food.
Where does the wine come from and how strong is it ?
It was a gift from Maron grandson of Dionysus
A glass of this wine is meant to be mixed into 20 cups of water so is very strong
In what way does the cyclops have bad Xenia and what does that tell us about him ?
He asks who they are, which suggests he does not care about the gods
How does Homer describe the door to the cave and what does it do ?
“twenty-two four-wheeled wagons could not have carried it”
This foreshadows them being trapped
When Polyphemus says “we are greater than they” who is he talking about and what does it show about him ?
He is talking about the gods showing his hubris
What shows Odysseus’ metis when talking to Polyphemus ?
Polyphemus asks where their boat is, as he wants to smash it so Odysseus instead lies and says that their ship was destroyed by Poseidon
What simile does homer use to describe Polyphemus killing 2 of his men ?
“dashed to the ground like whelps, and their brains ran out and stained the earth “
It is gory and detailed, creating pathos
What do the other men do in response to the killing ?
They pray and are weeping
How is their plan to make Polyphemus drunk foreshadowed ?
it is said he drinks pure milk
What plan does odysseus make to escape ?
They take wood from Polyphemus’ club to make sharpened sticks, to stab him in the eye
They then give Polyphemus the strong wine so he is drunk
The stakes are the placed into the fire to make them red hot, they are then thrust into the eye
They then exit tied beneath sheep
What trait of odysseus is highlighted by his plan to escape Polyphemus ?
metis
What does Odysseus tell Polyphemus his name is ?
Nobody
which in greek is Me tis link to Odysseus’ metis
Why does Polyphemus think his favourite ram is last and why is it actually last out the cave ?
He thinks the ram is grieving his lost eye but it is actually the ram carrying odysseus
What mistake does odysseus make out of anger and what doe sit cause to happen ?
He yells at Polyphemus taunting him so Polyphemus throws rocks at him and curses him
What do Odysseus’ men think of him yelling at Polyphemus ?
They try to stop him and warn him that it will cause more danger
What does Polyphemus curse do to Odysseus ?
When he arrives home he will :
be in distress
be late
lose all his men
find trouble at home
be in another’s ship
What do odysseus and his men take from Polyphemus ?
The flock of sheep
After returning back to goat island how are odysseus’ men shown to be loyal ?
The men left on the island were watching for them and weeping & after the flock of sheep were divided equally his men give him the ram
What does Odysseus do with the ram given to him ?
He sacrifices it to zeus
Where does odysseus go to after the cyclopes ?
Aeolia
What is strange about the island of Aeolia ?
A wall of unbroken bronze surrounds the island and the cliffs are sheer
Who lives on the Aeolia ?
Aeolus and his twelve children, 6 sons and 6 daughters who were married to each other
What is the xenia on Aeolia like ?
Amazing they are able to stay there for a month
Who is Aeolus ?
King or keeper of the winds
What gift is given to Odysseus from Aeolus ?
A bag of winds
What mistakes does Odysseus make when returning to Ithaca ?
he did not let any of his men help steer the boat home
he does not tell his men what the bag he was gifted contains
What do odysseus’ men do with the bag of winds?
They open the bag of winds as they believe it is full of gold and silver
Where does the bag of winds bring them ?
Back to Aeolus
Why does Aeolus not help them like before ?
He believes that the gods hat odysseus so does not want to go against them by helping odysseus home
After being sent away from Aeolia where do they end up ?
the Laestrygonian citadel of Lamus
What is strange about this land ?
There is no night
Where does Odysseus moor his boat compared to the others ?
Odysseus moors his boat outside of the narrow harbour whereas the rest of his men moor inside
Who does Odysseus’ men come across first and how are they described?
The daughter of the king of the Laestrygonians who is described as sturdy
Who is the king of the Laestrogonians ?
Antiphates
How is the wife of Antiphates described as ?
‘massive as a mountaintop’
What is odd that the Laestrygonians do ?
They eat some of Odysseus’ men
What happens as Odysseus’ men try to flee in their boats ?
The giants pelt them with rocks
What does homer use to make the attack of the Laestrygonians more vivid and dramatic ?
There are sounds effects and homer uses the simile ‘spearing men like fishes’
To escape the Laestrygonians what does Odysseus do ?
He abandons the men left in the narrow harbour
What is their next stop after the laestrygonians ?
Aeaea
Who lives on Aeaea ?
The goddess Circe
Who is the father of circe ?
Helio god of the sun
What do Odysseus and his men do for the first 2 days on Aeaeae ?
They lay on the shore consumed by weariness and grief
Why does he send his men to investigate ?
He climbs a hill to try and find other men and sees smoke rising out of Circe’s palace
What does Odysseus encounter on his way back to the ship ?
A huge stag with great antlers
What does Odysseus do with the stag ?
He stabs in in the spine with his bronze spear
he weaves a rope with gathered willow shoots and ties the stags feet together
He then carries it back to the ship on his back
What does his encounter with the stag show us about Odysseus ?
He is strong is loyal and has metis
How is Odysseus good leadership shown when he returns ?
His men all cheer upon his return
When looking for the source of the smoke what does odysseus do that shows his good leadership ?
he delegates and splits his men into 2 groups
Who leads the other group throughout the island ?
Eurylochus
What is strange about the animals around Circe’s palace and what does the suggest about her ?
She has wild animals like wolves and mountain lions acting like dogs, which sets up the sinister magic soon to come
What is circe doing when they come to the house ?
She is singing in front of a tapestry made by her, which shows she has good wifely properties
What happens when circe invites the men in ?
All but one man go ind=side and eat a meal given to them by Circe but there are drugs mixed into it so when they are touched by her wand they are transformed into pigs but kept their brains
Which man stays outside Circe’s home ?
Eurylochus
What does Eurylochus want to do when he returns to Odysseus and what ends up happening ?
He says it is no use to save the others and they should instead leave with those who are not pigs
Odysseus says he will go even if eurylochus wants to stay
Who does odysseus meet on the way to Circe’s ?
Hermes
What does Hermes say Odysseus has to do to survive and not become a pig ?
He must take a powerful herb (moly)
when he is tapped by her wand he must rush at her with his sword
she will invite him to her bed but he must not refuse
He should make her promise that she will not harm him
In what way is circe described as materialistic ?
She has a silver embossed chair and a golden cups
How does Odysseus show his loyalty to his crew ?
He does not eat or drink instead wishes for his men to be free and when they are freed each clasps him
How is circe’s xenia portrayed ?
good xenia is shown by offering his men a meal but it turns to bad as she turns them to pigs
Good xenia is also shown with Odysseus when she bathes him and when turning his men back they are more handsome and taller than before
What similes are used to describe odysseus returning from circe’s back to his ship ?
“like calves in a farmyard that frisk around the herd of cows that return from grazing free from their pens and gambolling together lowing constantly round their mother” &
“they felt as though they were home again in rugged Ithaca”
How does Eurylochus feel about the rest of the men going to circe’s ?
He is mad that they would go and calls odysseus reckless and blames odysseus’ foolishness for their deaths
How does Odysseus react to Eurylochus’ words ?
He feels angry and wants to hurt him even though he is family by marriage
How long do they stay in Aeaea ?
one year
Why do they begin the journey home ?
his men come to him and remind him of home, showing their nostos
What does circe say he must do before returning home ?
He must go to the underworld and consult the blind seer Teiresias
How does Odysseus feel about the oncoming journey to the underworld ?
He is saddened by this and scared
What does she send to guide odysseus to the underworld ?
The north wind
What must Odysseus do to speak with Teiresias ?
Go to a rock where two roaring rivers join
Then dig a trench two feet square then pour libations
pray to the ghosts and swear to sacrafice a barren young cow when he returns to ithica
then sacrafice a ram and a black ewe
What is the libation Odysseus must pour in the underworld ?
milk and honey and then sweet wine and then water with white barley meal
What does odysseus have to stop to be able to meet Tiresias ?
he needs to stop other ghosts from drawing near to the blood
Who dies on their departure from circe’s island? And how ?
Elpenor dies from falling off a roof
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