Odyssey Final – Flashcards
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Odysseus
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The protagonist of the Odyssey. Odysseus fought among the other Greek heroes at Troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. Odysseus is the husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince Telemachus. Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is most renowned for his cunning. He is a favorite of the goddess Athena, who often sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who frustrates his journey at every turn.
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Telemachus
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Odysseus's son. An infant when Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is about twenty at the beginning of the story. He is a natural obstacle to the suitors desperately courting his mother, but despite his courage and good heart, he initially lacks the poise and confidence to oppose them. His maturation, especially during his trip to Pylos and Sparta in Books 3 and 4, provides a subplot to the epic. Athena often assists him.
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Penelope
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Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Penelope spends her days in the palace pining for the husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier and never returned. Homer portrays her as sometimes flighty and excitable but also clever and steadfastly true to her husband.
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Athena
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Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Athena assists Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers throughout the epic, and she speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus. She often appears in disguise as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.
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Poseidon
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God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus's mortal antagonists, Poseidon is his divine antagonist. He despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home. Ironically, Poseidon is the patron of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return Odysseus to Ithaca.`
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Zeus
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King of gods and men, who mediates the disputes of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is occasionally depicted as weighing men's fates in his scales. He sometimes helps Odysseus or permits Athena to do the same.
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Calypso
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The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia. Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
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Polyphemus
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One of the Cyclopes (uncivilized one-eyed giants) whose island Odysseus comes to soon after leaving Troy. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his crew and tries to eat them, but Odysseus blinds him through a clever ruse and manages to escape. In doing so, however, Odysseus angers Polyphemus's father, Poseidon.
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Circe
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The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus's crew into swine when he lands on her island. With Hermes' help, Odysseus resists Circe's powers and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.
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Tiresias
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A Theban prophet who inhabits the underworld. Tiresias meets Odysseus when Odysseus journeys to the underworld in Book 11. He shows Odysseus how to get back to Ithaca and allows Odysseus to communicate with the other souls in Hades.
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Who was Polyphemus's father?
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Poseidon
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Who warned Odysseus about Helio's cattle?
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Tiresias
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Who were the brothers who gathered Greeks to fight in the Trojan war?
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Agamemnon and Menelaus
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Who was "the face that launched a thousand ships"?
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Helen
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How long was Odysseus on his journey?
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20 years
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Which god helped Odysseus?
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Athena
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How many muses were there?
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Nine
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Elpenor
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Name of Odysseus' youngest fighter who falls and breaks neck trying to get off of Circe's roof.
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Anticlea
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Odysseus' mom who died of grief.
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Helios
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The sun god. Owned immortal cattle
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Lampetia
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Sea nymph that protects Odysseus from drowning.
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Scylla
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6 headed monster with rows of serrated teeth. Lives near Charybdis. Part of sea perils
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Lotus Eaters
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People addicted to that mind numbing plant
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Aeolus
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Men who live in Odysseus house trying to force Penelope to pick one for marriage
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Cicones
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Allies of the Trojans, great fighters on horseback, battled Odysseus men in first stop.
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Ogygia
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Calypso's island where Odysseus stayed for about 7 years.
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Laestrygonians
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Monstrous cannibal giants who lived in Telepylus.
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What happened after Odysseus and his men had defeated The Cicones?
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He said that they should leave, but his men refused as the land was bountiful. Meanwhile, The Cicones called on their inland neighbours to help fight back against Odysseus and his men
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After leaving Ismarus, where did Odysseus go next?
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Land of the Lotus-Eaters
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What did the Lotus-Eaters cause?
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When Odysseus sent his men inland, they eat the Lotus-flower and forgot all about returning to the ship
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Once they leave the Land of the Lotus-eaters, where does Odysseus reach?
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He reaches the land of the Cyclopes
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Who did Odysseus pick out to advance to the cave?
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He picks out 12 of his best men and told the rest to guard the ship
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What does Polyphemus do in response to Odysseus asking for gifts?
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He criticises Odysseus as he doesnt care for hospitality, and Polyphemus then brutally kills 2 of Odysseus' men and eats them
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What plan does Odysseus come up with to defeat the Cyclops?
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He plans to get Polyphemus drunk, and when he is asleep, they are to heat up his staff and stab him in the eye so he is blinded.
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When Polyphemus was to move the boulder out the way, what was Odysseus' next plan?
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He planned to get his surviving men to lie underneath the sheep as they went outside, so that Polyphemus could not feel the men as he ran his hands over their back
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When the men escape, what does Odysseus do, and how does Polyphemus respond?
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Odysseus mocks Polyphemus as he has escaped, Polyphemus then curses Odysseus and throws the top of a mountain towards Odysseus' ship
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Once they had escaped from the Land of the Cyclopes, what do Odysseus and his men do?
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They go to another island where the other ships are waiting and they make offerings to the gods
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What is the name of Calypso's island?
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Ogygia
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Who does Zeus send to Calypso's island?
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Hermes
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The time fated for Odysseus to reach Phaeacia?
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20 days
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Odysseus responds to the news of being able to leave the island by doing what?
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Chopping down 20 trees in quick succession in order to build a raft
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Who blew Odysseus off course while on his way to Phaeacia?
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Poseidon
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After Poseidon smashes Odysseus' raft to pieces, Demi-God Ino offers him what?
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A veil
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Why does Odysseus worry about swimming back out into the open water?
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He knows Posiedon is against him, but he cant stay close to the cliff-face and jagged rocks
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When Odysseus arrives at the land of Phaeacia, what does he do?
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He finds a natural shelter which he can sleep in comfortably, instead of freezing next to the river
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Where does Odysseus live?
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Ithaca
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How did Hermes respond to the beauty of Calypso's island.
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He was overwhelmed by it.
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What message does Zeus send to Calypso through Hermes?
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She must release Odysseus.
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How long had Odysseus been on Calypso's island?
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Seven years.
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What does Circe do to some of Odysseus' men?
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She makes them into pigs
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Who is Teiresias and what does Odysseus want from him?
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Prophet of the Underworld. Odysseus wants him to tell him how to get home
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What does Teiresias predict for Odysseus?
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Tells him he'll see sun cows and that he should not touch them because they belong to sun god
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What is the name of Odysseus's mother and how did she die?
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Anticleia; Grief of losing Odysseus for so long
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Why can't Odysseus hug his dead mother?
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She's a ghost/spirit
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Charybdis
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A worse fate than Skylla; on the other side of the Prowling Rocks, opposite Skylla; basically a large open mouth that takes in anything within a considerable range from it
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Sirens
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Deceptive monsters that sing a tempting song to their sailing audience, causing the listeners to loose their minds in curiosity and travel straight to their death
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Passing the sirens
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Passing by the monsters, the crew has beeswax in their ears to protect from the sound. Odysseus, on the other hand, had earlier ordered his crew to tie him to the ships mast, so that he could hear the tempting noises, but not be able to escape and swim to them. In the end, they evade the sirens, making them the first mortals to ever do so
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Skylla Attacks
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After evading the sirens, Odysseus decides to go past Skylla instead of Kharybdis. He does not tell his crew that at least six of them will have to die in order to pass. Skylla swoops down from her mountain perch, eats six unnamed crew members, and is fended off by the rest of the men aboard the ship. They go past her without any other deaths
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Helios' Island
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Odysseus was instructed to stay off the island, but his crew members claim to be hungry and desire rest, so he agrees, but makes sure that they all swear to not eat the god Helios's cattle. After a meal from the stores of their ship, Odysseus ventures out and falls asleep. While their captain is slumbering, Eurylokhos gives a speech that makes the crew decide to eat the cattle, breaking their agreement with Odysseus and ultimately incurring the wrath of a god. The crew decides to give the best cattle as an offering to the gods to console them for their bad deed, but no such luck
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The Anger of Helios
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Upon seeing his beloved cattle eaten, Helios becomes enraged with anger and goes to see Zeus to request the killing of Odysseus' crew. Zeus agrees to punish the men
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How long does Odysseus stay on Calypso's island?
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He was with Calypso for seven years (she got him on his way home from Troy).
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What is the source of Calypso's power over Odysseus?
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She is an attractive goddess who is "lustrous"
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What do we learn of Calypso's feelings for Odysseus?
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She loves Odysseus and saved him. She wants to keep him but he does not love her
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What will Calypso give Odysseus if he stays with her?
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Hermes comes from Zeus and demands Calypso release him. She offers Odysseus immortality if he stays with her
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How would you characterize the making of the raft, and the departure of Odysseus?
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Cut 20 trees and made his raft (more of a ship) with Calypso bringing him tools and showing him where things were. It took 4 days. On the 5th day, Calypso launched him from her island. On the 18th day, Poseidon noticed him "Outrageous!" (p. 161) and created chaos on the ocean.
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For how many days does Odysseus swim?
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Three days
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Ino-Leucothea, in the guise of a seabird, gives him her veil. Why veil?
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She felt bad for him, "Ah poor man, / why is the god of earthquakes so dead set against you? ... Here, take this scarf [veil], / tie it around your waist--- it is immortal" (p. 163). To save him. He could tie it around himself without weighing himself down.
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Why does Odysseus return Ino's veil to the sea?
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He returned it to her as she was in the sea (he feared it at first thinking it might be a trick of another goddess)
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Where do Odysseus and his men go first after they leave Troy?
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Ismarus- they raided the city, killed the men, and took the women.
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Who are the Cicones?
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The people of Ismarus. They bring an army against Odysseus and kill six men from each of his twelve ships.
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Who are the lotus eaters?
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They offer Odysseus' men lotus flowers which make them uncaring about anything but eating more lotus flowers.
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How does Polyphemus prevent Odysseus and his men from leaving his cave?
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He puts giant boulder in front of the mouth of the cave.
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What does Polyphemus' diet consist of?
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People, goats, cheese, milk.
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Are the Cyclops in any way civilized?
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No
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What mistake does Odysseus makes as he sails away?
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He tells Polyphemus his real name and taunts him.
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After the attack from the Laestrygonians, how many ships are left out of the original twelve?
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One- only Odysseus' ship.
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What sort of character is Circe? What craft does she practice that Penelope also practices?
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She is immortal and a sensual woman. She is gifted in weaving like Penelope (remember her death shroud deal).
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Why (aside from her magic) is she able to turn Odysseus' men into swine? How do they offend her?
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She drugged the men when they drank. She didn't like their behavior.
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Into what does Circe transform Odysseus' crew?
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Pigs
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What does Hermes give to Odysseus?
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Moly (a poisonous plant) to stop him from being changed by Circe's wine potion; it is no longer poisonous because a god gave it to him.
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What makes Odysseus give in to Circe's enticements? Is this typical of him?
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She is a beautiful immortal woman who promised to return his crew to their form. We know he stayed with Calypso, so it seems within character.
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How long does Odysseus stay in Circe's palace?
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1 year
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Why does he want to leave?
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He wants to go back to Ithaca and his wife.
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Where must Odysseus go to learn his way home?
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He must go to the Underworld and talk to Tiresias (the blind prophet- same one from Oedipus).
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What favor does Elpenor ask of Odysseus?
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He wants Odysseus to give his body a proper burial- the one who fell off of the roof at Circe's and died (p. 251).
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What ritual does Odysseus perform in order to meet those in the Underworld?
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He gives libations (milk, honey, wine, water) and performs sacrifices (sheep).
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What does Tiresias do in order to speak to Odysseus?
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He had to drink the blood of the sacrifices.
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What does Odysseus learn about his journey from Tiresias in Hades?
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He will get home, but if he touches the cattle of Helios, he will lose all his men and have a more treacherous trip home (p. 253). He will have to make amends to Poseidon at the end of his journey.
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What does Odysseus learn from Anticleia? What does he try to do after she speaks to him? Why does he fail?
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Anticleia is his mother. She died of grief while he was gone. Penelope is still waiting for him. His father is still alive but is sad because Odysseus is still gone. He kept trying to hold/hug her, but she kept dissolving because she is only a soul.
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What does Agamemnon tell Odysseus about how men should feel about women? Is it significant that earlier in the book we hear about celebrated women?
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He thinks women are shameful. They are manipulative and wily (p. 262- 263).
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What is the reason for Ajax's anger at Odysseus?
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Ajax refuses to talk to Odysseus. Ajax still holds a grudge over the fact that Odysseus won the armor of Achilles (during the Trojan War).
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Why has Odysseus returned to Aeaea?
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He needs to bury the body of Elpenor as he promised.
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How does Circe help him?
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She warns Odysseus of all the dangers that await them- the Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the cattle of the sun god and how to lose the fewest men.
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What does the episode of the Sirens tell us about Odysseus' character? Homer's understanding of the power of music?
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He alone is to hear the Siren's song. He is unique and stronger than the other men with whom he travels. Homer understands that music has power to seduce, tame, and incite.
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What advice does Odysseus take that Circe gives him about Scylla and Charybdis? What does this tell us about leadership?
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He braves Scylla rather than Charybdis. If he took on the whirlpool, he would have lost his entire crew. He is willing, as a leader, to make hard choices.
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Why are the cattle of Helios' island so tempting?
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The men have not eaten fresh meat in a long time.
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What warning does Odysseus give his men?
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Do not eat the cattle of the sun god.
