The Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey is a nostos, or an epic of return, and asks if one can come home again, especially after years of bloody war. In fact, an odyssey is now meant generally as a long journey home, much like Odysseus’ after the fall of Troy. The Odyssey attempts to remake order after the chaos of war. Odysseus, a young man when Agamemnon and Menelaos recruited him for the campaign against Ilium, is now a middle-aged survivor and veteran of that war who must be smarter than the champion Achilles and the leader Agamemnon in order to return home and set his lands in order. War almost seems easy in the light of Odysseus’ journey — at least in war, he knew his enemies. Enemies during peacetime wear many masks; Odyssey must do the same if he is to survive. Odyssey has emenies that can't be be humanly fought; the gods, but Athena helps him to get home safely.

The Odyssey, by Chagall

Summary

The Odyssey’s action is spread over twenty-four books, generally half before Odyssey returns home, and half after. Throughout his journey odyesseus grows to be a better person.For a synopsis of each book, see The Odyssey Summary.

Comparisons

• Telemakhos to Paris
• Kirke to Helen

Gods and Mortals

• Athena and Telemakhos

List of Characters

Human Beings

• Telemakhos
• Odysseus
• Penelope
• Nestor
• Helen
• Lotus-eaters

List of Suitors

• Antinous
• Eurymechus
• Amphinomus

The Women of the Odyssey

• Circe
• Clytemnestra
• Kalypso
• Helen
• Penelope

The Supernatural Beings of the Odyssey

• Athena
• Circe
• Kalypso
• Polyphemos
• Poseiden
• Zeus

Quiz

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1. In Penelope’s archery contest, through how many axes must Odysseus fire his arrow? (A) two (B) eight (C) twelve (D) thirty

2. Which plant makes the sailors forget their desire to return home? (A) Lotus (B) Poppy (C) Lethe-root (D) Hemlock

3. How does Athena disguise herself to make preparations for Telemachus’s journey? (A) As a beggar (B) As Antinous (C) As Mentor (D) As Mephistopheles

4. Who is Argos? (A) The master of the winds (B) Penelope’s chief suitor (C) The Cyclops (D) Odysseus’s old dog

5. Who first finds Odysseus on the island of Scheria? (A) Telemachus (B) King Alcinous (C) Nausicaa (D) Circe

6. Who has an affair with Eurymachus? (A) Melantho (B) Penelope (C) Circe (D) Helen

7. Menelaus is king of which city? (A) Pylos (B) Argos (C) Athens (D) Sparta

8. Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus based on what distinguishing feature? (A) A scar on his leg (B) His cunning (C) The sound of his voice (D) His “noble bearing”

9. How is Odysseus able to listen safely to the Sirens’ song? (A) He has his men bind him to the ship’s mast (B) Athena makes the Sirens appear ugly to him (C) He eats a lotus flower, rendering him unable to swim to the Sirens’ island (D) He isn’t; he plugs his ears with wax as the ship passes the Sirens’ island

10. Who begs Odysseus to bury him? (A) Laertes (B) Polyphemus (C) Elpenor (D) Achilles

11. Of what did Odysseus’s mother die? (A) Grief (B) Drowning (C) Old age (D) Starvation

12. How old is Telemachus at the start of the epic? (A) Early thirties (B) Early teens (C) Early twenties (D) Late forties

13. What happens to the disloyal maids after they clean the blood from the great hall? (A) They are hanged (B) They are forgiven (C) They are whipped (D) They are dismissed from the palace

14. What does Tiresias warn Odysseus not to harm on his voyage? (A) The eagle of the Moon (B) The serpent of the Seas (C) The cattle of the Sun (D) The badger of the Mountains

15. Who kills Antinous’s father? (A) Eumaeus (B) Odysseus (C) Telemachus (D) Laertes

16. In about what year was the Odyssey composed? (A) a.d. 1590 (B) 700 b.c. (C) 200 b.c. (D) 1200 b.c.

17. Who transforms Odysseus’s sailors into pigs? (A) Calypso (B) Athena (C) Poseidon (D) Circe

18. Odysseus left Penelope bound for what city? (A) Orinda (B) Athens (C) Sparta (D) Troy

19. Which goddess often assists Odysseus and Telemachus, and speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus? (A) Calypso (B) Athena (C) Circe (D) Melantho

20. Why does Poseidon despise Odysseus? (A) Odysseus does not respect the sea (B) Odysseus and his men attacked him (C) Odysseus tricked him with a disguise (D) Odysseus blinded his son

21. Which two characters provide a point of comparison for Odysseus and Telemachus? (A) Athena and Zeus (B) Poseidon and Proteus (C) Helen and Menelaus (D) Agamemnon and Orestes

22. Who does Zeus send to rescue Odysseus from Calypso? (A) Hermes (B) Athena (C) Poseidon (D) Nausicaa

23. What did Ajax do to bring disaster upon the homecoming Greek fleet? (A) He ate all of the army’s remaining rations (B) He murdered sheep (C) He led the fleet between Scylla and Charybis (D) He raped Cassandra

24. What gift does Telemachus accept from Menelaus? (A) A monkey (B) A chariot and team of horses (C) A silver mixing-bowl finished with a lip of gold (D) A band of goats

25. How long does Odysseus spend on Calypso’s island? (A) One year (B) Seven years (C) Ten years (D) Three years

quiz from [1] to check answers.

Internal Links

• Homer
• The Odyssey: Questions for Consideration

Commentaries

• Odysseus — A background on the Odyssey and Odysseus
• A Study Guide by David Claudon
• Myth and the Odyssey
• The Odyssey: General Notes
• The Telemachiad (books 1-4 of the Odyssey)
• Odysseus and the Poet: Notes on Book VIII
• The Odyssey: Notes on Book IX
• The Odyssey: Notes on Book X
• Poor Confusing Elpenor
• The Odyssey: Notes on Book XI
• The Odyssey: The Lessons of Hell (more on Books XI and XII)
• The Odyssey: Odysseus’ Return

Works Cited

• Grimal, Pierre. Larousse World Mythology. New Jersey: Chartwheel Books Inc. 1973.