Thursday, February 19

Quiz over books 6 & 7.

Acted out books 6 & 7.

Review from previous days:

odyssey- a long, wandering and eventful trip; quest; adventure

Calypso (in Greek)- to conceal or cover; hide; disguise

Notes:

2 Characteristics (strengths) of Odysseus: 1) His ability to endure  2) His ability to think for himself under pressure

Homeric simile: an extended (long) comparison using like or as; written by Homer (the author)

Heroism: Odysseus thinks it's better to die in battle than to die in the sea.  

Role of women: Up to this point, they have been the ones to help Odysseus (Athena, Nausicaa, Arete, Calypso, Ino)

Poseidon: Angry with Odysseus still, and he's related to the Phaeacians. (warning sign!)

Why doesn't Odysseus reveal himself to King Alcinous and Queen Arete immediately?  He just met them, so he still fears/distrusts them.  Just like we don't share who we are with strangers.  We tell them a little bit, but we don't tell them our whole life story right off the bat.

**Keep reading for setting, characters, and plot.

**Look for vocabulary words.

**Thursday: Night off of reading!

**Over the weekend: Read Book 8.  Quiz on Monday.

Odyssey, Book 8 Notes

Banquet in the house of Alcinous; the games


Major concepts:

• Alcinous's response to Odysseus's request for help
• Preparation of the black ship
• Song / storytelling of the bard; games; feasting; dance
• Demodocus, the bard
• Demodocus's song / effect on Odysseus
• Challenge of the Broadsea / Odysseus's response
• Gifts for Odysseus

Study Guide Questions:

1. Describe the activities that King Alcinous arranges to entertain Odysseus.
2. Who is Demodocos?
3. Why might his blindness be significant?
4. How is King Alcinous helping Odysseus to get home?
5. Who is Odysseus quarreling with in the first song?
6. What is Odysseus's reaction whenever Demodocos sings about the Trojan War?
7. How does Odysseus respond to the challenge of Broadsea?
8. Which qualities of Odysseus shine through in this episode of athletic competition?
9. How does Odysseus win the respect of the young Phaeacians?
10. What does Alcinous ask Odysseus at the end of book 8?

Page 79.
Vocabulary: none.

• "...the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn..." --> epithet
• "...while Athena took the form of one of Alcinous' servants..." --> Athena dons yet another disguise
• "...he looks like an immortal god...." --> simile
• "...for Athena had beautified him about the head and shoulders, making him look taller and stouter..." --> Athena improves Odysseus's appearance again, just like she did with Nausicaa -- now Odysseus has looks and authority

Page 80.
Vocabulary: chieftains

• "Let us draw a ship into the sea--one that has never yet made a voyage--and man her with two and fifty of our smartest young sailors...." --> Odysseus's ship would have carried 60+ men; again, Alcinous is boasting about the Phaeacians
• "...we will have Demodocus to sing to us...." --> Demodocus's name is of Greek origin, meaning 'welcomed by the people'
• "...famous bard Demodocus, whom the muse had dearly loved, but to whom she had given both good and evil, for though she had endowed him with a divine gift of song, she had robbed him of his eyesight...." --> physical blindness could suggest mental or spiritual insight (to a Greek)
• "...the muse inspired Demodocus to sing the feats of heroes, and more especially a matter that was then in the mouths of all men, to wit, the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles..." --> this side-story does serve a purpose: it refers possibly to the time in the Trojan War after the death of Hector and Odysseus's confrontation with Achilles -- this story asks the question: will cunning (Odysseus) or force (Achilles) win the war? Agamemnon would have been happy with the two leaders fighting because it was prophecied that "Troy would fall when the best of Greeks came into conflict"

Page 81.
Vocabulary: none.

• "...let us then proceed to the athletic sports..." --> not only was there a banquet, there also were games
• "Acroneos, Ocylaus, Elatreus, Nauteus..." --> weird names? weird for a reason -- they all have to do with (take a guess) sailing / the sea
• "...nor is he at all old..." --> actually, by this point, Odysseus would have been in his early-mid forties
• "Your return home will not be long delayed, for the ship is already drawn into the water, adn the crew is found...." --> this reassures Odysseus that no matter how (well or bad) he does in the contests, he will still have a way home

Page 82.
Vocabulary: reviled

• "I have been through infinite trouble, and am come among you now as a suppliant..." --> says Odysseus: leave me alone
• "I gather, then, that you are unskilled...you are one of those grasping traders..." --> people like Odysseus would have gained wealth through raiding other lands, like pirates; independently wealthy people (like the Phaeacians) would have found this to be primitive and unrefined
• "No god would make a finer looking fellow than you are, but you are a fool...." --> says Odysseus: you've messed with the wrong guy
• "Athena, in the form of a man, came and marked the place where it had fallen...." --> Athena appears before Odysseus makes a fool of himself by angering the Phaeacians; remember, he is still a guest and must "keep a low profile"
• "If anyone wants to have a bout with me let him come on, for I am exceedingly angry...." --> Odysseus challenges them

Page 83.
Vocabulary: intrigue, defiled

• Philoctetes inherited a bow from Heracles -- the bow never missed -- so of course he could outshoot Odysseus
• "...when we Achaeans were before Troy and in practice...." --> BIG hint at who he is -- is Odysseus ready to tell yet?
• "...for Apollo was angry with him and killed him because he challenged him as an archer..." --> jealousy of the gods -- anthropomorphism
• "Sir, we have had much pleasure in hearing all that you have told us, from which I understand that you are willing to show your prowess..." --> Alcinous acknowledges Odysseus's authority and stature
• "...singularly fleet of foot and are excellent sailors..." --> what?! good at sailing?!!! I never knew.
• "...the bard began to sing of the loves of Ares and Aphrodite..." --> this story tells about how the gods enjoy and condone adultery -- this is the only time mentioned in the Odyssey where the gods are not "morally sound"

Page 84.
Vocabulary: festooned, loth, vestibule

• "...and festooned the bed-posts all over with chains like cobwebs..." --> not because the trap looked like a spiderweb, but because it was invisible like a spiderweb (simile, by the way)
• "Father Zeus...and all you other blessed gods who live for ever..." --> he calls on Zeus for help, but Poseidon comes instead
• "See how limping Hephaestus, lame as he is, has caught Ares who is the fleetest god in heaven; and now Ares will be cast in heavy damages...." --> does brawn always win over brain?

Page 85.
Vocabulary: raiment

• "...if Ares goes away without paying his damages, I will pay you myself...." --> a better compromise: that way, if Ares cuts out without paying, Hephaestus will still get his retribution
• "...Ares to Thrace...Aphrodite to Cyprus and Paphos...." --> these are two totally different directions
• "I was astonished as I saw them...." --> just as much as the Phaeacians enjoy boasting, they also enjoy receiving praise -- Odysseus praises them again
• "...let us give him such proof of our hospitality as he may reasonably expect..." --> here, Alcinous tells the elders what they must give up to provide to Odysseus

Page 86.
Vocabulary: amiss, raiment

• "He was very glad of a warm bath..." --> this would have been a typical bathing scene in Greek times

Page 87.
Vocabulary: freighting

• "Nausicaa, daughter of great Alcinous..." --> Odysseus offers his blessings
• "Demodocus, there is no one in the world whom I admire more than you...." --> the ultimate praise for a performer / singer would be to praise the accuracy of his story
• this is yet another hint at who Odysseus is
• "the Trojans themselves had drawn the horse into their fortress..." --> the Trojans want to do one of three things with the horse: (1) destroy it immediately; (2) launch it off of a cliff; or (3) keep it as a souvenir / offering to the gods [they end up keeping it, causing the fall of Troy and ending the war]

Page 88.
Vocabulary: piteously

• "...how Odysseus went raging like Ares along with Menelaus to the house of Deiphobus...." --> Deiphobus is important because he was one of the Trojan leaders after Hector's death
• "He wept as a woman weeps...even so piteously did Odysseus weep..." --> Homeric simile describing Odysseus's sorrow / weeping for the story
• "...let Demodocus cease his song, for there are those present [ahem, Odysseus] who do not seem to like it...." --> only Alcinous notices Odysseus weeping like a baby
• "...it will be more polite in you to give me a plain answer...." --> does Alcinous suspect, at this point, that Odysseus has been hiding something?
• "Still I do remember hearing my father say that Poseidon was angry with us for being too easy-going in the matter of giving people escorts...." --> yet another prophecy: is this one about helping Odysseus? will their ship be wrecked after helping him home?

Page 89.
Vocabulary: none.

• "And now, tell me and tell me true...." --> Alcinous asks who Odysseus is
• Question: If the Phaeacians are so distant and isolated from all other areas -- would they have even heard of Odysseus? obviously, with bards like Demodocus, the answer would be yes, though they probably couldn't have related much to his sorrow and wouldn't understand why he would cry when the bard sang about Troy and the Achaeans

Book 8 divides into three main sections, each with a song:

1. Odysseus and Achilles's argument (Odysseus weeps at this)
2. Aphrodite and Ares (no weeping)
3. Troy / the Trojan Horse (Odysseus weeps at this one too)

Bibliography

Odyssey, Book 7 Notes

Reception of Odysseus at the palace of King Alcinous

Major concepts:

• Odysseus's prayer
• Odysseus's entrance to the palace
• Parallels: Odysseus / Scheria = Hermes / Ogygia
• Description of the palace
• Odysseus's greeting of Queen Arête
• Hospitality
• Phaeacians' familiarity with visits from the gods
• Odysseus's avoidance of introducing himself
• Alcinous's suggestion

Study Guide Questions:

1. What sort of kingdom is Phaeacia? How well is it governed, judging from the way the King relates to his family and subjects and the way he receives the guest?
2. What craft are the Phaeacians best known for?
3. How is Odysseus treated as a guest?
4. What is the difference between the way Odysseus greets Arête and the way he greeted Nausicaa?
5. What does this tell us about Odysseus's perception of the two women?
6. Why does Odysseus sit in the ashes?
7. What does Odysseus say when asked to identify himself?
8. What is Arête's role in helping Odysseus?
9. How does Odysseus explain why Nausicaa did not bring him directly to the palace?
10. How might the impression Odysseus and we receive of Phaeacia be significant for Odysseus's subsequent return to Ithaca?

Page 71.
Vocabulary: comely

• "...her brothers -- comely as the gods..." --> simile
• "...the people obeyed him as though he were a god...." --> simile
• Nausicaa's brothers were waiting for her -- suggests a tight-knit family
• "Athena shed a thick mist all around him..." --> again, Athena's involvement in maintaining Odysseus's safety
• "...she came towards him in the likeness of a little girl..." --> yet another disguise for Athena
• "...say not a word as you go, and do not look at any man, nor ask him questions...." --> Athena offers Odysseus advice on how to stay "under the radar"
• "They are a sea-faring folk..." --> yet another mention of how the Phaeacians are good with ships

Page 72.
Vocabulary: consummate

• "...by the grace of Poseidon..." --> close ties to Poseidon -- a warning sign for Odysseus?
• "...for the bolder a man is the more likely he is to carry his point..." --> Athena continues her instructions: be brave -- didn't she suggest something similar to Telemachus when he was to speak to Nestor at Pylos?
• "...they both descend originally from Poseidon..." --> Poseidon + Perioboea = Nausithous; Nausithous + ? = Rhexenor and Alcinous; Rhexenor + ? = Arete; Arete + Alcinous = sons and Nausicaa
• "Arete" = Greek, for "goddess" ; "excellence" ; "virtue"
• "If you can gain her good will, you may have ever hope of seeing your friends again..." --> key to returning home is to get Arete's blessings
• "...the splendor of the palace was like that of the sun or moon..." --> simile
• "...gold and silver mastiffs..." --> statues fashioned from the gods to protect the palace

Page 73.
Vocabulary: shuttles, endowed, precincts,

• "...while the linen is so closely woven that it will turn oil..." --> refers to Greek custom of bleaching wool in a bath of olive oil and other substances
• "As the Phaecians are the best sailors in the world..." --> good with ships (again)
• "The fruits never rot nor fail all the year round..." --> describes Scheria as if it were a Utopian society / world
• "Such, then, were the splendours with which the gods had endowed the house of king Alcinous...." --> Alcinous and the Phaeacians are blessed by the gods
• "...then he laid his hands upon the knees of the queen..." --> Odysseus supplicates to the Queen, Arete

Page 74.
Vocabulary: none.

• "Then he sat down on the hearth among the ashes..." --> shows humility; does being a hero involve lowering oneself down to the lowest level?
• "...tell him, then, to rise and take a seat on a stool inlaid with silver, and bid your servants mix some wine..." --> Echeneus (Phaeacian elder) reminds Alcinous to be hospitable to his guest (what about Arete? wasn't she supposed to play a major role in this???)
• "...will give a sacrificial banquet in honor of our guest..." --> Alcinous will honor Odysseus by throwing him a party
• "It is possible, however, that the stranger is one of the immortals who has come down from heaven to visit us..." --> Alcinous boasts about their closeness to the gods by saying that Odysseus might be a god

Page 75.
Vocabulary: importunate

• "I am in great trouble, yet it insists that I shall eat and drink..." --> if Odysseus is to play the part of the helpless beggar, food would be of utmost importance to him
• "Arete was the first to speak, for she recognized the shirt, cloak, and good clothes that Odysseus was wearing..." --> in this section, Arete also questions Odysseus about who he is -- does he ever answer her?
• "...there is an island far away in the sea which is called 'the Ogygian.' ..." --> in the next few paragraphs, Odysseus tells about his stay with Calypso; does he change the story at all? for what purpose?

Page 76.
Vocabulary: westering, disposition

• "...your daughter among them looking like a goddess..." --> simile
• in his retelling of the his arrival at Scheria, he fails to mention Ino or how the girls awoke him from his sleep; he also mentions that he was "ashamed and afraid" -- is this true? why would he say this?
• "...I wish you would stay here, marry my daughter, and become my son-in-law..." --> note that Alcinous offers his daughter's hand in marriage and almost immediately withdraws his offer / changes his tone -- why?

Page 77.
Vocabulary: none.

• "You will thus see how much my ships excel all others, and what magnificent oarsmen my sailors are...." --> what are the Phaeacians good at?
• Odysseus next wishes Alcinous an "imperishable name" -- this is the highest glory one can achieve as a hero

Bibliography

Odyssey, Book 6 Notes

The Meeting between Nausicaa and Odysseus

Major Concepts:

• Phaeacians / their relationship with the gods
• Athena's disguise / message to Nausicaa
• Nausicaa's description / her beauty / her age
• Nausicaa being of marrying age
• Odysseus's awakening
• Differing reactions to Odysseus and his frightful appearance
• Odysseus's tact / Nausicaa's hospitality
• Bathing / annointing with oil
• Odysseus's changed appearance
• Athena's presence

Study Guide Questions:

1. What 'subliminal' message does Athena give to Nausicaa while she sleeps?
2. Who is th eonly person who doesn't run away from the terrifying Odysseus? Why doesn't she run away?
3. What does Odysseus choose not to do when he sees Nausicaa? Explain.
4. What does Odysseus say to Nausicaa?
5. Is it pure luck that Nausicaa helps Odysseus? Explain.
6. Why does the fact that Odysseus won't bathe in front of the girls tells us about the kind of person he is?
7. Does Nausicaa believe her parents will help Odysseus?
8. Why won't Nausicaa let Odysseus ride in her cart?
9. Why instructions does she give Odysseus?
10. Who has ties to the city which might be a warning sign for Odysseus?

Page 63.
Vocabulary: none.

• "...near the lawless Cyclopes...." --> the city obviously has ties to the Cyclopes, Odysseus's enemies. a warning sign?
• "...King Alcinous, whose counsels were inspired of heaven, was now reigning...." --> this is Odysseus's last stop before he returns to Ithaca
• "...in which there slept a girl who was as lovely as a goddess..." --> note that many of the descriptions / similes about the Phaeacians compare them to gods / godddesses
• "...yet you are going to be married almost immediately..." --> the first of many references to Nausicaa's age and ability to be married soon -- is Homer suggesting that after all he went through, Odysseus will marry Nausicaa?
• "Athena took the form of the famous sea captain Dymas' daughter..." --> Athena dons yet another disguise to speak to a mortal and instructs Nausciaa to spend a day washing clothes by the river so she will encounter Odysseus

Page 64.
Vocabulary: want, cruse

• "...and you are not going to remain a maid much longer..." --> again, Nausicaa is of marrying age
• "...Nausicaa, who began wondering about her dream..." --> Nausicaa goes to find her mother, weaving purple yarn at her loom (purple yarn = very rare / expensive); and her father about to attend a meeting
• Nausicaa's father Alcinous gives her a wagon so she can wash the clothes

Page 65.
Vocabulary: unkempt, begrimed

• "When they had done dinner they threw off the veils that covered their heads and began to play at ball, while Nausicaa sang for them...." --> all unmarried women would have always had two things when going out in public: a veil to cover their face and other people accompanying them. Note that here, the young girls are vulnerable and about to meet a man, rather dissheveled in appearance.
• "As the huntress Artemis goes forth upon the mountains...even so did the girl outshine her handmaids...." --> another Homeric simile
• "...see the handsome girl who was to conduct him to the city of the Phaeacians...." --> again refers to Nausicaa's beauty and how Odysseus should take note of it
• "What kind of people have I come amongst?" --> Odysseus wakes and wonders what kind of people the Phaeacians will be
• "...to hide his nakedness...." --> Odysseus would have appeared very frightening to Nausicaa and her handmaids, especially being unclothed. Does he pose a threat to their safety?
• "He looked like some lion of the wilderness that stalks about exulting in his strength and defying both wind and rain...." --> another Homeric simile
• "...the others scampered off along the spits..." --> all of the other handmaids abandon Nausicaa, who holds her ground; her strength comes from Athena
• "...he doubted whether he should go up to her, throw himself at her feet, and embrace her knees as a suppliant, or stay where he was and entreat her to give him some clothes and show him the way to the town. In the end he deemed it best to entreat her from a distance in case the girl should take offense at his coming near enough to clasp her knees, so he addressed her in honeyed and persuasive language...." --> yet another Greek custom, supplication involved the act of falling onto ones knees in front of another (god or mortal) and begging for help; was supposed to be very demeaning and embarrassing for the person begging for help; in order for the act of supplication to be complete (and accepted) there also needed to be some sort of physical contact between the person asking for help and the assumed helper (usually grasping the knees); here, Odysseus realizes his ravaged appearance and how approaching a lone female and grasping onto her knees might be misconstrued; he decides to merely ask for help through flattery; note his language on the next page

Page 66.
Vocabulary: scion, discomfits

• "...and who takes you to his own home...." --> Odysseus flatters Nausicaa by saying how lucky everyone is who knows her (family, friends, future husband)
• "I dare not clasp your knees..." --> recall, for supplication to be complete there needs to be physical contact; Odysseus is substituting this for his explanation why he won't do that
• "May heaven grant you in all things your heart's desire..." --> ends supplication by blessing the person who he's asking for help
• "...we are called Phaeacians..." --> Nausicaa introduces herself
• "Neither he nor anyone else can come here to do us Phaeacians harm..." --> Nausicaa scolds the other maids for running away from Odysseus; she reveals that Scheria is isolated, and, in a sense, protected from intruders

Page 67.
Vocabulary: cruse, ravenously

• "...for strangers and foreigners in distress are under Zeus' protection...so, girls, give the poor fellow something to eat and drink, and wash him in the stream at some place that is sheltered from the wind...." --> explains Zeus's code for hospitality / guests; Nausicaa commands her servants to wash Odysseus (common practice for women to bathe men)
• "...told him to go and wash in the stream...." --> Nausicaa told her servants to wash Odysseus and here, they tell him to do it himself -- defiance? -- in his response, Odysseus makes is seem like it was his decision to wash alone (shame), allowing Nausicaa to retain her control over her servants
• "Athena made him look taller and stronger than before..." --> why does it matter that Odysseus look nice? Nausicaa notices the change: "the girl gazed on him with admiration."
• Nausicaa vs. Calypso: Calypso bathed, fed, and slept with Odysseus herself; Nausicaa commands her servants to bathe and feed him, and merely looks at him in wonder and appreciation
• "I should like my future husband to be just such another as he is, if he would only stay here and not want to go away...." --> does Nausicaa want to marry Odysseus? Will she marry Odysseus?

Page 68.
Vocabulary: disparaging, scandalized

• "You will see the market place with a temple of Poseidon..." --> isn't Poseidon Odysseus's sworn enemy? is this another warning sign?
• "...but are a sea-faring folk, and pride themselves with their masts..." --> what does Odysseus need more than ever right now? a boat! how convenient these people are well-known for their ships / knowledge of the sea
• "I suppose she is going to marry him..." --> here, Nausicaa presents what people may say when they see her with Odysseus -- does she want people to think this? what is the importance of what other people think?
• "You will find her sitting by the fire and spinning her purple wool by firelight...my father, on which he sits like an immortal god...." --> Nausicaa tells Odysseus how to approach her parents and ask for help; he should supplicate before her mother and win her over; apparently, she will play an important role in his returning home

Page 69.
Vocabulary: unweariable

• "...she would not show herself to him openly..." --> apparently, even Athena fears Poseidon's wrath

Odyssey, Book 2 Notes

The Meeting of the Council


Major concepts:

• Athena's involvement in the lives of Odysseus's family
• Economic importance of the household
• Bird omen / reactions to bird omen
• Telemachus's change
• Telemachus's departure / suitors' reactions

Study Guide Questions:

1. Describe the trick that Penelope plays on the suitors.
2. What, specifically, does Athena do to help Telemachus in this book?
3. How do the suitors, according to Antinous, view Penelope's reluctance? Why do they think they are justified in acting as they do?
4. How well does Telemachus handle the suitors' chief, Antinous, and his self-justification?
5. What are the two difference interpretations of the bird omen?

Page 19.
Vocabulary: criers, comeliness

• "...child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn..." --> literary device: epithet -- word or phrase associated with a person or thing, often present in epic poetry as a mneumonic device
• "...looking like an immortal god..." --> literary device: simile
• "Aegyptius, a man bent double with age..." --> elder from Ithaca questions why someone called a council meeting and who called it

Page 20.
Vocabulary: omen, convened, aggrieved, ere, abetting, remedy, braggart, artful, tambour frame

• "...turns on two great misfortunes which have fallen upon my house..." --> Telemachus's two chief complaints: (1) the loss of his father and (2) the unending presence / tyrrany of the suitors
• "No estate can stand such recklessness; we have now no Odysseus to ward off harm from our doors..." --> Telemachus asks the elders for their help / support because Telemachus feels he cannot do the job of protecting his household by himself
• "With this Telemachus dashed his staff to the ground and burst into tears...." --> still struggling between childhood / adulthood, Telemachus is not mature enough to "hold his own" with the suitors or even the elders
• "...Antinous, who spoke thus..." --> here, Antinous begins to explain why they (the suitors) blame Penelope for their over-extended stay
• "And then there was that other trick she played us...." --> Penelope sets up a loom in her quarters and began creating a rug / piece of needlework in honor of Odysseus's father(continues on next page)

Page 21.
Vocabulary: pall, plaguing, rigorously, creditable

• "...we could see her working on her great web all day long, but at night she would unpick the stitches again by torchlight...." --> Penelope said she would not choose a new husband until she had finished the needlework; however, each night she undid that day's work; this continued for four years until one of her maids revealed her secret to the suitors
• "Understand, then, that we will not go back to our lands, neither here nor elsewhere, till she has made her choice and married some one or other of us...." --> Antinous tells Telemachus how things will be
• "It will be hard on me if I have to pay Icarius the large sum...heaven will also punish me..." --> Telemachus reveals the two reasons why he shouldn't do as the suitors say: (1) he will need to repay the dowry to Penelope's father if he sends her back; and (2) he will be punished by heaven and the Erinyes
• "...Zeus sent two eagles from the top of the mountain..." --> birds were often seen as omens / foreshadowing during Greek times; interpretations of the eagles follow on the next page

Page 22.
Vocabulary: omen, prating, vying

• "I see mischief brewing for them...." --> Halitherses (the best prophet; foresaw Odysseus's trouble in going to Troy / the journey home) interprets the two eagles as an ill omen for the suitors: Odysseus will return home soon and seek revenge
• "...birds are always flying about in the sunshine..." --> Eurymachus (one of the suitors) says that the eagles were merely birds flying and should not be interpreted in any way
• "As for Telemachus, I warn him in the presence of you all..." --> Eurymachus also tells Telemachus that the suitors will not change their patterns and boasts how the suitors fear no man or omen
• "Give me, then, a ship and a crew of twenty men..." --> Telemachus asks for a ship and crew, just as Athena directed him

Page 23.
Vocabulary: barrow, henceforward, victuals, bade

• "...people often hear things in this way)..." --> this may sound familiar; see Athena's directives on page 16
• "...I am shocked at the way in which you all sit still without even trying to stop such scandalous goings on..." --> Mentor, left in charge of the kingdom by Odysseus, displays his frustrations with the other elders
• "Even though Odysseus were to set upon us..." --> another suitor makes note here that even if Odysseus returned, there would be little he could do to punish the suitors without receiving punishment, himself
• "...prayed to Athena..." --> Telemachus asks for help from a higher source
• "As he thus prayed, Athena came close up to him in the likeness and with the voice of Mentor...." --> again, Athena dons a disguise to speak to Telemachus

Page 24.
Vocabulary: henceforward, discernment, flaying

• "Sons are seldom as good men as their fathers; they are generally worse..." --> Athena (as Mentor) continues to encourage Telemachus to continue on his journey and to draw upon the strength he must have since he is Odysseus's son
• "...give no thought to death and to the doom that will shortly fall on one and all of them..." --> Athena foreshadows Odysseus's return and the slaughter of the suitors
• "...come with you myself...." --> Athena will accompany Telemachus on his journey
• "I will run my eye over them and will choose the best..." --> Athena will go and pick out a boat for Telemachus
• "...bear no more ill blood neither in word nor deed, but eat and drink with us as you used to do...." --> Antinous tries to pretend to be Telemachus's friend
• "Telemachus means to be the death of us..." --> the suitors begin talking about Telemachus's intentions; they also hope that Telemachus will die on his journey (continues on the next page)

Page 25.
Vocabulary: barren, drawing, tackle

• "...divide up his property amongst us..." --> the suitors hope Telemachus will die on the journey so they may take his things
• "Get these things put together at once..." --> here, Telemachus tells his nurse / servant Euryclea to help him gather his things but not to tell Penelope about it, because she will be upset
• "Your poor father is dead and gone in some foreign country nobody knows where..." --> Euryclea worries about what will happen if Telemachus leaves
• "The old woman swore most solemnly that she would not..." --> Euryclea promises not to tell Penelope that Telemachus is leaving

Page 26.
Vocabulary: hawsers, forestays, hoisted, watches

• "...threw the suitors into a deep slumber...." --> Athena puts the suitors under a spell so Telemachus could leave safely
• Telemachus leaves Ithaca to go to Pylos, to visit Nestor

Parts of a Greek Ship: mast, yard-arm, sail, oars, rudder oar

Bibliography

Odyssey, Book 1 Notes

Two main questions addressed in the Odyssey:

Will Odysseus return home? Will he again be master of his own kingdom?

Major concepts:

• Invocation
• Story of Orestes, Aegisthus, Agamemnon, and Clytaimestra
• Gods / goddesses' discussion of Odysseus
• Odysseus's problem: where is he / why?
• Athena's disguise
• Telemachus's youth and power / lack of power
• Greek code of hospitality / violation of hospitality
• Penelope's situation

Study Guide Questions:

1. What does the invocation say the poem as a whole will emphasize?
2. What first impression does this book give us of the gods/ How much of a role do they play in human affairs? What seems to motivate their actions?
3. How does the tragic homecoming of Agamemnon relate to Odysseus's story?
4. Where is Odysseus?
5. What or whom is Athena disguised as?
6. Why do Telemachus and Penelope need Odysseus home?
7. What is our first introduction to various characters? The suitors, for example, are they a homogeneous group or are there differences among them? What qualities does Telemachus possess at the outset?
8. Why does Odysseus's wife have suitors?
9. What does Athena advise Telemachus to do?
10. Who is Phemius?

Page 11.

Vocabulary: suitors, acquainted, sheer (adj), persecuted

• "Tell me, O Muse..." --> 9 Muses; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory)
• "...hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy...." --> reminds readers of Odysseus's greatest trick so far, the Trojan Horse
• "...he suffered much by sea..." --> points out one of Odysseus's strengths: endurance
• "...for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Apollo..." --> direct result of the men's hubris
• "...all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely home..." --> refers to Nestor (returned home early from battle); Menalaus (returned home late from battle); Agamemnon (returned home to be murdered on his return)
• "...was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him into a large cave and wanted to marry him...." --> Calypso held him captive for 7 years; Athena finally convinced the gods to command Calypso to release him
• "...except Poseidon, who still persecuted him without ceasing..." --> Poseidon hated Odysseus for blinded his Cyclops son, Polyphemus

Page 12.
Vocabulary: hecatomb, sea-girt, asunder, propitiate, nymph, torments, pacified, suitors

• "...though he knew it woudl be the death of him..." --> again, consequence of hubris; this example of Aegisthus and Orestes serves two purposes: (1) an example to Telemachus to avenge his father by slaughtering the suitors who waste away his wealth; (2) begs the question: will Odysseus's wife Penelope be ever-faithful (even after 20 years) or will she be like her cousin, Clytaimestra, who was unfaithful to her husband Agamemnon?
• "...Hermes told him this in all good will but he would not listen..." --> Hermes will often deliver messages throughout the Odyssey
• "...keeps trying by every kind of blandishment to make him forget his home..." --> other creatures / experiences along the way sought to make Odysseus forget, i.e., Lotus Eaters, Sirens
• "...we should first send Hermes to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up our minds and that he is to return..." ; "...call the Achaeans in assembly..." ; "conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos..." --> Athena's plan is three-fold: (1) send Hermes to Calypso and order him released; (2) tell Telemachus to call and assembly and warn the suitors to leave; (3) urge Telemachus to take a ship with a crew of 20 men to travel to Sparta and Pylos to learn news of his father

Page 13.
Vocabulary: redoubtable, quells, suitors, partaken, bearing-post, insolence, ewer, embellishments

• "...for this will make people speak well of him..." --> in this portion of the epic, Odysseus's son Telemachus struggles with his own position of power; he is still considered a boy, though people may also consider him the head of the household in the absence of his father; going on this journey will gain him both respect and power in the eyes of the elders and suitors
• "...disguised as a visitor, Mentes, cheif of the Taphians..." --> Athena and the other gods and goddesses often don disguises to mingle among the mortals in Greek myths
• "Welcome...to our house, and when you have partaken of food you shall tell us what you have come for...." --> the Greek code of hospitality plays a vital role in the Odyssey; Telemachus first notices Athena, the guest, and offers hospitality while the suitors blatantly ignore her; Greek hospitality says to treat the guest kindly first, then ask questions later.

Page 14.
Vocabulary: lyre, tongue, sea-girt

• "...but he, alas, has fallen on an ill fate, and even when people do sometimes say that he is coming, we no longer heed them..." --> Telemachus believes his father is dead
• "They told me your father was at home again, and that was why I came..." --> Athena foreshadows Odysseus's homecoming
• "My mother...tells me I am son to Odysseus, but it is a wise child that knows his own father." --> Telemachus struggles with his father's absence for two reasons: he neither has memory of his father (Odysseus left when Telemachus was an infant) nor has he been able to hold a memorial, unsure of his father's death

Page 15.
Vocabulary: atrociously, renown, pretext, havoc, suitors, short shrift

• "And the guests--how atrociously they are behaving; what riot they make over the whole house..." --> brings attention to the gross manners of the suitors, abusing the code of hospitality of the Greeks
• "...all the principal men of Ithaca itself, are eatin gup my house under the pretext of paying their court to my mother, who will neither explicitly say that she will not marry, nor yet bring matters to an end..." --> Telemachus's suituation grows dire for two reasons: (1) the suitors will eventually cause him to lose all of his wealth he may have inherited from his father's estate; (2) his mother will not choose a new husband, causing the suitors to stay until she does
• "...and if he is the man he was when I first knew him in our house, drinking and making merry, he would soon lay his hands about these rascally suitors..." --> again, Athena foreshadows the return of Odysseus and his revenge on the suitors
• "...call the Achaean heroes in assembly tomorrow mroning..." --> this passage begins Athena's advice to Telemachus: (1) call an assembly; (2) urge the suitors to leave; (3) tell Penelope to get a dowry from her father for a new husband if she desires to remarry

Page 16.
Vocabulary: barrow, mettle, suitors, bearing posts, staid

• "...go in quest of your father who has so long been missing..." --> Athena's advice continues: (1) get a crew of men and a ship; (2) visit Nestor in Pylos; (3) visit Menelaus in Sparta; if Telemachus hears his father is still alive, put up with the suitors for another year
• "...it has been very kind of you to talk to me in this way, as though I were your own son..." --> it is clear from this passage that Telemachus yearns for a father-figure in his life
• "...stay a little longer till you have taken a bath and refreshed yourself..." --> again, evidence of the Greek code of hospitality
• "she flew away like a bird into the air..." --> Athena reveals herself as a goddess to Telemachus

Page 17.
Vocabulary: bard, weal, clamorous, suitors, spunging

• "...for it is I who am master here...." --> Telemachus takes a stern tone with his mother, showing how Athena's words gave him courage
• "...meet me in full assembly that I may give you formal notice to depart..." --> Telemachus calls the assembly and again foreshadows the suitors' untimely deaths at the hand of his father ("...Zeus shall reckon with you in full, and when you fall in my father's house there shall be no man to avenge you.")
• Antinous --> one of the main suitors, symbolizes hostility and agression
• Eurymachus --> another one of the main suitors, symbolizes hypocrisy and trickery

Page 18.
Vocabulary: soothsayer, hied, fleece, counsel

• Euryclea --> nurse to both Odysseus and Telemachus; 20 oxen would have been very pricey for that time period (most women slaves cost around 4 oxen); and Laertes's behavior with her is worth noting because it was not common for the time period

Why start in the middle of things (in media res)?

1. illustrates the desperation of the situation with the suitors
2. sets the scene in Ithaca
3. makes it possible for Odysseus to tell his own story, in autobiographical form
4. creates tension with Telemachus becoming an adult
5. shows that the maturation of Telemachus must occur outside of Ithaca

Bibliography

Book 13 Quiz

1. How did the people in King Alkinoos' court react when they heard Odysseus' story? (p. 198)


2. What does Odysseus hope to find when he returns home? (p. 199)


3. Homer compares Odysseus' sleep to what? (p. 200)


4. In lines 89-92, it says "She carried a man with a mind like the gods for counsel, one whose / spirit up to this time had endured much, suffering many / pains: the wars of men, hard crossing of the big waters; / but now he slept still, oblivious of all he had suffered." Who is she? What literary device is this an example of?


5. Summarize what happens in lines 113-119.


6. Poseidon is speaking to Zeus in lines 127-138. Why is he upset?


7. What do the Phaiakians (Phaecians) do to please Poseidon? (p. 203)


8. What is Odysseus' lament in lines 200-216?


9. When Athena approaches Odysseus, how is she dressed? Why? (p. 203-204)


10. What does she reveal to him at the end of her speech? (p. 204)


11. What does Odysseus say to Athena when he hears her news? (lines 256-286)


12. What does Athena do and say in response to what Odysseus tells her? (lines 287-295)


13. In lines 299-302, Athena reveals her identity to Odysseus and says she was the one "who is always / standing by you and guarding you in every endeavor." However, Odysseus responds to her in lines 314-323. What does he say to her?


14. Why didn't Athena become more involved in Odysseus' trials? (lines 339-343)


15. What did Odysseus think would never happen? (page 207)


16. What do Odysseus and Athena do before they discuss the plan for the suitors? (page 207)


17. How many years have the suitors been in Odysseus' house? (page 208)


18. What does Odysseus ask Athena in lines 385-391?


19. What will Athena do to assist in his cause to defeat the suitors? (lines 396-403) (She actually does it in lines 429-438).


20. Athena reveals in lines 412-415 that she will call Telemachus back from his journey looking for information about his father. Odysseus is upset that she sent him when she knew that Odysseus was alive. Was it so Telemachus would suffer as Odysseus did? Athena says no. What was her reasoning? (lines 420-424).

Book 13 Notes

Odyssey Book 13 Bookrag Notes

Odyssey Book 13-14 Cliff's Notes

Book 13 -- Full Text (no line numbers)

Odyssey Book 13 Mythweb

Odyssey Notes, Circe, Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, Lord Helios, Calypso, Phaecia

Circe

• Circe warns: “The Sirens are in your path
• The Sirens will sing your mind away
• There are bones around them on the rocks
• Plug your men’s ears with beeswax, but
• If you want to hear the Sirens’ singing, have your men tie you to the mast”
• Circe also warns about Scylla – 12 legs, 6 heads, 3 rows of teeth in each head – a serpent-like monster
• She’ll take one man for each mouth
• Charybdis is next, a giant whirlpool
• Circe says: go closer to Scylla – less risk
• Circe also warns of Helio’s cattle: don’t kill and eat them (the cattle are immortal) and it’ll upset Helios
• Circe says: your men will probably kill the cattle
• O doesn’t tell men about what Circe said

Sirens

• Sirens are ½ bird, ½ woman
• O stuffed his men’s ears with beeswax
• The men tied O to the mast
• When O hears the sirens, he asks to be released but his men do not release him

Scylla and Charybdis

• Scylla stole 6 of O’s men; Charybdis tried to eat the ship, but the ship wasn’t close enough

Land of the Sun God

• O wants to pass by this island, but men want to stop
• O says: “don’t eat the cattle”
• It stormed for a month; they ran out of food
• O leaves men alone to pray to gods
• Eurylochus urges men: “let’s kill cattle”
• “starvation is the worst way to die”
• So, the men kill the cattle
• O returns and is upset at his men
• Helios prayed to Zeus for help: “they killed my cattle”
• Zeus punishes O’s men with a thunderbolt striking the ship
• Only O survives
• He washes up on Calpyso’s shore
  

Calypso

• O spent 7 years as Calypso’s prisoner
• Athena begs Zeus to let O go home
• Calypso is bad b/c she keeps O from his home
• Hermes arrives and likes Calypso’s house
• Hermes tells Zeus’s decree: “release him”
• Calypso tells O: “I thought it over. I’ll let you go.”
• Calypso wants to know why O still wants his wife when she’s not as pretty as Calypso is
• Calypso also offers O immortality if he stays
• O still says he wants to go home
• Calypso helps O build a raft
• Poseidon is still angry; crashes O’s raft

Phaecia, King Alcinous

• O washes up on the Phaecian shore
• O is found by King Alcinous’s daughter
• O is taken to King’s palace; treated very well
• He tells the whole story to the kingdom
• King Alcinous gives O a ship to go home

Please make your comment something meaningful or add something you noted in Book 12 as you read. First or last names only.