1. VIEWING GUIDE FOR THE ODYSSEY
1.
What does Odysseus say is “the proudest day of my life”?
- When his wife gave birth to their son Telemachus
2. Odysseus’s ships sail to what city so the men may fight an opposing army?
- They sailed to Troy
3. What does Odysseus tell Penelope she must do if he has not returned before their son has a “beard in his face”?
- She will chose another man and marry
4. On the ship, what does the goddess Athena tell Odysseus he is to do and why?
- Athena told Odysseus to go on with the journey to defeat the Trojans
5. Who is the “defender of Troy”; it’s greatest warrior?
- Hector
6. Finish the words of the soothsayer: “Beware the ____________ and their__________.
- Greeks; gifts
7. What do Odysseus and his men build that finally allows them to enter the gates of the opposing army’s gates?
- They built a giant replica of horse
8. How many years have they fought the war?
- They fought for 10 years
9. What does Poseidon say Odysseus will do as a result of Odysseus’s pride and arrogance?
- Odysseus will suffer for his pride and arrogance. Poseidon will not let him see the shores of Ithaca.
10. How does Poseidon separate Odysseus’s ship from the others in the fleet and prevent Odysseus from returning
home to Ithaca? (Hint: This event occurs regularly in nature.)
- Poseidon used fog
11. What does the Cyclops, Polyphemus do to one of Odysseus’s men?
- Cyclops eat the man
12. When the Cyclops asks for his name, Odysseus answers, “Nobody.” Why does Odysseus give this name instead
of his real name?
- He used “Nobody” to trick the Cyclops
13. Why are the men unable to leave the cave?
- Because the door was sealed by a large rock
14. How do Odysseus and his men escape?
- They had blinded the Cyclops, which made the Cyclops to open the door
15. What is unusual about the waterfall where Odysseus collects water?
- The waterfall doesn’t pour its water on Odysseus
16. Why does the god at the waterfall help Odysseus?
- Because he is the first mortal who has used his mind and has understand that there is something to learn
17. What god gives Odysseus a bag of wind to help him sail against Poseidon?
- Aeolus god of wind has given Poseidon a bag of wind
18. What warning does this god give Odysseus regarding the bag of wind?
- He must not open it
19. On the island of the goddess Circe, one of Odysseus’s men is turned into a ___--_____.
- Animal - pig

2. 20. How does Odysseus avoid falling under Circe’s spell?
- By eating some kind of grass
21. How does Odysseus’s mother die?
- She drown herself in the sea
22. How long do Odysseus and his men remain on the island of Circe? How is she able to keep them there so long?
- They had remained there for 5 years. Circe has given them food and women.
23. To what world must Odysseus travel to gain information on how to return home?
- He must travel to the Underworld
24. Why have the noble men come to see Penelope and brought her gifts?
- They come so that they could marry her
25. What is raining down from the sky when Odysseus and his men reach the end of their travels in Part I?
- Fire is raining down from the sky
26. What was the one item that Odysseus carried into the Underworld?
- He brought a rum.
27. Tiresias, the blind prophet, says that Odysseus kept his eyes only on home. Finish his quote: “It is the ________
itself that makes up your life.”
- Journey
28. What does Tiresias say that Odysseus should look for to find his way home?
- Use the constellation Orion and sail to its brightest star and there he will reach the strait of Scylla and
Charybdis
29. What dearly loved person from his past does Odysseus see in the Underworld?
- He saw his mother
30. According to this person, why must Odysseus hurry home to Ithaca?
- Because men are trying to steal his wife and Ithaca
31. What earlier promise does Penelope share with Telemachus?
- If Odysseus doesn’t come by the time Telemachus is a man she will remarry
32. Penelope promises the noblemen that she will choose a suitor when_________________.
- She finished weaving the shroud
33. When do the suitors say they will leave Penelope’s home?
- Until she will choose
34. When Odysseus and his men enter the Straits of Scylla, they encounter a huge monster.
Describe the monster.
- The monster is so big and it looks like a snake with claws.
35. How many of Odysseus’s men are lost traveling through the Strait of Scylla?
- All Odysseus’s men are lost while travelling.
36. Why do Calypso’s maids giggle when they see Odysseus?
- He is the first man they have ever seen.
37. Why is Telemachus trying to string Odysseus’s bow?
- To kill all her mother’s suitor
38. Complete Athena’s quote: “The gods must ________ ________ for man what man ______ _____ for himself.
- not do; must do
39. Telemachus travels in search of his father. To what city-state does Athena tell him to sail?
- To sail to Sparta in search for his father

3. 40. The god Zeus orders Calypso to release Odysseus to return to his wife Penelope. What does he threaten to do to
her and her island if she does not allow Odysseus to leave?
- Zeus threaten to drive Calypso’s island to the bottom of the sea when she will not free Odysseus
41. How does Penelope keep Odysseus’s shroud in an unfinished state?
- She unstitched it apart daily
42. What do the suitors do after they discover that Penelope has completed the shroud for Odysseus?
- They had burned it
43. When Odysseus’s small boat is destroyed in the waves sent by Poseidon, what does he tell Odysseus he wants
from him?
- He wants Odysseus to suffer more and wants to make him understand that without gods, men are nothing.
44. After Odysseus returns to the island of Ithaca, how does Athena change his appearance so he will not be
recognized?
- Athena change Odysseus into an old man.
45. According to Athena, who is the only person capable of recognizing Odysseus in his altered form?
- Only Telemachus could recognize him.
46. What are the suitor’s plans for Telemachus?
- They wanted to kill him
47. How does the woman servant recognize Odysseus or why is she able to identify him?
- By the scar on his leg
48. When Penelope finally believes Odysseus is dead, what task does she tell the suitors they must perform to win
her hand in marriage?
- They have to string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through all the axes
49. What happens to the suitors at the end of the story?
- They were all killed
50. According to Odysseus, what was the suitors’ crime?
- The suitors’ crime was that they were trying to steal his world