| Who does Odysseus begin to tell his tale to? What is his tale about? | Odysseus begins to tell his tale to the Phaeacians. He tells them the tale of his attempt to get home to Ithaca. |
| Who did Odysseus leave the war with? What do they decide to do directly after leaving the Trojan war? | Odysseus leaves the war with his men and ships. They decide to raid the island of the Cicones. |
| After Odysseus and his men sack the Cicones, how do they respond? | The Cicones call for help from other Cicones |
| Which god sends a hurricane and why? | Zeus sends a hurricane to punish Odysseus and his crew. |
| What happens in result of the storm? Which island do they land on? | Odysseus and his crew get blown off course. They all land on the island of the Lotus eaters. |
| Who does Odysseus send to see what is on the island and what do they do? | Odysseus sends two scouts to scout out the island and they eat the Lotus flowers. |
| What do the Lotus flowers do? | The Lotus flowers cause men to loose all desire. |
| Who goes to save the men and bring them back to the ship? | Odysseus goes and drags his men back to the ship. |
| What is the first sound that Odysseus and his men hear when they sail up on onto the island? | They hear hundreds of bleating wild goats. |
| Who goes up to the cave and what do they bring with them? | Odysseus and twelve of his best fighters go up to the cave and bring a skin of ruddy wine with them. |
| What do they observe when they see the goats? | They see that the goats are penned in by giant boulders and pine trees. |
| Why are Odysseus and his companions not afraid to enter the cave? | They are unafraid because they believe that Zeus will protect them since they are guests in the cave of the owner |
| Who is the owner of the cave? | A cyclops named Polyphemus |
| What does Odysseus warn the Cyclops to try and let him go? Does his warning work? | Odysseus warns the Cyclops that if he harms them, Zeus will punish him for it. The cyclops doesn’t care about Zeus because his father is Poseidon. |
| What does Polyphemus do to two of Odysseus’ men? | He eats them. |
| What is Odysseus’ plan to get free? | He plans to stab the cyclops in the eye with a sharpened club while he is asleep |
| How does Odysseus make the Cyclops fall asleep? | He gets him extremely intoxicated with the wine he had brought. |
| Who does Odysseus say he is? How is this clever? | Odysseus says his name is “nobody”. This is smart because when Polyphemus tries to tell Poseidon who stabbed him, he won’t know who to punish. |
| How do Odysseus and his men escape? | They hang on the underside of the goats so they will get out undetected by the cyclops. |
| What is the significance of the Bellwheather Ram? | It shows Odysseus’ arrogance for him to take the “best” ram for himself. |
| How does Odysseus ruin his own perfect planning? | While they are all getting away, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops. |
| How does Polyphemus respond to the taunts? | He throws a piece of a mountain at the ship, forcing it back towards land. |
| Even as they get away, what does Odysseus do? Why does this forsake him? | Odysseus taunts the Cyclops again and gives his name away. |
Odyssey Book 9
April 25, 2020