Odyssey Test:

What comparison does Odysseus make to emphasize the strange gentleness of Circe’s wild beasts’ behavior outside of her house?	He compares them to dogs.
Circe, like Calypso, is first seen at her loom singing and weaving. What inference could you make about Greek women?	That Greek women stayed home, entertained, and made clothes.
What does Circe do to Odysseus’s men?	She turns them into swine.
What does Circe mean when she says that it is better to sacrifice six men than risk losing them all?	They could have all died if they sailed by Charybdis.
What three things does Athena do to help Odysseus?	Makes him a boat, disguises him as a beggar, makes him more beautiful than he was before.
Describe how the swineherd feels about Telemachus	He loves him like a son
What qualities does Penelope reveal through her actions?	She is kind to strangers.
Why does Odysseus continue to conceal his identity from Penelope?	He does not want her to get hurt. He is not sure whom he can trust.
What does Homer ask the muse to do as he reads?	To speak through him.
Why does Hermes fly down to Calypso’s island?	To tell Calyspo to let Odysseus go home.
How does Calypso feel about Odysseus?	She feels passion for him.
Why does Calypso not tell Odysseus the truth about freeing him?	She wants Odysseus to think it was her idea.
What is an epic?	a long narrative poem
What is an example of a Homeric simile?	comparing a heroic event to an every day event
Who is Circe?	The goddess who turns men into swine.
Who is Athena?	The goddess who helps Odysseus get back to Ithica
Who are the Lotus Eaters?	People who ate flowers that had hipnotising powers and made men not want to return home.
What did the Odysseus do to trick the Cyclops?	He got him drunk, called himself “Nohbdy,” then poked out his eye.
Who is Charybdis?	The Whirlpool
Who is Calypso?	The beautiful goddess who fell passionately in love with Odysseus.
Who are the Sirens?	The women who sing men’s minds away.
Who is Teiresias?	Famous blind profit of Thebes
Why does Penelope not believe Odysseus is her husband?	She has not seen him in 20 years and is cautious.
Who is Telemachus?	Odysseus loyal son.
Who is Poseidon?	The father of Polyphemus.
Who is Zeus?	The son of Cronus. He is both a friend and a foe to Odysseus.
Who is Helios?	The sun god
What does Formidable mean?	Very strong
What does adversity mean?	To overcome a certain situation by moving on or seeking help.
Why does Odysseus have a difficult time on the island of Calypso?	He likes her, but he also wants to get back home to his wife.
Why is Zeus both a friend and a foe?	He tells Hermes to tell Calypso to set Odysseus free, and he sinks his ship.
Why is the Cyclops formidable to Odysseus?	He is bigger and stronger than Odysseus
Why doesn’t Odysseus kill the Cyclops?	Because if he does he and his men will be trapped in the cave.
What is ironic about Odysseus telling the Cyclops that his name is “Nohbdy?”	When the Cyclops yells to his brothers to help him, they do not think he needs any help.
What did Odysseus and his men do to escape from the Cyclops?	They tied themselves to the bellies of sheep.
Who is Polyphemus’s father?	Poseidon
Why did Circe not turn Odysseus into a pig?	Hermes gave him an herb that protected him from her powers.
What were the Greek characteristics of a hero?	Strong, witty, and had the gods on their side.
What does Odysseus learn from Teiresias?	That his men will eat the “beeves,” he will “survive alone” and he will “atone in blood…”
What does “avoid those kine” mean?	Don’t eat the cows.
What does implacable mean?	Stubborn unwilling to change his mind.
What does foretell mean?	To tell ones future.
Who was Scylla?	The monster with 6 heads.
What did Odysseus men do so he could listen to the Sirens?	They tied him to the mast
What does baffle mean?	confuse
Why does Odysseus put wax in his men’s ears?	So they don’t hear the sirens.
“by hook or by crook…” what Disney movie used this line?	Peter Pan
Why did Odysseus not tell his men that Scylla was going to eat six of them?	Because it would not change their fate.
What is this quote being compared to: ” A man surf-casting on a point of rock/ for bass or mackerel, whipping his long rod/ to drop the sinker and the bait far out…”	How Scylla was eating Odysseus’s men.
Who said it is better to die a death by the sea than a death by starvation?	Eurylochus
Why did Odysseus’s men eat the cattle?	They were starving.
What does libation mean?	wine
What does insidious mean?	very dangerous
Who is Helios talking to when he says: “O father… and gods in bliss forever, punish Odysseus’ men…”	Zeus
Why do Odysseus’s men all die?	Because they ate the kine
What does brimmed mean?	To the top.
What does yielding mean?	To stop, Letting others go first.
What does incredulity mean?	Disbelief
What does enduring mean?	He can out-live everyone
What does Telemachus do when he sees his father?	He cries and hugs him.
Why did Homer write about Argos?	It was a symbol of Odysseus.
What is ironic about this line stated by Eumaeus to Odysseus, “Now misery has him in a leash. His owner died aboard.”	He is speaking about Odysseus being dead but he is standing right next to him.
Who are the two faithful men Odysseus first reveals himself to?	The Herdsman and the Swineherd
Who locked the doors for Odysseus?	Philoeteus
Who is Eumaeus?	The Swineherd
What does forlorn mean?	Pitiful, sad, and lonely.
Eurymachus asks Odysseus to pardon the suitors. What does Odysseus do?	Odysseus kills them all
What does Telemachus do to the maids after they clean up the dead bodies?	He hangs them in the courtyard
What does this line mean? “Strange man, if man you are…” Penelope is saying this to Odysseus.	That he might be a god
What was the secret that convinced Penelope that Odysseus was truly himself?	He told her about how their bed was made.
Why didn’t Odysseus want to fight the Trojan War?	He did not want to fight for a dishonest woman.

The Odyssey Flashcards

The Odyssey Characters

The Odyssey Part 2