| Odysseus | The main character/epic hero of The Odyssey |
| Polyphemus | Son of Poseidon, the cyclops that Odysseus and his men blind. He curses Odysseus and prays against him to Poseidon. |
| Poseidon | God of the sea, curses Odysseus’ travel home to Ithaca |
| Elpenor | Crewmate that dies and meets Odysseus and his men in the Land of the Dead |
| Calypso | Goddess who keeps Odysseus on her island for 7years as she tries to make him fall in love with her |
| Circe | She turns Odysseus’ men into pigs. She later encourages Odysseus to go to the Land of The Dead so that he might be able to eventually make it home. |
| Scylla | Six-headed sea monster who lives near the whirlpool Charybdis; she eats six of Odysseus’ men. |
| Helios | The sun god, whose cattle Odysseus’ men slaughter. |
| The Sirens | Creatures who tempt Odysseus and his men with their voices. |
| The Lotus Eaters | Offer the Lotus plant to Odysseus’ men that makes them forget their homeland |
| Invocation | a prayer or petition for help or support to tell a story |
| Epic Simile | A long, extended comparison |
| Allusion | a reference to a work of literature in another piece of literature |
| myths | traditional stories told through generations about cultural beliefs, customs, and/or religions |
| Epithet | brief phrase that describes a character |
| Epic | a long narrative poem |
| Epic hero | main character in an epic |
| Where is Odysseus’ home? | Ithaca |
| What happened at the land of Cicones? | Odysseus’ men raided this land, fighting the men and trying to take the women and children as slaves; 72 of Odysseus’ men died in battle |
| Why is the lotus plant so dangerous? | It makes men forget about home; has characteristics of addictive drug |
| How do we know that Cyclopes are uncivilized | they dont have laws, dont farm, dont have community meetings |
| What does it say about Odysseus that he wanted to stay at the Cyclops’ island even though his men begged him to leave? (This was before he met the cyclops.) | He is prideful, curious, take risks, etc. |
| Why doesn’t Odysseus kill the Cyclops in the cave? | Only Polyphemus could remove the boulder from the opening of the cave. |
| How do Odysseus and his men escape the Cyclopes’ cave? | They are tied to the underbellies of the sheep. |
| What is Odysseus’ fatal flaw? | Hubris, or excessive pride. |
| What does Odysseus do upon leaving the Cyclopes island? What do his men think about it? | He yells to the Cyclops, giving away their location. The men think its reckless and dangerous. |
| How does Polyphemus curse Odysseus? | He prays to Poseidon that Odysseus’ trip would take a long time, that all of his men would die, and that he would return to chaos at home on a stranger’s boat. |
| Who gave Odysseus a bag of bad winds in order to ease his way home? | Aeolus |
| Who is Elpenor? What does he ask of Odysseus? | A crewmate who died in Circe’s hall; he asks Odysseus to bury him. |
| Who does Odysseus travel to see in The Land of the Dead? | Tiresias |
| Who are the Sirens? | Half-bird/half-woman creatures who sing to lure sailors to their island. |
| How does Odysseus keep his men from hearing the Sirens’ songs? | He puts beeswax in their ears. |
| What does he ask from his men to do so that he can be the first and only man to survive hearing the song of the sirens? | He asks them to tie him to the ship. |
| Who is Scylla? | She is a 6 headed monster who eats 6 of Odysseus’ men. |
| Who is Charybdis? | She is a monstrous whirlpool. |
| What is the first thing that Odysseus tells his men once they arrive to the island of the sun god, Helios? | Don’t eat the cattle. |
| Why do the men kill the cattle? | They are starving. |
| How does Zeus punish Odysseus after his men kill Helios’ cattle? | Zeus destroys Odysseus’ ship with a thunderbolt, and all of his men die. |
| Where does Odysseus end up after his ship is destroyed and his men are killed? | Calypso’s island |
| The Odyssey is not told in chronological order. Instead, it begins __________ | en medias res |
| To whom is Odysseus telling his story | King Alcinous |
| List characteristics of an Epic Hero | strength, helped and harmed by interfering gods, embodies ideals and values important to a culture, always emerges victorious |
| What are the characteristics of the epic plot? | It involves strange creatures, treacherous weather, and large-scale events. The gods and goddesses intervene. |
| What are the characteristics of epic setting? | More than one location. Fantastic or exotic lands. |
| What is an archetype? | Characters, plots, and themes that are repeated in literature and popular culture. |
The Odyssey: Part One Study Guide
April 21, 2020