Study Guide for The Odyssey

Study Guide for the Odyssey
1. Who is the author of the Odyssey –
2. How did Odysseus try to avoid going to the Trojan War?
3. Why didn’t he want to fight in it?
4. What was his great idea in the battle of Troy?
5. How did Odysseus’ men treat the civilizations they encountered immediately after the
war?
Define these terms:
6. alter ego –
7. epic –
8. Homeric simile –
9. myth –
10. rhapsodes –
11. personification –
12. foreshadowing –
13. imagery –
14. internal conflict –
15. external conflict –
16. dramatic irony –
17. epic hero –
Describe these mortals:
18. Odysseus –
19. Penelope –
20. Telemachus –
21. Eumaeus –
22. Antinous –
23. Alcinous –
24. Argos –

25. Eurycleia –
26. cowherd –
27. Eurymachus –
Identify these gods/monsters:
28. Zeus –
29. Athena –
30. Helios –
31. Hermes –
32. Poseidon –
33. Calypso –
34. Circe –
35. Charybdis –
36. Scylla –
37. Polyphemus –
38. the Sirens –
39. the Muses –
Identify these places:
40. Aeaea –
41. Phaeacia –
42. Erebus –
43. Thinakia –
44. Ithaca –
Answer these questions from the stories
45. How do the Muses help story-tellers and other artists?
46. What is Odysseus feeling when the reader first sees him on Calypso’s island?
47. What does Calypso offer Odysseus if he will stay?

48. Why does Calypso let him go?
49. In “I am Laertes’ Son,” to whom is Odysseus telling his story and under what conditions?
50. What happens on the island of the Lotus-Eaters?
51. Why were Odysseus and his men still in Cyclops’ cave when Cyclops returned after their initial
arrival?
52. What happens in the cave?
53. How do the men get out?
54. What two things does Odysseus do that are smart regarding Cyclops?
55. What two things does he do that are not so smart regarding Cyclops?
56. What happens to the men who go on Circe’s island and eat from her table?
57. Why doesn’t the same thing happen to Odysseus?
58. What does Odysseus have to do before he can leave Circe’s island?
59. Who does Odysseus talk to in the Land of the Dead?
60. What does he (in #59) say to Odysseus? Be specific.
61. Which of these warnings is Odysseus able to act on (which warnings helped him and which
didn’t)?
62. Why does Odysseus withhold information from his men? What information is it?
63. How does Odysseus face the Sirens and live?
64. How does Odysseus face Scylla and live?
65. How does Odysseus face Charybdis and live?
66. What goes wrong on Helios’ island?
67. Who pays for their mistake and how?
68. How is Odysseus greeted upon his return home?

69. How does Athena help Odysseus when he returns?
70. How does his disguise help him find his loyal friends and family?
71. Why does Athena remove Odysseus’ disguise when he is talking with Telemachus?
72. Who recognizes Odysseus even in his disguise?
73. What does Odysseus show the swineherd and the cowherd to prove he is Odysseus?
74. How is Odysseus received by the suitors?
75. Why are the suitors in Odysseus’ palace?
76. Why does Odysseus need the swineherd and the cowherd’s help to join the test?
77. How has Penelope delayed picking a new husband?
78. How does Odysseus plan to reward the swineherd and the cowherd?
79. For what reason is Odysseus allowed to participate in the test of the great bow?
80. What is Odysseus’ plan for the suitors?
81. Why does Telemachus punish the maids and how?
82. Which suitor is the first to meet Odysseus’ payback?
83. Name the three men who help Odysseus.
84. Why doesn’t Penelope believe he is really Odysseus?
85. How does he prove himself as her real husband?