Odyssey Test Review

Plot Events and Analysis: Why was it a bad idea for Odysseus to yell back taunts at Polyphemus in the long term?

• Polyphemus is strong enough to break a hilltop and throw it.

• Zeus rejects their offering.

• Polyphemus's father is Poseidon, god of the sea.

• Polyphemus heard the future from the prophet Telemus.

Background: Why were you supposed to treat a stranger this way?

• The stranger could be a hero in disguise

• The stranger could seek revenge by stealing food

• The stranger could be an enemy ready to attack

• The stranger at your door could be a god or goddess in disguise

Plot Events and Analysis: How does Odysseus wound Polyphemus?

• Odysseus poisons the wine and makes Polyphemus so sick he is unable to defend himself.

• Odysseus and his men use a log sharpened on one end and drive it into his eye while he sleeps.

• Odysseus drives his sword through Polyphemus's liver.

• Odysseus and his men set Polyphemus on fire while he is milking the goats.

People: The epic hero of the Odyssey. Spends 20 years total away from family.

• Odysseus

• Penelope

• Telemachus

• Laertes

• Anticleia

Gods/Creatures: Guardian of the winds who tries to help Odysseus by putting all the stormy winds in a bag.

• Aeolus

• Circe

• Helios

• Calypso

• Athena

Plot Events and Analysis: How do Odysseus and his men avoid destruction by the Sirens?

• Odysseus orders his men to plug their ears with beeswax and has them lash him to the mast.

• They sing their own songs in the loudest possible voices, to drown out the sound of the Sirens

• Athena puts all of the men into a magical sleep and guides the boat through herself.

• They throw trinkets and pieces of brightly colored cloth onto the island. The Sirens are fascinated by these items and forget to sing.

Background: How did Odysseus help win this war?

• He came up with the wooden horse trick that lead to Troy's collapse

• He created a wooden spike out of an olive tree

• He asked Athena for wisdom

• He created a diversion so his men could safely evacuate

Epic/Epic Hero: What do all epics begin with?

• An invocation

• A blessing

• A chant that rhymes

• Four stanzas describing the hero

People: Odysseus's father

• Penelope

• Telemachus

• Laertes

• Anticleia

Terms: When the audience knows something that the character doesn't

• Epithet

• Dramatic irony

• Homeric/Epic simile

• Invocation

• Lotus