Preparing for Class:
October 6
Reminder:
You should bring your copy of The Odyssey to class, since we will begin
to look at that today.
THE ODYSSEY
The Major Players
Homer frequently used brief phrases
(epithets) to describe his characters. You'll be starting to read The Odyssey
this week, so I'd like you to use a hard copy of this list to get your notes
on the text started. As you read, make a list of the adjectives, or words and
phrases, most often used to describe the following characters:
Odysseus:
Zeus:
Athene:
Poseidon:
Penelope:
Hermes:
Nestor:
Menelaus:
Helen:
Agamemnon:
Orestes:
Pylos:
Argos:
Ithaca:
The Phaeacians:
Circe:
Calypso:
When you look back at the list, you
should reflect on the following questions: What sort of accomplishments make
a person famous? What seem to be the most important or useful qualities a person
can have in Greek society?
THE ODYSSEY
Books 1-4
- Which two characters
are responsible for preventing Odysseus from reaching home?
- Who is the first character
to speak in the Odyssey? Why is that fact significant?
- Who or what, according
to Zeus, is responsible for what happens to human beings?
- Which Greek hero does
Zeus discuss before taking up the problem of Odysseus’ homecoming? Why?
- What disguises does
Athene
use with Telemachus?
- As you read, make
a list of gift-givings. What is the importance of gift-giving in Homeric
culture?
- What is the problem
with the suitors’ behavior? Who sides with Telemachus? Who sides with the
suitors?
- Why won’t Telemachus
send his mother back to her father?
- Describe the scene on
the beach when Telemachus lands at Pylos. Make a list of the sacrifices mentioned.
What is their importance for Homeric culture?
- Who rules Pylos? How
old is he?
- What is the story of
Agamemnon as told by Nestor?
- What does Telemachus
learn about the Trojan War from Nestor?
- What are the people
of Sparta doing when Telemachus arrives?
- According to Menelaus,
how should guests be treated?
- Menelaus says that few
or none can rival him in what?
- What does Helen do to
make the men forget their grief?
- What story does Helen
tell about Odysseus?
- What story does Menelaus
tell about Odysseus?
- How did Menelaus capture
Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea? When questioning Proteus, what does Menelaus
learn about his brother, Agamemnon?
- What sort of homecoming
does Antinous plan for Telemachus?
- Why do you think the
first four books of the Odyssey are about Telemachus?
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