English 2110: World Literature
The Odyssey, Part 3
______
Book 11: The Kingdom of the Dead (318-334)
Journal Writing: Pick one character/person O. speaks with/observes in the Underworld and explain what he learns and why? What’s the point of the story for O’s life, but also in the larger frame of the Odyssey?
1) Tiresias (320-322)
2) Odysseus’s mother (322-324)
3) The “grand array of women” (basically: ill-fated women of Greek mythology) (324-
- Tyro, “bedded” by Poseidon (324)
- Antiope, spent a night with Zeus (325)
- Alcmena, “slept in the clasp of Zeus and merged in love / and brought forth Heracles” (325)
- Epicaste, mother of Oedipus (hanged herself…) (325)
- Chloris (325-326)
- Leda (326)
- Iphimedeia (326)
- Phaedra, Procris, Ariadne
- Clymene, Maera, Eriphyle
4) Alcinous: did you see any heroes? (p. 327)
5) Agamemnon (328-330)
6) Achilles (330-332)
7) Ajax (332)
8) Minos (332)
9) Orion (332)
10) Tityus (333)
11) Tantalus (333)
12) Sisyphus (333)
13) Heracles (333-334)
What is the Greek Underworld (Hades) like? How is it unlike the Christian Hell?
Book 12: The Cattle of the Sun (334-345)
Odysseus returns to Circe's island after his visit to Hades. What adventures still await him? Again, what do those adventures tell us about Odysseus as a hero?
-Sirens (338-339): What does the sirens’ song promise O.?
-Scylla and Charybda (340-341): Evaluate O’s behavior as captain!
______
GENERAL QUESTION: Why is this portion of the epic—the story of Odysseus’s return—so lengthy? What element or aspect of the whole epic does this section emphasize? What’s the most important purpose of the story-teller? What’s really the most difficult part of O’s journey?
Book 13: Ithaca at Last (345-356)
How do Poseidon and Zeus interact in this book? What does this episode say again about the relationship between human beings and the gods? What about the Phaeacians? (348-50)
Analyze the long exchange between O. and Athena, who first appears to him as a shepherd boy and then as herself (351-354)! How does O. react to the shepherd boy telling him “it’s Ithaca”? More importantly, how does he react when A. reveals her identity? Again, what does this exchange say about the relationship between human beings and the gods/God?
Book 14: The Loyal Swineherd (356-369)
What is the function of Eumaeus, the swineherd? What are his greatest virtues or qualities? (367, 369) What ideals does he embody?
How much of the truth does Odysseus tell him? What does the alias he creates and the real Odysseus have in common? What does the fake story reveal about O. himself? In particular, what does O. say about the effects of the war and the reasons for not returning sooner (362-365)?
How does he treat Odysseus, and how does Odysseus treat him? What characteristics do they have in common, in spite of their social differences? (esp. 365-366)
What’s the irony in O. chiding the swineherd for not believing him (366)?
Book 15: The Prince Sets Sail (369-382)
What does Athena emphasize to urge Telemachus to return home? (369-70)
What is Telemachus' main diplomatic challenge in this book? What does this book say about proper hospitality? (esp. 371, 374)
What role does Helen play in this book? What does the prophecy she makes reveal about her (373)? Why might it be significant, in terms of the Odyssey as a whole, that Helen gives Telemachus a robe to bestow upon his future bride (372)?
What does Menelaus’s farewell say about his state of mind? What seems to be the common state of mind of all of the veterans of the Trojan War? Does this explain anything about Odysseus’s hesitancy to return home? (373)
Why does O. say that the swineherd “stopped his pain”? How? (p. 377) What do they have in common, again? (379)
Book 16: Father and Son (383-394)
In this book Odysseus reveals his identity to Telemachus. Analyze the sequence of events here—why does O. not reveal himself immediately to his son? Especially, what’s the purpose of O’s speech p. 385? What’s their ultimate reaction once every doubt falls away? (387-88)
What qualities does T. display in this chapter, especially in contrast to his father?
How does Penelope react when she hears of the suitors’ plan to kill T.? (392)
Book 17: Stranger at the Gates (394-409)
What’s the significance of O.—the rightful king, the culture hero—returning home in the disguise of a beggar? (399)
What is the significance of the story of Argos, O’s faithful dog? What does it say about the master-slave/servant relationship? (401)
What’s the point in O. appearing to the suitors in his beggar-disguise? (esp. 404-405)
Book 18: The Beggar-King of Ithaca (409-420)
How do you interpret Penelope’s actions in this chapter? (413, 414, 415, 416) What is O’s reaction?
What seems to be the purpose of O. hanging out as a beggar among the suitors? See Athena’s goal, p. 418)!
Book 19: Penelope and Her Guest (420-434)
Penelope questions the stranger (Odysseus in disguise) closely, and he claims to be Aethon from Crete (422). Do you think that Penelope knows or suspects Odysseus' real identity? (428)
What qualities does P. manifest in this book that make her a worthy match for Odysseus? What does P. say about Troy? (p. 426) What does this say about the effect of the war and its aftermath?
Why does O. not reveal his own identity to P. at this point?
What do you think about O. brushing off Eurycleia’s offer to help him separate the loyal from the disloyal servant girls? (432)
Interpret the dream (433) that Penelope relates to O. towards the book's end. What is the significance/purpose of P. telling O. this dream? Could the contest and P. telling O. about the contest have the same purpose (434)?
Book 20: Portents Gather (435-444)
What do O’s worries about dealing with the suitors tell you about his state of mind here, but also our recurring question about his delays in returning home (435)? What is Athena’s response?
Athena inspires the suitors to behave even more inappropriately than usual. Why does she do that? What effect does their behavior have on Odysseus and Telemachus?
Book 21: Odysseus Strings His Bow (444-455)
What is the point of O. stopping his son T. from trying to string the bow for the fourth time? (447)
Odysseus strings his own bow at the book's end (454). How does Homer handle this moment (especially Zeus’s sign)? Also, how does this section set up the father-son constellation? What does this say about their relationship (O and T)?
Book 22: Slaughter in the Hall (455-467)
What is the purpose of the long description of the slaughter in the hall? What do you think of all the blood and gore? What is O’s reaction when his old nurse, Eurycleia, tries to give off a cry of triumph (464). Consider the intensity of the violence throughout this book - do you find it unsettling or "over the top"? Why or why not?
How do Odysseus and Telemachus deal with Melanthius the goatherd and the women who sported with the suitors? (466) Does the epic narrator take up an attitude towards the violence? What do you think about their punishment?
Why do you think T. has such an intense hatred for these women? (466) What’s his issue with his mother and women in general?
What kind of work is to be done after the slaughter?
Book 23: The Great Rooted Bed (467-476)
Why does the text refrain from making Penelope recognize Odysseus outright? Why does Penelope insist on testing Odysseus even after all that he has done in the hall? How does P. answer T.’s chiding? (468-69) How do you interpret her expression “strange man” on page 471?
Why is it appropriate that the couple's bed should be involved in the main test of Odysseus' identity?
How does P. exculpate Helen’s actions in her speech on page 472?
What does P. ask for when going to bed? What goes along with their “longed-for joys of love”? What kind of thing needs to happen for them to truly find each other again? (474)
Book 24: Peace (476-489)
What do the suitors say to Agamemnon in Hades? Have they learned anything? Whom are they blaming (479-80)? How does A. respond? What is he obsessed with? What are Achilles and Agamemnon doing in Hades? What does this say about Hades and the existence the spirits lead there?
What problem remains for Odysseus to deal with, even though he has rid himself of the suitors and their hangers-on? What’s the threat or prospect here?
What reason do the suitors' surviving kin give for their attempt to kill Odysseus? What do you think about the accusations of Antinous’s father, Eupithes, against O (486)? Are they altogether unjustified?
What does Zeus say about what needs to happen to restore peace? (487)
What’s the significance of Laertes killing Eupithes? Why does E. have to be killed, before A. calls for an end to all hostilities? (488)
How does the reconciliation between Odysseus and the surviving kin occur? Without Athena's divine assistance, what would be the prospects for immediate or eventual reconciliation? (489)
Evaluate the ending: do you find it believable or satifying? What does it say about human society and the gods? About war?
______
GENERAL DISCUSSION:
What questions do you think ancient Greeks would have discussed after hearing the Odyssey sung/performed? What would their answers be?
What questions are we left with?