The Odyssey, Part One

Name: ______Date: ______

The Odyssey, Part One

Please respond to each in complete sentences.

1.  Please summarize the external conflict and its resolution in each of the following situations:

Calypso: : Calypso holds Odysseus “captive” (not entirely UNWILLING) for 7 years, but is forced to release him by Zeus via Hermes. Poseidon raises a storm and crashes Odysseus’ raft on the island of Scheria.

The Lotus-Eaters: Three of Odysseus’ men eat the flower and lose their desire to return home. Odysseus must physically drag them back to the ship.

The Cyclops: Trapped in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus and his men trick the monster by getting him drunk on the good wine they have brought, and blind him with a wooden stake; Odysseus taunts him and the Cyclops curses the trip to Ithaca. Remember the possible dangers of too much pride; Odysseus also calls the Cyclopes “giant louts,” “savages,”, and “lawless beings.”

Circe: this enchantress captures Odysseus’ men using her sweet singing voice and looking totally harmless as she weaves a beautiful tapestry. She turns them into pigs and Odysseus stays with her in hopes to free them. In the end, it is Hermes who “saves the day” by giving Odysseus the “antidote” to Circe’s drug.

Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis: All these monsters can kill the crew; the Sirens lure men to their deaths with song, and both Scylla (a six-headed, 12-tentacles monster) and Charybdis (described as a “maelstrom,” or violent whirlpool) can literally swallow men and ship. Odysseus follows Circe’s advice. He plugs his men’s ears as they pass the Sirens and loses six men between Scylla and Charybdis.

Cattle of the Sun God: Odysseus’ men kill the cattle while Odysseus sleeps; Zeus sinks their ship and only Odysseus survives.

Is there any internal conflict present in these situations? Answers will vary. Possible: Odysseus staying with both Calypso and Circe “against his will” while his wife waits for him at home…. Odysseus doesn’t reveal his men’s fate, etc.

2.  “Nobody” in Greek is outis, which can sound like Odysseus. In his conflict with Polyphemus, in what ways does Odysseus overcome the monster with language? What curse at the end of this adventure foreshadows trouble?

Odysseus calls himself “Nohbdy,” thus preventing the other Cyclopes from helping Polyphemus. Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, to avenge him. This foreshadows the difficulties Odysseus will face before getting home.

3.  What does Odysseus learn about his future from Teiresias, the blind prophet, in the Land of the Dead. What risk does Odysseus take in going there to learn?

Odysseus learns that Poseidon will cause him rough seas; he will be lost for years but eventually return home to chaos; he will appease Poseidon by travelling to a land-locked region and making sacrifice; he will die back at sea when he is old. Odysseus may not ever come back from the Land of the Dead- no mortals ever have. Teiresias is correct. Odysseus eventually does return home thanks to King Alcinuous of the Phaeacians. He has told them the story of his entire journey.

4.  What conclusions can you draw about the deceptive nature of physical beauty from the Circe episode? Later, she offers Odysseus some advice in how to survive the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. What specifically is her advice for surmounting each of these obstacles?

Possible answers: physical beauty does not signify inner virtue; it is unwise to be seduced by physical beauty. Circe tells Odysseus to plug the ears of his crew with bees’ wax and tie him to the mast so that only he can hear the Sirens’ song. She also tells him to veer toward Scylla because it is better to lose just six men versus the entire ship.

5.  From what you’ve observed of Odysseus, how would you describe what the Greeks valued in a hero? Do we value these same traits today? In what contexts?

Possible answers: discipline, loyalty (?- think about Odysseus’ stay on Circe’s and Calypso’s islands), intelligent, wit, bravery, etc. Further answers will vary. Remember Odysseus is extremely prideful too, to the point of hubris. Think about the ways in which pride is good or valued in this culture, and in what ways pride is bad. Answers will vary: THINK!

6.  Identify and explain TWO Homeric similes found in any excerpt from Part 1.

1.  “A man in a distant field, no hearth fires near,/ will hide a fresh brand in his bed of embers/ to keep a spark alive for the next day;/ so in the leaves Odysseus hid himself,/ while over him Athena showered sleep that his distreas should end, and soon, soon.” (lines 119-124)

These lines compare a man laying down to rest in a field, preparing for the next day by keeping an ember of fire burning ( a common occurrence) to Odysseus nestling in leaves while Athena puts him to sleep (an EPIC event involving a goddess).

2.  “Then, his chores being all dispatched, he caught another brace of men to make his breakfast,/ and whisked away his great door slab/ to let his sheep go through- but he, behind,/ reset the stone as one would cap a quiver.” (lines 300-305)

These lines compare the huge Cyclops Polyphemus resetting the enormous stone boulder in the doorway of his cave (an EPIC event) to a common archer placing the cap or top on his quiver (case for arrows), which is something that any Greek citizen during that period could relate to. Remember the definition of HOMERIC SIMILE…