Books 3-4 Flashcards
What is happening when Telemachus and his crew arrive in Pylos?
Nestor’s people are sacrificing bulls to Poseidon
How does Telemachus feel at the start of Book 3 and how does Athene reassure him?
He is worried about his youth and inexperience, but Athene (as Mentor) reassures him that the gods will help him find the right words.
What does Nestor tell Telemachus?
He has no news of Odysseus but he tells him to be like Orestes, who avenged his father, Agamemnon, by killing his mother, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, her cousin.
Who does Nestor send to Sparta with Telemachus in Book 3?
His son, Pisistratus
What does Athene turn into at the end of Book 3?
An eagle
How do Nestor and his family show good Xenia in Book 3?
They immediately offer him food and wine, before asking any questions.
Nestor gives Telemachus Xenia gifts and offers him a place to sleep.
What does the sacrifice of the heifer in Book 3 entail?
A goldsmith covers a heifer’s horns in gold.
Nestor pours water and flings barley.
One of his sons chops through the heifer’s neck
The women pray and the men drain the heifer’s blood.
Cut out and burn the thigh bones.
Roast the remaining meat.
What is happening when the crew arrive in Sparta in Book 4?
Menelaus and Helen are celebrating the separate marriages of their son and daughter.
Who does Menelaus scold and why?
Eteoneus, a squire, asked whether he should unharness the horses or send them on to someone else (Bad Xenia)
How does Menelaus show good Xenia?
He has them washed and clothed , and presents them with food and wine
How does Mentor realise that it is Telemachus in Book 4?
Telemachus cries when Menelaus speaks about the Trojan War and his grief for Odysseus
What does Menelaus reveal to Telemachus in Book 4?
In Pharos (Egypt), Menelaus was told by the god Proteus about the death of Ajax and Agamemnon, and about how Odysseus was trapped on Calypso’s island.
What is happening in Ithaca at the end of Book 4?
The suitors find out about Telemachus’ journey, and plot to murder him when he returns.
Penelope worries about her son but Athene makes her dream about her sister reassuring her he is protected by gods.
Where do the suitors sail to in Book 4 and why?
The island of Asteris, to ambush Telemachus on his return home
