Characters Flashcards
What is Odysseus’ epithet?
Crafty/cunning
Who does Odysseus meet on the island on Ogygia?
Calypso
How long does Odysseus stay with Calypso?
7 years
What did Circe do to some of Odysseus’ men?
She turned them into pigs.
What is the name of the Cyclops that Odysseus meets in Book 10?
Polyphemus?
What are the cannibal giants called?
Laestrygonians
Give the names of the three most important suitors.
Eurymachus, Antinous, Amphinomus
Who was Odysseus’ nursemaid and mother figure?
Eurycleia
What is Odysseus’ son called?
Telemachus
What is the name of Penelope’s father?
Icarius
Why did Clytemnestra murder Agamemnon?
He slept with many other women and killed their son.
How does Penelope outwit the suitors?
She says she will marry one of them when she finishes weaving a shroud for Odysseus’ father, Laertes, but unravels it every night for two years.
How did Odysseus anger Poseidon?
He blinded Polyphemus, his son.
What is Penelope’s epithet?
Cautious
Who rescues Odysseus when he washes up on Phaeacia?
Nausicaa
What animals did Polyphemus keep on his island?
Sheep and goats
Give one way Homer parallels Circe and Penelope.
Any one from:
They both use weaving as an instrument of deceit
They both welcome visitors (Odysseus’ men and the suitors) with feast
Who is the only character addressed directly by Homer?
Eumaeus
Who are the loyal servants?
Eumaeus and Eurycleia
Who are the disloyal servants?
Melanthius and Melantho
Which Titan is Calypso’s father?
Atlas
True or False: Odysseus is smarter than the average Homeric hero.
True: he is very cunning and thinks about what he will do before he does it
