Classics Chapter 22: Odyssey Flashcards
In what way is the Odyssey 2nd?
of homer’s poems thematically and chronologically
When was the Odyssey written down?
750BC
What is the point of theIliad?
what it means to be a mortal - limitations, meaning
What is the point of the Odyssey?
“what it means to be an individual mortal”
what it means to be “you” - what you want on your obituary
charachter, achievemens, home, family
How long does it take for Odysseus to come home?
10 years
How long is Odysseus away from his home?
20 years
What is Odysseus’ home?
Ithaca
How many rude suitors are there?
108
How did the suitors violate xenia
eat his food, sleep with slave girls
How many books are in the Iliad? Odyssey?
24, 24
How is the Odyssey different from Iliad in terms of structure?
Odyssey has thematic unts of 4 books
What are books 1-4 about?
Telemachus
Telemacus
son of Odysseus
Who nudges Telemacus to go find himself/a solution?
Athena
Where does Telemacus go to reach his goal? What is there?
to Pylos and Sparta to find Nestor and Menelaus
What gives Telemacus self- confidence above all?
his striking resemblance to his father
What does T learn from Nestor?
what order looks like
What does T learn from Sparta?
what his father is like/looks like
What does Telemachus get in the end ? What doesn’t he?
confidence - leadership skills
can’t rid suitors without father
What are books 5-8 about?
final stage of journey home - Calypso
Calypso is a __
sea nymph, goddess
How long is Odysseus with Calypso?
7 years
What does Calypso offer Odysseus?
immmortality
What does “calypso” mean why?
consealer
Odysseus’s identity is being forgotten by the rest of the world
How does Od get away from calpyso?
Athena asks zeus
sends hermes to tell calpyso to go while poseidon away
od builds raft
How does Odysseus get to Phaeacians?
poseidon comes back from trip and blasts with storms
Who rescues and clothes Odysseus?
Nausicaa
Who else knows about the Od/ Nausicaa encounter?
Quen Arate (sp) her mom
Demodocus
blind singer who entertains Odysseus
stories told to OD and the Phaeacians
stories:
- Heph catch ares and aphro
- trojan horse story
What does Demodocus do to Odysseus?
makes him weep for his misfortunes in the accurate storysong
What happens in books 9-12
Od tells Phaeacians his stories:
First place OD goes to after troy
what happens?
Cicones
they sack and loot the place - but men don’t want to leave vs. OD warning
they lose 6 men per ship
What is the 2nd place OD goes to after troy?
what happens?
land of Lotus Eaters - mellow, don’t want to do anything but eat more lotus
he orders them back
Where does Odysseus and his men go after Lotus land?
island of the Cyclopes
What does Polyphemus do to mark himself as an “outsider”
drink milk, not wine
eat people RAW
What do Odysseus’ men do when they find Poluphemus? What happens to them?
linger to learn where they are, what they can get
he bashes to mens brains in and eat bodies raw
traps men in cave with boulder
When does OD formulate his plan to be freed from the cave?
when Cyclopes tends to his livestock
What is OD’s plan to get away from Polyphemus?
- get Polyphemus drunk with the wine he brought (and 2 bodies as appetizers…oops)
- tell him his name is Nobody
- sharpen huge stake, heat it, drive in eye
- hide under sheep bellies
How does Polyphemus get revenge on Odysseus?
Polyphemus gets hsi dad Poseidon’s wrath (a hard time) because Odysseus brags
What is the 4th place Od goes to ?
island of Aeolus,
who is Aeolus? what does he do?
wind god; buts bad winds in bag to let OD sail home on good winds
What stops OD’s men from coming home to ithaca even though it is finally in sight?
men are curious - want to see OD’s treasure from Aeolus’ release BAD wind an are pushed back to him
what is the 5th place OD goes to?
land of Laestrygonians
Laestrygonians - what are they? what do they do?
cannibalistic giants - eat all of men that come with od (don’t stay on ship)
What is the 6th placae OD goes do?
Circe
Circe - who is it, what does she do?
witch daughter of sun god
turns half of OD’s men to animals
How does OD get out of Circe predicament?
Hermes makes him resist her spells
bed for a year
Hermes persuades them to turn back to humans, OD perseudes her to promise not to hurt them
What does Circe give OD?
sex for a year
information - OD must to to Underworld to find tiresias to learn way home, other info (sirens?, don’t eat Helius’ cattle)
What does OD get from underworld?
directions hime
anticlea - your purpose is to go home
What is dangerous aobut the Sirens?
beautiful song - just want to listen
How do od and his men pass the sirens?
men have wax in their ears
OD is tied to mast
Charybdis
ship-sucking whirlpool
Scylla
monster with 6 heads
What does OD choose - Scylla or Charybdis?
scylla - so loses 6 men instead of full ship
what happens at the island of Helius?
Odysseus’ men get hungry while trapped by winds
they eat Helius’ cattle while OD sleeps
zeus thunders the ship and rest of Odysseus’ men
Od winds up at island of Calypso
How long is Odysseus’ homecoming adventures at sea?
3 years
How does OD get to Ithaca?
he woos the Phaeacians, so they bring him there
What does OD do with the Phaecians’ treasure? how did he get it?
puts in cave
by stories
Eumaeus
OD’s old swineherd
offers xenia, shows that people are still loyal to him, miss him
What happens in book 13-16?
land in ithaca
visit Eumaeus
Telemachus, forms plan with him
What happens in book 17-20?
OD comes to palace as a beggar
Argus
Od’s dog - not taken care of, only one to recog him at first sight - dies of heart attack
Antinous
a lead suitor in the Odyssey
Eurymachus
a lead suitor in the Odyssey
Euryclea
Od’s old nanny
recognizes OD while bathing him from scar on his leg from boar hunt
When was Penelope supposed to remarry?
when she finished weavng the shroud for Laertes
she inwound it every night
what does Penelope show beggar Odysseus in her night interview?
she is chaste
she got stuff from suitors
she kept house as well as she could
she’ll have a test for them
What is Penelope’s challenge? how successful are the challengers?
whoever can string bow and shoot arrow through holes of 12 axe heads lined in row
they can’t string Ods bow
What are books 21-24 about?
showdown vs. OD and suitors
How is OD chosen to marry Penelope?
Telemachus mocks the suitors - let beggar have a turn
How do Od’s helpers help him kill the 108 suitors?
Telemachus gets him the bow
Eumaeus bolts the doors
Euryclea detains slave staff
How many maids does Euryclea single otu? why? for what?
12 - they liked sex with suitors she says - to clean up the slaughter house
How does penelope make sure beggar = Od?
marriage bed - living tree as 1 leg, he and his swineman made it
Tiresias’ prophecy
must go inland for ____
athena holds dawn so
penelope and Od can talk
What does agamemnon do in the underworld?
praise agamemnon when the souls of the 108 suitors arrive
Laertes
Odysseus’ father
What does Athena help Odysseus, son, and father with?
suitors’ kinsmen revenge
then gets zeus to support peace - lighting bolt stop s fight
