Odysseus And The Sirens + Scylla And Charybdis Flashcards
What did The Sirens do that was dangerous to Odysseus and his crew?
They had beautiful voices which would distract sailors and would crash their ship because of their enchanting voices.
What idea did Odysseus have so that he could listen to the Sirens voice?
He got his crew to tie him to the mast.
What did Odysseus give his crew so that they wouldn’t hear the voice of the Sirens?
He ordered his men to put wax in their ears.
How was Odysseus acting while he was hearing the voices?
He wanted his crew to untie him but no one could hear him because they all had wax in their ears.
Describe the physical appearance of Scylla.
Scylla is commonly described as having 12 feet, 6 long necks, on every long neck, there’s a head, and every head is full of sharp teeth. Scylla would bark like a dog when the unwary approached her.
What would Charybdis do each day?
3 times each day, Charybdis would draw in and push out large amounts of water, with such force that ships might be sunk in it; this movement of water also created the tides.
What was the dilemma that Odysseus faced when faced with Scylla and Charybdis?
Either lose 6 men to Scylla, or everyone to Charybdis.
Odysseus didn’t tell his men about Scylla. Was it a good decision? Give reasons for your answer.
YES
His men would’ve been scared otherwise.
Potentially, his men would try save themselves from getting killed, so they might have come up with plans to make sure Scylla kills one of the other men, instead of themselves.
NO
It was the men’s right to know whether they were going to die or not.
They don’t get to day goodbye to their crew mates just in case they died, because they spent so many years with them.
What challenges did Odysseus face on his journey? Give 5 challenges.
The Cicones - had to deal with the stubbornness of his sailors, for they didn’t want to leave the island and they just wanted to drink and sleep, and he faced dire consequences for his sailors’ mistakes.
The Lotus Eaters - he had to go through the difficulty of getting his sailors back to the ship, even going as far as tying them to the ships so they don’t run back.
Scylla and Charybdis - he had to go through losing 6 men that were very dear to him.
Hyperion’s Island - he had to deal with the consequences of eating the cattle on the island even though he himself never ate it.
The Sirens - Odysseus had to find a smart way to avoid being shipwrecked because of their beautiful voices.
The Cyclops - Odysseus had to quickly think of ways to get out of his cave without killing him, they’d be stuck in there without Polyphemus’ strength.
Why was Odysseus a good leader?
He said they should leave Ismarus immediately but the army wanted to stay.
He cleverly escaped from Polyphemus’ island and also had a clever idea to blind him.
He came up with the idea for the wooden horse against the Trojans
He came up with a clever idea to keep himself safe from The Sirens but he could still experience the sound of them
He bravely fought against Circe to turn his crew back to humans from pigs
He tried to stop his crew from eating the sacred cow but to no avail
Why was Odysseus a bad leader? Give 5 reasons
They looted Ismarus and stole people’s wives
The killed a lot of The Cicones’ livestock
He wanted to explore the cyclops cave even though he should have gone back to the ship
He left Ismarus without checking if the men injured were alive or not
He didn’t tell the sailors about the addictive Lotus Juice
He didn’t tell his crew what was inside the bag of winds
He was selfish to listen to The Sirens even though he had the chance to stick it out with his crew
