Odyssey

Question 1

Telemakohs

Answer 1

Son of Odysseus and Penelope. When the book opens he is about twenty. He is a young adult with no real world experience and no father figure in his life. He is faced with the constant problem of the suitors, and after his journey to look for his father, the return of Odysseus, and the help of Athena he is finally able to gain courage, and fight the suitors.

Question 2

Penelope

Answer 2

wife of Odysseus & mother of Telemakhos; Queen of Ithaka; left in Ithaka for 20 years when Odysseus travels to Troy to fight in the war; weeps way too much about her husband being gone and the suitors taking over her house but does nothing to drive them out; avoids remarrying with any of the suitors by lying about weaving Laertes’ burial shroud by day and then ripping out the stitches by night; cunning just like her hubby; loves testing people just like her hubby (the test of the bow and arrow with the suitors, requesting to move their wedding bed in front of Odysseus)

Question 3

Eurykleia

Answer 3

is an old nurse living in Ithaka since Laertes first bought her, still loyal to Penelope and Telemakhos. She took care of both Odysseus and Telemakhos as children. She keeps Telemahkos’ journey to Pylos and Sparta as well as Odysseus’ identity a secret.

Question 4

Antinoos

Answer 4

is one of two prominent nobles competing for Penelope. Also he is one of the worst behaved, with ordering an assault to murder Telemahkos while at sea and throwing a stool at the disguised Odysseus. He is the first suitor to die, shot by Odysseus in the throat.

Question 5

Eurymachus

Answer 5

is an Ithakan nobleman and one of the leading suitors competing for Penelope. He is arrogant and deceitful, scheming Telemachus’ death but is ultimately killed by Odysseus (by an arrow) after he tries to plead/bargain for his life in the palace.

Question 6

Nausikaa

Answer 6

daughter of Alkinoos; princess of Phaiakia; Athena comes to her in a dream as a friend and tells her to bathe in the river the next morning; she wakes up and goes to the river; Odysseus is woken up when he hears her and her maids, so Odysseus turns up the charm and the sweet-talk (while Athena makes him look really hot) so that she’ll take interest in him and guide him into the kingdom to her father, who can welcome him as a guest, feed him, and then send him on his way home; she totally falls for it but stays cautious (does not lead him all the way to the palace but instead tells him to find his own way there once they enter the kingdom so that her father won’t get angry that she has brought a stranger), but then her dad ends up offering Odysseus her hand in marriage anyway, gg.

Question 7

Demodcus

Answer 7

s the storyteller/poet at Alcinous’ (King of the Phaeacians) feast. He is also blind. He tells three stories - Odysseus and Achilles at Troy, Ares and Aphrodite, and the Trojan House and the sack of Troy. The first and the third cause Odysseus to cry.

Question 8

Antikleia

Answer 8

is Odysseus’ mother who died of grief waiting from Odysseus to return from Troy. He meets her in the Underworld where they talk about Ithaka and all of Odysseus’ loved ones who faithfully wait for his return.

Question 9

Iros (Arnaeus)

Answer 9

is the beggar of Ithaka who comes to the palace after hearing of a “new beggar” in Ithaka. He challenges Odysseus (disguised as the beggar) over the territory but is quickly defeated and humiliated at Odysseus’ hidden strength. Terrified, Odysseus drags him out with a broken jaw.

Question 10

Arete

Answer 10

queen of the Phaeacians, husband of Alcinous, mother of the princess Nausikaa. She is intelligent and influential. Odysseus comes to their land after departing from Kalypso’s island on his raft. After meeting Nausikaa by the river after coming ashore, she advises him to go to the palace and appeal to (blank) for help. He is helped and treated hospitably by (blank) and her husband.

Question 11

Kalypso

Answer 11

a nymph who lives on the island of Ogygia. When Odysseus is shipwrecked on this island, he is captivated by her charm and beauty, and ends up staying there for approximately seven or eight years. During the day he longs for Ithaca, but at night he sleeps with (blank), and thereby obtains some fleeting happiness. He is not able to leave until Zeus, upon Athena’s request, sends Hermes to inform her she must let Odysseus go.

Question 12

Dog Argos

Answer 12

trained as a puppy by Odysseus. Would have been a great hunting dog, but was not properly taken care of and was treated badly by the suitors. Is laying in a pile of dung when Odysseus first sees him again outside the home of Penelope and Telemachos. He immediately recognizes Odysseus, wags his tail, and then dies.

Question 13

Mentor

Answer 13

is an old, loyal friend of Odysseus’s. Before Odysseus goes to war, he leaves (blank) in charge of his house and servants. Athena disguises herself as (blank) and prompts Telemakhos to look for news about his father, and helps Telemakhos along the way. Athena, as (blank), also helps out Odysseus and establishes the peace at the end of the poem.

Question 14

Nestor

Answer 14

s the King of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan War. Like Odysseus, (blank) is known as a clever speaker. Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his father, but (blank) knows little of Odysseus’s whereabouts.

Question 15

Seareach

Answer 15

is a Phaiakian that Odysseus meets in Scheria. He is described as rugged and strong. When Laodamas asks Odysseus to participate in the games they’re playing and Odysseus politely declines, (blank) insults Odysseus by saying he is no athlete. Later, after Odysseus proves himself an athlete and the Phaiakians are giving him gifts, (blank) apologizes and gives him a broadsword.

Question 16

Kikones

Answer 16

The bag of winds blew Odysseus’ ship to the city of Kikones (in Ismarus). Odysseus and his crew overstay their welcome and get greedy. Eventually they are attacked by inhabitants of the city and are forced to leave. Six men per ship were lost.

Question 17

Aias (Ajax)

Answer 17

is encountered by Odysseus in the Underworld. Odysseus briefly recounts how (blank) committed suicide after losing the contest to him for Achilles’ armor. Odysseus tries to talk to (blank) and shows remorse over his death, but (blank) ignores him and goes away. He is still angry with Odysseus.

Question 18

Tiresias

Answer 18

Theban prophet that Odysseus speaks to in The Underworld; tells Odysseus that Poseidon is making it harder for him and his crew to get home as revenge for blinding Poseidon’s son Polyphemos; tells Odysseus that he will eventually make his way home and defeat all the suitors; warns Odysseus that he will face much more suffering (including the fact that he will lose his entire crew) if they touch Helios’ flocks when he and his crew reach the island of Thrinakia (but his crew does anyway, idiots); lastly tells Odysseus that once he returns and reclaims his thrown, he must then leave again to appease and make a sacrifice for Poseidon.

Question 19

“Tortures” of the Underworld

Answer 19

were designed to teach Odysseus valuable lessons to help him regain his kingdom in Ithaka. First he sees Tantalus with water below him and fruits above him but whenever he tries to eat or drink they disappear. Vultures eat Tityus’ liver every day and every night it grows back. Sisyphus pushes a boulder up a hill but every time he does it rolls back down again and he has to push it back up again. These are all warnings to Odysseus to make life count.

Question 20

Theoklymenos

Answer 20

a fugitive (killed his cousin, wtf) running to avoid being killed out of vengeance; gets super lucky because he runs into Telemakhos just as he is preparing to leave Sparta, AND Telemakhos is feeling pretty nice in that moment and quickly grants him a place on the ship without any questions asked; Telemakhos tells him that he cannot stay in the palace because of all the suitors and then a hawk comes over an takes a dove so that its feathers land right in between the two men; prophesies that it is a sign for Telemakhos telling him that “there is no kinglier house than yours” and that his family will rule Ithaka forevaaaaaaa.

Question 21

Melantho

Answer 21

one of Penelope’s favorite handmaids. Penelope treats her like a daughter. However, (blank) is a disloyal servant because she hangs around the suitors and is in love with Eurymakhos. Also, when she encounters Odysseus (who is disguised as a beggar), she belittles him, gives him a hard time, and tells him to go sleep in a smithy. (blank) is later hung by Telemakhos.

Question 22

Philoitios

Answer 22

A cowherd in Ithaka and one of the servants who remain loyal to Odysseus. Odysseus first approaches him in disguise and (blank) recognizes Odysseus by the scar he got while hunting with Autolykos. (blank) fights on Odysseus’s side against the suitors during the slaughter.

Question 23

Hermes

Answer 23

The messenger of the Gods. He is the god that guides the spirits of the dead to the underworld. He helps Odysseus by telling him about the herb that protects him from Kirke. He is also the one that tells Kalypso to let Odysseus off her island.

Question 24

Poseidon

Answer 24

One of the three main brother gods, he rules the ocean. (also made the pegasus) In the book he is giving Odysseus constant struggle and slows down his journey home. This is mainly because Odysseus killed a Cyclopes that was one of (blank)’s children.

Question 25

Aiolos

Answer 25

Known as the ruler of the winds. When Odysseus meets (blank), (blank) stirs up a wind to send Odysseus in the direction to go home. Before Odysseus leaves, (blank) gives him a bag of winds. After the incident with the bag of winds, (blank) refuses to help Odysseus again, knowing that the Gods are involved with this.

Question 26

Laistrygones

Answer 26

Odysseus, still with his full crew of men land on this island filled with these giant cannibal people. (They are on this island after they leave Aiolos island as above mentioned.) Some of his men go ashore and find out they are cannibals and run back to the ship. Of course, they throw rocks at the fleeing ships and Odysseus’ is the only one that gets away.

Question 27

Skylla

Answer 27

After leaving Kirke’s island Odysseus and his men must sail past through the monster (blank). A six-headed beast that devours men. When Odysseus and his men are passing through (blank) takes six of Odysseus’ men, but the ship manages to get away without the six

Question 28

Cattle of Helios

Answer 28

Odysseus is warned of these cattle by Kirke as to not kill them. They land on the island of cattle after they escape the above mentioned Skylla and get stuck there for a month due to bad weather. The men get hungry, Odysseus goes and says prayers, and his men kill the cattle for some chow. After, they sail away and Zeus hits the ship with a lightning bolt at the request of Apollo (whose cattle was killed). Odysseus is the only to survive and floats to the island of Kalypso.

Question 29

Helen of Troy

Answer 29

Wife to Menelaus. She is kidnapped and brought to Troy thus causing the Trojan War. She later returns to Menelaus and in the Odyssey is seen offering her help to Telemachus in his journey to find word of his father.

Question 30

Kyklops/ Polyphemos

Answer 30

he one eyed giant, son of Poseidon. (blank) imprisons Odysseus and the crew in his cave as they stop on the island of the (blank) on their journey home from Troy. (blank) eats some of Odysseus’s men and Odysseus blinds (blank) in his sleep after offering conversation and wine the previous night. Later his men escape tied under the sheep owned by (blank). (blank) curses Odysseus and begs his father Poseidon to seek revenge for Odysseus’s tricks.

Question 31

Kharybdis

Answer 31

Is a sea monster in greek mythology that swallowed a huge amounts of water three times a day before belching it back out again, creating large whirlpools capable of dragging a ship underwater. (blank) is one of two obstacles that the immortal Kirke warns Odysseus of in his journey home to Itheca. The first time Odysseus encounters it is with his crew when he instructs them to sail around it forcing them to sail toward Skylla. The second time Odysseus was on a raft and got swept toward the (blank), but survived by clinging to a fig tree growing on a rock. When the whirlpool stopped the raft surfaced and Odysseus paddled away.

Question 32

Laertes

Answer 32

Father of Odysseus, heartbroken for the loss of his son. When Odysseus finally does return he approaches his father as a stranger and see’s how much (blank) cared about his lost son. Odysseus reveals himself to his father and Laertes is filled with joy to have his son back.

Question 33

Ithaka

Answer 33

(blank) is the homeland and kingdom of Odysseus which has not seen its noble leader in ten years due to his involvement in the Trojan War and the events that occur afterwards. The kingdom of (blank) has become disorderly due to a large and rowdy group of suitors who pillage the castle, eating and drinking all of the food and wine, due to their pursuit of Odysseus’ wife Penelope. (blank) is becoming dangerously close to falling to the suitors especially when they create a murder plan to rid the kingdom of Odysseus’s son Telemahkos so they could have complete dominance.

Question 34

Ino

Answer 34

is a minor goddess who appears to save Odysseus from drowning at sea. While Odysseus is sailing toward his next destination, Poseidon spots him and stirs up an intense storm with the intentions of dragging Odysseus under. Luckily for Odysseus, the goddess Ino comes to his rescue and afterwards gives him a special veil which he is told will keep him safe after his ship had been wrecked.

Question 35

Kirke

Answer 35

is a beautiful, witch-goddess who Odysseus and his crew run into immediately after their escape from the Laestrygonian giants. She tricks Odysseus’s crew into drinking with her which ultimately drugs them and turns them into pigs. Being the brave individual he is, Odysseus goes to rescue his men but Hermes intervenes, knowing that Odysseus cannot defeat (blank) without help. Hermes gives Odysseus a special herb which allows him to be immune to (blank)’s drug. When she lunges at him, thinking he is under her spell, he fights back and defeats her while forcing her to turn his men from pigs back to human beings. Afterwards, Odysseus stays with (blank) for about a year and him and his men feast and live luxuriously until (blank) tells them it’s time for them to sail once again.

Question 36

Eumaios

Answer 36

is the loyal swineherd and friend of Odysseus whom he knew before Odysseus left for the Trojan War. Upon return to Ithaka, (blank) is the very first individual that Odysseus meets. He tells Odysseus his life story which involves a Phoenician sailor seducing his nurse and convincing her to come aboard his ship. The only way he can promise her a safe passage is if she gives them some sort of collateral. The nurse gives (blank) to the men but she is later killed off. The Phoenicians then bring (blank) to Itaka and sell him to Laertes, who is Odysseus’s father, which is how he ended up there. He does not recognize the disguised Odysseus when he returns to Ithaka and treats him rather well, giving him food, drink, and shelter

Question 37

Elpenor

Answer 37

is an Ithakan soldier travelling back from Troy with Odysseus. On the morning when the Ithakans decide to leave Kirke’s island and set sail for home, (blank) awakes from a drunken stupor on a roof. Attempting to climb down a ladder he falls and breaks his neck. Later when Odysseus is make a sacrifice to the dead, he sees (blank) who begs Odysseys to return to Kirke’s island and give him a proper burial, which he does.

Question 38

Melanthios

Answer 38

is an Ithakan Goatherd. He has taken up with the suitors, giving them choice goats and serving them at dinner, and even aiding them in their fight against Odysseus by throwing arms down. In town the disguised Odysseus is introduced to him with taunts and a kick. During the battle he is tied to the roof, and saved after the maids were dealt with where he received special torture from the goatherd and cowherd