Odyssey- book 8

Question 1

what happens at dawn at the beginning of the book?

Answer 1

Alcinous leads Odysseus to the place where the ships are held and where the phaeacians hold their assemblies.

Question 2

what happens whilst King Alcinous and Odysseus are by the harbour?

Answer 2

Athene disguises herself as one of Alcinous’ heralds, and goes into the city of the phaeacians to give the citizens the message that alcinous wants everyone to hear about a stranger who has arrived at the palace.
Athene then makes odysseus appear taller and broader, and blesses him with divine beauty so that he will inspire the phaeacian people.

Question 3

what is the island of the phaeacians called?

Answer 3

Scherie

Question 4

what does king alcinous say when he addresses the phaeacians after Athene has called together an assembly?

Answer 4

Alcinous addresses the phaeacians and tells everyone that they should make arrangements to escort odysseus- he orders a black ship to be picked out to sail in, and for 52 oarsmen to accompany odysseus- everyone else, he says, should gather to feast and celebrate.

Question 5

what happens after everyone has feasted?

Answer 5

the bard Demodocus sings about the battle between Odysseus and Achilles. The song moves Odysseus to tears. Though Odysseus hides his weeping under his cape, Alcinous notices the tears and urges the guests to move on to athletic competitions so that Odysseus can witness that no one is better at olympic games than the phaeacians

Question 6

when king Alcinous sees Odysseus crying despite him hiding under his cape, what does he do?

Answer 6

Alcinous notices the tears and urges the guests to move on to athletic competitions so that Odysseus can witness that no one is better at olympic games than the phaeacians

Question 7

what competitions are held?

Answer 7

There is a footrace, followed by wrestling, jumping, and discus-throwing.

Question 8

who is laodamas and what does he do?

Answer 8

Laodamas (alcinous’ son) invites Odysseus to join the competition, but Odysseus declines, citing his long suffering and exhaustion.

Question 9

what does Eurylaus do?

Answer 9

Euryalus, another champion, taunts Odysseus, claiming that he must not be skilled in athletics. This angers Odysseus, and he agrees to compete in the games.
He takes up the discus, which is heavier than any the phaeacians normally use, and throws it farther than any other competitor.

Question 10

what happens after Odysseus has thrown the discus?

Answer 10

Athena in disguise as someone in the crowd, praises him and goads him on, and Odysseus boasts that he’ll defeat anyone in the crowd in any sport (apart from the laodamas, as he is his host)

Question 11

when Alcinous sees how angered Odysseus is, how does he reply?

Answer 11

Alcinous admits that Odysseus’s anger is reasonable, and reminds him that he wants Odysseus to return home and tell his family and friends that the Phaeacians have been given great athletic gifts by zeus, and tells him that the Phaeacians do not excel in all sports but are masters of racing and sailing, and feasting as well, and tells his court dancers to begin dancing.

Question 12

as the court dancers begin dancing, what does demodocus the bard start singing about?

Answer 12

the bard tells the story of Ares and Aphrodite. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was unfaithful to her goldsmith husband Hephaestus with Ares, the god of war. When Hephaestus learned of the infidelity from Helios, the god of the sun, he created very fine gold chains that he slipped around the posts of Aphrodite’s bed. He pretended to leave for a trip, and when Ares and Aphrodite went to bed together the near-invisible chains trapped them in each other’s arms. When Hephaestus found them he cried out in anguish and all the gods gathered at his house, laughing at the unusual sight. The gods laughed because the crippled Hephaestus defeated the powerful god of war.

Question 13

what god convinced hephaestus to release Ares?

Answer 13

poseidon

Question 14

after demodocus the bard stops singing about the story of Ares and Aphrodite, what happens?

Answer 14

Alcinous’s best dancers perform, and Odysseus is amazed at their skill.

Question 15

what parting gifts does Odysseus receive?

Answer 15

-Euryalus gives Odysseus a beautiful sword to apologise for his taunts, and Odysseus graciously accepts the apology.
-Queen Arete gives Odysseus a trunk of fine clothes, and the maids give him a bath

Question 16

what does Nausicaa say to Odysseus as they say goodbye?

Answer 16

she teasingly reminds him that he owes her his life.

Question 17

what is the last story which the bard demodocus sings about?

Answer 17

The bard Demodocus describes how the wooden horse full of Achaean soldiers secretly entered Troy, and how the Achaeans burst from the horse and defeated the Trojans; the bard mentions the particular courage of Odysseus and Menelaus. Odysseus cries to hear the tale. Only Alcinous notices his tears, and he asks the bard to stop singing. He urges Odysseus to finally reveal his identity and to explain his tears.

Question 18

how does book 8 end?

Answer 18

With king alcinous urging Odysseus to finally reveal his identity and explain why he is weeping.

Question 19

How is the theme of xenia shown in book 8?

Answer 19

-Alcinous offers Odysseus xenia gifts, including gold and new tunics, whilst Euryalus offers Odysseus a bronze sword as an apology
-Odysseus doesn’t challenge laodamas, as he is his host and that would go against xenia, however Laodamas encourages Odysseus to take part in the Phaeacian games despite the fact that it is against the rules of Xenia to challenge someone who is seeking suppliance/xenia

Question 20

what does Walcott say on ‘entertaining strangers’?

Answer 20

Alcinous and Polyphemus are designed to contrast each other, whilst alcinous is a good host with few flaws, polyphemus is a terrible host. It also shows how entertaiming guests can lead to mixed results. Lastly, the source contrasts humans and gods in their responses to bad situations.