Odyssey Book 9 Flashcards
Where does Book 9 start in?
- banquet with the Phaeacians
- telling King Alcinous his adventures before he got here
What had happened before the banquet?
- Trojan war
- all ships + crew destroyed
- Odysseus is the only suvivor
What happened between Odysseus and the Cicones?
- sacked city (raided then burnt)
- slew the men
- split the women and loot amongst the crew fairly
What did Odysseus command his men to do after they sacked the city?
- to leave the island quickly
- foresaw counterattack
What did Odysseus’ crew do instead of leaving the Cicones?
what does it suggest?
- have a feast
- drank wine
- slaughtered sheep
- celebrate victory
suggests they lack foresight, arrogant, stupid
What did the Cicones do after Odysseus and his crew attacked and did not leave?
- called their allies for counter attack
How long did the battle between the Cicones and Odysseus last?
- 1 day from dawn to dusk
How did the battle between Odysseus and the Cicones end?
- fled onto ship
- 72 of Odysseus’ men died
List the strengths of Odysseus’s leadership during the battle with the Cicones
- foreseen counter attack (thinks ahead)
- splits loot equally (fair)
- good leader exemplified by success in sacking the city
- won even though him and crew were outnumbered
- managed to escape
List the weaknesses of Odysseus’ leadership during the battle with the Cicones
- his mean ignored him (not respected enough/ no authority)
- can’t persuade men
How does Odysseus and crew escape Zeus’ storm?
- wait for it to calm down on an island
What is stopping Odysseus from going home?
- weather causes him to constantly go off course
- gets lost
Zeus doesn’t like him
How long does Odysseus drift until he reaches the Lotus Eaters?
- 9 days
What did Odysseus do after he reaches the country of the Lotus Eaters?
- sends 3 men to go and explore
What happens when the men encounter the Lotus Eaters?
- gets offered lotus fruit
- gets addicted to it, forgets to go home
Lotus eaters
How did Odysseus manage to get the men back onto the ship?
- drag them back forcefully
- tied them on the ship
- commands the other men to leave quickly in case somebody else eats the lotus fruit
What did Odysseus do once he reaches the “goat island”?
- hunt goats with crew and split them
- ate and drank wine
What makes the “goat island” attractive?
- many mountain goats
- fertile soil
- safe harbour
- rich well watered meadows
Why were the cyclopes described as “lawless” and “fierce”?
- no laws, no government
- live in caves
- no craftsmen, no ships to go to other islands
- each family of cyclopes are isolated, doesn’t care for neighbours
What is strange about the Cyclopes’ approach to “farming” and wine production?
- rely on gods for crops/ Zeus for rain
- crops grow without ploughing or sowing
- wheat, barley, vines grow naturally
Why did Odysseus go to the Cyclopes’ mainland?
- curious to see what kind of people lived on the island
unnecessarily curious/ nosy
How did Odysseus get his fine wine that he took with him to the Cyclopes’ mainland?
- recieved from Maron, priest of Apollo
- protected him, his wife and children
- gift for helping him
What did Odysseus’ men want to do after they went into the cave?
- take some cheeses
- take a few kids and goats to boat
- set sail and go
learnt their lesson from staying too long?
Why did Odysseus not listen to his men when they asked him to leave?
- wanted to see what the cyclops was like
- wanted xenia from him (greedy?)
What did Polythemus ask Odysseus once he had discovered him?
- his name
- whether if they are pirates
- why they are here
- goes against xenia rules- have to look after guest first before questioning them
What did Odysseus do to get out of the cave?
- gives Polythemus his wine from Maron
- gets him drunk/ asleep
- takes an olive branch to use as stake
- heats it in the fire -> stabs Polythemus in the eye
- ties each of crew + himself under 3 sheep
- sheep would be allowed to graze = freedom
What did Odysseus say as he gets asked for his name and how does it save him later?
- says his name is “Nobody”
- Polythemus shouts that “nobody” has hurt him, other cyclops won’t help him
- cannot curse Odysseus
What was Odysseus’ mistake when he leaves the island?
- reveals his location by shouting at Polythemus (rock almost hits ship)
- mock Polythemus and reveals his name (allows him to be cursed by cyclops)
What did Polythemus curse Odysseus of?
- never reach his home
- for the journey to take a long time
- suffer to get there
- all crew killed
- find terrible things happening at Ithaca
Why did Zeus ignore Odysseus’ sacrifice?
- afraid of angering Poseidon?
- went against xenia
- sacrifice was stolen from Polythemus
What did Odysseus do once he and his men escape from the cyclops?
- split the goats/ sheep they stolen evenly between them
- sacrifice to Zeus
What were the strengths of Odysseus’ leadership facing Polythemus?
- splits goats fairly at the end of episode
- resourceful/ cunning, tells cyclops that his name is “nobody”
- patient- doesn’t directly fight cyclops, sacrifices 4 men to save majority
- hiding under sheep plan = clever
- doesn’t panic in moments of stress
- sees through question of cyclops asking about rest of crew- says they are dead to protect them
What were the weaknesses of Odysseus’ leadership facing Polythemus?
- too curious - could’ve not went into cave
- insists on staying even when his men urged him to go - stubborn/ greedy for xenia
- boasts to Cyclops = cursed, almost damages ship
- judges cyclops for not following xenia (host) = hypocritical
- bad guest - blinded host, helps himself to cheese, stole sheep
