The Odyssey Flashcards
Odysseus (cunning) - Bowra
‘His need for cunning is enforced by his own recklessness’
Heroism - J. Morrison
Homer offers the audience a ‘paradox: a tricky hero’
Heroism - R. Sowerby
‘Homer’s polytropic hero and polytropic plot reflect each other perfectly’
Nostos - L. Pratt
Odysseus identity is ‘wrapped up in regaining his kingdom and restoring balance in Ithaca’
Odysseus (disguise) - P. Jones
‘expertise and ease of deception’
‘his disguises and deceptions are a means to a justifiable and suitably heroic end’
Homer - Anaxagoras
Homer’s epics ‘teach moral guidelines’
Penelope - J. Griffin
‘Penelope’s loyalty is central to the storyline’
Penelope - S. Schein
‘Homer ranks Penelope’s heroism and power as equal with Odysseus’
Women - E. Wilson
‘The Odyssey traces deep male fears about female power’
Shows the ‘terrible damage’ done to women
Nausicaa - Wilde
For the male audience ‘the encounter with Nausicaa presents a moment of sexual fantasy’
The gods - J. Griffin
‘a way for the poet to attribute meaning to otherwise random events’
‘needs their advice and favour’ but ‘clearly contemplates his options and makes independent decisions’
The gods - A. Kahne
Athene one of the ‘main agents driving the Odyssey’s plot’
The Suitors - P. Jones
‘reckless disregard for the bond of xenia is enough to justify their deaths’
Xenia - J. Morrison
Homer ‘expects his readers to recognise appropriate behaviour in accordance with the code of hospitality’
Xenia - Fables
‘the one universally recognised morality’
