The Odyssey Bk11-24 Flashcards
What does Hermes give to Circe?
Moly- An antidote to Circes drug (looks like a milk white flower with black root)
How is Hermes related to O?
O’s great grandfather- Odyssues’ grandfather from Anticleia (his mum) called Autolykus was a famous thief
What happens between Circe and O?
She becomes O’s lover and offers Xenia (rubs oil, clothed him in tunic)
How does O show his kleos when with Circe?
Says- “how can any honourable man bear to eat before freeing his men”. — Circe then frees his men
Who argues with Odysseus’ suggestion to stay with Circe?
Eurolychus says (“it was this mans reckless folly!)
How long does Odysseus stay with Circe?
1 Year
Why does O leave Circe?
He actually wants to stay but his companions convince him to leave to continue the journey- ironic as the companions are YEARNING OUT OF NOSTOS
How must Odysseus get back home and who tells him this?
Circe says that O must travel to the underworld and meet Tiresias (a blind prophet) who will tell him how
What happens to 1 of the comrades before they leave?
Elpenor gets drunk, goes to the roof, falls off the roof and breaks his neck= bad omen? no kleos?
What does Tiresias tell Odysseus?
They mustn’t slaughter/harm the cattle of Helios or else all the comrades will die
Who does Odysseus meet at the Underworld?
Agamemnon- tells story of death by Clymentstra
Achilles- is discontent in the underworld
Elpenor- asks for a proper burial in Aeaea
Anticleia(mum)- tells him how she died of grief
Ajax- refuses to speak to O
What does Achilles say in the Underworld?
“I would rather work as a serf on hire to a landless impoverished peasant than be king of the dead”= Juxtaposition between serf// king— He chose fame and an early death, and now says he regrets the decision. Almost an encouragement to O to stay alive
What happens in BK12?
Circe provides supplies. Odysseus then has to tackle the sirens (whose singing lures people to lose sanity). Homer does this to touch on mankind’s irresistible and deadly appeal.
What do the sirens create/ represent?
Pure, unmotivated desire to have no desire of nostos= selfish and dishonourable/ lack of self restraint
How does Circe resolve the sirens temptation?
Tells the comrades to put beeswax BUT knows Odysseus doesn’t want to so makes the comrades tie him back tightly and keep him secur— he is almost driven mad by his desire to submit!
Who is Scylla?
A 6 headed monster who eats 6 sailors/comrades via each head
Who is Charybdis?
An enormous whirlpool that threatens to swallow the entire ship
What does Circe tell Odysseus to do?
Tells Odysseus to sail his ship past Scylla and sacrifice 6 men rather than all men and sinking— therefore 6 men die
Where is Thrinacia?
Land of the sun god Helios
What happens at Thrincia?
The men want to stop and Eurylochus convinces Odysseus to let the stay since they have a ton of supplies left. BUT a storm keeps them for a month and they eventually slaughter the cattle as per Eurylochus’ say and die as Zeus causes a storm— Odysseus reaches at Ogyia where he spends his 7 years
What do the Phaecians do for O?
Alcinous loads his gifts on board the ship that will carry Odysseus to Ithaca. Odysseus sets sail and he sleeps the whole night, while the Phaeacian crew commands the ship. The crew gently carries him and his gifts to shore and then sails for home
What does Poseidon do to the Phaeacians?
Poseidon spots Odysseus in Ithaca, he becomes enraged at the Phaeacians for not assisting his nemesis. He complains to Zeus, who allows him to punish the Phaeacians. Just as their ship is pulling into harbour at Scheria, the ship suddenly turns to stone and sinks to the bottom of the sea
Who does Odysseus meet when he awakens in Ithaca?
Athena (disguised)
What does Athena say to Odysseus?
Athena announces that it is time for Odysseus to use his wits to punish the suitors. She tells him to hide out in the hut of his swineherd, Eumaeus. She informs him that Telemachus has gone in search of news of him and gives him the appearance of an old vagabond (tramp)
What happens between Eumaeus and Odysseus?
Eumaeus doesn’t recognize the Odysseus as his master, he invites him inside. There Odysseus has a meal and listens as Eumaeus heaps praise upon the memory of his former master, whom he fears is lost for good, and scorns upon the behaviour of his new master
What fabricated story does Odysseus tell Eumaeus?
Odysseus lies that he is from Crete. He fought with Odysseus at Troy and made it home safely, he claims, but a trip that he made later to Egypt went awry, and he was reduced to poverty. It was during this trip, he says, that he heard that Odysseus was still alive
What omen does Helen say?
an eagle carrying a goose swoop down beside him. Helen interprets the incident as an omen that Odysseus is about to swoop down on his home and exact revenge on the suitors.
Who is Pisistratus
Nestors son
Who does Telemachus offer Xenia to?
Theoclymenus ( a criminal)
What omen does Theoclymenus see?
Sees a hawk fly by carrying a
dove in its talons, which Theoclymenus interprets as a favourable sign of the strength of Odysseus’s house and line.
How does O test Eumaeus’ Xenia?
Tests the limit of his hospitality by offering to leave in the morning, a false gesture that he hopes will prompt Eumaeus to offer to let him stay longer. He urges the old man not to go out of his way
What plan do Telemachus and Odysseus make?
When Odysseus enters the hut, his old-man disguise is gone, and he stands in the pristine glory of his heroic person. At first, Telemachus cannot believe his eyes, but then the two embrace and weep. Odysseus recounts his trip with the Phaeacians and then begins plotting the overthrow of the suitors. He formulates a plan to launch a surprise attack from within the palace: Odysseus will enter disguised as a beggar and Telemachus will hide the palace’s surplus arms (excess weapons) where the suitors cannot easily reach them. The two of them will then seize the arms and slaughter the suitors.
What do the suitors do when they hear of Telemachus’ return?
Antinous recommends putting Telemachus to death before he can call an assembly at which the suitors’ dirty schemes can be aired, but Amphinomus, one of the more thoughtful and well-behaved suitors, persuades the others to wait for a sign from the gods before doing anything so rash.
what happens in the palace with another beggar?
Another beggar ( IRUS)saunters into the palace. For a beggar, he is rather brash: he insults Odysseus and challenges him to a boxing match.
Whats the outcome?
It ends quickly as Odysseus floors Irus and stops just short of killing him.
What does Athena do to aggravate Odysseus?
Hoping to make Odysseus even more angry at the suitors, Athena now inspires Eurymachus to insult him. When
Odysseus responds with insults of his own, Eurymachus throws a stool at him but misses, hitting a servant instead
Does Penelope like the beggar O?
Yes they bond well and she cries as he describes Odysseus. She then makes Eurycleia wash his feet
Does Eurycleia recognise Odysseus?
As she is putting them in a basin of water, she notices a scar on one of his feet. She immediately recognizes it as the scar that Odysseus received when he went boar hunting with his grandfather Autolycus. She throws her arms around Odysseus, but he silences her by grabbing her throat. The faithful Eurycleia declares to be silent
What does Penelope tell Odysseus?
Penelope describes to Odysseus a dream that she has had in which an eagle swoops down upon her twenty pet geese and kills them all; it then perches on her roof and, in a human voice, says that he is her husband who has just put her lovers to death. Penelope declares that she has no idea what this dream means. Rising to the challenge, Odysseus explains it to her. But Penelope decides that she is going to choose a new husband nevertheless: she will marry the first man who can shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve axes set in a line
How can we see O and Ps’ homophroshyne?
Tormented by the loss of her husband and her commitment to remarry, Penelope wakes and prays for Artemis to kill her. Her distress wakes Odysseus, who asks Zeus for a good omen. Zeus responds with a clap of thunder
What is another Omen at the dinner table with the suitors?
Ctesippus, a wealthy and arrogant suitor, throws a cow’s hoof at Odysseus, in response to which Telemachus threatens to run him through with his sword. The suitors laugh and laugh, failing to notice that they and the walls of the room are covered in blood and that their faces have assumed a foreign, ghostly look—all of which Theoclymenus interprets as portents of inescapable doom (resembles land of the dead
Who is Melantho and Who is Melanthius?
Melanthius is a treacherous and opportunistic goatherd who supports the suitors, especially Eurymachus, and abuses the beggar who appears in Odysseus’s palace
Melantho is his sister ( a maid ) of the same characteristics who abuses Odysseus
What is homophrosyne?
A connection/ shared understanding between 2 characters
Who is Penelope compared to?
Penelope begins in a striking way, with an extended comparison between herself and the nightingale – Aedon
