The Odyssey: Odysseus' Nostoi Flashcards
lectures 20 & 21, ch. 22
While Odysseus makes his journey home, there are 12 stops/events that occur before he returns to Ithaca. What are these stops? Briefly explain a notable feature.
- Cicones (mini troy) - the crew ransacks it.
- Land of the Lotus Eaters - the crew loses their desire
to return home. - Polyphemus - Odysseus is cursed.
- Island of Aeolus - Odysseus receives a bag of winds that prevents the crew from landing on Ithaca.
- Laestrygonians - cannibals (oh my)
- Island of Circe - Odysseus learns how to summon the dead (necromancer status. slay.)
- The Sirens - Odysseus is the only man to have heard their song and not be lured by it.
- Scylla - a 6 headed monster that eats 6 men of his
crew. - Helius’ Island - Zeus destroys their ship.
- Island of Ogygia - 7 year Calypso detour.
- Phaeacia - Returns Odysseus to Ithaca
- ITHACA - finally home after being gone for 20 years.
What is the main plot of Homer’s Odyssey?
Odysseus’ 10 year voyage home after the 10 year Trojan War.
What is unique about the storytelling in Homer’s Odyssey?
The story takes place through flashbacks of Odysseus as he is telling his story to King Alcinous after washing up on the island of Phaeacia.
After the events of the Trojan War, what was the first thought made by Odysseus and his crew?
CICONE (a mini-troy)
The crew arrives, ransacks the city, and off they go.
In Homer’s Odyssey, what was the second stop made by Odysseus and his crew?
LAND OF THE LOTUS EATERS - Upon consumption of a lotus, an individual will lose themself and their
ambitions.
- The crew consumes the Lotus and they lose their desire to return home.
- Odysseus does not consume a lotus, collects the crew and makes them leave.
In Homer’s odyssey, what was the third stop made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened? Why was this stop so significant?
LAND OF THE CYCLOPES - This stop exhibits a violation of xenia from both Odysseus and Polyphemus.
1. The crew lands on the island, but Odysseus’ personal crew explores the island.
2. They come across a cave with all sorts of food and they proceed to sit down and consume the food; waiting for the inhabitant to arrive in hopes of receiving gifts to honor xenia.
3. Polyphemus, cyclops son of Poseidon, arrives home with his sheep and covers the entrance with a large
stone.
4. After he notices the crew, Polyphemus kills some of the men and eat some of them. Odysseus tries to bargain with Polyphemus, but is unsuccessful.
5. Recognizing that Odysseus needs to be clever in order for him and his crew to escape, he offers Polyphemus wine that the crew had brought with them and gets the cyclops drunk.
6. After Polyphemus falls asleep, the crew then fashions a sharp stick, heat it in a fire, and stab it in Polyphemus’ eye effectively blinding the cyclops.
7. After being blinded, polyphemus wakes up screaming and moves the large stone away from the door, unaware that Odysseus had strapped his crew to the bellies of sheep. The sheep leave the cave and the men escape.
8. After returning to their ships, Odysseus boasts to Polyphemus, saying that it was the great Odysseus who outsmarted the cyclops. Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, requests that his father get revenge on Odysseus.
In Homer’s odyssey, what was the 4th stop made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
ISLAND OF KING AEOLUS, KEEPER OF THE WINDS.
- King Aeolus is a great host and upon the crew’s departure, he gifts a bag of winds to Odysseus.
- The crew sails away, Ithaca is in sight, Odysseus falls asleep holding the bag of winds.
- The crew believes that Odysseus is withholding a bag of gold, so while Odysseus is sleeping, the crew takes the bag and opens it. The winds blow the ship away from Ithaca and back to Aeolus.
In Homer’s odyssey, what was the 5th stop made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
NOT REALLY A “STOP” - LAESTRYGONIANS
- These people are cannibals.
- They eat some of the crew as well as throw rocks at their ship.
In Homer’s odyssey, what was the sixth stop made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
ISLAND OF CIRCE
1. They land and the crew explores, ending up at Circe’s house. Upon their discovery of Circe, she transforms the crew into animals.
2. Odysseus is made aware that the crew has been transformed and he requires help in getting them back. Hermes comes in clutch.
3. Hermes tells Odysseus that he needs to consume a substance called “moly” which will protect him from Circe’s spell, So Odysseus consumes it.
4. Odysseus finds Circe’s house and she tries to turn Odysseus into an animal, but fails. She recognizes what’s happened; she has received a warning that a stranger will evade her magic. She then offers to fuck Odysseus but Odysseus had been warned by Hermes.
5. Odysseus makes her agree to an oath promising that she will not harm or castrate him if he does agree. She promises that she won’t, and they fuck.
6. The crew is transformed back into people and before they leave, Odysseus is taught by Circe how to summon spirits of the dead (specifically so he can obtain special knowledge from Tiresias).
In Homer’s odyssey, what is the 7th “stop” made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
THE SIRENS
- Circe had warned Odysseus that they would pass the sirens and she recommends that the crew stuffs their ears with wax.
- If Odysseus does not want to plug his ears, he must have his crew hog tie him to the ship’s mast and while passing the sirens, if he were to beg or order his crew to free him then the crew must tie him tighter.
- Odysseus & Co. listen to Circe, Odysseus is tied to the mast and is tied tighter when he begs to be freed.
- Therefore, Odysseus is the only man who has heard the sirens song and has lived to tell the tale.
In Homer’s odyssey, what is the eighth “stop” made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
SCYLLA
- Odysseus has been told that at a certain point in their journey, He will arrive to a “fork in the road.”
- To continue their voyage, they must pass either Scylla, a 6 headed monster, or Charybdis, a whirlpool. Odysseus chooses Scylla.
- Scylla consumes 6 of his men.
In Homer’s odyssey, what is the ninth stop made by Odysseus and his crew? What happened?
HELIUS’ ISLAND
- Odysseus had been warned that under no circumstances should he or his crew steal the cattle found on this island.
- The crew lands on the island and they begin to run out of food.
- While Odysseus is asleep or out exploring, he returns to find the crew ate some of the cattle.
- Upon their departure, Helius goes to Zeus and explains what happened. Zeus uses a thunderbolt and destroys their ship, Odysseus is the only survivor.
In Homer’s odyssey, what is the 10th stop made by Odysseus? What happened?
ISLAND OF OGYGIA / Calypso
- Odysseus washes up on this island where Calypso finds him and helps him recover.
- ODYSSEUS SPENDS 7 YEARS WITH CALYPSO.
- Calypso promises Odysseus eternal life if he were to marry her, but Odysseus just wants to go home.
- Eventually Athena steps in, asking Zeus to relent and let Odysseus go home. Zeus agrees.
- Odysseus creates a raft, but Poseidon is still holding a grudge and sends a storm that destroys his raft.
In Homer’s Odyssey, what is the eleventh stop made by Odysseus? What happened?
PHAEACIA
- After Poseidon destroyed his raft, Odysseus washes up on the shore of Phaeacia.
- Nausicaa, Phaeacian princess, finds Odysseus and brings him to her father.
- Odysseus gets cleaned up and tells King Alcinous the story of his journey thus far.
- The Phaeacians sail to Ithaca to bring Odysseus back home.
In Homer’s Odyssey, what is the twelfth stop made by Odysseus? What happened?
ITHACA - finally home.
1. Odysseus returns to Ithaca but Athena disguises him as an old beggar. He finds refuge in the swineherd’s, Eumaeus, hut.
2. Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, finds him in the hut and informs him of the disarray of the palace that has occurred in the form of the suitors.
3. Still disguised, Odysseus arrives at the palace and is treated poorly by the suitors.
4. Penelope, Odysseus’ wife, tells a maid, Eurycleia, to clean up the beggar. This maid ends up recognizing Odysseus but she doesn’t say anything.
5. Penelope can no longer keep the suitors away so she holds a contest:
- The first man that can string Odysseus’s bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe handles will have her hand.
6. The suitors try and they all fail, but the “beggar” steps up to try. The suitors insult him until the “beggar” immediately strings the bow and easily shoots an arrow through the axe handles.
7. oh hey, that’s not a beggar, that is Odysseus. uh oh. With the help of Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Athena, Odysseus & Co. kill all the suitors.
8. It has been 20 years since she has seen her husband, understandably, Penelope is unsure if this is really Odysseus. She asks a servant to bring their bed out into the hallway to provide a place to sleep for Odysseus. He is appalled because there is no way you could take the bed out of their room as a tree is one of the bed posts, it is immovable.
- Only Odysseus would have known that, Penelope had tricked him in order to confirm that it really was Odysseus.
