The Wanderings of Odysseus Flashcards
After the fall of Troy what did Odysseus do?
Odysseus spent 10 years sailing back to his home in Ithaca.
What land did he come to first?
The land of the Lotus Eaters.
What did eating the Lotus Flower do to people?
Made them lose all desire to return home.
What land did he come to after the Lotus Eaters?
The land of the Cyclopes.
Which cyclops did he meet?
Polyphemus.
Where was Odysseus trapped with Polyphemus?
In his cave.
How many of Odysseus’s men did Polyphemus eat?
6 men.
What did Odysseus tell Polyphemus that his name was?
Nobody.
What did Odysseus blind Polyphemus with?
A stake.
What did Polyphemus say when people came to help him?
Nobody was hurting him.
How did Odysseus and his men escape from the cave?
Tied under the bellies of Polyphemus’s sheep.
What did Polyphemus do after Odysseus sailed away?
He asked Poseidon, his father, to put a curse on him.
Which land did Odysseus come to after he left Polyphemus?
The island of Aeolus, king of the winds.
What was in the bag that Aeolus gave to Odysseus?
Every wind was trapped in it other than the one needed to travel home to Ithaca.
What did Odysseus’s men think the bag from Aeolus contained?
Gold. They opened it and were promptly blown back to Ithaca.
What happened when he reached the land of Laestrygonians?
Almost all his men were eaten and all by Odysseus’s ship was destroyed.
Where did he go after the land of the Laestrygonians?
They came to the island where the enchantress Circe lived.
Who did the enchantress Circe turn into pigs?
A band of men led by Eurylochus.
How did Odysseus help the men that Circe had turned into pigs?
Odysseus, Hermes and a magic plant called Moly turned the men back into humans.
what did Circe advise Odysseus to do?
Visit the underworld and consult Tiresias the prophet.
What advice did Tiresias give to Odysseus?
He warned Odysseus of the dangers ahead and not to harm the cattle of the Sun.
What measures did Odysseus take when he sailed past the sirens?
He told all his men to put wax in their ears and to tie him to the mast of the ship.
Where did Odysseus sail to after he had passed the sirens?
He sailed past Scylla and Charybdis.
After they past Scylla and Charybdis which island did they land on?
They landed on the island of the sun god where Odysseus warned his men not to harm the cattle.
What happened after Odysseus’s men ignored his advice not to harm the cattle and ate some?
When they sailed on Zeus destroyed their ship with a massive storm - only Odysseus survived.
Where was Odysseus washed up after the storm that killed all his men?
He was washed up on the island of Calypso. He spent 7 years there.
where did he sail to when he left Calypso?
Odysseus sailed to the land of the Phaeacians where he was well received and sent on to him own home of Ithaca.
What did Odysseus discover when he reached home?
He discovered that his wife Penelope had been besieged by suitors, all keen to marry her.
How did his son Telemachus help Odysseus?
He disguised himself as a beggar and overcame the suitors, Then he was reunited with his wife, Penelope.
