Engl 2200 Exam 1, part 2 (The Odyssey)

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey were both concerned with

- suffering and loss

- journeys at the end of the earth and confrontations with the dead

- characters who return home after a long time away

- characters who must come to terms with the facts of their death

How does Athena help Odysseus during the battle in the hall?

She hangs out in the rafters of the hall and intimidates the suitors

How do Odysseus and Telemachus deal with the traitorous serving women?

They hang them in the yard

Who does Odysseus go to visit after vanquishing the suitors?

laertes

Where does Odysseus tell his story to Penelope?

their bed

What does Penelope do while the battle is in progress?

sleep

Which character is able to recognize Odysseus in disguise?

argos

What mistake does Telemachus make during the great battle in the hall?

he leaves the door open

Who assists Telemachus in his journey?

mentor

What is the purpose or goal of Telemachus' journey?

To find news of his father

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy.

Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,

many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,

fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.

But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove—

the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,

the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun

and the Sungod blotted out the day of their return.

Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus,

start from where you will—sing for our time too.

proem of the odyssey

ogygia

Calypso's island

Who is penelope weaving a shroud for?

her father in law laertes

Antinous and Eurymachus

The two leading suitors, they differ in that Antinous is more physically aggressive while Eurymachus is a smooth talker.

where does telemachus go

sandy pylos then sparta

How does telemachus show leadership early in the story?

by calling assembly with the suitors and telling his mom to stop crying over the bard's song

nestor

King of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan War. Like Odysseus, Nestor is known as a clever speaker. Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his father, but Nestor knows little of Odysseus's whereabouts.

Agammenon

Agamemnon returned from Troy to find that Aegisthus had seduced and married his wife, Clytemnestra. Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon. Orestes, who was in exile in Athens, returned and killed Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.

Menealus

king of sparta, spoke of odysseus cunning like with the luck of troy, trojan horse

Why are greek poems so repetitive?

to help audience remember (they were performed over the span of several nights)

How does Odysseus escape becoming a pig?

a potion from hermes

wild desires in odysseus

for treaure (with the bag of wind), sex (circe), kleos (cyclops), food (polyphemus, helios)

suitors mock odysseus

violation of xenia

Helen's and Theoclymenus's interpretations of the separate bird omens rely on the perception of Odysseus as an aggressive, predatory creature

birds in the odyssey

Kleos

glory (poem dedicated to describing exploits of others, concerned with glory ex. The Illiad)

nostos

homecoming (poem dedicated to describing return of hero, concerned w/ homecoming ex. The Odyssey)

What caused the Trojan war?

The Greeks attacked Troy to avenge the insult suffered by Menelaus when his wife, Helen, ran off with Paris.

How long was the Trojan War?

10 years (most events happened in the final year)

How did Odysseus plan to evade the war?

he pretended to be crazy

The Iliad is a story about

strength + wrath of achilles (powerful greek hero)

How did Achille's mother try to prevent him from going to war?

She dressed him up as a woman (but he chose a sword over jewelry which exposed his gender)

Why did Athena curse the greeks to struggle coming home?

One of the greeks raped cassandra at the temple of athena

dolos/doloi

trickery, cunning plans

How did Odysseus get the luck of Troy?

dressed like a beggar in rags and enters the city pretending to be a traitor to the Greeks, then sneaks into the temple of athena and takes it

Telemachus name meaning

far from war

metis

cunning intelligence/ wisdom (ex. penelope)

How many suitors did Penelope trick with her loom?

108

Athena loves Odysseys so she takes __ under her wing

Telemachus

"shaker of seas" Poseidon is

emotional, erratic, and hates odysseus

proem

first 12 lines of a greek epic poem, orient audience

Odysseus is described as a man of

twists and turns (polytropos)

incipit

first lines of an epic

polutropos

"much turned" "much travelled" "resourceful" "of twists and turns"

xenia

hospitality (since gods come disguised as strangers)

why doesnt penelope kick out the suitors?

xenia

Author of the Odyssey

Homer

How did the suitors violate xenia?

rude, greedy, and overstayed their welcome

Why couldn't Odysseus leave the nymph after 7 years?

xenia

Why did Odysseus finally leave Calypso's island?

Zeus sends Hermes on his way to Calypso to tell her to let Odysseus go home. (She gives him supplies to build a raft and sets him off)

Why did Odysseys reject immortality?

devotion to his family, fear of isolation

Why is Poseidon even more angry with Odysseus?

the decision to let him go was made while he was absent at a wedding

Who restores Odysseus to the human role

Nausica

Nausica

The beautiful daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa discovers Odysseus on the beach at Scheria and, out of budding affection for him, ensures his warm reception at her parents' palace.

Why don't Phaeacians welcome strangers?

Because gods come in their regular form so they don't have to observe xenia

What happens in the land of the lotus eaters?

two or three of the men ate the lotus and they lost their memory, didn't want to leave or return home (important bc ithaca is all just a memory)

What do they do when they sneak into Polyphemus' cave

eat his cheese (violate xenia) which makes him eat his men

How does Odysseus get his men out of the Cyclops' cave?

He offers him wine, tells him his name is no one, and blinds him

Why does Odysseus call himself no one?

Loses his identity, only to regain it after blinding the cyclops (reclamation of identity)

hubris

excessive pride

How does Odysseus show hubris?

Tells the cyclops his name after blinding him, which causes him to be cursed by Poseidon

How does Odysseus show bad leadership with Aelos?

doesnt tell his men that it's a bag of wind which makes them jealous, open it, and to get off track

What does Circe do to men?

wipes their memory and turn them into pigs

What does Odysseus have to do after leaving Circe?

visit Hades and confront his past, present, and future (and mortality)

Who does Odysseus have to consult in the underworld?

Tiresias, the prophet

katabasis

descent in search of understanding

anabasis

ascent from the underworld

Tiresias' prophecy

poseidon will make the journey hard for him, he must curb he and his men's wilde desire, not to eat Helios' cattle (or he will return late, in a stranger's ship, with pain awaiting him), bury his ore inland after killing suitors, and sacrifice a beast to poseidon

___ tells Odysseus about the sirens

circe

How does Odysseus get his men past the sirens?

race fast, fills their ears with beeswax, and he is tied to a mast (abstain, accountability partner, indulge w/restraint)

Scylla and Charybdis

between a rock and a hard place

Scylla

sea, dog, aggressive woman, monster

Charybids

whirlpool

What happens with the cattle of helios?

Odysseus's crew slaughters the best of the cattle. The result is a terrible storm that destroys the ship and drowns everyone except Odysseus.

Why do the men eat the cattle?

they were starving (and stuck inland bc of wind) and Odysseus was gone praying, and then fell asleep

Why doesn't Odysseus recognize Ithaca?

Athena creates mist

Eumaus

swineherd

What establishes Odysseus as a stranger in his own home?

he is almost attacked by dogs on his homestead (while telemachus is not)

Argos

Odysseus' dog

Who recognizes Odysseus, making him cry, confirming he has a special essence about him?

Argos (theme of recognition and loyalty)

What can render a person identity-less

twists and turns and too much cunning

Who recognizes Odysseus by his scar?

Eurycleia, his old nurse-maid

How did Odysseus get his scar?

A boar hunting accident while hunting with his maternal grandfather

What does Odysseus name mean?

Son of Pain (giver and receiver of pain)

What is the contest Penelope constructs?

to fire an arrow through the head of 12 axeheads

How does Penelope test Odysseus?

She tells the servants to bring out his bed and then waits for his reaction.

The bow which is a guest gift from Epithios represents

xenia

Why doesn't Telemachus string the bow

Odysseus tells him not to (would signify coming of age)

swallow bird

comes home after migration (like odysseus, reclaiming position)

what happens when odysseus string the bow

slaughter ensues