Homers’ Odyssey scholar Flashcards

Homer asks us to apply the code of hospitality to the various characters in the epic in order to distinguish good from bad

Morrison

Many of the remarkable figures in Homer’s Odyssey are female characters, both mortal and divine

Morrison

They continuously fail to behave in the manner we expect. They steal, commit adultery, quarrel and spend their time drinking and laughing

Graziosi

Calypso is an invention to give Telemachus time to grow up

Jones

‘Surrogate wives’, women who in one way or another try to take the place of Penelope

Morrison

The use of Zeus allows the plot to be arbitrary without seeming to be

Tracy

Penelope symbolises the goal for which Odysseus constantly strives

Murray

Penelope is the equal focus and hero of the poem

Murray

Women were not as segregated but their place was still firmly in the home

Hayward

Penelope in order to be praised and prove herself worthy, must be true to Odysseus

Morrison

Throughout Odysseus’ wanderings it is Penelope who remains firmly at the centre of the epic, and it is she who symbolizes the goal for which Odysseus constantly strives his homecoming

Murray

For all the dangerous girls, women, goddesses and monsters that Odysseus meets on his way home, it is Penelope herself who constitutes the greatest peril for him

Graziosi

Penelope is the greatest peril, because Odysseus will lose everything without her

Graziosi

When the heroes sailed to Troy, they had no problems in leaving their wives to manage their kingdoms

Pomeroy

Odysseus transcended gender by weeping like a woman, so Penelope weeps like male sailors whose experience mirrors her husbands

Callen King

Eurymachus is a more subtle character than Antinous, with a more attractive exterior masking hidden cunning

Sowerby

Antinous is straightforwardly a nasty piece of work

Jones

They have invaded the house in a gross perversion of xenia and their collective wickedness is seen through Homer's moral messages

Jones

Homer’s polytropic hero and polytropic plot reflect each other perfectly. Odysseus’ character unfolds naturally with the action

Sowerby

Odysseus achieves glory in part by underhandedness, by stealth and by deception [...] Homer offers his audience something of a paradox: a tricky hero

Morrison

Portrays the character of his heroes by presenting them to us in action, so that we see what they do and hear what they say, thus allowing us to make up our own minds about them

Thorpe

One of the main agents driving the Odyssey's plot is Odysseus’ patron, the goddess Athena

Kahane

There are 3 types of figure with which Nausicaa might be compared [...] a rape victim, a helper or she could be a temptress/monster

Kelly

Quite intent on helping Odysseus return home

Morrison

Trickery - not always associated with heroism - is one of Odysseus’ great strengths

Morrison

His vengeance can be seen as the heroic race asserting supremacy over later and lesser men

Michael Clarke

When he slaughters the suitors, the act of vengeance brings his heroic self to the fore once again

Michael Clarke