The Odyssey Study Guide: Books I-XXIV

Book I: Invocation and the Council on Mount Olympus

• Homer begins the epic poem by invoking the Muse, a traditional appeal for divine inspiration to tell the story of Odysseus.
• Odysseus is introduced as a hero who is currently stranded far from his home in Ithaca following the conclusion of the Trojan War.
• The setting shifts to Mount Olympus where a divine assembly takes place. Athena argues before the gods that Odysseus deserves to be helped and returned home.
• Poseidon’s Hostility: It is revealed that Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angry with Odysseus because the hero blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.
• Athena’s Intervention: In disguise as Mentes, Athena visits Ithaca to provide guidance to Odysseus’ son, Telemachus.
• Telemachus is encouraged by Athena to stand up to the group of suitors living in his house and to embark on a journey to find news of his missing father.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What is the purpose of the first $10$ lines of the poem?
• Response: They serve to introduce Odysseus’ journey, invoke the presiding Muse, and establish the central themes of the work: suffering, heroism, and perseverance.
• Question: Why has Odysseus not yet returned home?
• Response: Poseidon is actively punishing him for his actions, and the goddess Calypso is keeping him captive on her island.
• Question: What does Athena do during the meeting on Olympus?
• Response: She successfully persuades Zeus to provide aid to Odysseus and subsequently descends to guide Telemachus.
• Question: What are the suitors doing in Odysseus' palace?
• Response: They are feasting, drinking, and depleting Odysseus’ wealth while relentlessly courting his wife, Penelope.
• Question: What specific words describe the suitors?
• Response: They are described as arrogant, greedy, reckless, disrespectful, and wasteful.
• Question: Why is hospitality important in this context?
• Response: Known as xenia, hospitality was considered a sacred duty protected directly by Zeus.
• Question: How does Athena appear to Telemachus?
• Response: She appears in the guise of Mentes.
• Question: Whom is Telemachus advised to visit?
• Response: He is told to visit Nestor and Menelaus.
• Question: What should Telemachus do about the suitors?
• Response: He is instructed to confront them in a public forum and eventually drive them out of his home.

Book II: The Assembly and Telemachus’ Departure

• Telemachus calls an official assembly in Ithaca to publicly condemn the behavior of the suitors.
• During the proceedings, Penelope’s strategy to delay her remarriage is exposed: she had been weaving a burial shroud for Laertes and secretly undoing the work every night for three years.
• Zeus sends a divine omen to the assembly: two ($2$) eagles are seen fighting overhead, which is interpreted as a sign of Odysseus’ eventual return and the impending destruction of the suitors.
• Telemachus prepares for his journey and leaves Ithaca in secret to seek information regarding his father’s whereabouts.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: How has Telemachus changed as a character?
• Response: He has become significantly more confident and assertive in his actions and speech.
• Question: Why does Telemachus call an assembly?
• Response: His goal is to confront the suitors directly and seek support from the community.
• Question: How exactly has Penelope delayed her inevitable remarriage?
• Response: She promised to choose a husband once she finished a burial shroud for Laertes, but she secretly unraveled her progress each night.
• Question: What sign does Zeus send to indicate his will?
• Response: He sends two ($2$) eagles that fight one another in the sky.
• Question: What are Telemachus' immediate travel plans?
• Response: He plans to travel to Pylos and then to Sparta.

Book III: Telemachus in Pylos

• Telemachus and Athena (disguised as Mentor) arrive at Pylos, where they meet King Nestor.
• Nestor provides a historical account of the difficult returns (nostoi) of various Greek heroes from the Trojan War.
• The story of Agamemnon is discussed: he returned home only to be murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.
• Nestor recounts how Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, took revenge for his father’s death, and he uses this story to encourage Telemachus to act bravely in defense of his own father's honor.
• Athena reveals her true divine nature to the group before she departs.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Where does the action of Book III take place?
• Response: In the city of Pylos.
• Question: Where is Athena during this time?
• Response: She is beside Telemachus, disguised as the character Mentor.
• Question: How is King Nestor described?
• Response: He is depicted as wise, experienced, deeply respectful to the gods, and a highly gifted storyteller.
• Question: What occurs during Agamemnon’s homecoming?
• Response: He is murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
• Question: What action does Orestes take in response?
• Response: He avenges his father, Agamemnon, by killing the murderers.
• Question: How does Nestor assist Telemachus?
• Response: He provides what information he has and ensures Telemachus is sent safely to Sparta.
• Question: Who travels with Telemachus as he leaves Pylos?
• Response: Pisistratus, the son of Nestor.

Book IV: The Visit to Sparta and the Suitors’ Plot

• Telemachus arrives in Sparta and visits King Menelaus and Queen Helen.
• Menelaus shares a story about his encounter with the sea-god Proteus, who revealed that Odysseus is alive but trapped on Calypso’s island.
• Back in Ithaca, the suitors become aware of Telemachus' departure and plot to ambush and kill him upon his return.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: How is the identity of Telemachus revealed in Sparta?
• Response: Menelaus notices the striking physical resemblance Telemachus has to Odysseus.
• Question: Who provides Menelaus with information regarding the location of Odysseus?
• Response: The sea-god Proteus.
• Question: Where is Odysseus currently located?
• Response: He is on the island belonging to Calypso.
• Question: Why is Menelaus destined to go to the Elysian Fields?
• Response: Because of his marriage to Helen, the daughter of Zeus.
• Question: What is the suitors’ plan for Telemachus?
• Response: They plan to murder him upon his return to Ithaca.
• Question: Who is the leader of the suitors in this plot?
• Response: Antinous.
• Question: Who provides comfort to the distraught Penelope?
• Response: Athena comforts her by sending a vision in a dream.

Book V: Calypso, Hermes, and the Sea

• Zeus issues a command to the goddess Calypso that she must release Odysseus.
• Hermes is the messenger god dispatched to deliver this decree.
• Odysseus builds a raft to depart from Calypso's island, but as he sails, Poseidon spots him and conjures a massive storm that destroys the vessel.
• The goddess Ino aids Odysseus by providing a magical veil that protects him from drowning.
• Odysseus eventually reaches the shores of Scheria, the land of the Phaeacians.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What is the explicit command given by Zeus?
• Response: Calypso is ordered to release Odysseus from her island.
• Question: Who is tasked with delivering the command from Olympus?
• Response: Hermes.
• Question: What is Odysseus doing when he is first introduced in the poem?
• Response: He is sitting on the shore, crying and longing for his home.
• Question: What happens to Odysseus near the coast of Scheria?
• Response: Poseidon destroys his raft with a violent storm.
• Question: How does Ino intervene to help?
• Response: She grants him a magical protective veil.
• Question: What is the situation at the end of Book V?
• Response: Odysseus reaches the shore and falls into a deep sleep.

Book VI: Nausicaa and the Phaeacians

• Nausicaa, the princess of Phaeacia, goes to the river to wash clothes and discovers Odysseus on the shore.
• Nausicaa treats Odysseus with bravery and kindness, providing him with food, clothing, and instructions on how to reach the royal palace.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Who is the first person to discover Odysseus on Scheria?
• Response: Nausicaa.
• Question: Why was she at the river in the first place?
• Response: She was washing clothes as part of her preparations for marriage.
• Question: What forms of assistance does she provide to Odysseus?
• Response: She provides him with food, clothing, and clear guidance to the palace.
• Question: Why does she choose not to escort him personally to the palace gates?
• Response: She is concerned about local gossip if she were seen with a strange man.

Book VII: The Palace of Alcinous or Phaeacia

• With visual guidance from Athena, Odysseus reaches the palace of King Alcinous and Queen Arete.
• Odysseus presents himself as a suppliant and requests passage home.
• King Alcinous is so impressed by Odysseus that he offers him Nausicaa’s hand in marriage.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What are the thematic implications of King Alcinous’ offer of marriage?
• Response: The offer serves as a temptation for Odysseus to settle into a comfortable, easy life, thereby testing his loyalty to his goal of returning to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope.

Book VIII: The Phaeacian Games and Demodocus

• The Phaeacians organize a series of athletic games and grand feasts to honor their guest.
• The bard Demodocus sings various tales, including stories about the Trojan War, which cause Odysseus to weep as he remembers his past.
• Odysseus is insulted regarding his athletic ability, leading him to participate in a discus toss and prove his superior skill.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Which contest would the Phaeacians be most likely to win against Odysseus?
• Response: Running, as Odysseus is significantly weakened by years of suffering and recent physical exhaustion.
• Question: What is the purpose of including the song about Ares and Aphrodite?
• Response: It functions as a source of comic relief while simultaneously reinforcing the poem's themes of betrayal and crafty deception.

Book IX: The Wanderings — Lotus-Eaters and Cyclopes

• Odysseus begins his long flashback, recounting his adventures after leaving Troy.
• Encounter with Lotus-Eaters: Some of the crew eat the lotus flower, which induces a state of forgetfulness, causing them to lose all desire to return home.
• The Cyclops Polyphemus: Odysseus and his men enter the cave of Polyphemus in search of hospitality/gifts. The Cyclops instead traps them and begins eating the crew.
• Blinding and Escape: Odysseus devises a plan to get the Cyclops drunk on potent wine, sharpens a wooden stake, and blinds the monster’s single eye as he sleeps.
• Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is "Nobody."
• The men escape by clinging to the undersides of Polyphemus’ sheep as they are being let out to pasture.
• Hubris: As they sail away, Odysseus yells his true name to Polyphemus, enabling the Cyclops to pray to his father, Poseidon, for revenge.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Which major encounter occurs immediately before the incident with the Cyclopes?
• Response: The encounter with the Lotus-Eaters.
• Question: Why did Odysseus have to drag his men away from the Lotus-Eaters?
• Response: The lotus plants they consumed caused them to forget about their home.
• Question: What creature is met after the Lotus-Eaters?
• Response: The Cyclopes.
• Question: What was the reason for entering the Cyclops’ cave?
• Response: To seek the traditional gifts and hospitality (xenia).
• Question: What is the Cyclops’ reaction when he returns to find the men?
• Response: He traps them inside the cave and begins to eat them.
• Question: How is Polyphemus physically wounded?
• Response: Odysseus blinds him using a sharpened stake.
• Question: How do the survivors managed to leave the cave?
• Response: They hide beneath the bellies of the Cyclops’ sheep.
• Question: What are some specific examples of Odysseus’ cunning (metis) in this story?
• Response: His use of the pseudonym "Nobody," getting Polyphemus drunk, sharpening the stake, and his method of escaping under the sheep.
• Question: Why does Odysseus eventually reveal his true name?
• Response: He seeks kleos (glory) and individual recognition for his victory.
• Question: How does Poseidon’s specific grudge against Odysseus originate?
• Response: Polyphemus prays to Poseidon for revenge after being blinded.
• Question: Is Odysseus better characterized as clever or arrogant?
• Response: He exhibits both traits in nearly equal measure.

Book X: Aeolus, Laestrygonians, and Circe

• Odysseus visits Aeolus, who gifts him a leather bag containing all the winds except the West Wind, intended to blow them straight to Ithaca.
• Within sight of the shores of Ithaca, the crew opens the bag, thinking it contains treasure, and the escaped winds blow them back to Aeolus.
• Aeolus refuses to help a second time, believing Odysseus is cursed.
• The fleet is then attacked by the Laestrygonians, giant cannibals who destroy all but one of the ships.
• The survivors reach Aeaea, the island of the sorceress Circe, who turns the scouts into pigs.
• Hermes provides Odysseus with a herb called moly to resist her magic. Circe eventually becomes an ally and tells Odysseus he must visit the Underworld.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What domain does Aeolus control?
• Response: He is the master of the winds.
• Question: How does Aeolus initially help Odysseus?
• Response: He gifts him a bag containing the winds that could hinder his journey.
• Question: Why do they fail to land in Ithaca despite being so close?
• Response: The crew, driven by curiosity and greed, opens the wind bag.
• Question: What is Aeolus’ reaction to Odysseus’ return?
• Response: He refuses to offer any further help.
• Question: Who are the Laestrygonians?
• Response: They are cannibalistic giants who destroy the majority of Odysseus' fleet.
• Question: Who aids Odysseus in resisting Circe’s magic?
• Response: Hermes.
• Question: Why is Odysseus instructed to visit Hades?
• Response: To seek a vital prophecy from the spirit of Tiresias.

Book XI: The Underworld (Nekyia)

• Odysseus travels to the land of the dead and performs a ritual to summon spirits.
• Tiresias provides a prophecy concerning the dangers of the Cattle of Helios and the eventual return of Odysseus to Ithaca.
• Odysseus speaks with several spirits, including his mother (Anticlea), Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ajax.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What is the primary warning Tiresias gives to Odysseus?
• Response: He warns Odysseus and his men not to harm the sacred cattle of the sun god, Helios.
• Question: What is Achilles' famous assessment of death?
• Response: He states that he would much rather be alive as the lowliest servant to a poor farmer than be the king of all the dead heroes.
• Question: What warning does Agamemnon provide to Odysseus?
• Response: He warns him about the possibility of betrayal by his wife upon his return home.

Book XII: The Sirens, Monsters, and Helios’ Cattle

• The crew survives the Sirens by plugging their ears with wax, while Odysseus is tied to the mast so he can hear their song.
• They navigate the narrow strait between Scylla, a six-headed ($6$-headed) monster, and Charybdis, a deadly whirlpool.
• Despite the warnings, the crew kills and eats the sacred cattle of Helios while stranded on Thrinacia.
• Zeus punishes them by sending a lightning bolt to destroy the ship; Odysseus is the only survivor.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: How do the Sirens lure men to their doom?
• Response: They use a seductive song that draws sailors to their shores, leading to their death.
• Question: What are Scylla and Charybdis?
• Response: Scylla is a terrifying six-headed ($6$-headed) monster; Charybdis is a massive, ship-swallowing whirlpool.
• Question: What is the ultimate fate of Odysseus’ companions?
• Response: They are all killed after violating the god's command and eating the Cattle of Helios.
• Question: What happens to Odysseus after the ship is destroyed?
• Response: He alone survives the wreckage.

Book XIII: Return to Ithaca and the Beggar’s Disguise

• The Phaeacians deliver Odysseus safely to the shores of Ithaca and leave him with many gifts.
• Poseidon, still angry, punishes the Phaeacians by turning their returning ship into stone.
• Athena meets Odysseus and disguises him as an old beggar so he can investigate the state of his household without being recognized.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Who is Eumaeus?
• Response: He is Odysseus’ loyal swineherd.
• Question: Why does Odysseus choose to hide his identity?
• Response: He needs to test the loyalty of his household and friends before revealing himself.
• Question: Does Eumaeus recognize Odysseus or believe his cover story initially?
• Response: No.

Book XIV & XV: Hospitality and Telemachus’ Return

• Odysseus stays at the hut of Eumaeus, who demonstrates perfect hospitality despite his poverty and his belief that his visitor is merely a wandering beggar.
• Telemachus leaves Sparta to return home. He is joined by the fugitive prophet Theoclymenus.
• Strategic Omens: An eagle with a goose in its talons and a hawk carrying a dove are seen, signifying Odysseus’ return and the family's enduring power.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Who is Eumaeus?
• Response: Odysseus’ swineherd.
• Question: Why does Odysseus remain in disguise with Eumaeus?
• Response: To gather vital information and carefully test the swineherd's loyalty.
• Question: Does Eumaeus believe the beggar is Odysseus?
• Response: He does not believe the beggar’s optimistic stories, yet he maintains excellent hospitality.
• Question: What omen appears as Telemachus prepares to head home?
• Response: An eagle is seen carrying a goose.
• Question: Who joins Telemachus on his return voyage?
• Response: Theoclymenus.
• Question: What is the plan Odysseus devises?
• Response: He intends to enter his palace disguised as a beggar.
• Question: How did Eumaeus end up as a swineherd in Ithaca?
• Response: He was kidnapped in his youth and sold into slavery.
• Question: What second omen is recorded in Book XV?
• Response: A hawk carrying a dove.

Book XVI: The Father and Son Reunion

• Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus’ hut.
• Odysseus reveals his true identity to Telemachus under Athena’s direction, and the two share an emotional reunion.
• They immediately begin strategizing their revenge against the suitors.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What specific task does Odysseus assign to Telemachus regarding the palace?
• Response: Telemachus must secretly remove and hide all of the suitors’ weapons from the great hall.
• Question: What specific weapons are they to leave out for their own use?
• Response: Two ($2$) swords, two ($2$) spears, and two ($2$) shields.

Book XVII & XVIII: The Palace and the Irus Incident

• Odysseus enters the palace as a beggar. His old dog, Argos, recognizes his master's voice, wagging its tail before passing away.
• The suitors, particularly Antinous, are cruel to the beggar.
• Odysseus is forced to fight another beggar, Irus, who challenges him for the entertainment of the suitors. Odysseus easily defeats him.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Who is Argos?
• Response: He is Odysseus’ loyal dog.
• Question: Why does Penelope express a desire to speak with the mysterious beggar?
• Response: She hopes he might have any news regarding the fate of Odysseus.
• Question: What event transpires between Odysseus and the beggar Irus?
• Response: They are pressured into a fistfight for the entertainment of the suitors.
• Question: Under what circumstances does Odysseus warn Amphinomus?
• Response: He gives the suitor a warning to leave the palace before the master returns as a reward for the man's occasional kindness.
• Question: What action by Penelope brings Odysseus a sense of happiness?
• Response: He is pleased to see her manipulate the suitors into giving her valuable gifts.
• Question: Why is Odysseus targeted inside his own house again?
• Response: Eurymachus becomes angry and throws a footstool at him.

Book XIX & XX: Recognition and Omens of Doom

• Odysseus speaks with Penelope. The old nurse, Eurycleia, washes his feet and identifies him by a distinct scar on his leg received from a boar during his youth.
• Odysseus swears Eurycleia to silence.
• Penelope decides to hold a contest to finally settle the issue of her remarriage.
• Odysseus receives omens from Zeus confirming that blood will be shed.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: How does Eurycleia discover the truth of Odysseus' identity?
• Response: She recognizes a unique scar on his leg.
• Question: What nature of contest does Penelope announce to the suitors?
• Response: A contest to string Odysseus’ great bow and shoot an arrow accurately through the holes of twelve ($12$) axe heads.
• Question: Who offers their assistance to Odysseus during Book XX?
• Response: Philoetius, the cowherd.

Book XXI & XXII: The Great Bow and the Slaughter

• The suitors all fail to even string the heavy bow.
• Odysseus, still in disguise, asks for a turn and easily strings the bow, successfully shooting the arrow through the axe heads.
• Odysseus sheds his disguise and immediately kills Antinous with an arrow to the throat.
• With the help of Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius, Odysseus slaughters all of the suitors.
• The disloyal handmaidens who slept with the suitors are forced to clean the hall and are then hanged.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: What is the intended purpose of the contest?
• Response: It is meant to determine which suitor is worthy enough to become Penelope’s new husband.
• Question: To which servants does Odysseus reveal his identity before the fight begins?
• Response: Eumaeus and Philoetius.
• Question: What is the tactical plan for the slaughter?
• Response: To trap the suitors inside the locked hall and kill them all.
• Question: At what moment does Odysseus reveal himself to the entire room?
• Response: Immediately after he kills Antinous.
• Question: Which two ($2$) men are spared from the slaughter?
• Response: Phemius the bard and Medon the herald.
• Question: What is the fate of the disloyal women in the palace house staff?
• Response: They are all executed by hanging.

Book XXIII & XXIV: The Bed Test and Final Peace

• Penelope is skeptical that the man is truly Odysseus. She tests him by ordering that their marriage bed be moved out of the room.
• Odysseus erupts, explaining that the bed cannot be moved because one of its posts is a living olive tree built into the foundation of the house. This private knowledge proves his identity.
• Odysseus travels to the country to reunite with his father, Laertes.
• The families of the slain suitors arrive seeking revenge, but Athena descends and commands peace, ending the cycle of violence in Ithaca.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: Why is Penelope initially hesitant to accept Odysseus?
• Response: She is cautious and fears that a god or an imposter is playing a trick on her.
• Question: How precisely does she test him?
• Response: She asks her servants to move the great marriage bed, knowing that only the real Odysseus would know the bed is immovable.
• Question: Where does Odysseus go at the beginning of Book XXIV?
• Response: He goes to the countryside to visit his father, Laertes.
• Question: Why is Laertes described as wearing rags and looking poor?
• Response: He has been in deep mourning and grief for his missing son.
• Question: What is Athena’s final action in the epic?
• Response: She intervenes to stop the impending civil war and restores lasting peace to Ithaca.
• Question: What are some examples of repeated lines (epithets) used throughout the text?
• Response: Phrases like “Rosy-fingered Dawn,” “Grey-eyed Athena,” and “the man of twists and turns.”