Classics 102 - The Odyssey

Question	Answer
How does the story starts?	starts with Odysseus' wife Queen Penelope and son Prince Telemachus at their home. the Trojan war has been over for 10 years and he still isn't back, having been gone for 20 years total. Penelope has many suitors that want to be king. She remains faithful and refuses them all but they are relentless and don't behave well
Where is Odysseus at this point?	He is trapped on an island with the Nymph Calypso who wants to make him her wife. a similar thing has happened to him with another goddess before this. Finally Zeus sees how unhappy he is and how badly he wants to go home so he makes Calypso let him go
How does Athena get involved?	She goes to prince Telemachus and offers her help. She disguises herself as a friend ans the two go to Sparta to look for news of Odysseus.
It is suggested that Odysseus was not faithful physically to his wife while he was trapped by the goddesses. What does this say about marriage?	Odysseus still loved his wife and the goddesses never had his heart but he was not physically faithful to his wife. this shows that it was OK for men to sleep around as long as he never left his wife. Only women were expected to remain chaise for their husbands only.
Where does Odysseus go after he gets off the island?	he wonders until he reaches the island Phoenicians, ruled by king Akinous. The king and queen gave him food and clothing and then asked him to tell them his story?
Odysseus then tells what happened in the ten years after the Trojan war. How does it start?	When he and his men left on their ships the wind swept them to the land of the cicones. They battled the cicones, sacked their city and their riches and woman were divided fairly. Odysseus urged them to move on but the men were enjoying the riches too much. the Cicones had called for help and soon an army of Cicones arrived. 72 of Odysseus' men were killed.
What happened after they escaped the land of the Cicones?	they were lost in a storm for 2 days and 2 nights. this storm ended and they were close to home but another storm came that lasted 9 days ad 9 nights
why wasthe length of the storms a problem?	then the Greeks only did coastal sailing with land almost always in sight and docking for the night. they usually didn't pack supplies to last that long at sea so the men could have died easily
After the long storm ended where did they land?	they came to the island of the lotus eaters. The men found food and water and were well. Some went to mingle with the natives. They didn't try to kill the men but instead gave them fruit of the lotus flower to eat. When they ate it the men forgot where they were going and all they wanted to do was stay on the island. Odysseus had to force them back on the ship as they wept.
what is the theme of the Odyssey	temptation
In book nine, after escaping the land of the Lotus eaters where did they end up? What do they do when they land there	the land of the cyclopes. after the men have found food and water, Odysseus takes his best fighters to the cave of the largest and most dangerous Cyclopes
How are the cyclopes a paradox?	the live in a land where they don't have to grow food so it seems they are living a life similar to the golden age of man, but hte cyclopes are such lawless brutes and live low on the ranks of civilization that it could be worse then how man lives
Why does Odysseus go to the cyclops's cave? What does he bring with him?	he wants to have the honour and glory of defeating the very best of the cyclopes and he wants to get more stuff. He brings the very strong wine he had been given as a gift to offer to the cyclopes as a guest gift
What did the men suggest they do when they got to the cave? What was Odysseus' choice. did he regret his choice later?	when they arrived the cyclops wasnt there. they suggested that they just take his cheese, sheep, and goats and leave the islnd. This didnt have much glory in it so Odysseus so he decides they should stay. Later he regrets this decision
What does the cyclops do when he returns? Why is this a problem?	he doesnt see the men right away as he is hearding his sheep and goats in. Then he takes a giant boulder and puts it in the doorway of his cave. The men cannot move this boulder and thus are trapped.
How does the cyclops treat the men when he sees them? How does this demonstrate Greek culture?	Instead of following civilized custom he doesnt feed, bath and then ask who they are as he should. He demands to know who they are right away and insults them by accusing them of being pirates. this shows what the Greeks valued by showing the opposite behavior in the cyclops
How did Odysseus try to mediate the situation? did it work?	He says they are at his knees in order to show respect. he also offers him wine and subtly tells him the proper way to act when one has a guest. the cyclops just asks where there ship is.
What was the cyclops trying to do when asking about the ship? What did Odysseus tell him?	the cyclops was trying to steal and pillage the ship. Odysseus lied, telling him there ship had crashed on the rocks
What barbaric thing does the cyclops do? What makes it so bad, besides the obvious, in the Greek mind	The cyclops grabs two of the men, rips them limb from limb, and eats them raw. Firstly he didnt eat them properly. civilized people cook their food and leave the bones and other bad parts. also hospitality is important to the Greeks and this is no way to treat a guest
How can we say the men are between a rock and a hard place?	if they kill the cyclops then they cant get out of the cave. if the cyclops lives they will all be eaten and never escape
What happens in the morning?	the cyclops wakes up, kills and eats two more men, and then leaves, remembering to put the slab of rock overt he door so the men can't escape
What does Odysseus decide to do?	first he makes a club with a stabbing end and chars it in the fire to make it hard. Then he has his men draw straws to see which for will stay alive to help him kill the cyclops
What happens when the cyclops gets back?	he kills two more of the men and eats them. Then Odysseus comes forward and offers him the wine. The cyclops drinks it and likes it so much that he has 3 bowls of it. In exchange for a gift, Odysseus promises to give his name. He says his name is Oudeis, and the giant promises he will eat all the rest of the men at once so no one has to be last and then falls asleep.
After the cyclops falls asleep, what do the men do?	The men take the stake a stab it into the cyclops' eye. the monster pulls the stake out and then calls for help from the other cyclops'
What do we learn about this cyclops when he calls for help. why was the name Odysseus gave the cyclops very smart?	the others call him Polyphemus, meaning he is a very important cyclops, the come of Poseidon. The name Oudeis means no one. She when he yelled out who was attacking him it sounded like he was saying no one was attacking him so the cyclops went away without helping him.
What does Polyphemus do next?	he feels around for the slab of rock, moves it and sits in the doorway to keep the men in.
What do the men do to get past Polyphemus?	eventually he will have to let the sheep out to let them graze, so the men tie three sheep at a time together and then a man tied under them. eventually they are let out
What stupid thing does Odysseus do once they are on their ship again?	the cyclopes follows them and once they are off the beach, Odysseus yells backed at Polyphemus, calling him a barbarian and that he is being punished bu the gods for eating his guests
How does Polyphemus react to this?	he climbs a mountain, rips the top of it off, and throws it at the ship. It lands near them, creating a tidal wave that runs the ship a ground.
Even though his men tell him to shut up, Odysseus yells back at Polyphemus again? What did he say? Why is this important? What happened after?	he gives his full introduction because he wants the glory of defeating Polyphemus. this can be seen as dramatic arrogance which will be payed back later. Polyphemus calls out to his father, asking that he never lets Odysseus get home. At this point the war has only been over a few weeks so it turns out he got his wish. Odysseus tries to make sacrifices to the gods to get rid of the curse, but they refuse them.
Give brief storyline for book 10.	the men end up at the home of Aeolis, lord of the wind. He gives a bag of winds to Odysseus which, when opened at the right time will blow him home. he does tell his men and they think he is hiding treasure from them so the open it at the wrong time and they are blown into another storm. they end up with the goddess Ceres of Witchcraft. to get his men free, Odysseus stays with her fro 3 years. When he leaves he goes to the underworld to get information on how to get home
How is the underworld described? How do you get there? How do you get to the dead?	found at the end of the world called ocean's river. it is very dark and shrouded in mist. This place is outside the actually underworld and Odysseus doesn't go farther then this. to get the ghost to come out of the underworld, he digs a trench and fills it with libations and sheeps blood. he then prays for what he wants and the transparent ghost come that look just like they did when they died

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