The Odyssey Questions

Book 1

A goddess has asked to see a Muse (divine daughter of Zeus).

She wanted to hear the story of a wanderer in Troy’s adventure.

The Muse begins reciting the story of Odysseus to the goddess. Telemachus is conspired against, and Odysseus’ family is dishonored in his absence.

Telemachus may be killed when he returns, or Odysseus will return in time to kill the suitors.

Telemachus is very committed, searching to and fro for Odysseus, and Penelope is inhumanly loyal, waiting for Odysseus for many years.

Loyalty is extremely important in life when it comes to friends, acquaintances, or partners. It is very valuable, and without it, you will not get anywhere in life.

Zeus plans on helping Odysseus, as well as Athena. The suitors are working against him by planning to kill Telemachus.

Book 9

Preceding this, Odysseus had been trapped on Calypso’s island, Ogygia. Zeus sends Hermes to tell Calypso to free him, and he eventually meets King Alcinous. Alcinous is overjoyed and feasts in his honor.

Zeus’ will to free Odysseus is the cause of this.

Odysseus introduces himself to the attendants of the feast. He states where he lives and his detainment by Calypso. He talks about the “Lotus Eaters” who controlled his men. Then he talks of the Cyclopes he came across, and how he and the remainder of his crew were imprisoned. He goes over the escape in extravagant detail, as well as their exit.

He might go on about other ordeals that he faced, or he may leave and possible meet another king.

The members of Odysseus’ crew were easily seduced by the Lotus Eaters, and Odysseus used extremely clever strategies to escape from them and the Cyclopes.

If one doesn’t have a strong will, then they will easily be pressured into doing bad things. Also, Odysseus thought outside the box to save himself and his men, and this is very important in real life.

Alcinous helps Odysseus by feasting with him, as well as his crew. The Cyclopes hindered him by trapping him and the rest of the crew.

Book 10

Odysseus’ story is being narrated by a Muse. He has just spoken of his deeds to King Alcinous. He explained the perils of the Lotus Eaters and his clever way of escaping Polyphemus and the Cyclopes. Afterward, he briefly stops on the island of Aeolus and in the land of the Laistrygonians, where the rest of his fleet of ships and their crews were lost.

Zeus freed him from Calypso’s island, and that is why he underwent those terrors on his way to King Alcinous, who was the first king he came across.

The crew docks on the island of Circe. Circe turns part of them into pigs and Odysseus rushes to save them. Hermes gives him a plant that protects him from the effects of Circe and gives him advice. Odysseus and his men are stuck on the island for a year, until he begs Circe to let them return home. She sends him off to the Land of the Dead to hear a prophecy.

His crew will embark into Hades’ realm to hear a prophecy from the ghost of Tiresias.

Odysseus is very headfirst when he decides on what to do, and this is seen when he
goes off to save the part of the crew cursed by Circe without thought.

I can see the theme of sacrifice pays off in this book, and that is very important in real life. You can’t do well on a test without studying, and that is an example of this theme.

Hermes helps Odysseus by giving him the plant that protects him from Circe, who hinders him by trapping him and his crew on her island for a year.

Book 11

Odysseus has been stranded on Circe’s island for a whole year. Odysseus begs her to let them leave, and she grudgingly turns his men back to humans. However, she sends them on a quest to find the ghost of Tiresias in the underworld and hear a prophecy from him.

Circe is the cause of all of this, as she was the one who stranded them on her island.

They find the place that Circe directed them to and greet the dead. Odysseus sacrifices sheep to the dead, hoping to find the presence of Tiresias. They find him, and he speaks the prophecy. Odysseus also meets with the shade of his mother.

Odysseus and his crew will return to Circe and see what she has to say.

Odysseus is very emotional when he sees the shade of his mother, and attempts to comfort her.

Odysseus acted just as any other person would when they see their long lost friend, much less their mother. If I was reunited with someone who was very dear to me after a long time, then I would do the same thing.

Circe helps Odysseus by giving him the location of the entrance to the underworld.

Book 12

Odysseus has just acquired the prophecy from the ghost of Tiresias. He met with the shade of his mother, who explained her death to him.

Now, he is returning to Circe, ready to leave the island for good.

Circe sent him on that quest to the underworld, thus, she is the cause of all of this.

In this book, Circe gives Odysseus a myriad of advice on the dangers ahead in their journey, and how to combat them. She speaks of the seductive Sirens, and how the crew’s ears must be plugged. She also speaks of the island of Thrinacia, Scylla, and Charybdis. Odysseus and his crew leave and get past Charybdis, Scylla, and the Sirens.

Odysseus and his crew will embark on their adventure past Charybdis and Scylla, and face the dangers outlined by Circe.

In this book, Odysseus makes very wise and calculated decisions which pay off, as well as his crew. He wouldn’t have survived the Sirens if his crew did not have a strong will, and this helped him greatly.

Without his strong crew, Odysseus wouldn’t have a sliver of hope of returning home. This shows that if your friends have your back, you can accomplish many things, which is made apparent in literally any team sport (especially soccer).

Circe helps Odysseus greatly by outlining all the threats that are next on his journey and explaining how to escape them.

Book 17

Alcinous sends Odysseus on his way home. He finally reaches Ithaca disguised as a beggar to surprise the suitors. He reunites with Telemachus and they have a tearful exchange. Then, he and Telemachus return home to their house.

Alcinous sent him home, and Athena disguised him as a beggar.

Odysseus meets with his dog, Argos. Then, he questions the abysmal state of his dog and asks why no one cared for him. Afterward, he enters the home and waits till nightfall to speak to Penelope.

I think he will either reveal his true identity to Penelope or hold out for a while longer.

In this short book, Odysseus makes the odd decision to put off Penelope till nightfall. Given the lack of context, the reader can only wonder why he did so.

Leaving one/something alone for a long time could make them hopeless/broken, and this is made apparent due to the state of Argos. Argos was supposed to be cared for by the maids, yet he wasn’t and was left to rot.

Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar so that he can slip into the city unnoticed by the suitors.

Book 21

Odysseus has returned to Ithaca after twenty years, disguised as a beggar by Athena, with Telemachus knowing his identity. He finally speaks to Penelope, but still doesn’t reveal his identity. Penelope is hopeless and organizes an archery contest to see who will marry her.

Penelope has finally stopped hoping that her husband will return and has organized the contest because of that.

Odysseus wins the competition with ease despite the jeers from the crowd and declares his victory once he is finished.

He will reveal his true identity, then he will most likely fight off the suitors and clear them out, after provoking them somehow.

Odysseus plays the stereotypical hero card in this book by trusting his confidence more than his common sense, and it pays off.

Believing in one’s confidence more than their common sense like Odysseus does in this book is vastly out of the realm of real life. In this book, Odysseus makes it seem like there is no chance of him failing, whereas, in real life, there is usually a very big, noticeable chance of you failing.

Zeus blesses Odysseus, which also means that the gods are on Odysseus’ side.

Book 22

Odysseus has just won the archery contest to marry Penelope. He also has received the gods’ blessing. However, he is in a room with angry suitors and he has yet to reveal his true identity.

This is mostly due to Penelope creating the archery contest, however, Zeus blessed Odysseus.

Odysseus first kills Antinous, taking him by surprise by shooting him with a bow while he is drinking. Then, the angered suitors charge him. He levels his bow and kills them all, blessed by Athena. Afterward, he prepares to meet Penelope, and finally reveal his true identity to her.

He will reveal his identity to Penelope, and they will reunite.

Odysseus once again becomes the stereotypical hero and defeats all the suitors with help from Athena.

Yet again, the supernatural help given to Odysseus makes him undefeatable, essentially, and this renders common sense useless in the book. If one attempted anything along the lines of difficulty that Odysseus did in this book, then they would be very frustrated.

Athena blesses Odysseus so that he can easily defeat the suitors.

Book 23

Odysseus has finished killing all the suitors, and Athena’s blessing has left him immune. The room is filled with dead suitors, and reeks of blood. He is now preparing to meet Penelope and finally reveal his identity.

Athena is the one that allowed this to happen due to her blessing.

Odysseus finally returns to see Penelope. He waits a little to see what she says, and then reveals his identity by getting furious about “their” bed. The two then tearfully reunite and stay together as the epic ends.

They will live a happy life, in a normal ancient Greek world.

Odysseus and Penelope finally reunite, resulting in a deluge of tears from them both.

If I was reunited with someone that was dear to me after twenty years, I would do the same, if not to a higher degree.

In this book, Odysseus is not aided or hindered by anyone.

Did you like this example?

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