Study Questions for Assignment 8 Odyssey, Books 9-16
As usual, be able to summarize briefly the events of each Book.
- Books 9-12 contain very famous episodes. Where is Odysseus while he tells all these stories?
Book 9
- Recount the stories of the Kikones (who and where is the tribe?), the Lotus-Eaters, and the Cyclops Polyphemos.
- Why does Odysseus call out to Polyphemos as they sail away from shore, and what is the result?
Book 10
- Recount the stories of Aiolos, the Laistrygones, and Circe.
- What does the episode of the bag of winds tell us about the character of Odysseus's men, and what does his reaction tell us about his own character?
- Why does Circe say Odysseus must go to the Land of the Dead?
Book 11
- How does Odysseus get the spirits of the dead to talk to him one at a time?
- Lines 100-137: What information does the spirit of the blind prophet Teiresias give Odysseus?
- How did Odysseus's mother die?
- Lines 332-369: What do the Phaiakians think of Odysseus as a
storyteller?
- Lines 405-456: What does the ghost of Agamemnon say to Odysseus about his wife Klytaimestra, Odysseus's wife Penelope, and women in general?
Book 12
- Recount the stories of the Sirens, Skylla and Charybdis, and the Oxen of Helios.
- Why do Odysseus's men eat the Oxen? What warnings did they disregard? What was the result?
Book 13
- What is Athene's involvement in this Book?
Book 14
- Describe the character of Eumaios. How does Odysseus get a mantle from him to sleep in?
Book 15
- What is Eumaios's origin? How did he get where he is today?
- How does Theoklymenes interpret the omen at the end of the Book?
Book 16
- Lines 154-219: Describe the reunion of Odysseus and Telemachos. What is their plan to deal with the suitors?
- Lines 364-405 and 434-449: Describe the character of Antinoos, Amphinomos, and Eurymachos, the three chief men of the suitors. (Antinoos = "anti-mind" or "anti-sense"; Amphinomos = "both sides of the law"; Eurymachos = "wide-fighting")
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