Study Questions

Book 13

41. How do Poseidon and Zeus interact in this book? What is the balance of power between them? How does Zeus assert his authority?

42. How does Odysseus handle his return to Ithaca? How much does he tell those he meets about his true identity and intentions? How much help does Athena give him?

43. How is this book pivotal regarding the action of the Odyssey as a whole? What necessary qualities, that is, does Odysseus show in this first step of his return to power?

Book 14

44. What is the function of Eumaeus the swineherd? How does he treat Odysseus, and how does Odysseus treat him? How much of the truth does Odysseus tell him?

Book 15

45. What is Telemachus' main diplomatic challenge in this book? How does Athena help him meet the challenge?

46. What role does Helen play in this book? What does the prophecy she makes reveal about her? Why might it be significant, in terms of the Odyssey as a whole, that Helen, whose misbehavior towards her husband set in motion the Trojan War, gives Telemachus a robe to bestow upon his future bride?

47. Who is Theoclymenus, and why is it appropriate that Telemachus should treat him kindly?

48. What is Eumaeus' own story, as he recounts it to Odysseus? Does the story indicate why Eumaeus is especially loyal to Odysseus? If so, what's the reason?

Book 16

49. In this book Odysseus reveals his identity to Telemachus. What does the reaction of the two characters tell us about the Greeks' attitude towards the expression of emotion? How does their attitude differ from ours? (Think of American film heroes like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood.)

50. In what ways does Telemachus show in this book that he has matured?

Book 17

51. In Elizabethan revenge tragedies, it is common for the villain to declare himself a thorough rascal. In what way do Melanthius the goatherd and the suitors throw away a chance to redeem themselves in this book? Why do they fail?

52. Around line 480 Odysseus tells a "resourceful" tale, namely that he was sold into slavery in Egypt. Although the tale is a lie, what purpose does it serve, aside from establishing some cover for Odysseus in concealing his true identity?

Book 18

53. Why is it appropriate that Odysseus disguise himself from the suitors (with Athena's help) as a beggar?

54. Why is it significant that Odysseus overcomes the swaggering beggar Irus?

55. What part does Athena play in this book? That is, what effect does she have on Odysseus and the suitors?

Book 19

56. Penelope questions the stranger (Odysseus in disguise) closely, and he claims to be Aethon from Crete. Do you think that Penelope knows or suspects Odysseus' real identity? Why or why not?

57. Whether she suspects anything or not, how does Penelope test the stranger? What qualities does she manifest in this book that make her a worthy match for Odysseus?

58. Interpret the dream that Penelope relates to the stranger towards the book's end. Does it reveal things about her stance towards the suitors that would probably surprise even her?

59. Why does Penelope tell the stranger about the contest to string Odysseus' bow that she is planning to announce?

Book 20

60. What portents announce the struggle to come? How does Odysseus react to them?

61. Athena inspires the suitors to behave even more inappropriately than usual. Why does she do that? What effect does their behavior have on Odysseus and Telemachus?

Book 21

62. Penelope fetches Odysseus' bow and announces the contest to the suitors. How do the suitors again prove that they deserve the "blood wedding" that awaits them?

63. The suitors mock at the stranger for wanting to take his turn with the bow. Penelope tells them to let him go ahead - why?

64. Odysseus strings his own bow at the book's end. How does Homer handle this moment? For example, why don't we hear anything from the suitors right after Odysseus shoots his first arrow?

Book 22

65. As logic dictates, Antinous is the first to die. How do the remaining suitors try to appease Odysseus? Why, in view of the Odyssey's task as we have discussed it in class, would it be inappropriate for Odysseus to accept their arguments or pleas?

66. At what points in the struggle is Athena active? How much does she help Odysseus, and how much credit is mainly his?

67. Why might it be significant, in light of the Odyssey's task as we have discussed it in class, that around line 400 Odysseus, in Fagles' translation, refers to the work that remains to be done in the book as "household chores"?

68. How do Odysseus and Telemachus deal with Melanthius the goatherd and the women who sported with the suitors? Consider the intensity of the violence throughout this book - do you find it unsettling or "over the top"? Why or why not? Does the epic narrator take up an attitude towards the violence?

Book 23

69. Why does the text refrain from making Penelope recognize Odysseus outright? Why does Penelope insist on testing Odysseus even after all that he has done in the hall?

70. Why is it appropriate that the couple's bed should be involved in the main test of Odysseus' identity?

71. Around line 300, Odysseus recounts the prophecy that Tiresias had made about the King's further adventure and death in old age? Why would Homer remind us of this prophecy, just as the poem achieves its goal of bringing Odysseus home and reestablishing him successfully as master of Ithaca?

Book 24

72. Describe the interaction of the suitors' shades with others in Hades. How do Agamemnon and Achilles view each other's fates?

73. How does Odysseus test his father Laertes, now living a hard life, after the slaughter has been accomplished? What's the point of testing his father?

74. What problem remains for Odysseus to deal with, even though he has rid himself of the suitors and their hangers-on? What reason do the suitors' surviving kin give for their attempt to kill Odysseus? Is it grief alone, or something different?

75. How does the reconciliation between Odysseus and the surviving kin occur? Without Athena's divine assistance, what would be the prospects for immediate or eventual reconciliation?