The Odyssey Vocabulary Word: Epic Definition: a long narrative poem celebrating the adventures & achievements of a hero Synonyms: None! Graphic Representation:

The Odyssey Vocabulary Word: Narrative Definition: A fancy-schmancy way of saying a “story” Synonyms: A tale Graphic Representation:

The Odyssey  Takes place in Ancient Greece

The Odyssey  Written by the famous, blind poet, Homer

The Odyssey  Written circa 900 B.C. and was likely intended to be sung and not read

The Odyssey  Begins with the fall of the city of Troy  Tells the story of a Greek warrior, Odysseus, and his men  In the excerpt we’ll be reading, Odysseus and his men venture into the cave of the Cyclops and become trapped there

Main Character: a god Zeus:  king of the gods

Main Character: a human Odysseus:  the protagonist in the epic  Greek warrior  clever & courageous  wants to resume his proper place as king

Main Character: a monster The Cyclops:  the one-eyed cannibal giant with a terrible temper  a.k.a. Polyphemus

Pre-Reading--Odysseus Methods of Characterization Appearance:Actions: Words:Thoughts/Feelings: Others’ Reactions:

Methods of Characterization Appearance: There is no mention of Odysseus’s appearance. It is implied that he is strong and commanding. Actions: Makes most of his men wait on the ship, takes only his twelve best men with him Puts himself between his men and the Cyclops and confronts the Cyclops himself Creates a stake from a large piece of wood and drives it into the Cyclops’ eye Figures out that he can escape from the cave without the Cyclops seeing him by riding underneath a sheep Words: Speaks with and tries to rationalize with the Cyclops first, instead of harming him right away Tells the Cyclops his name is “Nobody,” so when the Cyclops is injured he tells his friends “Nobody” had caused harm Thoughts/Feelings: Odysseus is outraged that the giant would deny him and his men hospitality and actually harm them. He plans and carries out revenge. Others’ Reactions: Little evidence of others’ reactions except that his men follow him without question

Pre-Reading--Odysseus Methods of Characterization Appearance:Actions: Honorable/selfless/strong leader Physically and mentally strong resourceful Words: Reasonable Witty clever Thoughts/Feelings: Others’ Reactions:

Pre-Reading--Odysseus The Road of Trials Challenges: 1. Outcomes:

Pre-Reading--Odysseus The Road of Trials Challenges: 1.. Outcomes:

Warm up – Grab a dictionary and look up the following vocabulary words. Write the definitions in the My Notes section on page 32 of SB Book. Vocabulary : laurels: savage: lawless: solitude: isolated:

Odysseus Tells His Tale: The Cyclops’ Cave Vocabulary : laurels: green shrub or small tree savage: ruthless or a brute or beast lawless: does not follow laws or rules solitude: alone isolated: alone or deserted

MY NOTES: Odysseus Tells His Tale: The Cyclops’ Cave SUMMARY  Odysseus and his men find a place to rest on their way home from the battle of Troy.  They are curious about the neighboring land of the Cyclopes.  The next morning Odysseus and his crew set sail to explore the new land.  They are curious to find out about who the Cyclopes are and if they are friendly.

Odysseus Tells His Tale: Polyphemus Return Vocabulary : draught: type of wine bouquet: scent or aroma (from wine) bleating: the noise a goat makes whey: watery part of milk after it has soured kids: baby lambs kindle: to light (fire)

MY NOTES: Polyphemus Returns Summary: Odysseus and 12 of his strongest men go explore the cave and take wine as an offering.  Upon arrival Cyclops is not present; they make themselves comfortable eating cheese.  Cyclops returns from tending to his sheep/goats to find the men and questions their intentions

Odysseus Tells His Tale: Trapped Vocabulary : sacked: to pillage, loot, destroy, steal suppliant: to ask for nicely devoid: without moored: anchor cunning: sneaky, or tricky entrails: the internal organs

MY NOTES:Odysseus Tells His Tale: Trapped Summary:  Odysseus tells Polyphemus that he and his crew are shipwrecked and asks him to respect the gods and show them hospitality  Polyphemus shows no pity and instead takes two members of his crew and devours them  Polyphemus goes to sleep  Odysseus and his remaining crew are trapped

Comprehension Check What is the setting? A. Odysseus’ ship. B. Polyphemus’ cave C. Euanthes’ house. D. Apollo’s pasture.

Comprehension Check: This is an example of a(n): A. epic poem B. non-fiction piece C. historical fiction D. Odysseus’ biography

Comprehension Check: What is the primary conflict? A. Odysseus needs to escape Polyphemus’ cave. B. Odysseus wants to steal Polyphemus’ sheep. C. Odysseus’ ship is lost. D. Polyphemus wants to trick Odysseus.

Comprehension Check: Who is the protagonist? A. Cyclops B. Polyphemus C. Odysseus D. Zeus

MY NOTES: Offering the Cyclops Wine (page 35) Summary:  When morning comes Polyphemus goes about his daily tasks and again eats two of the men from Odysseus’ crew.  Odysseus thinks of a plan to get revenge and begins working with his crew on preparing a huge club which they will use to poke the Cyclops’ eye while he sleeps.  Odysseus offers Polyphemus wine and Polyphemus drinks several cups.  Polyphemus asks Odysseus his name.

Comprehension Check: Examine the word devoid in the following sentence and select the correct definition. “Devoid of pity, he was silent in response, but leaping up laid hands on my crew. Two he seized and dashed to the ground like whelps, and their brains ran out and stained the earth. A. Full of.. B. Filled with.. C. Lack of.. D. With..

Comprehension Check: A character trait that best describes Odysseus is… A. clever B. stingy C. honest D. cruel

Comprehension Check: “As soon as Rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Cyclops relit the fire.” This is an example of which literary device? A. metaphor B. simile C. onomatopoeia D. personification

Comprehension Check: Odysseus offers the cyclops a ________ as a gift. A. draught B. sheep C. whey D. vessel

MY NOTES: Blinding the Cyclops Summary:  Polyphemus continued to drink the wine which makes him less coherent.  Odysseus tells Polyphemus his name is “nobody”.  Polyphemus assures Odysseus (nobody) that he will be the last of his men to be eaten.  Polyphemus falls into a drunken sleep.  The crew works together to stab the eye of the Cyclops and he awakens crying for help.  His Cyclops neighbors come to the entrance of the cave to check on him and Polyphemus replies that “Nobody… is trying to kill me” and they leave.

MY NOTES: ESCAPE Summary:  Odysseus feels good about his clever scheme.  Polyphemus moved the stone door but sat there waiting for the crew to escape.  The crew escaped the next morning hiding between and even underneath the sheep as they were herded out.  Odysseus and his crew returned to the ship with sheep to take with them.

Comprehension Check: Using contextual clues, identify the meaning of “adze” in the following sentence. “As a great axe or adze causes a vast hissing when the smith dips it in cool water to temper it, strengthening the iron, so his eye hissed against the olivewood stake” (Homer 36). A. weapon with a sharp blade B. plural form of axe C. Ancient Grecian harpoon D. A foul creature of Greek Mythology that is part woman and part bird.

Comprehension Check: As used in this sentence, “If you are alone, and nobody does you violence, it’s inescapable sickness that comes from Zeus: pray to the Lord Poseidon, our father” (Homer 37), how does the prefix “in-” affect the meaning of “escapable”? A. It makes it longer. B. It adds fear to the escape. C. It changes its meaning to the opposite of escapable. D. It means they must escape into something.

Comprehension Check: Which quote best exemplifies Odysseus’ leadership characteristic? A. “My fine ram, why leave the cave like this last of the flock?” B. “I considered the best way of escaping, and saving myself, and my men, from death.” C. “Polyphemus, what terrible pain is this that makes you call through deathless night, and wake us?” D. “Off they went, while I laughed to myself at how the name and the clever scheme had deceived him.”

Comprehension Check: What was the resolution to the conflict in this story? A. Odysseus was able to take the sheep back to the ship to feed his men. B. Odysseus blinded the Cyclops and he and his men established a settlement in the abandoned cave. C. Odysseus and his men escaped from the cave underneath the sheep. D. When the Cyclops is injured, he tells his neighbors that “Nobody” caused him harm.