A Review Game The Odyssey
Odysseus stays with her for seven years
Calypso
He raises a storm to destroy Odysseus’s raft when he sails from Calypso’s island
Poseidon
The goddess of wisdom; she favors Odysseus
Athena
The king of the gods; he sends down a thunderbolt which destroys Odysseus’ remaining ship and causes his crew to drown
Zeus
She turns Odysseus’s men into pigs
Circe
A character’s background or family tree is listed
Catalog
A character brags about his past to gain respect
Boasting
The gods and goddesses get involved in human affairs
Divine Intervention
The present is interrupted to go back and tell about something that happened earlier
Flashback
The social code of taking care of guests and warriors
Hospitality Code
“‘My name is Noman; aye, and Noman my father and my mother called me and all my comrades.’”
Intelligence
“‘We are not, friends, untried in danger. This new peril that lies before us is no greater than when the Cyclops caught and held us fast in his hollow cave. Yet we found escape... I think we shall live to tell the tale of this day too.’”
Leadership
“I put on my glorious armor and I grasped two spears in my hand and took my station on the decked prow, for there I thought I first should see appear this Scylla.”
Bravery
“Here Cyclops, take this wine, and drink after your feast of human flesh, and learn how good a drink we kept hidden within our ship.’”
Intelligence
“So there I took my stand by it (a large piece of olive wood) and cut a fathom’s length away, and this I gave my men and bade them shape it. They made it smooth, while I stood by and brought it to a point and charred it in a glowing fire.”
Battle Skills
“‘I am Odysseus, great Laertes’ son.’”
Catalog
Odysseus goes to the underworld to talk to the blind prophet, Teiresias
Visit to Hades
“Zeus now thundered from on high and hurled his bolt upon the ship.”
Divine Intervention
“Tell me the tale, Muse, of that man of many changes, he who went wandering so far when he had plundered Troy’s sacred citadel.”
Call to the Muse
While Odysseus is at the Land of the Phaeacians, he recalls his wanderings and tells Alcinous what happened to him after he left Troy
Flashback
Wife of Odysseus
Penelope
Creator of The Odyssey
Homer
Homer’s first epic about the Trojan War
The Iliad
These giant cannibals destroy 11 of Odysseus’s ships
Laestrygonians
He is the king in charge of the winds; he places the stormy winds in a bag so Odysseus can sail back to Ithaca
King Aeolus
Odysseus is tied to the mast so he can hear their song
The Sirens
This king takes Odysseus in as a stranger, and Odysseus tells him about his travels
Alcinous
Odysseus is warned not to harm his cattle
Helios
These characters get three of Odysseus’s men to eat a flower that makes them forget about their homeland
The Lotus Eaters
Odysseus lost 72 of his men to this powerful army
Cicones
The character takes a trip to the Underworld
Visit to Hades
At the beginning of the epic when the poet asks for divine inspiration in telling his story
Call to the Muse
The action of the epic begins in the middle
In Medias Res
A phrase that describes or renames a person
Epithet
An overused, descriptive phrase repeated in the epic; helps the poet memorize his work
Stock Phrase
The story begins with Telemachus going off in search of his father who never returned from the Trojan War
In Medias Res
“But when the dawn came, early-born and rosy-fingered.”
Stock Phrase
“‘If, O Cyclops, a mortal man shall ever ask you how it befell your eye was blinded so hideously, then answer thus: it was Odysseus blinded you, taker of Troy, Laertes’ son who dwells in Ithaca.’”
Boasting Epithet Catalog
“‘Now we come hither before your knees to pray you give welcome to your guests and grant us such gifts as guests should have.’”
Hospitality Code
1000 “‘Odysseus, taker of Troy”
1000 Epithet
This monster has 12 tentacle-like legs, six heads on serpent-like necks, and triple, razor-sharp fangs; kills six of Odysseus’ men
Scylla
A long, narrative poem about a superhuman hero
Epic
The great Greek warrior killed when a poisoned arrow hit him in his weak spot
Achilles
A traveling singer of tales
Rhapsode
This monster swallows sea water, causing a dangerous whirlpool
Charybdis