1. English 9 A
The Odyssey Part One

2. Table of Contents Tell the Story 890 Calypso, the Sweet Nymph 891
“I am Laertes’ son…” 895
The Lotus Eaters
The Cyclops
The Witch Circe
The Sirens; Scylla and Charybdis 916
The Cattle of the Sun God 922

4. Relationships
Thomas Mann once said, “No man is an island.” In some ways we are all connected, and the relationships we have with others impact our lives. Some relationships are beyond our control, such as our families. Others, we choose such as friends and significant others. Having a successful relationships often takes effort from all parties. Think about relationships and how courage, love, acceptance, understand, and honesty are important components.

5. Quick Write
What relationships have had the greatest impact on you? Respond to one of the choices in the prompt below.
Describe one of your own relationships and explain why it is important.
Write about a relationship that helped shape who you are today.

6. Tell the story – The Lotus Eaters
It begins with Homer asking for the Muse to help him tell the story.
We begin reading the story towards the end.
Odysseus is on Calypso’s island.
After leaving Calypso’s island, he begins to tell the story of his journey thus far.
After Calypso’s island, all of Part One has already happened and is being told by Odysseus.

7. 891-898 Questions Who is Hermes, and what is his mission?
What can Hermes do with his wand?
Who is holding Odysseus captive?
What is Calypso’s reaction to having to let Odysseus go?
What is the main problem Odysseus faces while traveling by sea?
What happens to Odysseus?
How do the Phaeacians treat Odysseus?
What happens at the Land of the Lotus Eaters?

8. The Cyclops Read pages 899-909
Odysseus describes his next adventure to King Alcinous’s court.
In the adventure, they run into the Cyclops named Polyphemus, Posiedon’s one eyed monster son.
Read pages

9. Questions
Write a persuasive speech (two paragraphs) from Odysseus's point of view convincing the Cyclops to free his men. (Write like you are Odysseus)
How heavy is the door of the Cyclops’ cave?
What is the first villainous thing the Cyclops does?
Why doesn’t Odysseus kill the Cyclops when he has the chance?
What does Odysseus give the Cyclops as a gift?
What gift does the Cyclops give in return?
What does Odysseus tell the Cyclops that his name is?
How do Odysseus and his men sneak out of the Cyclops’s cave?
What foolish thing does Odysseus do?
What did a soothsayer once predict would happen to the Cyclops?
What does the Cyclops ask his father Poseidon to do for him?

10. The Witch Circe
The king of wind gives Odysseus and his men a favor.
Odysseus loses all but one ship to the Laestrygonians (giant cannibals).
In the account of the witch Circe, Odysseus's journey home is prolonged even further.
Read

11. 911-913 Questions Who is the God of Wind?
What favor does he do for Odysseus and his men?
What stupid mistake do some of the men make on the ship?
How do even more men die after the bag accident?
What does Circe do to some of Odysseus’s men?
How does Odysseus get her to release his men?
What instructions does Circe give Odysseus?

12. Homeric Similes
A simile is a directly stated comparison using the words like or as.
A Homeric simile is an elaborate comparison, developed over several lines, between something strange or unfamiliar to the audience and something more familiar to them.
For example, in lines on page 902, Homer compares the Cyclops eating the men to a mountain lion devouring its prey, bones and all.

13. The Land of the Dead – Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis
Because of the events with the witch Circe, Odysseus must go to the Land of the Dead.
After the Land of the Dead, Odysseus and his men return to the witch Circe, who warns Odysseus of the Sirens (singing sea nymphs), Scylla and Charyhdis (monsters).
Read

14. Questions
What does Odysseus do to call the souls of the dead to him?
Who is Teiresia and what does Odysseus want from him?
What does Teiresia Predict for Odysseus? What should Odysseus do to the suitors at his house?
What does Teiresias say Odysseus should do after dealing with the suitors?
What is the name of Odysseus’s mother and how did she die?
Why can’t Odysseus hug his dead mother? Why should Odysseus be wary of the Sirens?
What should he and his men do to keep safe from the Sirens?
Describe Scylla.
What will Charybdis do if Odysseus’s ships get too close?
What does Odysseus keep secret form his men?
Describe the circumstances of Odysseus’s shipmates’ deaths. Is it Odysseus’s fault?

15. Cattle of the Sun God Read 922-924
The Cattle of the Sun God is the last account before Odysseus ends up on Calypso’s island.
What can you assume will happen by the end of the account? (Keep in mind how the story started).
Based on what you know, and what Odysseus has been told, if you were Odysseus, what would you do to try to protect your men?
Read

16. 922-924 Questions Why do they land on the island of Thrinakia?
What does Odysseus make his men promise?
Describe Eurylochus’s persuasive speech?
What are his main points?
Who does Odysseus blame?
What does Lord Helios ask Zeus to do?
What happens to Odysseus and his men?

17. Review Answer questions 1-7 from the book.
Name the 6 elements of the Epic Hero Cycle.
Why does Calypso tell Odysseus that he is free to leave her island?
What is the main problem Odysseus faces while traveling at sea? Why?
What does the lotus plants do to Odysseus’s men?
Why does Odysseus blind Polyphemus rather than kill him?
How does Odysseus save his crew from the Sirens’ song?
Why does Odysseus not warn his men about Scylla?
Give examples of how Odysseus’ actions are characteristic of an epic hero.
What prophecy of Teiresias and Circe does Odysseus withhold from his men?
Answer questions 1-7 from the book.