Study Guide for Odyssey X – XII

 

Book X: The Island of Kirke

 

  1. Who is Aiolos?
  2. What does Aiolos give to Odysseus?
  3. Why do does Odysseus’ crew open the bag, and why doesn’t Odysseus notice what they are doing?
  4. Why doesn’t Aiolos help Odysseus when Odysseus returns to to Aiolia?
  5. List three reasons why the Laistrygonians are uncivilized.
  6. When the crew reaches Aiaia, the island of Kirke, what happens to the scouting party Odysseus sends out?
  7. Which god comes to Odysseus to help him get his crew back?
  8. In the episode with Kirke, are drugs bad?  Explain.
  9. Where does Kirke tell Odysseus to go after he leaves her island?
  10. How do Kirke and Kalypso differ in their views towards letting Odysseus go home?
  11. Who dies at the end of Book X?

 

Book XI: The Nekuia (i.e. the voyage to the land of the dead)

 

  1. What does Elpenor demand of Odysseus when he meets him in the Underworld?
  2. Why doesn’t Odysseus let the shade of mother drink the blood when he first sees her?
  3. What does Teiresias warn Odysseus not to do?  Does Odysseus follow his advice?
  4. According to Antikleia, what happens to all men when they die?  Be specific.
  5. Who is the first to speak after Odysseus ends the first half of his story?
  6. Even after the emotional episode with Antikleia, the Phaiakians still seem to think of Odysseus’ tale as nothing more than a great story.  Why? (this was covered last week in lecture).
  7. Who tells Odysseus that “the day of faithful wives is over”?
  8. Achilles seems to have changed his view on the heroic lifestyle.  What does Achilles tell Odysseus about being dead?
  9. Even though men become shades after death, do emotions remain? (think about Aias and Agamemnon)
  10. Odysseus sees several people being tortured in the Underworld.  What punishment does Tantalos endure?
  11. Which famous character is doomed to roll a rock up a hill for all eternity, only to see it fall back down again every time?

 

Book XII: Lots o’ Troubles

 

  1. Why does Odysseus have to return to Kirke’s island?
  2. How do Odysseus and his crew survive the encounter with the Sirens?
  3. Of Skylla and Charybdis, which one of the whirlpool and which one is the man-eating monster?
  4. What does Odysseus tell his crew in regards to the cattle of Helios?
  5. Which member of Odysseus’ crew convinces the crew to slaughter Helios’ cattle?
  6. What does Zeus do to punish Odysseus and his crew?
  7. How does Odysseus get away from Skylla the second time?
  8. After escaping Skylla the second time, where in his story does Odysseus end Book XII?