ODYSSEY 21-24 STUDY QUESTIONS
STANLEY LOMBARDO TRANSLATION
DUE Wednesday, February 10, 2021.
ANAGNORISIS — RECOGNITION OF ODYSSEUS IN THE ODYSSEY
Dr.Levine’s Email Sword Challenge and Solution
ODYSSEY 21
0. In what way does the epic associate Odysseus’ bow with xenia?
1. Why did Eumaeus and the cowherd cry as they set out the bow and axes before the Suitors?
2. What is “out of character” about Telemachus’ public reaction to Penelope’s announcement of the Bow Competition? Why does he encourage the Suitors to take part?
3. How does Odysseus reveal his identity to the cowherd and swineherd? Why does he do so at the moment he does? What are his instructions to these faithful servants?
4. What reason does the disguised Odysseus give for wanting to try to string the bow? What is Antinous’ reaction? Why does Antinous tell the story about the wine-crazed centaurs?
5. What is Eurymachus afraid of? How does Penelope put him in his place?
6. In this book, Odysseus raises (133) and lowers (460) his brows. What do these body movements mean in their contexts?
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ODYSSEY 22 VASE PAINTING ON A KRATER. CAN YOU TELL WHAT SCENE THIS DEPICTS FROM THE EPIC?
[Hint: It includes Odysseus, Telemachus and Eumaeus fighting in the hall. Do you see Odysseus, his son, the faithful slave and the suitors?]
What does this scene show? (Yes, it IS by Chagall.)
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ODYSSEY 22
7. In what ways does this book recall the Iliad? Cite some specifics. [optional question]
8. Why does Odysseus invoke Apollo? (7)
9. What three crimes of the Suitors does Odysseus mention when he begins the slaughter (lines 38-44)?
10. How does Athena help Odysseus and Telemachus in their battle against the suitors?
11. Which suppliants does Odysseus spare in the battle in the hall, and why? Which suppliants are not spared? Why do you think these are not spared?
12. Find one simile and comment on its appropriateness.
13. What role does Eurycleia play in the bloody battle in the hall and its aftermath?
ODYSSEY 23
14. What is Penelope’s first reaction to Eurycleia’s announcement that Odysseus really was home? (25ff)
15. What is Penelope’s second reaction to the notion that Odysseus has come home and killed the suitors? (23.62ff) What does this tell us about her character?
16. What does Homer imply about Penelope’s true beliefs about the identity of the man who killed the suitors? (23.89ff)
17. Why do you think that Odysseus smiles when Penelope says “There are secrets between us no one else knows”? (23.115)
18. How is music used to deceive in book 23?
19. Why is the simile at 23.240ff so apt?
20. Why is the night so long in book 23? How long is it? What happens during this long night?
ODYSSEY 24
21. What kind of relationship do Agamemnon and Achilles have in Hades? [optional: How does this compare or contrast with their relationship in the Iliad? How do you account for any differences?
22. Why does Agamemnon say that Achilles had “the good fortune to die in Troy, far from Argos” (38)? How does he contrast Achilles’ death with his own?
23. Agamemnon speaks to the spirit of the dead suitor Amphimedon and refers to how he met him on Ithaca when he came “to urge Odysseus to sail with the fleet to Ilion.” Why does he say that it was “hard work persuading Odysseus” (120-125)?
24. The ghost of the suitor Amphimedon seems to think that Odysseus and Penelope plotted together to kill the suitors (126-192). What alternate version of the story might this imply?
25. How does Odysseus identify himself to Laertes?
26. How does Odysseus treat his father in book 24? Why do you think that Odysseus treats his own father thus?
27. What do we learn about the funeral and burial of Achilles in this book?
28. How does the shade of Agamemnon compare his wife with Odysseus’ wife (200-210)?
29. How does Athena play an important role in resolving the conflict on Ithaca in book 24? How does this summarize her role in the epic?
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