Telemachus welcomes him and offers him hospitality when they get to ithaca. He throws his protective veil back into the water as ino. Finally, a river up the coast of the island answers odysseuss prayers and allows him to swim into its waters. In return for their hospitality, odysseus tells them and us everything thats happened to him since the end of the trojan war, which is this. When everyone arrives, alcinous asks his people to bring a ship down to the sea and to find a crew of fiftytwo men to transport odysseus home. The link is posted on my web site and pasted below.
Read a character analysis of odysseus, plot summary, and important quotes. They head to town and pass athenas grove, where odysseus prays for to athena for hospitality from the phaeacians. Odysseus thanks the swineherd for his hospitality, and eumaeus answers that zeus decrees that everyone be kind to beggars and strangers. In response, calypso angrily shouts that the gods become jealous when goddesses sleep with mortals, though they often sleep with mortal women. Alcinous, king of the phaeacians, and his wife arete have promised to help odysseus in his journey home. Alcinousking of the phaeacians, who offers odysseus hospitality in. He throws his protective veil back into the water as. In book 1, athena comes to ithaca in disguise as the hero mentes to convince. Hermes flies to calypsos island, where the goddess sings and weaves by a fire in her cavern in the woods.
Hermes tells calypso that zeus commands her to release odysseus. We learn that poseidon, god of the sea, holds a grudge though we dont know exactly why against odysseus and is making the guys voyage home a pretty difficult one. In the hut of eumaeus, odysseus tests the limit of his hospitality by offering to leave in. He was a war hero in the trojan war, he got into an argument with odysseus and died a short time later. What are the differences between the judeochristianmuslim concept of god and the gods of the ancients as shown in the odyssey. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes the odyssey study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Throughout the poem, odysseus is a series of apparent contradictions, a much more complicated character than we would find in any stereotypical epic hero. The question and answer section for the odyssey is a great resource to ask questions. Discussion questions for the odyssey books 1, 2, 5, 9 and beyond. They are choosing to interfere for entertainment purposes.
When the suitors retire for the night, telemachus and odysseus remove the arms as planned. Characters marked with are recurring characters who play significant roles throughout the story. Find summaries for every chapter, including a the odyssey chapter summary chart to help you understand the book. After everyone eats and drinks, the bard demodocus sings about the battle between odysseus and achilles. You may wish to consult our links relating to homer and the odyssey. It is morning, and at the beginning of book 8 in homers the odyssey. The more complicated a character is, the more he or she engages these major themes. Odysseus has chosen to stay on her island voluntarily. Books 58 constitute the second of the six 4book units into the odyssey can be readily divided. Who brings into the light his most significant personality traits. What part of the heros journey is odysseus on in book 5. Finally, a river up the coast of the island answers odysseuss prayers and. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means. Telemachus, the focus of the first four books of the odyssey, provides an early example of good hospitality as both a host and a guest.
While the odyssey is a classic, it can be hard to understand. The odyssey books 58 summary and analysis gradesaver. When hephaestus learned of the infidelity from helios, the god of the sun, he created very fine gold chains that he slipped around the posts of aphrodites bed. There are many possible reasons why hospitality was more prevalent in those times. At dawn, athena in the guise of alcinous gathers people to the meeting grounds. Books 5 8 constitute the second of the six 4book units into the odyssey can be readily divided.
Because book 5 presents the readers first meeting with odysseus, it is interesting that homer chooses to show him alone on a beach on calypsos island, apparently defeated and weeping. Calypso is taken by surprise when hermes arrives with strict instructions from zeus to free odysseus and comments on the double standard of male gods, who. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major. Hospitality in homers time was well shown through long travels such as odysseus in the odyssey as well as the guestfriend relationship, known as xenia. The reader learns about the characters through the themes. In particular, there are links there to some study guides elsewhere online that offer summaries of the successive books of epic that you might find useful in. These include hospitality, reputation, revenge, and power. At the end of the odyssey for the final homework assignment, you can use an online tool to chart the heros journey for odysseus. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Meanwhile, the bard tells the story of ares and aphrodite. Athena criticizes odysseuss painful lot, implying that the gods ought to reward just rulers. As you read, use the chart below to keep track of major and some minor, who play a major role characters in the odyssey. The story begins ten years after the end of the trojan war, the subject of the iliad. The major themes in the odyssey are especially significant because they serve to form the moral and ethical constitution of most of the characters.
Just as the gods are not omnipotent in the judeochristian sense, they are not allknowing, or at least the scope of their attention is limited. Context and comprehension questions for the fifth book of homers odyssey. Homer odyssey books 18 study guide questions reading odyssey. Books 14 focus mainly on telemachos, and books 58 on odysseus experiences among the phaiacians or phaiakians or phaiakes and the events in book 5 leading up to this. All of the greek heroes except odysseus have returned home. Homer odyssey books 18 study guide questions for those of you who may be following our reading of homer remotely or just via the web, heres our schedule of reading over the next three months and below that i have put the reading questions that i distributed to each reader for the first call, which is tonight. The odyssey can be thought of as a manual for a host of how to and how not to show hospitality to a guest and vice versa.
There is no one correct response, and it is beyond the scope of a learning guide to sum up religions, but a good response would include some of the following concepts. On his way to the palace of alcinous, the king of the phaeacians, odysseus is stopped by a young girl who is athena in disguise. Summary and analysis book 1 athena inspires the prince. Homer odyssey books 18 study guide questions reading.
Review the book with these sample questions and answers to make sure youre prepared for discussion or a quiz. Converted notes into questions book 6 of the odyssey learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. The poet invokes the muse to help him tell the story of odysseus. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was unfaithful to her goldsmith husband hephaestus with ares, the god of war. Summary homer opens the odyssey with an invocation to the muse of epic poetry and asks for her guidance in telling.