Flashcards
The Odyssey plot summary by book
Cards in this deck (75)
- 1—Book 4: When they arrive at Sparta, Telemachus and Pisistratus are warmly welcomed. Telemachus is moved to tears by Menelaus' recollections of his friend Odysseus. The king and queen recall some of Odysseus' exploits at Troy but postpone serious talk until the next day. In the morning, Menelaus expresses outrage at the behaviour of Penelope's suitors and encourages Telemachus by telling him that Odysseus is alive and a captive of Calypso.
- 2—Book 4: Back in Ithaca, the suitors have discovered that Telemachus is gone and plan to ambush his ship on its return. Penelope is distraught to learn of her son's trip and the planned assassination but is soothed by a vision sent by Athena. Homer leaves the plot of Telemachus dangling as selected suitors board a vessel to set up the surprise attack.
- 3—Book 5: The gods have gathered again on Olympus. Poseidon is notably absent, and Athena once more advocates Odysseus' case. Zeus agrees to send his son Hermes immediately to Ogygia in order to liberate the king of Ithaca from Calypso. Zeus advises Athena to help Telemachus return home unharmed, escaping the suitors' ambush.
- 4—Book 5:On Ogygia, Calypso, aware that she must not cross Zeus, begrudgingly agrees to follow Hermes' directions. She provides a raft and supplies for Odysseus but no escort.
- 5—Book 5: Odysseus himself is first seen weeping on a beach as he wants to go home. At first understandably sceptical of Calypso's offer of freedom, he soon joins preparations for his departure.
- 6—Book 5: Poseidon, returning from a visit to Ethiopia, spots Odysseus on the open sea, raises his trident, and sends a swamping storm that nearly drowns him. With the help of Athena and a sea nymph named Leucothea, Odysseus makes it ashore on the island of Scheria, home of the Phaeacians.
- 7—Book 6: That night, Athena appears in a dream to the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa, disguised as her friend. She encourages the young princess to go to the river the next day to wash her clothes so that she will appear more fetching to the many men courting her.
- 8—Book 6:The next morning, Nausicaa goes to the river, and while she and her handmaidens are naked, playing ball as their clothes dry on the ground, Odysseus wakes in the forest and encounters them. Naked himself, he humbly yet winningly pleads for their assistance, never revealing his identity.
- 9—Book 6:Nausicaa leaves him alone to wash the dirt and brine from his body, and Athena makes him look especially handsome, so that when Nausicaa sees him again she approves more of him.
- 10—Book 6:Afraid of causing a scene if she walks into the city with a strange man at her side, Nausicaa gives Odysseus directions to the palace and advice on how to approach Arete, queen of the Phaeacians, when he meets her. With a prayer to Athena for hospitality from the Phaeacians, Odysseus sets out for the palace.
- 11—Book 7: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. She offers to guide him to the king’s house and shrouds him in a protective mist that keeps the Phaeacians, a kind but somewhat xenophobic people, from harassing him. She also advises him to direct his plea for help to Arete, the wise and strong queen who will know how to get him home. Once Athena has delivered Odysseus to the palace, she departs from Scheria to her beloved city of Athens.
- 12—Book 7:Odysseus finds the palace residents holding a festival in honor of Poseidon. He is struck by the splendor of the palace and the king’s opulence. As soon as he sees the queen, he throws himself at her feet, and the mist about him dissipates.
- 13—Book 7:At first, the king wonders if this wayward traveler might be a god, but without revealing his identity, Odysseus puts the king’s suspicions to rest by declaring that he is indeed a mortal. He then explains his predicament, and the king and queen gladly promise to see him off the next day in a Phaeacian ship.
- 14—Book 7:Later that evening, when the king and queen are alone with Odysseus, the wise Arete recognizes the clothes that he is wearing as ones that she herself had made for her daughter Nausicaa. Suspicious, she interrogates Odysseus further.
- 15—Book 7:While still withholding his name, Odysseus responds by recounting the story of his journey from Calypso’s island and his encounter with Nausicaa that morning, which involved her giving him a set of clothes to wear. To absolve the princess for not accompanying him to the palace, Odysseus claims that it was his idea to come alone. Alcinous is so impressed with his visitor that he says he would like his daughter to marry a man like him.
- 16—Book 8: The next day, Alcinous calls an assembly of his Phaeacian counselors. Athena, back from Athens, ensures attendance by spreading word that the topic of discussion will be the godlike visitor who recently appeared on the island.
- 17—Book 8:At the assembly, Alcinous proposes providing a ship for his visitor so that the man can return to his homeland. The measure is approved, and Alcinous invites the counsellors to his palace for a feast and celebration of games in honour of his guest.
- 18—Book 8: There, a blind bard named Demodocus sings of the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at Troy. Everyone listens with pleasure except Odysseus, who weeps at the painful memories that the story recalls. The king notices Odysseus’s grief and ends the feast so that the games can begin.
- 19—Book 8: The games include the standard lineup of boxing, wrestling, racing, and throwing of the discus. At one point, Odysseus is asked to participate. Still overcome by his many hardships, he declines. One of the young athletes, Broadsea, then insults him, which goads his pride to action. Odysseus easily wins the discus toss and then challenges the Phaeacian athletes to any other form of competition they choose.
- 20—Book 8:The discussion becomes heated, but Alcinous diffuses the situation by insisting that Odysseus join them in another feast, at which the Phaeacian youth entertain him and prove their preeminence in song and dance. Demodocus performs again, this time a light song about a tryst between Ares and Aphrodite. Afterward, Alcinous and each of the young Phaeacian men, including Broadsea, give Odysseus gifts to take with him on his journey home.
- 21—Book 8: At dinner that night, Odysseus asks Demodocus to sing of the Trojan horse and the sack of Troy, but as he listens to the accomplished minstrel he again breaks down. King Alcinous again notices and stops the music. He asks Odysseus at last to tell him who he is, where he is from, and where he is going.
- 22—Book 9: After identifying himself to the Phaeacians at the feast, Odysseus tells the story of his wanderings. Following the victory at Troy, he and his men sail to Ismarus, the stronghold of the Cicones.
- 23—Book 9:With apparent ease, they sack the city, kill the men, enslave the women, and enjoy a rich haul of plunder. Odysseus advises his men to leave immediately with their riches, but they ignore his warnings.
- 24—Book 9: The Cicones gather reinforcements, counterattack, and eventually rout the Greeks. Odysseus and his men retreat by sea. Storms blow the ships off course, but they finally arrive at the land of the Lotus-eaters.
- 25—Book 9:The inhabitants are not hostile; however, eating the lotus plant causes Odysseus' men to lose memory and all desire to return home. Odysseus barely gets them back to sea.
- 26—Book 9: The next stop is the land of the Cyclops, lawless one-eyed giants. One of them, Polyphemus, traps Odysseus and a scouting party in his cave.
- 27—Book 9: Odysseus outwits the Cyclopes by getting him drunk and then stabbing him in the eye. They then wait until he rolls back the rock at the cave entrance and escape by hiding under the sheep.
- 28—Book 10: Having escaped the Cyclops, Odysseus and his men arrive at the home of Aeolus, master of the winds, where they are greeted warmly and hosted for a month.
- 29—Book 10: Eager to move on, Odysseus receives an ox-skin pouch from Aeolus. In it are captured all the winds that might drive the ships off course. Only the West Wind is left free to blow them toward Ithaca.
- 30—Book 10: After ten days of sailing, the Greeks are so close to home that they can actually see men tending fires on their island. Exhausted, Odysseus falls asleep.
- 31—Book 10: Curious and suspicious, his men open the ox skin expecting to find treasure and inadvertently release heavy squalls that blow them right back to Aeolus' island. The wind god refuses to help them further.
- 32—Book 10: With no favouring wind at all, the Greeks must row, and they come upon the land of the Laestrygonians, cannibalistic giants who suddenly attack and devour the seamen, hurling boulders at the ships and spearing the men like so many fish.
- 33—Book 10: Only Odysseus' vessel escapes. It sails to the island of Aeaea, home of the beautiful but dangerous goddess Circe, whom Odysseus can overcome only through the intervention of Hermes, messenger of the gods and son of Zeus.
- 34—Book 11: Odysseus follows Circe's instructions, digging a trench at the site prescribed and pouring libations of milk, honey, mellow wine, and pure water.
- 35—Book 11: He ceremoniously sprinkles barley and then sacrifices a ram and a ewe, the dark blood flowing into the trench to attract the dead.
- 36—Book 11:First to approach is Elpenor, one of Odysseus' men who died just before the crew left Circe's home. Elpenor had spent the last night in a drunken stupor on Circe's roofs, breaking his neck as he fell off when he arose at dawn.
- 37—Book 11: Because of the urgency of Odysseus' journey to the Land of the Dead, Elpenor was left unburied, and his spirit requests proper rites when the Greeks return to Aeaea.
- 38—Book 11:Others are drawn to the blood: Odysseus' mother, Anticleia; Tiresias the prophet; and old comrades Agamemnon and Achilles, among others
- 39—Book 12:Odysseus returns to Aeaea for Elpenor's funeral rites. Circe is helpful once more, providing supplies and warnings about the journey to begin the next dawn.
- 40—Book 12:First the Greeks must get past the Sirens whose irresistible songs lure sailors into their island's coastal reefs. Next they must avoid the Clashing Rocks.
- 41—Book 12:Choosing to go around the Clashing Rocks, Odysseus then must confront either Scylla or Charybdis.
- 42—Book 12: The first is a six-headed monster lurking in an overhanging, fog-concealed cavern. She cannot be defeated in battle, and she will devour at least six of the Greeks, one for each of her hideous heads that feature triple rows of thickset fangs. Nearby is Charybdis, a monster whirlpool that swallows everything near it three times a day.
- 43—Book 12: If the Greeks survive these terrors, they will meet the most dangerous test of all: the temptation of the island (Thrinacia) of the Sungod Helios. Whatever they do, the seamen must not harm the sacred cattle of the sun.
- 44—Book 12: If they resist temptation, they can return home safely; if, on the other hand, they harm any sacred animal, the ship and men will be destroyed.
- 45—Book 12: Odysseus falls asleep and his men slaughter the cattle anyway. Odysseus' ship is destroyed by Zeus and he is the only survivor.
- 46—Book 18: Irus, a vagabond, picks a fight with beggar/Odysseus, which he soon regrets. As tensions increase, Odysseus tries in vain to warn Amphinomus, the best of the suitors, that trouble is coming and he should leave the group.
- 47—Book 18: In preparation for the meeting with Odysseus, Athena makes Penelope look even more beautiful.
- 48—Book 18: The queen chastises her son for permitting a fight and putting their guest at risk.
- 49—Book 18: Odysseus rebukes Penelope's maidservant Melantho for her neglect of the queen.
- 50—Book 18: The girl has been indulging in an illicit affair with Eurymachus, Penelope's smooth-talking suitor. Odysseus and Eurymachus have a confrontation.
- 51—Book 19: The suitors have gone home for the night. Odysseus instructs Telemachus to gather the weapons and hide them where they will not be readily available to the suitors the next day.
- 52—Book 19: Melantho, the disrespectful servant girl who sleeps with Eurymachus, confronts the beggar/Odysseus once more.
- 53—Book 19: Finally alone with Penelope, Odysseus offers convincing evidence that he knew her husband. Penelope seems suspicious about his identity.
- 54—Book 19: An old nurse, Eurycleia, is assigned the duty of bathing the guest. She innocently comments on how much he resembles her king, whom she raised from early childhood.
- 55—Book 19: Stunned, she identifies a scar, over his knee, left by a boar's tusk, and realizes that she is, indeed, bathing, her master. Odysseus immediately and sternly swears her to silence, forbidding her even to tell Penelope his identity.
- 56—Book 19: After the bath, Penelope rejoins the beggar/Odysseus and reveals that she will conduct a contest the following day to select a husband and satisfy the suitors.
- 57—Book 19: The challenge involves a feat that only Odysseus has performed before: stringing his great bow and shooting an arrow through a straight row of twelve axes. Odysseus enthusiastically approves of her plan.
- 58—Book 20: Odysseus spends a restless night worrying about the impending battle. He angrily notices the maidservants as they sneak out to meet their lovers among the suitors.
- 59—Book 20: Athena appears and assures him of vengeful victory. Penelope's room is nearby, and at dawn, he hears the end of her prayer for death if she cannot join her husband.
- 60—Book 20: He imagines that she recognizes him and that they are together at last. Odysseus prays to Zeus for a sign of support and is answered by a thunderclap.
- 61—Book 20: This day is a special holiday on Ithaca, a festal celebration in honour of Apollo, god of archery. Melanthius, the goatherd, is in town for the celebration and again bullies Odysseus.
- 62—Book 20: Eumaeus, the swineherd, continues to earn his master's trust as does Philoetius, a cowherd. The suitors, talking again of assassinating Telemachus, continue their boorish behaviour.
- 63—Book 20:One of the lot, Ctesippus, mocks beggar/Odysseus and hurls an oxhoof at the king. Telemachus berates the suitors and lists some of their many offenses.
- 64—Book 20: The seer Theoclymenus speaks ominously to them, offering one of their last warnings, but in their arrogance, the suitors respond with derisive laughter.
- 65—Book 21: Penelope announces the contest and retrieves Odysseus' great back sprung bow from a secret storeroom deep in the palace.
- 66—Book 21: For sport, Telemachus attempts to string the bow and fails three times. He is about to succeed on his fourth try when Odysseus privately signals him to back off.
- 67—Book 21: The suitors then take their turns, their early efforts failing dismally. As the suitors contend, Odysseus meets outside with Eumaeus and Philoetius, his faithful servants and reveals to them his true identity and enlists their support in his plan.
- 68—Book 21: Meanwhile, the suitors continue to struggle with the bow. Antinous suggests that the contest be postponed until the next day.
- 69—Book 21: But then Odysseus asks if he might give the bow a try, an idea that Penelope strongly supports. Odysseus easily strings the weapon and fires an arrow straight through the axes; then he and Telemachus stand together to face the suitors.
- 70—Book 22: Tearing off his beggar rags, Odysseus boldly catapults himself onto the hall's threshold, utters a brief prayer to Apollo, and fires an arrow straight through a new target: Antinous' throat.
- 71—Book 22: Only after that does he announce his intentions to the suitors in no uncertain terms. Suddenly realizing the danger, Eurymachus tries to talk his way out of the situation, offering repayment for all that has been taken from Odysseus.
- 72—Book 22: The king declines the offer, and Eurymachus calls his cohorts to arms, which consist of only the swords they wear. They have no armour.
- 73—Book 22: Odysseus rips through Eurymachus' chest and liver with an arrow. Amphinomus attacks and is killed by Telemachus.
- 74—Book 22: Goatherd Melanthius, who twice assaulted Odysseus in recent days, manages to bring the suitors armor and spears from the storeroom but is caught by Eumaeus and Philoetius on a second attempt and strung up, alive, to be dealt with later.
- 75—Book 22: With Athena's intervention and encouragement, Odysseus wins the day. All suitors are killed. The king then dispenses justice to a few remaining individuals and a dozen servant girls.
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- A Levels Classics (The Odyssey) Flashcards on Untitled, created by gavinfree on 22/04/2014.
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