The Odyssey Study Guide (Books 9-16)

THE ODYSSEY – Notes

IX. BOOK 9

A. Odysseus Reveals Identity, Tells Phaeacians About Ismarus and Cicones i. Odysseus reluctanty shares his identity with Phaeacians ii. Odysseus then details his adventures, starting after his victory at Troy iii. Odysseus and men sail to Ismarus, stronghold of Cicones iv. They easily sack the city, kill the men, enslave the women and plunder v. Odysseus warns men to leave with their riches, but they ignore him vi. Cicones counterattack and rout the Greeks vii. Odysseus and men retreat back to sea, losing six men per ship

B. Island of Lotus Eaters, Odysseus Rescues His Men i. Zeus sends a storm that drives Odysseus and men out to sea for nine days before they arrive at the Island of the Lotus Eaters ii. Lotus Eaters eat fruit that makes them forget everything except fruit iii. Two of Odysseus Men eat the fruit and forget about home iv. Odysseus manages to drag them back to the ship and leave

C. Land of Cyclopes, Polyphemus Captures, ‘Nobody’ Blinded Polyphemus i. Odysseus and men arrive at Land of Cyclopses and eat some goats ii. They arrive at mainland and find a cave of sheep, milk and cheese iii. They take provisions and sheep but don’t leave immediately iv. Polyphemus, Cyclops and Poseidon’s son, returns to cave v. Polyphemus friendly at first, then eats two men and capture the rest vi. Odysseus gives Polyphemus some wine, gets him drunk, and blinds him in his sleep vii. Odysseus says his name is ‘Nobody’, and Polyphemus yells to the other Cyclopes that ‘Nobody’ is killing him, they leave viii. Odysseus wants to kill Polyphemus, but only Polyphemus can move the boulder blocking their path ix. Odysseus and men escape with sheep, and finally shouts his name x. Polyphemus hears Odysseus name and calls to his father Poseidon and asks for vengeance

X. BOOK 10

A. Aeolus Gives Winds, Almost Return To Ithaca, Men Open Bag Of Winds i. Odysseus and men travel to home of Aeolus, Ruler of Winds ii. Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag full of the winds except West Wind, and uses West Wind to send him home iii. After ten days, Odysseus and men can see Ithaca and are almost home iv. Men think that Aeolus gave Odysseus gold and tear open bag v. Winds are released and blow them all the way back to Aeolus vi. Aeolus refuses to help them a second time, says that Odysseus is hated by the gods and they wish to do him harm

B. Laestrygonians, King Antiphates Eats Men, Only Odysseus’s Ship Survives i. Without the winds, ships must row and reach Laestrygonians ii. Laestrygonians turn out to be cannibalistic giants, eat Odysseus’s men iii. Odysseus and surviving men return to their ships, but Laestrygonians throw huge boulders and sink many of the ships iv. Only Odysseus’s ship and his crew survive and flee

C. Circe Changes Men To Pigs, Hermes Helps, Odysseus Beds Circe, Circe Helps i. Odysseus and men arrive at Aeaea, home to the witch-goddess Circe ii. Circe drugs Odysseus’s men and change them in to pigs iii. Odysseus goes to rescue them and meets Hermes in disguise iv. Hermes tells Odysseus to eat moly to protect him from Circe’s drug and lunge at Circe when she goes in strike him with her sword v. Odysseus beats Circe and forces her to change his men back to humans vi. Odysseus bed Circe for a year, men finally convince him to go home vii. Odysseus asks Circe how to return home, she says he must go to Hades to ask Tiresias the blind prophet how to finally return home viii. One of Odysseus men broke his neck and died just before they left

XI. BOOK 11

A. Odysseus Attracts Dead, Tiresias Reveals, Meets Other Famous Dead i. Odysseus travels to Land of the Dead, near Cimmerians ii. Odysseus and men perform rites and sacrifices to summon dead iii. First dead to show is man who broke neck, asks to be properly buried iv. Tiresias appears, says Poseidon punishing them for Polyphemus’s eye v. Tiresias says Odysseus will return home, reclaim wife and palace from suitors, and travel to a distant land to appease Poseidon vi. Tiresias warn him not to touch cattle of Sun, otherwise men will die vii. Odysseus mother appears, tells him she died and about Ithaca viii. Odysseus asks to sleep, Phaeacians ask Odysseus who else he saw: Agamemnon, Achilles, Sisyphus, Heracles, King Minos, Orion, etc. ix. Souls ask Odysseus about their loved ones, Odysseus fears them, leaves XII. BOOK 12

A. Return to Aeaea, Circe Advises, Sirens’ Island, i. Odysseus sail back to Circe, buries Elpenor, and spends night with Circe ii. Circe offers advice on the trials Odysseus will face, he tells his men iii. Odysseus reaches Sirens’ Island, who sings about the future and attempts to persuade sailors to sail to the Sirens and to their deaths iv. Odysseus plugs men’s ears with beeswax as Circe told him, and has them tie him to the mast v. Odysseus hears the Sirens and begs to be released, but men tie him tighter

B. Scylla A Six-Headed Monster, Charybdis A Giant Whirlpool, Attack i. Odysseus and men reach straits between Scylla and Charybdis ii. Circe told them to hug the cliffs to avoid Charybdis, otherwise she would swallow the entire ship iii. They stare at Charybdis, and Scylla eats six men, one for each head

C. Island of the Sun, Men Eat Sun Cattle, Zeus Punishes Odysseus and Men i. Odysseus reach Thrinacia, Island of the Sun ii. Odysseus wants to leave, but men want to rest there iii. A storm delays their journey on Island for a month iv. Men run out of food and Eurylochus kills Cattle of the Sun to eat v. Sun tells Zeus of the slaughtered cattle, Zeus sends another storm vi. Zeus’s storm destroys the ship, kills the men, sweeps Odysseus back to Charybdis which he narrowly escapes vii. Odysseus finally washes ashore on Ogygia, Island of Calypso

XIII. BOOK 13

A. Odysseus Finishes His Tale, Odysseus Sets Sail, Crew Leave Him on Shore i. Odysseus finishes telling Phaeacians his tale, wishes to leave ii. King Alcinous loads gifts onto ship, and Odysseus leaves at sunset iii. Odysseus sleeps the entire night, Phaeacian crew commands ship iv. Odysseus still asleep when reached Ithaca, crew gently carry him and his gifts to shore and sail back to their home

B. Poseidon Sees Odysseus, Asks Zeus To Punish Phaeacians, Ship Turns To Stone i. Poseidon sees Odysseus has made it safely to Ithaca, becomes enraged ii. Poseidon asks Zeus to punish Phaeacians because they helped Odysseus iii. When Phaeacians pulled into Scheria harbor, Poseidon fulfills prophecy at end of Book 8, as ship turns to stone and sinks to bottom of ocean iv. Onlookers one shore immediately recognize prophecy was fulfilled and decide to abandon custom of helping wayward travelers

C. Odysseus Wakes, Athena Conceals Ithaca, Odysseus And Athena Plan i. Odysseus wakes and doesn’t recognize Ithaca ii. Athena has shrouded Ithaca in mist while she plans next move iii. Odysseus first thinks Phaeacians have taken him somewhere else iv. Athena disguised as shepherd tells Odysseus he is in Ithaca v. Odysseus refuses to reveal his identity until he knows hers vi. Athena is delighted by Odysseus’s cunning and tricks, she tells him it is time to use his wits to punish suitors vii. Athena tells Odysseus to hide with swineherder Eumaeus and that Telemachus has gone is search of new of him viii. Athena makes Odysseus lool like an old beggar so no one will know him

XIV. BOOK 14

A. Odysseus In Disguise, Eumaeus Talks About Odysseus i. Odysseus finds Eumaeus and Eumaeus doesn’t recognize him ii. Eumaeus invites Odysseus inside, and Eumaeus says he misses Odysseus iii. Eumaeus praises Odysseus and curses the suitors, but fears will never see Odysseus again

B. Odysseus Reassures, Eumaeus Cares For Odysseus, “Beggar” Says From Crete i. Odysseus says Eumaeus will see master again soon, Eumaeus disbelieves ii. Eumaeus says has seen too many liars go to Penelope looking for reward iii. Eumaeus gives Odysseus food, place to sleep, and a cloak for the cold iv. Odysseus lies and says he is from Crete, that he fought with Odysseus, tried to travel to Egypt but lost everything, and heard there Odysseus lives

XV. BOOK 15

A. Athena Finds Telemachus in Sparts, Athena Advises Telemachus i. Athena travels to Spart and finds Telemachus and Pisistratus ii. Athena tells Telemachus he must hurry home before suitors make his mother marry one of them iii. She also warns him of the ambush they set and how to avoid it iv. Athena finally tells him to head for swineherder Eumaeus first

B. Telemachus Leaves, Good Omen, Drops off Pisistratus, Picks Up Theoclymenus i. Telemachus says he is leaving and Menelaus and Helen give him gifts ii. They see an eagle carrying a stolen goose swoop down beside him iii. Helen says good omen, that Odysseus will swoop down and take revenge iv. Telemachus drops Pisistratus in Pylos at his ship v. Telemachus says has no time to see Nestor, he must hurry home vi. Picks up famous prophet Theoclymenus who is running from an accusation that he committed manslaughter in Argos, takes him to Ithaca C. Odysseus Test Eumaeus, They Swap Stories, Telemachus Returns Home i. Odysseus test limits of Eumaeus’s hospitality and says will leave soon, hoping Eumaeus will allow him to stay longer ii. Odysseus says will work for suitors, but Eumaeus won’t let him, says working for the suitors is suicide iii. Eumaeus swaps stories with Odysseus, says he was a prince that was stolen by Phoenician pirates until Laertes, Odysseus father, bought him and Odysseu’s mother raised him as one of her own children iv. Telemachus reaches Ithaca and lets crew go to city v. Telemachus entrusts Theoclymenus to loyal crewman, Piraeus vi. They see a hawk fly by carrying a dove in its talons, which Theoclymenus says is a favorable sign of strength of Odysseus’s house and lineage

XVI. BOOK 16

A. Telemachus Sees Odysseus in Disguise, Eumaeus Heads To Tell Penelope i. Telemachus reaches Eumaeus’s hut and meet Odysseus (in disguise) ii. Eumaeus tells Odysseus’s story and tells Odysseus go with Telemachus iii. Telemachus is afraid of what suitors might do, Eumaeus goes alone

B. Odysseus Truly Meets His Son, Odysseus and Telemachus Plan Slaughter i. Athena removes Odysseus beggar disguise, Telemachus sees his father ii. At first Telemachus doesn’t believe him, but they soon hug and cry iii. Odysseus recounts his trip with Phaeacians and the two begin to plan iv. They plan to launch surprise attack on suitors, with Odysseus in disguise v. Telemachus will hide palace’s weapons where suitors can’t reach them and Telemachus and Odysseus can, then they will kill all the suitors

C. News Telemachus’s Return, Suitors Plot, Penelope Accuses, Eurymachus Calms i. Before Eumaeus can talk to Penelope, news of Telemachus’s return reaches the palace and everyone knows he is back safely ii. Suitors upset that their assassination plot did not work, plot again iii. Antinous wants to put Telemachus to death before he can bring the suitors’ schemes to light iv. Amphinomus, a thoughtful and well-behaved suitor, suggests waiting for a sign from the gods before doing anything rash v. Penelope accuses Antinous in the palace for plotting against her son, the details that Medon overheard and told her in Book 4 vi. Eurymachus succeeds in calming Penelope down with lies and false concern for Telemachus’s safety