Odyssey XI Study Gvide


HUMAN BEINGS

Odysseus - king of Ithaca, liar Circe - dread witch who shelters Odysseus
Penelope -  queen of Ithaca Calypso - cutesy goddess who shelters Odysseus
Telemachus - their young son Agamemnon - recently deceased king of Mycenae
Anticleia - Odysseus's recently deceased mom Tiresias - the blind, dead prophet
Arete - queen of the Phaeacians
Argos - old doggy who recognized Odysseus

GODS AND MONSTERS

Zeus - supreme Greek god           Athena - goddess who adores Odysseus
Hades - underworld god Sirens - beautiful, deadly singers
Poseidon - underwater god, control of the sea
Polyphemus - Cyclops, son of Poseidon

PLACES

Ithaca - island off east coast of Adriatic Sea
Underworld - probably Portugal, or somewhere else
Pillars of Heracles - Straits of Gibraltar
Troy - northwestern Turkey
Circe - possibly based in Italy?
Map of Odysseus's World -  http://www.uwm.edu/Course/mythology/1200/2001.jpg

PRINCIPAL STORYLINES

Odysseus and Penelope's marriage
How does one go to hell in ancient Greek literature?
How do the deceased souls appear to Odysseus?
What is the point of human existence?
What is Anticleia's advice to her son?
Odysseus's actions after his katabasis
Parallels between Enkidu and Gilgamesh