Pre-AP The Odyssey Test REVIEW: Books 1-13

  1. The purpose of the Muse in the opening verses is to…

help the storyteller remember the story of Odysseus.

  1. When Odysseus tells his tale of his adventure from Troy, he is in…

Phaecia.

  1. The name of Odysseus’ hometown is…

Ithaca

  1. The Cyclops was “…a brute so huge, he seemed no man at all of those / who eat good wheaten bread; but he seemed rather / a shaggy mountain reared in solitude.”

an example of a Homeric simile

  1. What name does Odysseus tell the Cyclops?

Nohbdy

  1. “…straight / forward they [Odysseus’ men] sprinted, lifted it [the stake], and rammed it / deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it / turning it as a shipwright turns a drill / in planking, having men below to swing / the two-handled strap that spins it in the groove.”

An example of a Homeric simile

  1. Odysseus and his men are able to escape the cave because Polyphymus—now blind—can only feel his sheep pass through the cave entrance, and so he does not realize Odysseus and his men are…

hiding under the bellies of the animals.

  1. What motif is portrayed when Polyphemus asks for Poseidon’s help?

Divine intervention

  1. Which difficulty does Tiresias not predict for Odysseus’ journey to come?

Odysseus will blind a Cyclops with Athena’s help.

  1. How do the rest of Odysseus’ crew members die after visiting the land of Helios the Sun God?

Read the following excerpt from The Odyssey.

(1)“But soon / Athena came to him [Odysseus] from the nearby air, / putting a young man’s figure on—a shepherd, / like a king’s son, all delicately made. / She wore a cloak, in two folds off her shoulders, / and sandals bound upon her shining feet. / A hunting lance lay in her hands.

(2)“At sight of her / Odysseus took heart, and he went forward / to greet the lad, speaking out fair and clear: / ‘Friend, you are the first man I’ve laid eyes on / here in this cove. Greetings. Do not feel / alarmed or hostile, coming across me; only receive me into the safety with my stores. / Touching your knees I ask it, as I might / ask grace of a god. / O sir, advise me, what is this land and realm, who are the people? / Is it an island all distinct, or part / of the fertile mainland, sloping to the sea?’

(3)“To this grey-eyed Athena answered: ‘Stranger, / you must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is. It is no nameless country… / No one would use this ground for training horses, / it is too broken, has no breadth of meadow; / but there is nothing meager about the soil, / the yield of grain is wondrous, and wine, too, / with drenching rains of dewfall. / There’s good pasture for oxen and for goats, all kinds of timber, / and water all year long in the cattle ponds. / For these blessings, friend, the name of Ithaka / has made its way even as far as Troy— / and they say Troy lies far beyond Akhaia.’

(4)“Now Lord Odysseus, the long-enduring, / laughed in his heart, hearing his land described / by Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus who rules / the veering stormwind; and he answered her / with ready speech—not that he told the truth, / but, just as she did, held back what he knew, / weighing within himself at every step what he made up to serve his turn.

(5)“Said he: ‘Far away in Krete I learned of Ithaka— / in that broad island over the great ocean. / And here I am now, come myself to Ithaka! / …[B]y night / we came, and made this haven by hard rowing. / All famished, but too tired to think of food, / each man dropped in his tracks after the landing, / and I slept hard, being wearied out. Before / I woke today, they put my things ashore / on the sand here beside where I lay, / then reimbarked for Sidon, that great city. / Now they are far at sea, while I am left / forsaken here.’

(6)“At this the grey-eyed goddess Athena smiled, and gave him a caress, / her looks being changed now, so she seemed a woman, / tall and beautiful and no doubt skilled / at weaving splendid things. She answered briskly: / ‘Whoever gets around you must be sharp and guileful as a snake; even a god / might bow to you in ways of dissimulation. / You! You chameleon! / Bottomless bag of tricks! Here in your own country / would you not give your stratagems a rest or stop spellbinding for an instant? / You play a part as if it were your own tough skin. / No more of this, though. Two of a kind, we are, / contrivers, both. Of all men now alive / you are the best in plots and story telling. / My own fame is for wisdom among the gods—deceptions, too.’

(7)“‘…Now I am here again to counsel with you— / but first to put away those gifts the Phaiakians / gave you at departure—I planned it so. / Then I can tell you of the gall and wormwood / it is your lot to drink in your own hall. / Patience, iron patience, you must show; / so give it out to neither man nor woman / that you are back from wandering. Be silent / under all injuries, even blows from men.’” (XIII, 279 – 397).

Use the excerpt from The Odyssey to answer questions 1-10.

1.What theme is most apparent in Paragraph 1?

  1. disguise

2.In Paragraph 2, Odysseus’ inner conflict stems from—

  1. not knowing where he is

3.Read the following dictionary entry.

fertile \fur-tl\ adj1. capable of producing offspring 2. having nutrients capable of sustaining an abundant growth of plants 3. able to be transformed into fissile or fissionable material, especially in a nuclear reactor 4. conducive to productiveness

Which definition best matches the use of the word fertile in paragraph 2?

  1. Definition 2

4.Why does Odysseus laugh “in his heart” in Paragraph 4?

  1. Odysseus is happy to be home

5.Which words from paragraph 6 best help the reader understand the meaning of the word dissimulation?

  1. You chameleon

6.In paragraph 6, Athena’s reaction to Odysseus’ story shows that—

  1. Athena is amused by Odysseus’ deceit and feels they are similar of cunning ways

7.Odysseus seems confident when confronting the shepherd (disguised Athena) because—

  1. he approaches the shepherd and speaks out fair and clear

8.Odysseus received gifts from the Phaiakians because—

  1. Athena planned it that way

9.The author structures this selection by—

  1. focusing on a cunning interaction between Odysseus and Athena

10.Which of these is the best plot summary of this excerpt?

  1. Athena disguises herself and approaches Odysseus, revealing that they are in the famous land of Ithaka. Odysseus tells a false story of how he arrived at Ithaka, and Athena, seemingly impressed by his deceit, transforms into a woman and says one must be cunning to see though Odysseus’ concealment of identity. Athena tells Odysseus to hide his gifts, and then she can tell him irritating news of his home, but he must be patient when he interacts with others.

Look as the list of terms below. Choose the term that best describes the quote for Questions 15 - 22.

  1. “…here we stand, / beholden for your help, or any gifts / you would give—as custom is to honor strangers... / Zeus will avenge / the unoffending guest.”(hospitality)
  2. “…straight / forward they sprinted, lifted it [the stake], and rammed it / deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it / turning it as a shipwright turns a drill / into planking…”(Homeric simile)
  3. “In a smithy / one sees a white-hot axehead or an adze / plunged and wrung in a cold tub, screeching steam—/ just so that eyeball hissed around the spike.”(Homeric simile)
  4. “My men came pressing round me, pleading: ‘Why not / take these cheeses…and make a run for it?’ Ah, / how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished / to see the cave man, what he had to offer…”(curiosity)
  5. “My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy.”(cunning)
  6. “Those [three men] who ate…the Lotus, / never cared to report, nor to return…I [Odysseus] drove them, all three wailing to the ships, / tied them down under their rowing benches…”(loyalty)
  7. The Cyclops “seemed no man at all of those / who eat good wheaten bread; but he seemed rather / a shaggy mountain reared in solitude.”(Homeric simile)
  8. The Cyclops “thought he’d find out [where my ship was], but I saw through this, and answered with a ready lie…”(cunning)

Look as the list of terms below. Choose the term that best describes the quote for Questions 23-27. (Each term should only be used once.)

  1. “…Athena came to him [Odysseus] from the nearby air, / putting a young man’s figure on—a shepherd, / like a king’s son, all delicately made.”(disguise)
  2. “…my [Odysseus’] shipmates one day summoned me and said: / ‘Captain, shake off this trance, and think of home— / if home indeed awaits us, / your own well-timbered hall on Ithaca.’ / They made me feel a pang, and I agreed.”(importance of home)
  3. “I [Telemachus] wish at least I had some happy man / as father…” (importance of family/heritage)
  4. “Recall the past deeds and the strange adventures. / I could stay up until the sacred Dawn / as long as you might wish to tell your story.”(storytelling)
  5. The Phaecians’ “…ocean-going ship / he [Poseidon] saw already near, heading for harbor; / so up behind her swam the island-shaker / and struck her into stone, rooted in stone, at one / blow of his palm…”(divine intervention)

Choose the best answer for each question to demonstrate comprehension skills of The Odyssey.

  1. What two locations does Telemachus visit to learn information about his father?
  2. Pylos and Sparta
  1. The purpose of the Muse in the opening verses is to
  2. help the storyteller remember the story of Odysseus
  1. When Odysseus tells his tale of his adventure from Troy, he is in—
  2. Phaecia
  1. The name of Odysseus’ hometown is—
  2. Ithaca
  1. Choose the most accurate paraphrase for the following quote: The Cyclops was “…a brute so huge, he seemed no man at all of those / who eat good wheaten bread; but he seemed rather / a shaggy mountain reared in solitude.”
  2. The Cyclops did not look like a normal man, but he looked like a big, lonely mountain.
  1. Choose the most accurate paraphrase for the following quote: “…straight / forward they [Odysseus’ men] sprinted, lifted it [the stake], and rammed it / deep in his crater eye, and leaned on it / turning it as a shipwright turns a drill / in planking, having men below to swing / the two-handled strap that spins it in the groove” (lines 331-336).
  2. Odysseus’s men shoved the stake into the Cyclops’ eye, leaning and turning the stake, much like a ship builder leans on and turns a drill when building a ship.
  3. What theme is portrayed when Polyphemus asks for Poseidon’s help?
  4. Divine intervention
  1. Which difficulty does Tiresias not predict for Odysseus’ journey to come?
  2. Odysseus will blind a Cyclops with Athena’s help.
  1. How does the remainder of Odysseus’ crew members die after visiting the land of Helios the Sun God?
  2. Zeus destroys Odysseus’ boat with a thunderbolt, and all of Odysseus’ men drown.
  1. Where do the Phaecians drop off Odysseus?
  2. Ithaca
  1. Read the following Homeric simile: “Think of a man whose dear and only son, / born to him in exile, reared with labor, / has lived ten years abroad and now returns: / how would that man embrace his son! Just so / the herdsman [Eumaeus] clapped his arms around Telemachus / and covered him with kisses…”

What type of relationship does Eumaeus have with Telemachus?

  1. Eumaeus has a fatherly love towards Telemachus.

Characteristics of the Archetypal/Epic Hero

  1. Hero is often of obscure/unusual origin.
  2. Hero is neither a fool nor invincible.
  3. Hero is called upon to make a journey or to follow a goal/quest.
  4. Hero faces dangers, loneliness, and temptations.
  5. Friends, servants, or disciples usually accompany the hero.
  6. Hero has a guide(s).
  7. Hero descends into darkness and is not the same after emerging.
  8. Hero’s journey is a symbol of what he hopes to find.
  9. With few exceptions, archetypal heroes are male.

Characteristics of the Archetypal/EpicPoem

  1. opens in medias res (in the middle of the story; the poem does not start at the beginning of the tale).
  2. The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe.
  3. begins with a summon to a muse (who were known to be the singers of stories).
  4. starts with a statement of the theme.
  5. the use of epithets (Alexander the Great; mighty Zeus).
  6. includes long lists.
  7. features long and formal speeches.
  8. shows divine intervention on human affairs.
  9. “star" heroes that embody the values of the civilization.

Extra Credit:On your own sheet of paper, list Odysseus’ travels (after leaving Troy) in chronological order. (+5 points)

CORRECT ORDER:
Cicones

Land of the Lotus Eaters

Land of the Cyclopes

Aeolia (land of King Aiolos)

Laestrygonia

Island of Circe

Underworld

Island of Sirens

Strait of Scylla & Charybdis

Land of Helios the Sun God (Thrinakia)

Calypso’s Island

Pheacia

Ithaca