Odyssey Reading

Book 4 "The King and Queen of Sparta" pages 129-133,  lines 185 - 331

Telemachus, son of Odysseus, has arrived at the palace of King Menelaus of Sparta, seeking clues to his father's whereabouts.

Important thing to remember: Telemachus has grown up without knowing his father. Athena has inspired him to travel abroad to find out news of his father.  He has doubts whether he is the famed Odysseus's son; he's been bullied and disgraced by suitors who question his birthright and who seek his mother's hand in marriage.  Meeting this royal couple, hearing their stories of Odysseus, being recognized as looking like Odysseus--all make a deep impression on the young man.

In this excerpt, King Menelaus and Queen Helen (yes, that Helen) rejoice in meeting Odysseus' son. But the presence of Telemachus causes the king to grieve the many losses suffered in and as a result of the Trojan War. Notice that Helen drugs the wine to keep everyone's spirits on an even keel. She then launches on her own story about brave Odysseus.

Book 5 "Odysseus - Nymph and Shipwreck" lines 1-102
Odysseus is stranded on Calypso's island.  At this point, he has been away from home for almost twenty years.

In Book 5, we first meet Odysseus.  What state is he in?  How does his state compare/contrast to how we first find Inman?

Book 10: The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea - read in its entirety 

We readers last encountered Odysseus in Book 6. In this book, he was rescued from his nakedness and starvation by Princess Nausicaa on the island of Phaeacia, where he'd washed up after his raft was wrecked at sea. Nausicaa's father, King Alcinous, promises to deliver Odysseus back home to Ithaca; it has been 20 years since he set out for Troy.  On the eve of his homeward voyage, Odysseus recounts his adventures to his hosts: where he's been; what he's suffered; how he incurred the wrath of Poseidon; how his crew came to an untimely end. Books 9-12, then, are a series of flashbacks that enthrall his listeners. King Alcinous is so impressed with the tale that he offers to make Odysseus his son-in-law, something Nausicaa would be very much in favor of! Odysseus respectfully demurs, saying he must return to Penelope.

In Book 10, in addition to the many examples of sanguine and lethal forms of hospitality, we have Circe, who serves as temptress and then as guide. Book 10 has many parallels with Cold Mountain. Your task is to make note of them.  Please note: your book has a "pronouncing glossary" of character and place names (pp. 521-41).

Book 11: The Kingdom of the Dead - excerpts on Achilles: pp. 265-266 [lines 541-573]; and of other famous figures from Minos to Heracles: 268-270 lines 650 - end].

It wouldn't be an epic without a journey to the underworld. Here, Odysseus gleans wisdom from the dead. Parallels with Cold Mountain?

Book 23 The Great Rooted Bed: read in its entirety. 

The suitors have been slaughtered by Odysseus and Telemachus. The palace floor has been scoured of the carnage. Order is restored. But "circumspect Penelope" does not immediately embrace her long-lost husband. Why? What does she fear? Do you see any parallels with the character of Ada? What does the book offer in the way of commentary on marriage?