FOR 2012-2013 MYTHOLOGY COURSE

STUDY QUESTIONS FOR ODYSSEY
1.How does Homer portray the relationship between gods and men in the Odyssey? What roles do the gods play in human life?
2.What is the role of family in the Odyssey?
3.What is the role of women in the Odyssey? Focusing especially on Penelope, Calypso, discuss how women are portrayed in this epic.
4.A major theme in The Odyssey is reciprocity: people getting what they deserve. Explain how this theme affects the main characters: Odysseus, Penelope, Antinous, Telemachus.
5.How can you interpret the below quotation when you consider the tradition of storytelling in Ancient Greece: "Tell me, Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered far and wide after he had sacked Troy's sacred city, and saw the towns of many men and knew their mind."
6.Why is Odysseus considered as an archetypal hero?
7.How is individualism seen in the whole work?
8.What is the underlying reason behind Poseidon's anger at Odysseus?
9.What changes does Odysseus' descend into the underworld cause?
10.How can you interpret the final battle and the reconciliation by Athene in the last book of the work?