Classical Civilisation: The Odyssey(mind map).

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  • The Odyssey
    • What help does Nausicaa give before reaching the palace of Alcinuous?
      • Tells him to wait at the grove of Athene.
      • Provides opportunity to bathe, provides oil.
      • Gives directions to palace of Alcinuous.
      • Perfect xenia(provides food and drink).
      • Gives some background about Scherie.
      • Lets him follow the wagon(concerned about her reputation).
    • Why does Nausicaa offer help to Odysseus?
      • She can see he is a man who has endured great suffering.
      • She is approaching her time of marriage and sees a potential partner in Odysseus.
      • Because of Athene, Odysseus looked attractive.
      • Nausicaa was given courage from Athene.
      • Odysseus is polite and charming.
      • Odysseus  emphasises family values, advertising himself as a family man.
      • She knows the rules of xenia.
      • She feels sorry for Odysseus.
      • She likes Odysseus.
    • How does Odysseus survive the storm sent by Poseidon?
      • Ino gives him sound advice to drop into the water.
      • She gives him a veil.
      • He makes the right heroic choice.
      • Athene calms the storm and summons the North Wind to calm the waves.
      • He weighs up his options of where to land(drift out to see with current.
      • He supplicates the river god to let him land on the shores of Phaeacia.
    • What happened after Odysseus's crew drowned in the storm and before he washed up on Calypso's island?
      • Syclla and Charybdis.
      • Odysseus goes down with the current.
      • He clings onto a fig tree like a bat.
      • Waits for timbers to be thrown/spewed up and then drops into the sea.
      • He paddled away from Scylla.
      • He drifts for nine days at sea.
    • Odysseus's men are all killed in a storm created by Zeus. Why were they punished in this way?
      • Odysseus told the crew not to eat the Sun god's cattle.
      • He made the men swear an oath.
      • The men ate the cattle, the winds are against them, they are hungry for meat.
      • Odysseus prayed and then fell asleep.
      • Hyperion complained to Zeus and makes the threat that he will shine on the dead.
      • Polyphemus cursed the men after Odysseus gauged his eye out.
      • Zeus and Poseidon therefore both had reasons to conjure the storm and punish Odysseus.
    • What happened on Odysseus's journey from Calypso's island to the land of the Phaeacians?
      • Calypso is told to release him by Odysseus's great-grandfather, Hermes.
      • Odysseus builds a raft and is given food, water, wine, and clothing by Calypso.
      • Poseidon finds out that Odysseus escapes and wrecks the raft.
      • Odysseus is caught in the turbulent waves, when Ino gives Odysseus a veil to wear and tells him to let go of what's left of the raft and swim in order to protect himself from the jagged shoreline.
      • He washes ashore on Scherie and naked and exhausted, he shelters under an olive bush(from Athene) and falls asleep.
      • The next morning he meets Nausicaa, who helps him and tells him to seek the hospitality of her parents.
    • Why does Calypso decide to help Odysseus leave her island?
      • Athene intervened with Odysseus's fate and, despite being the one who cursed Odysseus saying he will never get home from Troy having left battle, she persuades Zeus at a council to let Odysseus go.
      • Athene stated that if Calypso did not allow Zeus to leave her island Zeus would strike her with a thunderbolt.
      • It is Odysseus's fate to get home to Ithaca.
      • Hermes went to Ithaca delivering a message from Zeus to release him.
      • Though she strongly disagrees with the gods and is angry that they are forcing her to release Odysseus, she does not want to risk being punished by Zeus.
    • What does the cyclops Polyphemus say and do when he curses Odysseus?
      • The cyclops recalls a prophet named Telemus telling the cyclops he will be rolled of his sight by a man named Odysseus.
      • The cyclops "lifted up his hands to the starry heavens" and cried out to his father Poseidon.
      • The cyclops cursed Odysseus, bestowing upon him a curse that he will never reach his home in Ithaca, and if he ever were to, he would arrive in another mans ship having lost all his men, only to find trouble at home.
      • The cyclops picked up a second boulder and "hurled it with a swing, putting a tremendous force into his throw that the rock fell only just astern of our blue-painted ship, narrowly missing the tip of the rudder.".
      • Polyphemus threw a rock out to sea which drove Odysseus's ship back towards land.
      • The second rock he threw drove the ship towards the further shore.
    • How is the cyclops a bad host to Odysseus and his men?
      • As soon as the cyclops sees visitors in his cave, he cries, "Strangers! And who are you? Where do you come from over the watery ways? Is yours a trading venture; or are you cruising the main on chance, like roving pirates, who risk their lives to ruin other people?". This immediate questioning goes against the laws of xenia, which he is likely to be unfamiliar with as he has proven he is part of an uncivilised race.
      • He did not listen to Odysseus as he answered the cyclops, instead reached towards his men, seized a couple and dashed their heads against the floor as if they had been puppies.
      • After the brains of his men ran onto the ground, he tore them apart limb by limb and devoured them, whist Odysseus and the remaining men wept and threw their hands up to Zeus in horror at the ghastly sight.
      • Throughout the time the men are trapped within the cave, the cyclops offered the men no food or water and was shocked when he first saw the men making offerings to the gods and helping themselves to wine and cheese.
      • The cyclops sarcastically offers Odysseus the gift, that he will eat him last and all of his men before him.
    • What happens to Odysseus and his crew on Circe's island?
      • When Eurylochos tells Odysseus his men have been enchanted, he slings his sword over his shoulder and set off for Circe's house.
      • He was met by Hermes, who offered him a drug and told him what to do with it upon arriving at Circe's home.
      • When arriving at Circe's home, she welcomed him inside and sat upon a sliver studded chair as she prepared a brew, in which Odysseus places the antidote given to him by Hermes.
      • She struck Odysseus with her stick and ordered him to the pigsty to lie with his friends. At this point, he snatched his sword and rushed at Circe as though he meant to kill her, at which point he clasped his knees and questioned him, after which she invited him to retire to her bedroom.
      • Odysseus ordered her to swear an oath and they retired to the bedroom, after which Circe agreed to free Odysseus's men.
      • Circe threw open the pigsty and drove them out, smearing each one with ointment. The pigs began to transform back into men, each one recognising Odysseus and seizing his hand.
      • The men wept and invited Odysseus to drag their ships onto her land and stow their possessions in a cave. After doing so, the men were bathed, oiled, and clothed by Circe and all of them dined together.
    • In what ways are the gods and goddesses important to the success of the Odyssey as a story?
      • Athene
        • Odysseus's patron goddess.
          • Enhances beauty in front of Nausicaa.
            • Enhances status by referring to how far Odysseus threw the discus.
              • Disguises Odysseus as a beggar when he returns home so no one will know his true identity.
                • Calms the storm Zeus created in order to save Odysseus.
                • Frequently visited Telemachus in Ithaca to inform him of news on his father.
                • Disguises herself as an old woman on Scherie and tell Odysseus where to go. Also casts a fog over the town so he endured no problems getting to the palace.
              • Provides the olive bush Odysseus shelters under before meeting Nausicaa.
              • Provides the olive branch Odysseus covers himself with when he meets Nausicaa.
            • Petitions to Zeus asking him to release Odysseus from Calypso's island.
            • Provides the olive branch Odysseus uses to blind the cyclops in the cave.
      • Zeus
        • Orders Hermes to go to Ogygia and demand that Odysseus be released.
          • Hides Odysseus from Syclla's six heads.
          • Creates the storm that kills Odysseus's men.
            • He controls everything that happens in the story, though he is not physically involved in it.
          • Helps Odysseus when he visits the underworld and manages to escape.
      • Hermes
        • Goes to Ogygia and orders Calypso to free Odysseus.
          • Gives Odysseus the drug on Aeolia which helps him to resist Circe.
          • Sends the spirits of the dead to the underworld.
      • Poseidon
        • He is the nemesis of Odysseus.
          • He bestows a curse upon Odysseus as a favour for his son Polyphemus.
          • He turns to stone the Phaeacian ship which is carrying Odysseus on the last leg of his journey home.
      • Ino
        • Comes to Odysseus's aid when his ship was struck down in Poseidon's storm.
          • She gives him a veil and good advice in order to protect him.
      • Calypso
        • Kept Odysseus captive on her island for seven years.
          • After Hermes has ordered her to release him, she gives Odysseus food, water, wine, clothing, and favourable winds to help him on his journey home.
          • Offers Odysseus immorality and eternal youth.
      • Circe
        • Keeps Odysseus and his men on her island for a year.
        • Enchants Odysseus's men by drugging them turning them into pigs and keeping them captive in a pig pen.
        • Advises Odysseus to consult Teriesias in the underworld before leaving her island.

Comments

AndreaPirlo21

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Great!

EleanorRowley

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Really helpful, thank you!

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