The Odyssey Test; Books 4 - 9

Quiz THE ODYSSEY page  1 of 4

Student’s Name:

Period: 

1. THE ODYSSEY begins approximately _________ after the fall of Troy.

a) Ten years c) Three years

b) Five years d) Two years

2. The first major character we meet in THE ODYSSEY is:

a) Odysseus c) Telemachus, Odysseus’ son

b) Penelope, Odysseus’ wife d) Calypso

3. The goddess who has taken a special interest in the cause of Odysseus is:

a) Athena, the goddess of wisdom c) Hera, the goddess of the hearth

b) Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty d) Artemis, the goddess of the hunt

4. The first time we see Odysseus is in Book Four when he is on the Island of Calypso and is:

a) Madly in love with the goddess Calypso c) Turning his men into animals

b) Crying in loneliness for his wife and son d) Eating the lotus flower

5. Athena asks Zeus to intercede for Odysseus on the Isle of Calypso so that he may:

a)   Remember that he has a wife and son to return to

b)   Stop eating the lotus flower

c)   Quickly return home to his family

d)   Fall out of love with Calypso

6. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, is dispatched to convince Calypso to release Odysseus by telling her that if she doesn’t release Odysseus:

a)  Calypso’s beautiful nymphs will be turned to pigs 

b)   Her island will be plunged to the bottom of the sea

c)   She will be turned to stone 

d)   Odysseus will die if she doesn’t release him

7. Odysseus proves he is a brilliant man by telling Calypso:

a) That he loves her more than Penelope

b) He misses his son

c) That Penelope is old and he no longer wants her 

d) He realizes that Penelope is merely mortal and cannot compete with a goddess but he misses her.

Quiz THE ODYSSEY page 2 of 4

8. Calypso allows Odysseus to build a raft to set sail for home but:

1. Poseidon stirs up a storm and blows him off course 
2. He must go to the Land of the Dead first

c)   Helios convinces Zeus to strike his raft with lightning 

d)   His ship is sucked into a whirlpool

9. Odysseus is discovered by the Princess Nausicaa who:

1. Holds him captive for another five years 
2. She runs away in fear

c)   Takes him to her father’s court where he is treated with hospitality 

d)   She ignores his pleas for help.

10. Odysseus’ treatment at the court of Alcinous reveals one of the most sacred beliefs of the ancient Greeks:

1. One must be wary of strangers 
2. The ties between host and guest are sacred

c)   A man must never cry 

d)   One must brag about one’s exploits

11. THE ODYSSEY begins in “media res” which means:

1. In the middle 
2. Near the beginning

c)   Near the end 

d)   In flashback

12. It is at the Court of Alcinous that Odysseus reveals his identity to the astonishment of the court and begins to:

1. Lament the past few years of his life 
2. Tell where he has been for ten years

c)   Ask for news about his home 

d)   Brag about his war record in Troy

13. One of the first stories Odysseus recounts is:

1. The Land of the Cyclops 
2. The Isle of the Cicones

c)   The Land of the Dead 

d)   The Isle of Calypso

14. On the Isle of the Cicones, Odysseus loses many men because they disregard his orders to:

1. To board the ship before fresh troops arrive to avenge their Cicone kinsmen.
2. The men are eaten by a sea monster

c)   The men won’t stop eating the lotus flower 

d)   The men are sucked into a whirlpool

Quiz THE ODYSSEY page 3 of 4

15. Odysseus must drag some of his men from the Isle of the Lotus Eaters because:

1. Partaking of the lotus plant makes one forget one’s ambitions
2. The men are under the spell of a witch

c)   The men are starving 

d)   The men have been turned to pigs

16. Polyphemus, the one-eyed cyclops, is the son of:

1. Athena b) Poseidon c) Zeus d) Helios

17. Part of the problem Odysseus and his men encounter on the Cyclops’ island is that both they and the Cyclops violate the ancient and sacred Greek cultural codes of behavior:

1. The ties between host and guests. 
2. The bonds which tie all Greeks

c)   The bond between warriors 

d)   One must honor the host

18. Odysseus tricks Polyphemus by telling him his name is:

1. Menelaus b) Nohbdy c) Agamemnon d) Alcinous

19. Polyphemus is a particularly vile monster because he devours some of Odysseus’ men alive:

1. True b) False

20. In the battle between Polyphemus and Odysseus, it could be said that Polyphemus represents:

1. Brute force and narrow mindedness b) Intelligence and cunning

21. In the battle between Polyphemus and Odysseus, it could be said that Odysseus represents:

1. Brute force and narrow mindedness b) Intelligence and cunning

22. Odysseus and his men trick Polyphemus by getting him drunk and blinding him while he is sleeping it off:

1. True b) False

23. Odysseus and his men manage to escape from Polyphemus’ cave by hiding under the cyclops’ rams and riding out of the cave when he lets them out in the morning:

a) True b) False

24. Polyphemus’ curse on Odysseus includes all the following except:

a) He must travel many years trying to get home 

b) All of his companions will be killed and he alone will return home

c) His wife will be married to another man

d) He will return home to find his kingdom in discord

25 Odysseus and his men could have escaped without being cursed by the cyclops’ father if Odysseus had not:

a) Become prideful and boastful and told the cyclops his real name

b) Told the cyclops that Odysseus did not owe his father any credit in winning the Trojan War.

c) Taunted the cyclops’ stupidity