The Odyssey Reading Questions

Description

Write a 300 word answer to ONE of the following questions:

What particular characteristic makes Odysseus a hero? Does he have any character flaws?
Why does the goddess Athena favor Odysseus?
Why does the poet describe Odysseus as “his mind teeming” so often?
What role do the gods play in determining the outcome of events?
Are the gods benevolent? How does a person win their favor?
What did Odysseus do to anger Poseidon?
What happened to Agamemnon? Why does Homer mention his fate so often?
Is Penelope an ideal wife?
Is this poem a possible critique of warfare? Does Odysseus suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome?
Why can’t Odysseus get home?
What happens to his men? Why are there so many monsters in this epic?
Why does Calypso keep Odysseus for so long? And why does Circe bewitch his men?
Why is the story of Odysseus and the Cyclops so famous?
Is Odysseus’ son Telemachus heroic?
What does Odysseus learn when he visits the dead from the Trojan war? Is this a comment on the fate of war heroes?
Is perhaps Penelope the true hero of the story?
Why is Odysseus so often in disguise, do you think?
Why doesn’t Odysseus show any mercy towards the suitors at the end? Why does he slaughter them all? Is this heroic?
Why does Athena have to make peace on Ithaca? What is Zeus’s role?