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1200 BCE
Scylla and Charybdis
A Scylla is a monster that eats the men's heads off of each ship that passes by and the Charybdis is a whirlpool that swallows ships. Circe privately told Odysseus that he had to go through them both on his way home. Odysseus never warned his men about the Scylla because he knew that they would freak out. Odysseus figured that they would be too scared to fight Scylla and he needed them so that they could pass through the path. -
1200 BCE
The Trojan War
The Trojan War was fought over a woman, Helen. Paris, the king of Troy, was promised the prize of the most beautiful woman which then he kidnapped Helen. Her husband found out and then called for war against the Trojans to get his wife back. The war came to an end after 10 years with a trick. The Greeks built a large wooden horse for warriors to hide in which was left as an offering from Athena to the Trojans. At night the warriors took over Troy from the inside and Menelaus got Helen back. -
1200 BCE
Lotus-Eaters
Lotus-Eaters were people who lived on an island which is dominated by a lotus tree filled with fruits. If you took a bite out of this fruit then you would forget what your purpose was, where you were going/came from, and it made you not want to leave. Odysseus and his men were warned about the fruit. The fruit and people would be considered evil because of the things they could do to you. -
1200 BCE
The Cyclops
Cyclops are one-eyed beasts who lack intelligence but are great in strength. Odysseus and his men landed on the island with the Cyclops and we could see that he wasn't very intelligent. 'Nohbdy's my meat, then after I eat his friends'. Odysseus had him fooled by the name, so when people ask who it was Cyclops would say nobody. -
1200 BCE
Aeolus- Bag of Wind
The bag of wind was a bag full of bad wind given to Odysseus from Aeolus. This was to help him have a nice trip back to Ithaca, but then his crewmates opened the bag thinking it was a bag of gold and silver releasing all of the bad wind back out and it brought them back to the island. This caused a delay in their trip which also ties to the curse the cyclops put on him. -
1200 BCE
Sirens
Sirens are half-woman creatures the lure sailors with their beautiful voices and destroy their ships. While crossing waters where the sirens were Odysseus had his men put wax in their ears so they don't ear the sirens and tie him up. He had them tie him up to show that he could be a leader. Odysseus was the only one on the boat without wax, he gave his crewmates clear instructions not to untie him no matter what. This plan worked and they all made it past the sirens alive. -
1200 BCE
Helios’ cattle
Helio is the god of the sun and he has specifically warned Odysseus to not eat his cattle, and that includes his men. Odysseus warned them but they didn't listen to him. The only reason the men ate the cattle was that they were starving for a while. When Helios found out that his cattle were eaten he asked Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men for this. Zeus destroyed their ship which resulted to almost all the men and Odysseus being killed. Though the only person who survived was Odysseus. -
1200 BCE
Suiters/Home
After everyone thought Odysseus died, they started to come into Odysseus and Penelope's home. This was a tough time for Penelope but she came up with an idea to figure out who would be able to take Odysseus's place and marry her. Without most of the suitor's knowledge, Odysseus was still alive and came back home. After seeing the suitors, Odysseus has disguised as an old beggar and has tried to complete the challenge Penelope has created. After he showed his true form, he had to show it was him. -
1200 BCE
Circe
Circe is a goddess who isn't bad or good. She turned Odysseus's men into pigs, but at the same time, she helped them get off her island. Though she was another reason there was a delay in their trip. She had them all under a spell that kept them on her island for 7 years. They all were put under a spell and felt that they were getting treated right so nobody wanted to leave. After all of this Circe helped them leave her island, but they had to leave going through the underworld with Hades. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1210 BCE
The Trojan War
Analysis-- This whole war was fought over a woman who was sent over by a goddess. Aphrodite was the main cause of this war. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Lotus Eaters (Analysis)
Lotus-Eaters were one of the many challenges Odysseus faced with his crew. This journey made him realize how weak his crew was. Lotus-Eaters showed how vulnerable people were. They really made you think if you would rather have a peaceful life with no worries on an island or work for what you have. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Bag of Wind--Analysis
From this event, Odysseus has found out that there isn't trust between him and his crewmates. They thought that there was gold and silver in the bag when there wasn't and cost more years to their trip. There doesn't seem to be enough trust between Odysseus and his crewmates to think that Odysseus was lying and to disobey what he said about opening that bag. -
Period: 1200 BCE to Nov 19, 1299
Circe--Analysis
From this event, we learned that Odysseus cares about his men a lot and he puts them first on some occasions. This was a show of character development. From the readers' point of view, Odysseus seems like a selfish guy, but when he refused anything from Circe and just asked for his men back it showed that he cared for them. From this, you could also see how gullible his men are and him. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Sirens--Analysis
This event showed Odysseus's leadership when he let himself listen to the sirens and made the crewmates put wax in their ear to prevent them from hearing the sirens. He knew the risk he was taking and was willing to do it to show leadership. This also shows how his men are very faithful. He told them not to untie him no matter what and they listened even when it seemed tempting. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Scylla and Charybdis-- Analysis
We learned that Odysseus doesn't always tell the truth to his crewmates. He told them about the sirens but didn't tell them about the six-headed monster. Even though they would've freaked out, it still would've been right for him to tell him because they could've been aware. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Helio's Cattle-- Analysis
This is a lesson on how desperate people can be when it comes down to the point. All of the men simply ignored the simple rules Helios gave them, and it was to not eat the cattle. This theme in the Odyssey would be some of the many desires the men had. It also shows that everything has a consequence because they ate the cattle and then their ship got destroyed. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1200 BCE
Suitors/Home
This event shows the loyalty people have towards Odysseus. In this book, there is both good and bad loyalty people show towards him. An example of bad loyalty is all the suitors who have been in their home trying to marry Odysseus's wife for his riches. An example of good loyalty to Odysseus was Penelope doing things in his honor and not getting with other people while he was away. -
Period: 1200 BCE to Nov 14, 1200
The Cyclops
Analysis-- Odysseus didn't really like the Cyclops because they didn't live by any rules. The most interesting part of this story was when Odysseus said his name was 'Nohbdy'. I thought that it was a really good idea to trick the Cyclops. Odysseus and his men had to be really careful when dealing with Polyphemus because lots of things could've gone wrong if the plan was messed up. They could've all been eaten.
