Download Odyssey Notes – Books 11 and 12

Odyssey Notes – Books 11 and 12
BOOK 11 – THE KINGDOM OF THE DEAD
I.
The Journey to the Underworld
a. Archetypes relating to death – the color black and the sunset
i. Line 3
ii. Line 14
II.
Encounter with Elpenor
a. Summarize encounter
b. Reflects the Greek cultural notion that proper burial is crucial –
Elpenor cannot have peace as a result of his lack of burial; he
cannot enter the underworld
c. Folly/Recklessness motif
III.
Encounter with Tiresias
a. Summarize encounter
b. Tiresias = mentor/sage/wise one
c. Prophecy
i. Echoes Polyphemus’s prayer
ii. Reveals what will happen to Odysseus throughout the rest of
his journey and life AND what he must do
iii. Essentially, Tiresias warns against succumbing to
temptation, particularly regarding the cattle of Helios in
Thrinacia
IV.
Encounter with Anticleia
a. Summarize encounter
b. Relationship between Anticleia – What is revealed about Odysseus
as a result of this? What can we conclude? Consider that he
refuses to speak to his mother until after he has spoken with
Tiresias
V.
The Rest of the Underworld
a. A regular “who’s who” of the dead Greek world
b. Includes many of the heroes Odysseus fought with in the Trojan
War. In their cases, they either never made it home or did not
make it home for long.
VI.
Encounter with Achilles
a. Refer to nostos and kleos as reflected in Lines 550-560
b. Achilles chose kleos, but it’s clearly the wrong decision in his mind.
This reflects the recurring idea throughout the epic that there is no
place like home, and given the choice between nostos and kleos,
Achilles wishes he would have chosen nostos.
c. How might this relate to Odysseus’s journey?
BOOK 12 – THE CATTLE OF THE SUN
I.
Circe’s Instructions
a. Summarize her instructions
b. Relate to Tiresias’s prophecy
c. Advise him to choose the lesser of two evils in any given
circumstance
II.
The Sirens
a. Summarize events
b. Odysseus follows Circe’s instructions, tying himself to the ship
while the others put beeswax in their ears. Why? What does this
reveal about him?
c. Motif – temptation (and, in this case, they successfully resist)
d. Metaphorically, this suggests that, when one is aware of life’s risks,
we must act with restraint.
III.
Scylla and Charybdis
a. Summarize events
b. Epic simile – p. 279 – compares Scylla’s snatching of the men to
fishing
c. Motif – monsters
d. Metaphorically, this reflects what one should do when caught
“between a rock and a hard place.” As evidenced here, one should
choose the lesser of two evils (allowing six men to die instead of
all).
e. What does this reflect about Odysseus’s leadership?
IV.
Thrinacia – Helios’s cattle
a. Summarize events
b. Role of Eurylochus – the voice of reason; convinces the men to eat
the cattle while Odysseus sleeps
c. Motif – temptation and folly/recklessness
d. Metaphorically, this reflects the idea that one must have respect for
law and authority or face dire consequences.
e. From this moment, we learn that the Greeks place particular
emphasis on respecting the “rules” set before them.
f. What does this reflect about Odysseus’s leadership?