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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Nestor tell Telemachus about his relationship with Odysseus?
(a) They never agreed at council during the war.
(b) They never spoke those nine years at war.
(c) They never fought side by side during the war.
(d) They never differed at council during the war.

2. In Book 6, what instructions does Nausicaa give her maids regarding Odysseus?
(a) They are to keep away from this stranger.
(b) They are to run to get the men for protection.
(c) They are to wash his clothes too.
(d) They are to give him food and drink and bathe him.

3. What does Ino give Odysseus to save his life when he loses his raft to Poseidon?
(a) A raft.
(b) A veil.
(c) A ride on dolphins.
(d) A magic sail.

4. What is happening in Lacedaemon when Telemachus arrives?
(a) Menelaus is holding a funeral rite for his brother.
(b) Menelaus is celebrating a double marriage.
(c) Menelaus is celebrating the marriage of his daughter.
(d) Menelaus and his household are holding a feast in honor of the gods.

5. Penelope learns about the suitors' plan for Telemachus from a page, but what does she learn from her sister's phantom?
(a) Telemachus isn't coming back.
(b) Telemachus is guided by Athene.
(c) Telemachus is bringing an army.
(d) Telemachus is wise beyond his years.

Short Answer Questions

1. How long have the suitors been coming to Odysseus' home?

2. What does Odysseus receive from the thirteen kings of Phaecia?

3. What is the purpose of Telemachus' quest?

4. Who tells Telemachus that it's time for him to behave like a man, not a child?

5. Why, despite taking an oath, does Odysseus' crew slay some cattle of the Sun?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the exchange between Odysseus and the shepherd boy in Book 13. What does it show about Odysseus' nature?

2. Describe Nestor, King of Pylos.

3. In Book 15, why does Peisistratus let Telemachus go without seeing Nestor again? Is this wise?

4. Is the punishment of the slave maids in Book 22 just and reasonable?

5. Explain the circumstances that lead Athene to intervene on Odysseus' behalf at the very beginning of the poem.

6. Why does Menelaus mourn so much for Odysseus?

7. What is similar to Odysseus' real plight in his fictional tale to Eumaeus in Book 14?

8. How does Euryalus insult Odysseus when the Phaeacians are engaging in sport?

9. Why does Homer begin the last book in the halls of the dead?

10. Why do the rest of the men (aside from the suitors) gathered at the assembly fail to speak or act in Book 2?

(see the answer keys)

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