Lucille, Savanah, Ashley, Dane

Polythemus- Lives on Cyclópës island and holds Odysseus and his men captive. 

The Lotus Eaters- They live on an island referred to as “The Land of the Lotus-Eaters,” and upon eating the lotus fruit that grew on the island, Odysseus’s men don’t want to leave. 

Epic simile: “And as a woman weeps when she flings her arms around her dear husband when he has fallen in battle defending his city and people, trying to ward off the pitiless day of doom from his wife and children, and when he is in his last throes, gasping for breath, she clings to him even more tightly, sobbing and wailing, but the enemy come up behind her and with their spears they prod her shoulders and back, and drag her off to slavery and a life of toil and hardship, and she pines away and her face is ravaged by sorrow; just so did Odysseus weep.” pg. 107, 498-508

Setting: Land of the Lotus-eaters, the country of Cyclópes. 

Epithets: Odysseus as the “raider of cities”, “man of many resources”

Plot:Some of his men get eaten by Polythemus, which causes Oyseus to fight him, by stabbing his eyes with a sharpened, heated wooden pole.

11:266 son of Leartes, resourceful Odysseus

11:5 Circe, the dangerous goddess who talks to humans

11:199 helios the all seeing, all hearing sun god

Epic similes

11:274 like white-tusked boars that are butchered behind the house of some wealthy man for a wedding or public banquet or private feast

Important people

Persephone, Hades, Trojan warriors, Tiresias, Artemis

• Circe (10:137)

• Laestrygonians (10:82)

Plots:

• Odysseus is given a bag of winds to help him get home but his men open it too early and blow them all the way back. (10:19-23) “Finally, when I said that I had to leave and I asked for his help, he provided it gladly and gave me a leather bag made from the hide of a full grown ox, and inside it had imprisoned all the tumultuous winds.”

• The Laestrygonians destroy all the ships and eat the men but Odysseus escapes safely. (10:116-24) “He grabbed one and ate him, but the other two ran and made it back to the ships. And then the king raised a hue and cry through the city, and when they heard it, the Laestrygonians came crowding from all directions, thousands of them. They were not like human beings but like Giants, and they stood at the top of the cliff and threw huge rocks too heavy for humans to lift, and a horrible sound arose, men dying and ships being smashed to pieces.”

Epic Simile:

• “But as calves in a farmyard are excited when the cows return from the pasture, and they burst from their pens and run out to greet them, mooing loudly and frisking and leaping around their mothers: just so did my men come crowding around me with tears of joy, as if they were back in their own dear country, in the city of Ithaca, where they were born and bred.” (10: 385-391)

Epithets:

• “Odysseus, that endlessly cunning fellow” (10: 319)

• ”Circe, the dangerous goddess who talks to humans” (10: 137)

Tone: 

• When the Laestrygonians destroy ships and eat men. (10:116-24) “He grabbed one and ate him, but the other two ran and made it back to the ships. And then the king raised a hue and cry through the city, and when they heard it, the Laestrygonians came crowding from all directions, thousands of them. They were not like human beings but like Giants, and they stood at the top of the cliff and threw huge rocks too heavy for humans to lift, and a horrible sound arose, men dying and ships being smashed to pieces.”

• The showing of the danger of Circē’s powers (10:228-234) “When they were inside, she gave them chairs to sit on, and then she prepared them a drink of Pramnian wine with cheese and barley and honey stirred in, and a powerful drug that will make a man completely forget his home and his own dear country. When they had emptied the bowls, with a stroke of her wand she turned them all into pigs,”

Odysseus:
Men, Aeolus “gave me a leather bag made from the hide of a full grown ox, and inside it had imprisoned all the tumultuous winds.”
(Odysseus holds up the bag and warns the sailors.)

Narrator:
After sailing for many days, Odysseus falls asleep just as they are close to Ithaca.
(Odysseus pretends to sleep.)

Sailor:
Odysseus must be hiding treasure in that bag.

Sailor:
Let’s open it!
(They open the bag.)

Narrator:
The winds escape and a huge storm blows the ships far away from home.
(Actors wave arms or make wind noises.)

Odysseus:
What have you done?! We were almost there! Your guys’ curiosity just caused us a disaster!

Narrator:
Later, Odysseus and his men land on the island of the sorceress Circe, the dangerous goddess who talks to humans.
(Circe stands in front of her “palace.”)

Circe:
Welcome, travelers. Come eat and drink.
(She hands them imaginary food.)

Narrator:
Circe uses magic and turns the sailors into pigs.
(Circe waves her hands like casting a spell. Sailors crouch and pretend to be pigs.)

Sailor:
Help! We’ve been turned into pigs!

Narrator:
On his way to save his men, Odysseus meets the god Hermes.

Hermes:
Take this magic herb. It will protect you from Circe’s spell.
(Hermes hands him an imaginary plant.)

Odysseus:
Thank you. I will save my men.

Circe:
Drink this potion, Odysseus.

Odysseus:
Your magic will not work on me! Turn my men back.

Circe:
Very well. I will turn them back into humans.
(She waves her hands again and the sailors stand up normally.)

Narrator:
Circe restores the men, and they stay on her island for a year before continuing their long journey home.

Anticleia (11:152)

Agamemnon (11:387)

Achilles (11:488)

Plots: Odysseus travels to the land of the dead and performs a sacrifice so the spirits will appear and he can speak with the prophet Tiresias.
(11:23–28)
“Then I took the sheep and cut their throats over the trench, and the dark blood flowed into it. The souls of the dead came up out of Erebus—young brides, young men, old men worn out with suffering, and girls who had just begun to know the sorrow of life.”

Tiresias gives Odysseus a prophecy and warns him not to harm the cattle of the sun god.
(11:100–104)
“You may still reach home, though you will suffer, if you can control your men and keep them from harming the cattle of Helios.”

Odysseus meets the spirit of his mother and learns she died from grief while he was away.
(11:202–206)
“My mother came close and drank the dark blood, and at once she knew me. She cried out and spoke to me with sorrow.”

Epic Simile:“But as bats in a cave flutter about squeaking when one falls from the cluster on the rock, so the spirits shrieked as they moved together.”
(11:37–43)

Epithets: “Odysseus, raider of cities”
(11:101)

Zeus — “Zeus, cloud-gatherer”
(11:182)

Agamemnon — “Agamemnon, lord of men”
(11:409)

Achilles — “Achilles, swift-footed”
(11:488)

Tone: The eerie and dark feeling when the spirits of the dead gather around the blood sacrifice.
(11:36–43)
“The souls came out of Erebus… and they crowded around the trench with strange cries.”

The sadness when Odysseus tries to embrace his mother but cannot because she is only a spirit.
(11:206–212)
“Three times I tried to throw my arms around her, but she slipped through my hands like a shadow or a dream.”

Polyphemus: Lyny

Odysseus: Emma

Sailor #1 and #2: Amanda

Narrator: After leaving Troy, Odysseus and his men find themselves on an island. They find a cave full of food and livestock, but the cave belongs to a giant cyclops named Polyphemus. 

Odysseus: Look at all of this cheese and milk! If we wait for the owner of the cave, maybe he will gift us some of the food, as a proper host should. 

Sailor #1: I don’t think this is a good idea, Odysseus…

Polyphemus enters

Narrator: The giant cyclops returns to his cave, and traps the men inside with a huge rock. 

Polyphemus: Who are you strangers in my cave?

Odysseus: We are travelers who come in peace. Please show us hospitality. 

Polyphemus: That means nothing to me.

Polyphemus grabs sailor

Sailor #1: Help!

Narrator: Polyphemus eats two of Odysseus’s men. (Lyny throws Amanda on the ground). Horrified, Odysseus tries to come up with a plan to escape.

Odysseus: Cyclops, drink this wine! 

Polyphemus: What is your name?

Odysseus: My name is Nobody.

Narrator: When the cyclops falls asleep (Lyny lays on the ground to sleep), Odysseus and his men stab his eye with a sharp stick. He tried to call for help from his fellow Cyclopses, but his words misled them, making them think he was safe. 

Polyphemus: Aah, Nobody is hurting me! 

Polyphemus gets up and turns to Odysseus and rubs his eyes in pain.

Polyphemus: You made a mistake. I will find you and eat you like the men before you!

Narrator: Polyphemus is enraged, but has to let his livestock graze- he opens the cave to let them out, and Odysseus and his men escape by hiding under the sheep as they exit. 

Odysseus and Sailor crawl out as Polyphemus stands near, looking around confusedly. 

Amanda was laying on the floor the whole time, but when the others crawl past she joins them. 

Sailor #2: We’re free!

Odysseus: Back to the ship!

Narrator: As they sail away, Odysseus shouts his real name out of spite. Polyphemus calls on his father, Poseidon, to curse Odysseus’s journey. 

Polyphemus: Punish Odysseus. 

Narrator: And that is how Odysseus made a cyclops as his enemy. 

(Emma posted the epic conventions stuff)

Antilochus: Juliana

Odysseus: David

Eleanore: Nick

Agamemnon: Nick

Tiriseas: Calvin

Anticelia: Paul

Ajax: Paul

Ghosts/Spirits: Harper and Noemi

Narrator:  Odysseus performs a special ritual to summon the shades of the dead with blood and his sword.

Eleanore: “Odysseus, son of Laertes, seasoned warrior—by the will of the gods and my own folly I fell from Circe’s roof and met my end, my soul cast down to the dead. I beg you, by your wife, your father, and your son Telemachus: when you return, do not forget me. Do not leave me unburied, lest the gods grow angry. Burn me with my armor, raise my tomb by the sea, and place upon it the oar I once carried, that I may be remembered.”

Odysseus: “Unfortunate friend, your death will not be in vain—I will honor you and see every rite performed.”

Narrator: His mother came but he shunned her, still looking for Tiriseas

Tiriseas: Your journey home will be long and cursed, Poseidon still haunts you for blinding his son. Spare the sun gods cattle or you'll lose your ship and crew. Even if you survive you’ll return alone to a home overrun with the chaos and bloodshed. Endure it all, and in the end, peace and a gentle death will find you,return home,return to your wife, stop chasing gold. It is wiser to live a long quiet life than a short one full of fame and richness. 

Narrator: The shade of Tiriseas returned to the depths of hell

Narrator: He allows Anticelia back up to talk too

Anticelia: Ah my poor child, ill-fated above all mortals, this is no phantom Persephone sent up to meet you; this is just what happens to mortals after they die: the sinews don’t hold the flesh and bones together. When fire consumes the body and burns to ash, the spirit slips out and flutters away like a dream, but hurry back to the light, and remember all this, and once you reach ithaca tell it to your dear wife.

Odysseys: trojan warriors, it's good to see you, it must be great to have eternal fame.

Agamemnon: You as well Odysseus, it's great being here in the underworld, I have eternal fame, go back now, to your wife, before your wife cheats on you, like my wife cheated on me.

Antilochus: it has been great to be down here.

Ajax: The underworld burns like no fire made by man, it consumes us for eternity. Odysseus, your journey has been long, but do not let it end here. Many have told you and I will repeat it myself as well, beware Poseidon

Persephone summons swarms of ghosts and chases Odysseus to his boat

Plot: Odysseus is telling king Alcinous, and Queen Arete of his journey. Odysseus and his men leave circe’s but encounter many monsters on the way, such as the sirens, scylla, and Charybdis. Then oddyseus’s men kill some of helios’s cows and lampetie tells helios, who is enraged and tells zeus to curse the men, and break their ship, causing them to go back through the monsters and eventually end up on calypso’s island.

Virtues: Resilience, Courage, resisting temptation, not being selfish.

Epithets: (12:61) “father zeus” (12:138) “Circe, the dangerous goddess who talks to humans” (12:255) ”Helios, the giver of joy to all humans”

Epic similes: “As a fisherman stands on a jutting rock, and casts the bait with his rod, and the bronze hook sinks into the water, sheathed in an ox-horn tube, and he catches a fish and reels it in quickly and flings it, writhing onto the shore: Just so were my comrades, writhing, pulled up towards the cliffs, and at the cave entrance, she ate them.”

Tests: Odysseus is being tested by many monsters and gods killing his men, testing his resolve and his ability to persevere after losing his friends. He escapes alive, but ends up at calypso’s island by the end of the book.

Claim: Humility brings survival.

Book 9 of the Odyssey by Stephen Mitchell explores the idea that greed and arrogance undermine safety and security. As the giant cyclops, Polyphemus, shuts himself and his one eye in his cave to eat and drink all day, just so is Odysseus extremely greedy and single-minded. As the cyclops hurls boulders off the island and into the ocean towards Odysseus out of anger, Odysseus sails on the ocean, his arrogance getting the best of him and to make himself known. Odysseus’s greed and arrogance causes many of his men to die and be put in danger, affecting the safety and security of the people around him. 

Summary:

Book 9 focuses on Odysseus’s journey after leaving the Island of Aeaea and making it to the land of Lotus-eater. After Odysseus retrieved his men from the lotus distraction, they set sail, and they eventually landed on Cyclops Island. There, Odysseus’s greed gets the best of them, and they get stuck in a cave while trying to retrieve wealth, the cyclops ends up eating some of Odysseus’s men, and Odysseus uses the name Noman as a cover up. Soon, Odysseus and his men get the cyclops drunk, kill him, and escape the cave by hiding under giant sheep. Once they make it to their ship, they set sail, however, Odysseus’s arrogance makes him mock the cyclops and reveal his true identity, which causes the cyclops to curse him. In the end, Odysseus’s greed and arrogance is what causes his men to be in danger and even die. 

Epic Conventions:

Characters:

Odysseus -  9:18-20 “I am Odysseus, son of Laértes, renowned among mankind for my stratagems, and my fame reaches the very heavens.”

Alcínoüs - 9:1 - “Noble King”

Calypso - 9:29 - “Goddess Calypso”

Circe - 9:30

Polyphémus - 9:399

Plots: 

9:40 - plundered the Cicones island 

9:220 - Odysseus rejects his men’s advice and instead wants wealth from the Cyclops

Vast Geography:

• Aeaea 

• Ísmarus 

• Land of Lotus-eaters 

• Country of Cyclópsēs

• Ocean (where Zeus and Poseidon make his journey difficult)

Virtues:

9:25-26 - Provided offerings to the Gods

Epic Similes:

9:380-385 - “As when a ship’s carpenter uses a drill to bore a hole in a plank, while his mates below him keep the drill turning by means of a strap that they hold at either end, and it rotates around and around: just so did we take the pole with its fiery point and turn it around and around in his eye.”

9:388-391 - “And as when a smith takes an axe or a hatchet and plunges it into cold water to strengthen the iron, and it makes a loud hissing: just so the huge eyelid hissed around the pole.”

Epithets:

9:277 - “Poseidon the Earthshaker at the far end of your country”

9:497-498 - “The great Odysseus did it, the son of Laértes, from Ithaca’.”

9:510-511 - “Poseidon, the glorious Shaker of Earth.”

9:543-545 - “Zeus, the Son of Chronus, the Lord of the dark clouds, who rules over all.”

Repetition:

9:277 - “Poseidon the Earthshaker”

9:510-511 - “Poseidon, the glorious Shaker of Earth.”

Word Choice & Tone:

Odysseus -  9:18-20 “I am Odysseus, son of Laértes, renowned among mankind for my stratagems, and my fame reaches the very heavens.”

Test:

Who is doing the testing - Cyclops / Polyphémus

Who is being tested - Odysseus

What is the test - Escaping the Cyclópsēs Island and not fall for greed

What is the test for: Testing greediness (has consequences)

What is the outcome of the test: Odysseus escapes the island along with some of his men, but some men died from being eaten by the Cyclops and from waves sparked by boulders thrown by cyclops. 

Patterns:

• Odysseus sails from island to island

• Face harsh environments on the ocean

• Greed and Arrogance (which kills Odysseus’s men and puts them in danger)

• Odysseus wants his name to be known

• Odysseus 6:1

• Athena 6:3

• Nausicaa 6:18

• King Nausithous 6:7

• Alcinous 6:13

Plots

Athena visits the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa in dream and tells her to go to the river. When Nausicaa and her handmaids are playing ball and washing laundry, they wake Odysseus. He asks Nausicaa for help and she gives him clothing, directs him to the palace, and tells him to apeal to the queen.

Epic Similes

Odysseus- “Like a mountain lion… driven by hunger through wind and rain, he attacks sheep or cattle.”

Nausicaa- “She looked like Artemis moving through the mountains.”

Epithets

Odysseus

• “resourceful Odysseus”

• “long-suffering Odysseus”

Nausicaa

• “white-armed Nausicaa”

• “the daughter of great Alcinous”

Athena

• “bright-eyed Athena”

Tone

In Book 6 of The Odyssey by Homer, the tone is mostly hopeful and calm. After many dangerous adventures, Odysseus finally meets someone kind when he encounters Nausicaa on the beach. Even though Odysseus is tired and worried after the storm, the scene becomes more peaceful when Nausicaa chooses to help him instead of running away. The respectful way Odysseus speaks to her and her kindness create a hopeful feeling that his journey home may soon improve. This tone shows a moment of relief and new hope in his long journey.

Claim 

Being your true self can lead to self discovery and opportunity.

Mickie-Side characters

Lorenzo/Sadie- Nausicaa 

Lorelei- Odysseus

Maeve- Athena 

Props Needed

• Ball

• Sweatshirt

Scene 1

“Odysseus is shipwrecked, meanwhile Athena visits the Nausicaa in a dream.”

“Nausicaa, why do you let your clothes lie neglected? Soon you will be married.”

“I should go wash them tomorrow.”

Scene 2

Nausicaa and her hand maids wash clothes and play ball.

(Nausicaa and the girls laugh)

(The girls throw the ball by Odysseus and scream at the sight of him)

(Screaming wakes Odysseus)

Scene 3

Odysseus stands up looking disheveled 

“He came out like a mountain lion, driven by hunger and rain, ready to attack.”

(Hand maids runway and scream)

I am Odysseus, the man of many ways, and I need your help.

“Are you a goddess or a mortal? If you are one of the gods… I compare you to Artemis.”

“If you are human, three times blessed are your father and mother.”

“I am at your knees, princess. Will you treat me kindly?”

Scene 4 

“Stranger, I see that you are no fool or bad man.”

“The gods give happiness to each as they wish.”

“It seems that Zeus has given you misfortune and suffering, since you came here alone and in need.”

“But I would feel deep shame before our people… if they saw me with a man.”

“Give him food and clothing. Do not be afraid.” (says to the maids)

(The maids come out of hiding and give Odysseus clothing and food)

Scene 5

Odysseus cleans himself and changes into clothes.

“Athena made him seem taller and stronger. Pouring beauty upon Odysseus.”

Scene 6

“When you reach the palace, go to my mother… she will help you return home.”

(The handmaids and Nausicaa walk off)

Being your true self can lead to self discovery and opportunity.

Odysseus(narrator):* Nar walks to the middle of the stage* Alcinous, Noble King, I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, renowned among all mankind for my stratagems. The goddess Calypso and the witch Circe trapped me for many years on the isle of Aeaea(A-E-ya).

After I sailed victorious from Troy, Zeus overtook us, summoning a horrendous storm, killing 6 of my men from each ship, and blowing us to the land of the Lotus-eaters.

Those who ate the honey-sweet fruit lost all desire to return home, so I had to drag them back to the ship. We sailed on until we came to the country of the Cyclopes, a violent race with-out laws. We hunted goats on the island and brought them on our ships, having plenty to last us on our voyage. But I wanted more.

Odysseus: Stay here while I take my crew and find out if this violent race will show proper kindness to strangers.

Narrator: I took twelve of my strongest men and the Goat skin full of the strong wine that the priest on Ismarus had given me and headed towards the Cyclopes’ cave. When we reached the cave the cyclops was out tending to his flock. In the cave were racks of cheeses and crowded with goats and sheep. My companions urged me not to stay, but I wanted to see the creature who lived here, hoping he would give me presents. But he didn’t.

Cyclops: Strangers, Who are you? Why are you in my cave? Are you voyagers, or do you wander over seas, like pirates (115)

He blocked the door with a huge boulder and ate two of my men. I planned to escape by killing him in the night but realized that we would not be able to lift the boulder to escape, so I waited. In the morning the cyclops ate two more of my men. While he was tending to his flocks I sharpened the end of his staff and made a plan - to offer him cups of wine to distract him from reality.

Odysseus: Here Polyphémüs, drink this cup of “human flesh”

Cyclops: Very delicious. Give me some more, and tell me your name, stranger, so that I could give a gift you will be glad to have.

Narrator: I then gave the Cyclops more wine, and after drinking three cups of wine, Polyphémüs was drunk.

Odysseus: Cyclops, my glorious name is Noman, which all my family and comrades call me, and please do give me a gift just as you have promised.

Cyclops: I will eat the last of your comrades. This shall be my gift.

Narrator: Then the Cyclops fell asleep, drunkenly overcome by the wine, and threw up all the wine and human flesh he consumed. I put the stake under the hot ashes of the fire until it was glowing hot. Only then did my comrades and I gather around the Cyclops and whirled the sharp olive-wood point in his one big eye, hissing around the stake. Then, he woke, shrieking and crying loudly as my men and I shrank back in terror, calling aloud to the other Cyclopses as he wretched the stake from his eye.

Other Cyclops: Polyphëmus, what causes you to be distressed and cry out in the night, disrupting us of our sleep? Are these men driving off your flock? Or are they trying to kill you with their cleverness or strength?

Cyclops: Noman is trying to kill me using trickery

Other Cyclops: Well if no man is trying to kill you, this must be a sickness from great Zeus, and you shall pray to our father Poseidon so you can escape it.

Narrator: The clever name that I chose for myself tricked the other Cyclopses into thinking that it was only a sickness that had gotten a hold of Polyphémüs, and kept my comrades and I safe.

Then, he found his way to the door, rolled away the stone, and blindly guarded it from anyone trying to take his sheep, thinking he could catch me - how foolish of him.

I gathered the sheep and clinging to the belly under every third sheep was each of my comrades, while I was on a ram at the last of the pack.

When morning came, the sheep made their way to the exit to go to the pasture, with Polyphémüs feeling the backs of each to make sure my men and I didn’t escape - How wrong he was.

Cyclops: Ram, why is it that you are at the back of the pack? You never lag behind the rest, and are always first to the graze and grass and drink from the river. I tell you now that Noman surely hasn’t escaped destruction. If I could find him right now, I would kill him, dashing his brains all over the ground here. Then would my heart feel better about what has happened to me.

Narrator: He then sent the ram on his way, and once all the sheep had gone quite a distance from the cave, I loosened myself and set my comrades free, and hurried to our ship, taking the sheep with us as food. We hurried to sail off into the sea away from the island, but I couldn’t leave without taunting the Cyclops.

Odysseus: Cyclops, those men in your cave, my comrades and I, the comrades who devoured using your strength, we are not weak. Your evil doings have backfired, which is why Zeus has gotten revenge on you.

Narrator: Then Polyphémüs broke off the peak of a mountain and hurled it at my comrades and I, hoping to strike us, but surged waves that brought us back to shore, ordering my men to help me get back out to sea. Just as we were twice the distance away, more boulders were hurled at us and we were brought back to shore. It was then that I was scolded by my men.

Comrade: Odysseus, why would you be so reckless and provoke the savage cyclops to throw jagged rocks at us. If he hadn’t heard one of us, he wouldn’t have sent jagged rocks toward us.

Odysseus: Cyclops, if any man should ask you who blinded you, tell them that it was Odysseus, Son of Laértes, whose home is Ithaca.

Cyclops: A prophecy I have heard has told me that by the hands of Odysseus, I shall lose my sight. I thought that the man to do so would be strong and mighty, but the one who has done this was weak and had no integrity. I pray that my father, the glorious Earth-shaker Poseidon, will heal me and no other gods or mortal men.

Odysseus: I was able to make it into your cave and rob you of your possessions, so surely even the Earth-shaker cannot heal your eye.

Cyclops: Hear me Poseidon, if I am your son and you declare yourself my father, may you grant that Odysseus will never reach his home, Ithaca. But if fate allows him to make it back to his home and see his friends and family, may he arrive late in an evil state while in another’s ship alone, as all his comrades are dead, only to find sorrow and distress in his home.

Narrator: Poseidon heard his son, and then once again the cyclops catapulted more stones toward our boats, sending us back to the shore again. So I gathered my comrades and we beached our ships, and divided the flocks equally among us to eat, sacrificing the food to Zeus , who was planning how my ships and comrades would perish.

So here we stayed, all day until the sun set, feasting and the flesh of the flock and wine, and when the sun eventually set, we laid down and rested on the sea shore. But as soon as the sun rose, I woke my comrades and told them to board the ship, loosen the cables, sit down to grasp and oars and set sail. Glad that we had escaped our death, we grieved the loss of my comrades.

Lesson: On his journey, Odysseus put the safety of him and his men behind him and focused on greed, putting him and his men in danger, and even death.

Odysseus is sitting next to Circē 

(Colten) Odysseus: Hello dangerous goddess who talks to humans, Circe.

(Pip) Circe: Hello odysseus, before you go on your journey, I must warn you of dangers along your journey. Beware of the sirens. If you would like to listen to them, have your beautiful strong young men seal their ears and tie you to the mast. After the sirens, you will encounter Scylla, a six headed monster far above the sea hidden by the mist, she will steal six of your beautiful strong young men. char​ybdis is another monster who drinks seawater and with it goes your ship, avoid it at all costs. When you pass these, you will find the island of Helios, you must never take and kill his sacred cattle. Now set out on your journey with your strong men.

(Colten) Odysseus: Gather my beautiful, strong, young men! Let us set out on our journey!

(Pip) Circe: Farewell

(Pip walks off)

They travel to the rocks of the two sirens, the valley where scylla makes a home. (Tori and Ellie go to their “rock” while Colten and his men row towards them.) 

(Colten) Odysseus: Look, there are the sirens. Plug your ears with this wax and tie me to the mast.

(As Odysseus and his men approach, the sirens sing and squawk)

(Tori and Ellie) Sirens: LALALALALALLALALALALALA (random assorted singing here)

(Tori and Ellie) Sirens: Odyseus come over here to our definitely not muder death island 

(not so subtly pushing pretend bodies behind them and getting grossed out by the rotting flesh)

Sirens: As a fisherman stands on a jutting rock, and casts the bait with his rod, and the bronze hook sinks into the water, sheathed in an ox-horn tube, and he catches a fish and reels it in quickly and flings it, writhing onto the shore: Just so will Scylla take these men, writhing, pulled up towards the cliffs, and at the cave entrance, and eat them.

(The boat passes the sirens as Tori and Ellie walk off)

(Colten) Odysseus : Now that we have passed the sirens, I must warn you of the monsters that lie ahead. A six headed beast named Scylla lurks here. A great beast known as Charybdis is over there. We must stay far away from it.

(whoever is closer grabs buttercup and hold it up and states loudly “Charybdis Rawr”, Elli walks on)

(Colten) Odysseus : Be ready my beautiful strong young men.

(Scylla runs over and sweeps up six men of Odysseus's beautiful strong young men (3/3 of Tori and Pip))

(Ellie) SCYLLA : YUM! 😀 

(Colten) Odysseus : No! My beautiful strong young men!

(Everybody continues to row as Elli walks off and Tori and Pip go onto the boat.)

(Colten) Odysseus: Look ahead, there lies the island of Helios. We must continue on and avoid it.

(Tory) Eurilochus: But we have travelled for so long. We need to rest or else we all shall die!

Odysseus: Alright, we shall. But do not under any circumstances touch the sacred flocks or we all shall be doomed.

Men: Yes sir

(Colten) Odysseus: Good. Now I will go and pray to the gods.

(The men walk away) 

(Colten) Odysseus: Father Zeus…

(Falls asleep while the men come back onto stage along with cattle)

(Pip) Man 1: We are starving! Let us kill a cow and offer some to the gods!

(Pip) Man 2: Are you crazy we’re gonna die by the gods if not hunger, listen to Odysseus I beg you!

(Pip) Man 1: It is better to be cursed by the gods than to starve slowly.

(Kills cow and Odysseus comes back)

(Colten) Odysseus: What have you, my strong beautiful young men, done?! you have disobeyed me, my beautiful strong young men?

(Ellie) Helios: You’re cursed! 

(Colten) Odyseus: Now we have been cursed by Helios. We must leave now.

(Tori and Ellie come onto the boat)

(They row away from the island and Zeus strikes his boat down and kills all his beautiful strong young men)

Odysseus: No! My beautiful strong young men are all drowned!

(Washes up on an island) 

Odysseus: Is that you, Calypso?

Calypso: Have you learned something from this?

Odysseus: Humility brings survival.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12n5mPkJX7nVzkBCWneXsI3cKXlD75OgNEdyBXkbjuZ8/edit?tab=t.0

Summary- In book 22 of the odyssey, Odysseus returns to his palace with the help of his son to kill the suitors and reclaim his throne. He goes through with Telemachus killing the suitors when he is told Telemachus will go to the shed and get them shields and armor to protect themselves.  When Telemachus reaches Odysseus again they realize the suitors have also acquired weapons and armor for themselves as well.  Later in the book a nanny named Eurycleía tells them how many women have been unloyal so Odysseus sends Telemachus to catch these women and make them help clean up the suitors' bodies before they hang them for what they did.  At the near end of the book Odysseus kills one of the main suitors very brutally.  When Odysseus heads back into the castle to clean up he sees all of the people who stayed loyal to him and starts crying.

Theme- Anger clouds good judgement

Book 22 Notes:

•  Odysseus killed Atinous with an arrow (through neck)

• Suitors thought he killed chief suitor by accident

• Suitors plundered his home and expected no consequences

• Atinous was planning to rule over ithaca

• Odysseus planning to kill all the suitors (nothing they can do to persuade him

• Eurymachus wanted to fight Odysseus, but Odysseus shot him and he agonized in pain

• Telemachus comes and kills amphinomus

• Telemachus will go get weapons and two slaves

• suitors planned to escape and get more weapons to fight odysseus

• Melanthius saw weapons, and Odysseus ordered him to be tied up

• Athena came as a mentor to help Odysseus

Claim and Theme Statement:

In book 22 of the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus realises that anger clouds good judgement after he returns to his home, Ithaca, after his long journey on the open sea. His pure rage from seeing suitors taking over his home causes him to lose sight of good judgement and ruthlessly kill them all.

Epic Conventions:

Characters: Odysseus, atinous, eurymachus, amphinomus,melanthius, Apollo, Zeus, Telemachus, eumæus, Athena, Agelaus, eurynomus, Demoptolemus, Pisander, Polybus, Amphimedon, Euraydes, Etesippus, leodes, phemius, Medon, Eurycelia, Penelope, ctesippus, 

Plot: Odysseus must fight all of the suits with his son and reclaim his throne

geographical setting: Ithaca and the castle (Odysseus’s home)

virtues of culture: killing those who do wrong

Long lists: 22:217 - The suitors were now rallied by Ageláüs, Eurýnomus, Demoptólemus, Pisánder, Pólybus and Amphímedon, who were the bravest of all those who still survived and fought for their lives.

Epic similes: 

22:273-287 just as falcons, with curved beaks and crooked claws, descend from the hills and swoop down on smaller birds, which quickly scatter across the plain and fly low but cannot escape, and the falcons swoop down and kill them, and the spectators watch with delight: just so did Odysseus and the other three rush on the suitors across the hall and slaughter them, slashing into them right and left, and hideous screams arose from the men being hacked and maimed and killed, and the floor was awash with blood.

22:346-350 like fish that fishermen catch in their nets and pull in onto the shore from the billowing waves of the restless sea, and they lie heaped up on the sand, longing for water until the fiery sun

kills them: just so did the suitors lie, body on body.

22:361-364 like a lion who has eaten an ox, with the blood smeared

all over his chest and his face, an appalling sight: just so was Odysseus splattered with gore when she saw him standing among the corpses and rivers of blood. 

22:413-418 As thrushes or doves

who are flying home to their roosting-place in a thicket hit a snare and their necks snap: so were the women forced to line up with nooses around their necks, and they died a most contemptible death, and their feet kicked for a little while, but not for long.

Epithets: 22:250 Odysseus destroyer of cities

22:186 Athena the daughter of Zeus

22:147 son of Laertes

Elevated word choice: 22:250 - Odysseus destroyer of cities

Test: The suitors are testing Odysseus, Odysseus must prove himself worthy of his kingdom and reclaim his throne.

Book 22 Script:

Odysseus: Now, the contest is over. I will see what I should do with one last target.

 (Takes out a bow and arrow and raises it at Antinous)

Antinous: (Holding a cup up to his mouth about to drink) 

Odysseus: (Shoots Antinous in the neck)

Suitor 1: (Start screaming and charging at Odysseus) How dare you! 

Suitor 2: You have killed the finest of all the young men in Ithaka. 

Suitor 1: You will pay with your life.

Odysseus: not in your wildest dreams did you think I  would come back from Troy, so you plundered my house and laid drift on my own life, and you have no fear of punishment from the gods. 

Eurymachus: if you really are Odysseus and come home, you are right that we have committed terrible crimes in your home but I swear that Antinous is to blame, for he was planning to kill your son and rule over Ithaca. But spare us suitors, for we will give you full compensation for everything we have consumed and taken. 

Odysseus: Eurymachus, all your possessions from now until you die will never be enough to pay for your crimes.

Eurymachus: Suitors, Odysseus will show us no mercy, standing there with his weapons, ready to kill us all. We have no choice but to fight him back. (Throwing  himself at Odysseus while crying a war-shout to try and kill him)

Odysseus: (shoots Eurymachus in the liver)

Eurymachus: (Falls to the ground, dropping weapons and knocking over food)

The suitors attack Odysseus!

Telemachus: (Show us and kills suitors attacking Odysseus)

Odysseus: Telemachus, go and retrieve the weapons from the store room, and come back to help me.

Oddysseus keeps fighting suitors while Telemachus goes on 

Melanthius: We can’t fight him off single-handed, but I will retrieve weapons from the storeroom. (Goes to the store room and retrieved weapons, handing them out to the suitors)

Telemachus: I’m so sorry father, I must have left the door open to the store room. Eumaeus, go lock it up, and find out who was behind this.

Odysseus: Telemachus, and I will fight them off. You go too and tie up the man who has done this. 

Melanthius: (Goes back to store room to get more weapons and doesn’t notice them coming)

Telemachus and Eumaeus attack Malanthus tying him up and leaving him in agony

Odysseus: Mentor Athena, please rescue us

Agelaus: If you aren’t on our side we will kill you too Athena, paying with your life. 

Athena: Where’s your spirit?

Odyseeus shoots suitors (suitors fight back, Athena makes them miss their shots

Medon: Odysseus, please spare me, for I have not done anything to disobey you.

Phemius: Me too, please spare me from death, for I haven’t disobeyed you either, 

Odysseus: Since neither of you have disobeyed me, I will let you live. Women who live in my house and have betrayed me, come and clean the bodies from this place, and then I will hand you. Where are the women who have stayed true to me?

Women: Here we are Odysseus

Odysseus: I’m so overjoyed that you are here, I have not seen you in so long that tears are coming to my eyes. 

• Odysseus killed Atinous with an arrow (through neck)

• Suitors thought he killed chief suitor by accident

• Suitors plundered his home and expected no consequences

• Atinous was planning to rule over ithaca

• Odysseus planning to kill all the suitors (nothing they can do to persuade him

• Eurymachus wanted to fight Odysseus, but Odysseus shot him and he agonized in pain

• Telemachus comes and kills amphinomus

• Telemachus will go get weapons and two slaves

• suitors planned to escape and get more weapons to fight odysseus

• Melanthius saw weapons, and Odysseus ordered him to be tied up

• Athena came as a mentor to help Odysseus

Odysseus-Chloe

Suitor(s)-Mikki, Cadence

Antinous-Jehsinia

Eurymachus-Lorelei 

Telemechus-Cadence

Melanthius- Mikki

Athena-Jehsinia

Medon - Cadence

Phemius - Sadie

Narrator:
After many years, Odysseus has returned home in disguise. His house is filled with suitors trying to marry his wife, Penelope.

Penelope:
“Here is a test for all of you. If any man can string Odysseus’ bow and shoot through twelve axes, I will marry him.”

Antinous:
“Bring the bow! We’ll see who is worthy.”

Scene 2: The Suitors Fail

Narrator:
One by one, the suitors try to string the bow—but none can do it.

Antinous (struggling):
“This bow… it’s too strong!”

Narrator:
Even the strongest suitors fail.

Telemachus:
“I’ll try.”

Narrator:
Telemachus nearly succeeds, but stops himself.

Telemachus:
“No… it’s not my time yet.”

Scene 3: Odysseus Steps Forward

Narrator:
Then the beggar—who is really Odysseus—steps forward.

Odysseus (calmly):
“Let me try the bow.”

Antinous (mocking):
“You? A beggar? You’ll embarrass yourself!”

Telemachus (firm):
“The bow is mine to give. Let him try.”

Scene 4: The Bow

Narrator:
Odysseus takes the bow with confidence.

Narrator (quote):
“He strung the bow with ease…”

Narrator:
Without effort, he prepares his shot.

Odysseus:
“The arrow flew straight through all twelve axes.”

Scene 5: The Reveal

Narrator:
The room goes silent. The suitors begin to realize the truth.

Odysseus (intense):
“You dogs… you thought I would never return.”

Antinous (shocked):
“Odysseus…?!”

Telemachus (proud):
“Father… it’s time.”

Narrator:
Odysseus has proven who he is. The suitors’ fate is about to begin.

• “great tactician” (Odysseus) — 21: 1–20

• “wise Penelope” — 21: 20–40

• “prince Telemachus” — 21:80–120

Epic Simile

• “As a musician… stretches a string on a lyre…” —  21:300–320
  This simile shows how easily and skillfully Odysseus strings the bow.

Plot

• Penelope announces the bow contest

• The suitors attempt to string the bow and fail

• Telemachus tries and nearly succeeds

• Odysseus, still disguised, asks to try

• Odysseus strings the bow with ease

• He shoots an arrow through all twelve axes

• This moment leads into his revenge in Book 22

Location

• Odysseus’ palace (the great hall) in Ithaca

Tone

• Beginning: tense and suspenseful

• Middle: mocking and arrogant (the suitors)

• End: powerful and threatening as Odysseus reveals himself