Study Questions
1. To what danger does Athene alert Telemachus when she appears to him?

2. How does Helen read the portent of the eagle and the goose?

3. What does Telemachus request of Peisistratus as they approach Pylus?

4. Why does Theoclymenus wish to accompany Telemachus on his journey home?

5. In what way does Odysseus again test Eumaeus?

6. What was the swineherd’s status before he was a servant?

7. What changed that situation?

8. What happened to the Phoenician bondswoman in Eumaeus’ story?

9. What does Theoclymenus do that prompts Telemachus to change his mind concerning where the prophet will stay in Ithaca?

10. Where does Telemachus go after leaving his ship?

Answers
1. She alerts him to the suitors’ ambush.

2. She reads it as a sign of Odysseus’ imminent vengeance against the suitors.

3. He asks Peisistratus to help him avoid Nestor.

4. He is a fugitive for killing a man in Argos.

5. He tells Eumaeus that he intends to beg in the city.

6. He was a prince of the isle of Syria.

7. He was kidnapped by Phoenician traders and sold into slavery.

8. She died on board the ship before reaching her homeland.

9. He reads a portent in favor of Telemachus’ family.

10. Telemachus goes to Eumaeus’ shelter.