Study Questions
1. With how many ships does Odysseus depart from Troy?

2. Whom do they encounter first?

3. Whose land does Odysseus encounter after being blown off course for nine days?

4. What is the curse associated with that land?

5. What is the race and lineage of Polyphemus?

6. What outrage does he visit on his guests?

7. Why doesn’t Odysseus kill Polyphemus?

8. What does he do to the Cyclops instead of killing him?

9. Why does Polyphemus stop the great ram on its way out of the cave?

10. What are the long-term consequences for Odysseus’ treatment of Polyphemus?

Answers
1. Odysseus departs with 12 ships.

2. They first encounter the Ciconians.

3. He comes upon the land of the lotus-eaters.

4. Those who partake of the lotus forget their homeland.

5. He is a Cyclops and a son of Poseidon.

6. He eats the guests two at a time.

7. He knows that Polyphemus is the only one who can remove the door stop.

8. He drugs and blinds him.

9. Polyphemus wonders why the ram is the last one to depart instead of the first one, as he usually is.

10. Poseidon punishes him and keeps him from returning home for ten years.