Then Penelope brought out the great bow and told the suitors she would marry any one of them who could string it and shoot one of the arrows through the rings or holes at the ends of twelve axes, set up in a row, some distance from each other. They tried and failed. Then 5 Odysseus asked if he might take the bow. He strung it easily and sent an arrow flying through all the rings. Then he turned upon the suitors, and with the help of Telemachus and a few of his old servants who recognized him and were faithful to him, he shot down those insolent 10 ones or put them to the sword. So Odysseus found his home and wife and son and kingdom once more, and reigned in peace and honor.] QUESTIONS AND HELPS 1. Tell what you know of the author of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." 2. Tell in a few words what the "Iliad" is about; what the "Odyssey" is about. 3. Who was Odysseus, and how did he happen to be at Troy? 4. Describe his adventure with the Cicones. 5. Tell about the Lotus-eaters. 6. Tell of the Cyclops. 7. Tell of Æolus. 8. Tell of the Læstrygonians. 9. Who was Circe? Why is the dawn "golden-haired"? rosy-fingered"? 10. What did the sight of the curling smoke tell Odysseus, and what did he decide to do? 11. Tell what happened on his way back to the ship. 12. What is meant by going down" to the house of Hades," and who was Hades, or Dis? (See Literary Readers, Book Three, page 205.) 13. How were their souls crushed? 14. Why did they shake lots? 15. Describe the house of Circe and the animals that surrounded it. It was said that Circe turned men into such animals as they were most nearly like. Can you see anything about Odysseus' companions that should make her turn them into swine? 16. What do you think of the conduct of Eurylochus ? 17. Why is Hermes called "he of the golden wand"? Describe this wand (see Literary Readers, Book Three, page 196). 18. What did Hermes give to Odysseus? 19. Why was Circe afraid of Odysseus? Was it simply because he drew his sword? 20. Why did not Odysseus demand at once that his comrades should be released, instead of asking only a promise that Circe would plan no further mischief? What does this show of Odysseus' character? 21. Does the description of setting out the chairs and table and of preparing the bath make the story more interesting to you or less so? Why? 22. Why did Odysseus refuse to eat? 23. What is meant by "winged words? by the "teeming" sea? by the "golden-throned dawn? 24. Why do you think it was necessary for Odysseus' comrades to remind him that it was time to start toward Ithaca? 25. Why do you think Circe sent him first to the land of Hades to consult Tiresias? 26. What does Circe's act in taking the two sheep to the ship tell us of her feelings? 27. Tell briefly about the Sirens. 28. Describe Scylla and Charybdis. What do we mean when we say that a person is between Scylla and Charybdis"? 29. Tell about the cattle of the Sun and the punishment that followed their slaughter. 30. Tell about Calypso. 31. Tell of Poseidon's rage and Ino's friendship. 32. Tell of the Phæacians. 33. Describe the return to Ithaca and the destruction of the suitors. 34. Was Odysseus a perfect hero? What did he do that was good? What did he do that you do not like? The story of Odysseus and Circe may be easily dramatized. Make swords and spears of wood, armor and shields of cardboard, and helmets from paper or from the crowns of old hats (for pictures see the dictionary or encyclopedia). Make a sty with closed front, behind which the change into swine and back again will seem to be made. The stories of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" are told nearly in the words of the Greek, but somewhat shortened, in Church's "The Story of the Iliad" and "The Story of the Odyssey." The best easy prose translation of the "Odyssey is that of Professor Palmer. The prose translation of the "Iliad" by Lang, Leaf, and Myers is good. The best translations in verse, of both poems, are by the poet Bryant. Læstrygonians (Laěs try go'ni ans): a race of man-eating giants. Circe (Çîr'çe) : a witch-goddess, daughter of the Sun. Ææa (Aē aē ́à): the ancient name of a small island between Italy and Sicily. golden-haired dawn: so called be cause the golden glow in the sky was thought of as the hair of the goddess of the dawn. bronze (bronze): a mixture of copper and tin. fathom (fath'om): the space to which a man can stretch his arms; about six feet. go down to the house of Hades another name for Dis, or Pluto, rosy-fingered dawn: the rays of rosy light sometimes seen in the east before sunrise were called the fingers of the dawn. Eurylochus (Eu ryl'ỏ chus): a com panion of Odysseus. Polites (Po lītēs): another compan ion of Odysseus. Pramnian (Prăm ́nĭ ăn): a kind of wine made near Smyrna. cornel (côr'něl): a European shrub. silver-studded: ornamented with silver studs or knobs. clasped my knees: among the ancients clasping the knees of another was a sign of entreaty. moly (mōly): a mythical herb having magic power. mystic (mystic): mysterious. tempering (těm per Ing): moderating or making milder, often by mixing. tunic (tū ́nic): a garment worn by the ancients, reaching to or below the knees and fastened with a girdle. foreboded (fōre bōd'ed): felt that some evil was coming. winged words: words that dart from the lips swiftly, as if on wings. tackle ropes and pulleys. teeming sea: teeming or swarming with fishes and other animal life. Tiresias of Thebes (Ti re ́shi ǎs of Thebes): a prophet who was made blind by the gods but who was given power to understand the language of birds. Ocean stream: the ancients thought that the earth was flat and that the ocean flowed around the edge of it like a river. ewe (u): a female sheep. escort (ěsícôrt): one or more persons who travel with another to give protection. Sirens (Sirens): sea maidens whose songs lured sailors upon the rocks. Scylla (Scylla): a monster who lived upon a rock on the Italian coast opposite Sicily. Charybdis (Cha rýb ́dis): a monster who lived in a whirlpool on the coast of Sicily opposite Scylla. Calypso (Calyp ́sō): a sea goddess who lived on an island in the western Mediterranean. Pallas Athene (Păl ́las À thē ́nē): the goddess of wisdom, also called Athena, and by the Romans Minerva. Poseidon (Po sei'don): the god of the sea; called Neptune by the Romans. Ino (I'nō): a maiden who was changed into a nymph or goddess. Phæacians (Phae a ́shăns): a people said to have once lived upon the island now called Corfu. Penelope (Pě něl'o pe): the wife of Odysseus. suitor (suit'õr): one who seeks a woman's hand in marriage. Telemachus (Té lèm ́à chus): the son of Odysseus. THE WOODEN HORSE OF TROY FROM THE "ÆNEID" VERGIL [The traveler who visits Naples may see to-day, just outside the city, a tomb covered with ivy and grasses, which is called the Tomb of Vergil. Whether Vergil was really buried there we do not know, but the place is visited by many who love his poems and who honor him. 5 Vergil was a Latin poet, born near Mantua, in the north of Italy, about seventy years before Christ. He wrote several famous poems which are still read, in the Latin, in our schools. Vergil's father was a farmer and beekeeper, and the boy, whose full name was Publius 10 Vergilius Maro, was brought up to love farm life. A group of his poems, the "Georgics," tells all about a Roman farm, with its fields, its trees, its horses and cattle, and its bees. It was written to make the Romans think more of country life and less of the city. Another 15 group of poems, the "Eclogues," tells stories of shepherds and farmers. Vergil went to school at Cremona and at Milan, and afterwards studied at Naples and at Rome. After living several years at Rome he went back to the old farm 20 near Mantua, but when Antony and Octavian had overthrown the army of the Roman republic and had taken |