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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Dear fellow readers,</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">I hope you are enjoying reading Homer in the autumn. Please look over the study guide questions listed below for our next section of the Odyssey. These questions are to help you navigate the reading and get you thinking about it. They are also posted on the Reading Odyssey website. </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">We will be discussing Books 9-16 on Monday November 2 @8pm EST. The phone # to call in is: 1-888-350-0075 with passcode: 1100494#. Feel free to email me and the group with your questions, observations and comments in the next two weeks as we approach our next conference call. I will be contacting some of you to 'take on a question' for our discussion if you are willing. Thanks for your enthusiasm and happy reading!</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Andre</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="line-height:115%;vertical-align:115%;text-align:left;"><font face="Calibri" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:11pt;color:#000000;">Discussion #2 (Lombardo translation pp. 125-255)</font></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height:115%;vertical-align:115%;text-align:left;"><font face="Calibri" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:11pt;color:#000000;">Books 9- 16 Reconciliations</font></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height:115%;vertical-align:115%;text-align:left;"><font face="Calibri" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:11pt;color:#000000;">9-12 Odysseus’ wanderings, “reconciling” Poseidon’s curse</font></div>
<div align="left" style="line-height:115%;vertical-align:115%;text-align:left;"><font face="Calibri" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:11pt;color:#000000;">13-16 Odysseus’ return to his native land, “reconciling” with Telemachus</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Study Guide Questions - Discussion #2</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Books 9- 16 Reconciliations</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">9-12 Odysseus’ wanderings, “reconciling” Poseidon’s curse</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">1. Book 9 - wise leader?</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Odysseus is often referred to as “wily, crafty and wise.” How wise of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">a leader is he in the events of Book 9 concerning the Cicones (pp. </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">126-127), Lotus Eaters (127), and Cyclopes (128-140)? How much of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">these hardships are Odysseus’ own fault? How much of these hardships </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">are pre-determined by prophecy?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">2. Book 10 - crew morale?</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In Book 10, morale among Odysseus’ crew continues to decline. How do </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">the events of Aeolus’ bag of winds (pp. 141-143), Laestrygonians </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">(143-145), and Circe (145-157) contribute to the decline in morale of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">the crew? What do we learn about Odysseus’ leadership and his </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">cleverness? Just when Odysseus is able to rescue his crew from </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Circe’s bewitchment, he is notified of a very dangerous voyage he must </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">make to Hades. With Circe’s help, Odysseus must consult Tiresias the </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">prophet. Why? (see Books 10 & 11)</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">3. Book 11 - Hades</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In Book 11, the shades/ghosts of many reveal themselves to Odysseus at </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Acheron, the entrance to Hades. Before talking even to his mother </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Anticleia, Odysseus makes sure to talk with Tiresias first. Then </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Odysseus allows himself to talk to his mother and other famous Greek </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">women who appear. What is the significance to the plot of mentioning </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">these various Greek heroines (pp. 164-167)? As Odysseus continues to </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">tell of Agamemnon, Achilles and other famous Greek men, what does this </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">panorama of shades suggest about the Greek concept of Hades? of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Odysseus’ own fears?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">4. Book 12 - Odysseus alone</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">How do the series of adventures in Book 12 (Sirens, Scylla, Oxen of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">the Sun, Thunder & Lightning, Charybdis, Calypso) compare to the </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">series of adventures (Books 9-10) before Odysseus’ trip to Hades (Book </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">11)? Book 5 opens with Odysseus alone and Book 12 ends with Odysseus </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">alone. Now that Odysseus has come full circle in his flashbacks, what </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">is the relatonship between Odysseus and his crew? How are Odysseus’ </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">feelings compounded by the lack of a crew?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">13-16 Odysseus’ return to his native land, “reconciling” with Telemachus</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">5. Book 13 - Ithaka</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In Book 13, Poseidon is not happy with the Phaeacians for conveying </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Odysseus home safely. Given what happens to the Phaeacians in </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">response to Poseidon’s feelings, how is this action just? What does </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Zeus think about it? Why does Zeus have anything to do with this? </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Athena appears to Odysseus as he wakes up on his own island. What </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">part does she play in helping Odysseus? As clever as Odysseus is, why </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">would Athena’s help be necessary at this stage of the epic?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">6. Book 14 - Hospitality revisted?</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In what ways does Book 14 illustrate the ancient custom of </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">hospitality? How does hospitality in this chapter compare with the </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">hospitality of the Phaeacians (Books 8-13) or Nestor (Book 3) or </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Menelaus (Books 4 & 15)? In Book 14, Odysseus tells two long tales </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">about both his origin and an incident with a cloak during the Trojan </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">War. His stories are inspired by Athena, the goddess of wisdom. How </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">does Odysseus balance the level of fiction with the level of truth in </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">his stories?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">7. Book 15 - Piety</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In Book 15, both Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ piety (i.e. duty to the </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">gods) is revealed in auguries (or bird signs). How do the auguries </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">support the intertwining of Odysseus’ and Telemachus’ lives? How does </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Telemachus’ piety show with respect to Theoclymenus? How does </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Eumaeus’ piety show with respect to Odysseus? According to Greek </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">thinking, is Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ reunion left to chance in any </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">way? In many ways, this book is about origins. Why do you suppose </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Homer chose this moment to unveil Eumaeus’ origin, Theoclymenus’ </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">origin and even information about Odysseus’ father, Laertes and </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">mother, Anticleia? What do Eumaeus’ and Theoclymenus’ stories tell us </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">about nobility as an inner quality or characteristic of a person?</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">8. Book 16 - Telemachus and Odysseus</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">As dawn breaks at the opening of Book 16, Telemachus arrives safely to </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">the swineherd’s hut. Before the day is over, he will be re-united </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">with his father Odysseus. Having been only an infant when Odysseus </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">left for Troy, how does Telemachus recognize his father? Why then </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">does he still doubt his senses? (see pp. 245-246). How is Penelope’s </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">character defined in this book? Ignorant of Odysseus’ return, what do </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Penelope’s actions reveal about her situation with the suitors? How </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">does Eurymachus’ pretending contrast with Penelope’s honesty about the </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">situation? By the end of the day, Eumaeus returns to his hut and </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Telemachus asks about the plot against him by the suitors. How do </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ pretending contrast with Eumaeus’ honesty </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">about the situation?</font></div>
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