The Odyssey Books 6-9

Students will review cause and effect.

ALCOS RL.7.1

1. Why is Antinous angry at Telemachus?

2. What does Antinous plan to do to Telemachus?

3. Why does Zeus say the gods will not help Odysseus once he leaves Calypso’s Island?

4. Why was Calypso keeping Odysseus captive?

5. Why is Poseidon angry at Odysseus?

Starter: Review

Write down a summary of what happened in Books 3-5 that you read yesterday.

Quick Write

Practice: Cause and Effect

Cause Effect

1. It rained. 2. It was funny. 3. I slept in class. 4. I studied for the test. 5. I fell in the pool. 6. I skipped lunch. 7. It’s your birthday. 8. I need new clothes. 9. I planted an apple seed. 10. The car was dirty.

1. So I brought an umbrella.

I brought an umbrella because it rained.

I laughed because it was funny.

I got wet because I fell in the pool.

Odysseus got off the island because Athena helped him.

Telemachus sailed for Sparta because Athena advised him to go find his father.

There is a reason for everything characters do. This is Cause and Effect.

Today you will identify cause and effect in the epic poem.

Your answers must be based on what the text says explicitly (exactly) or based on what you infer (educated guess) that the text says.

During: Cause and Effect

During: T-Chart

CAUSE EFFECT

1. Athena appeared in Nausicaa’s dream.

2. Athena made Odysseus appear very handsome.

3. A man sings about Achilles. 4. The Lotus-eaters shared their fruit. 5. The Cyclops blocked his cave door

with a giant rock. 6. Odysseus told the Cyclops his name

was “Nobody”. 7. Odysseus and his men covered

themselves in sheep skin. 8. Odysseus bragged to the Cyclops

his name.

While Odysseus slept there, overcome with weariness and sleep, Athena went to the land of the Phaeacians, to their city, to arrange a journey home for brave Odysseus.

That night, Athena appeared in a dream to the Phaecian princess Nausicaa. She encouraged the young princess to go wash clothes in the river the next day. The next day, while Nausicaa and her servants are at the river, she meets Odysseus and gives him fresh clothes to wear, since his were torn up by the sea.

Athena made Odysseus appear very handsome so that Nausicaa would fall in love with him and help him. Nausicaa tells Odysseus how to get to her palace and hopes to see him again soon.

Book Six Abridged:

I will stop yelling and screaming at school.x155

When he reached the palace, Odysseus saw that the king, queen, and their subjects were holding a celebration in honour of Poseidon. Right away Odysseus approached Queen Arete and said:

“Arete, daughter of kings! I’ve come to you and to your husband here, as a man in deep trouble and pain. Please help me return home, to get back quickly to my wife and son. I’ve been suffering on a island for a long time and so far away from friends.”

Book Seven Abridged:

The clever queen realized that Odysseus was wearing some of the clothes that she had sent with Nausicaa to be washed in the river. This made the queen very suspicious of the strange man, and she tries to learn his name.

Without telling his name, Odysseus told the story of Calypso’s Island, and how the nymph had trapped him there and the sea had nearly swallowed him. He then told them how their lovely daughter, Princess Nausicaa, had helped him at the river and given him fresh clothes to wear.

The king thought Odysseus was very brave and honest, and told him that if he desired, he could marry Nausicaa and someday be king.

The next day king addressed them alland said to the Phaeacians:

“Listen to me, my people. I’ll tell you what the

heart in my chest says. This stranger here, this wanderer, has travelled to my house. He’s asking for help to reach his family, and I believe this is the right thing to do.”

Book Eight Abridged:

Then a musician was inspired by the Muses to sing a song about warriors. He thought of the warrior Odysseus and the famous argument he once had with Achilles and began to sing of it.

The song grieved Odysseus because the argument was one of the last words he had with Achilles before his brave friend was killed in the war. The king noticed how the song affected his guest.

Next the singer sung of that great war horse, the Trojan Horse that Odysseus’s own army used to sneak into Troy’s walls and slaughter her people in their sleep. The king watched his guest and noticed again that Odysseus seemed saddened by the great tale, as if it brought unwanted memories.

The king could finally not stand it and asked his guest to tell him who he was and where he was really from.

Reluctantly, Odysseus replied to the king: “My lord, I would rather not tell you the places I have been and the horrible troubles I have caused. What shall I tell you first? Where do I stop? For the gods have cursed me I think.

Well, I will start by telling you my name. I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, well known to all for my deceptive skills—my fame extends all the way to heaven. I live in Ithaca, a land of sunshine.

Book Nine Abridged:

Come, I’ll tell you of the miserable journey which Zeus and the gods arranged for me when I returned from Troy. They cursed me for telling them I did not need their help to win the war.

Zesus’s winds forced my army and me to the land of the Cicones. There I destroyed the city, killed everyone, and captured lots of treasure which we divided up.

Then I gave orders we should leave on foot—and with all speed. But the men were fools.They didn’t listen. They drank too much wine and fell asleep on the shoreline.

The Cicone survivors gathered together and killed many of my men before we could escape in our ships, avoiding Death and Fate.

Odysseus said: “We sailed away from there, hearts full of grief that our friends were dead. Cloud-gatherer Zeus then stirred a violent storm concealing land and sea,

Nine days fierce winds drove us across the fish-filled seas, and on the tenth we landed where the Lotus-eaters live, people who feed upon its flowering fruit. They eat and eat, and can never stop eating the drug-like fruit.

The Lotus-eaters shared their fruit with three of my men and instantly the men lost their desire to ever go home. They wished only to sit and eat the evil fruit. I had to drag them to the ship and sail away fast.

Next we reached the country of the Cyclopes, a crude and lawless people. They live in giant caves. We landed on their island without ever having seen them before, and so didn’t know what to expect from these creatures.

When we arrived, clouds hid the moon, so there was no light coming from the sky. We explored the island to see who lived there.

Soon we found beside the sea, a high cave. Inside it were many sheep penned in and crates of cheese and other foods. We noticed that a Cyclops lived there alone, away from the others of his kind.

I told the rest of my crew to stay by the ship and guard it, while I selected twelve of my best menand went to the monster’s cave to see what food we could take for our journey.

The Cyclops was away when we snuck into his cave. At first, my comrades urged me to grab some food and hurry back to the ship. But I did not agree, though if I had, things would have been much better.

I stayed too long because I wanted to see the Cyclops up close.

We hid behind the crates and waited for the giant to return. When he did, he blocked the door with a rock.

The Cyclops saw us and said: ‘Strangers,who are you? What sea route brought you here?

Are you trading men, or wandering the seaat random, like pirates sailing anywhere,risking their lives to injure other men.?”

“As he spoke, our hearts collapsed, terrifiedby his deep voice and monstrous size. But still,

I answered him by saying: We are Greek warriors coming back from Troy and lost at sea.

He answered me at once—his heart was pitiless: ‘What fools you are, you strangers. I could squash you all right now. But now, tell me this—when you landed here, are there more than just you twenty men on this island? I’d like to know that.’

He said this to throw me off, but his deceit could never fool me. I was too clever. And so I gave him a cunning answer:

Odysseus said: ‘Earthshaker Poseidon broke my ship apart—driving it against your island on the rocks. But we escaped—me and these men here. We weren’t destroyed.’

“That’s what I said. But his ruthless heartgave me no reply. Instead, he jumped up, seized two of my companions in his fist,and smashed them on the ground like puppy dogs. Their brains oozed out and soaked the ground below

He tore their limbs apart to make a meal, and chewed them up just like a mountain lion—innards, flesh, and marrow—leaving nothing.

We raised our hands to Zeus and cried aloud,to witness the horrific things he did, our hearts unable to do anything.

Once Cyclops had stuffed his massive stomachwith human flesh and washed it down with milk,he lay down in the cave and went to sleep, unafraid of the tiny humans.

Then, in my courageous heart I thought to stab him in the liver and kill him, but I realized that we needed Cyclops to move the giant rock blocking the exit.

In the morning, he once again snatched two of my men and gorged himself on their bodies. After his meal, he easily rolled away the rock but kept us from escaping. He planned to eat us all.

My heart came up with what appeared to methe best thing I could do. An enormous club belonging to Cyclops was lying there. I chopped off a piece, six feet in length, gave it to my companions, telling them to smooth the wood.

They straightened it, while I tapered it to a sharp point. Then I picked up the stake and told my men that we would stab out the creature’s eye as it slept.

When Cyclops returned, he ate two more of my men and wolfed them down. I moved up to him and offered him to wine.

Odysseus said: “Accept this sweet gift and allow me to leave. Keep my men and eat as many as you wish, but let me live.”

The Cyclops promised to give me a gift if I gave him more wine. He wanted to know my name.

Odysseus said: “‘Cyclops, you asked about my famous name. I’ll tell you. Then you can offer me a gift as you promised. My name is Nobody. My father and mother, all my other friends—they call me Nobody.’

Cyclops said: “Well, Nobody, I’ll eat your friends before I eat you! That’s my gift to you. I hope you like it.”

Once the monster passed out from too much drink, my friends and I crept up to his face and jammed the sharpened end of our stake into his eye.

His horrific screams echoed through the rock. We drew back, terrified. He yanked the stake out of his eye—it was all smeared with blood—and cried out for help.

He yanked out his eye and screamed, and other Cyclops came to see what was wrong with him.

The other Cyclopses said from outside the cave: Friend! Are you under attack?”

From the other side of the rock blocking the cave, they heard the monster cry: “NOBODY IS KILLING ME, MY FRIENDS!”

They answered him: Well, then, if nobody is hurting you and you’re alone, it must be sickness given by great Zeus, one you can’t escape. So say your prayersto our father, lord Poseidon.’

And they went away. My heart was laughing at the Cyclops’s great agony. Groping with his hands, he lifted the great stone and stretched his hands around the exit, hoping to snatch us as we surely escaped.

To save us, I took the monster’s sheep skin blankets and tied them around my men like cloaks so that they would feel as sheep to the monster’s searching hands.

Dressed as sheep we escaped his cave and returned to our ship, laughing at the giant fool. We stole many of his sheep, too. As our ship moved over the salty sea I saw the Cyclops near the shore looking still for us.

Full of arrogance, I yelled: “Cyclops, it seems he was no weakling, after all, the man whose comrades you so wished to eat!”

In anger he threw a rock and almost destroyed us, and my friends begged me not to provoke him, but I would not listen.

So, anger in my heart, I yelled again: ‘Cyclops, if any mortal human being asks about the injury that blinded you, tell them Odysseus destroyed your eye, a sacker of cities, Laertes’ son, a man from Ithaca.’

“After I’d said this, he stretched out his hands to starry heaven and said to his father: Hear me, Poseidon, if I truly am your son, grant that Odysseus, never gets back home. Let all his friends be killed and his family ruined.

Fishbone Diagram: Cause and Effect

________ wanted to

marry him

He bragged to the

_________

He angered ________

His ship and crew

have been destroyed

Odyss

eu

s ca

nnot

get

hom

e

Zeus said none of the gods should

help him again.

He was trapped

on a ______