The Adventures of Ulysses

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue-Chapter 4

Reading Check

1. Who is the shepherd who is recruited to judge which of the goddesses is the most beautiful?

2. How many ships does Ulysses command?

3. In what country does Morpheus live?

4. Whom does Polyphemus tell the other Cyclopes is responsible for blinding him?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why do the Trojans take the wooden horse inside the city gates?

2. Why are Ulysses’s ships not fully stocked with food and water when he sets sail back home to Greece?

3. What causes Poseidon to think that Ulysses’s men are trying to steal away his naiads?

4. What are the properties of the lotus flowers that Ulysses and his men encounter in Chapter 3?

5. How does Polyphemus trap Ulysses’s men in his cave?

Paired Resources

Le Cyclope

• This 1914 painting by Odilon Redon offers an unusual perspective on Polyphemus.
• This resource relates to the theme of Flawed Gods and Foolish People.
• How does this painting make you feel about the cyclops? What do the colors, composition, and style of this painting seem to suggest about him? How does Redon’s interpretation of Polyphemus compare to Evslin’s? Is Redon’s interpretation a reasonable one? Why or why not?

“Ithaka”

• This brief and accessible poem by C. P. Cavafy offers an alternate perspective on the perils of Ulysses’s journey.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Hero’s Purpose in Greek Mythology and Today.
• How does Cavafy portray Ulysses’s adventures with Poseidon and Polyphemus? What point is Cavafy making about the hero’s journey? How does this relate to life in general? Do you think that Ulysses would agree with Cavafy? What evidence in The Adventures of Ulysses supports your interpretation?

Chapters 5-8

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the demigod who is the Keeper of the Winds?

2. In Chapter 6, “Cannibal Beach,” what is Ulysses really climbing when he thinks he is climbing a tree?

3. What animal does Ulysses kill for his men to eat when they first arrive at Circe’s island?

4. What island does Achilles tell Ulysses to avoid?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What causes Ulysses’s men to tear open the bag of wind?

2. Why does the Keeper of the Winds refuse to give Ulysses more wind after Ulysses’s men open the bag?

3. How does Ulysses end up losing two ships in Chapter 6, “Cannibal Beach”?

4. What happens to the men who go with Eurylochus to Circe’s castle?

5. When Ulysses is in the Land of the Dead, what information does Ajax taunt him with?

Paired Resources

“Circe”

• This lyrical poem by H. D. (Hilda Doolittle) takes Circe’s perspective as she confesses her longing for Ulysses.
• This resource relates to the theme of Flawed Gods and Foolish People.
• How does H. D. portray Circe’s attitude toward men and her motivation for turning them into animals? How is this similar to and different from the portrayal of Circe in The Adventures of Ulysses?

“The Underworld: The Kingdom of Hades”

• This 4-minute video offers an introduction to the ancient Greek conception of the Underworld.
• This resource relates to the theme of The Wisdom of Determination.
• What did the ancient Greeks believe the Underworld was like? What would it have been like for Ulysses to visit this place? What does this demonstrate about Ulysses’s character? In what way is Ulysses rewarded for his courage and determination during this episode of the story?

Chapters 9-13

Reading Check

1. How many Sirens are on the island of the Siren sisters?

2. Who turned Charybdis into a monster?

3. In Sicily, what does Ulysses tell his officers to do with any men who approach one of the Sun God’s herds?

4. What is the name of the afterworld that Ulysses thinks he is in when he wakes on Calypso’s island?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 9, why does Ulysses give up on his plan to sail south and decide to sail toward Sicily instead?

2. How does Ulysses plan to stop his men from being lured by the Sirens?

3. What happens when Ulysses sails the ship past Scylla?

4. When Ulysses wakes and finds the men have killed some of Helios’s cattle, what does Eurylochus tell Ulysses?

5. What does Calypso show Ulysses in the flames from the log in her fireplace?

Paired Resource

“Siren Song”

• This brief and accessible poem by Margaret Atwood from a Siren’s perspective reveals what is so alluring about their song.
• This resource relates to the theme of Flawed Gods and Foolish People.
• What does the Siren in this poem claim about her situation? What is the Siren trying to make her audience feel about her and about themselves? At the end of the poem, what is the reader meant to understand about the claims she has been making? What point is Atwood making about human psychology? How is Atwood’s approach to the Sirens different from the approach taken in The Adventures of Ulysses? Is her interpretation of the Sirens’ song a reasonable one in the context of the original story?
• “Siren Song” on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Unit

Chapters 14-16

Reading Check

1. How many days does Ulysses sail away from Calypso’s island before Poseidon finds him and smashes his raft?

2. Who directs Nausicaa to wash her clothes in the river?

3. When Ulysses wakes on the riverbank, whom does he mistake Nausicaa for?

4. How long does it take Ulysses to sail home to Ithaca from Troy?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Ino save Ulysses’s life?

2. How does Ulysses finally get himself ashore at Phaeacia?

3. How does Poseidon punish the Phaeacians for helping Ulysses?

4. When Ulysses returns to Ithaca, why does he not immediately go to his palace and announce his return?

5. What plan does Ulysses, disguised as a beggar, suggest to Penelope to help her decide what to do with the suitors? What is the result of this plan?

Recommended Next Reads

Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin

• In this highly regarded YA anthology, the author retells classical Greek and Roman stories of gods, heroes, and monsters.
• Shared themes include The Hero’s Purpose in Greek Mythology and Today and Flawed Gods and Foolish People.
• Shared topics include adventure, battles with monsters, the virtue of moderation and restraint, the power of the gods, the necessity of alliances, and the power of love.
• Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths on SuperSummary

Troy by Adèle Geras

• In this modern YA retelling of the Iliad, sisters Xanthe and Marpessa experience the events of the Trojan War.
• Shared themes include Flawed Gods and Foolish People.
• Shared topics include adventure, the power of the gods, piety, the necessity of alliances, and the power of love.
• Troy on SuperSummary