What is the theme of the Odyssey Book 23?
Lesson Summary In Book 23 of The Odyssey, Penelope sees Odysseus without his disguise, but still refuses to believe it is really him. Meanwhile, Odysseus wants everyone to act as if there is a wedding and Penelope has remarried, to hide his slaughter of the suitors from outsiders.
What is the conflict in Book 23 of the Odyssey?
The main conflict in this book is figuring out how to Odysseus through the city unnoticed, which is quickly resolved as Nausicaa come up with an elaborate plan to drop Odysseus off at her father’s estate, return to her father’s house alone, and Odysseus walk to his father s house from there.
What intervention does Athena make at the end of Book 23?
How does Athena intervene at the end of the Odysseus to bring peace to Ithaca? She erases the memories of all the families of the suitors so that they wouldn’t remember that Odysseus killed their sons and they all loved Odysseus again.
When was hospitality shown in the Odyssey?
Telemachus, the focus of the first four books of The Odyssey, provides an early example of good hospitality as both a host and a guest. In Book 1, Athena comes to Ithaca in disguise as the hero Mentes to convince Telemachus to go in search of news of Odysseus.
What characters are in Book 23 of the Odyssey?
Terms in this set (8)
- Eurycleia. Tells Penelope that Odysseus is home.
- Penelope. Doesn’t believe Eurycleia when she says Odysseus is home, thinks that she’s gone mad.
- Destroy (Possible Extra Credit) What Penelope calls Troy.
- Telemachus.
- Odysseus.
- Odysseus, Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoteus.
- Athena.
- The Secret Sign.
How does Penelope test Odysseus in Book 23?
She tests Odysseus by ordering her servant Eurycleia to move their marriage bed. Odysseus gets angry. He explains that he built their bedroom around an ancient olive tree, and used the top of the tree to make their bedpost.
What is the main conflict in the Odyssey?
The main conflict in the Odyssey is Odysseus’s ten-year struggle to return home to his wife and son on Ithaca after the conclusion of the Trojan War.
What is the main problem in Ithaca when the odyssey begins?
The chief conflict in the poem is between Odysseus’s desire to reach home and the forces that keep him from his goal, a conflict that the narrator of the Odyssey spells out in the opening lines.
What is Athena’s final act of divine intervention in this poem?
Having defeated the suitors, Odysseus reveals his identity to Penelope. The next day, he and Telemachus travel to the house where Odysseus’s grieving father, Laertes, lives. Together, the men prepare to fight the fathers of the murdered suitors, but Athena intervenes to make peace.
How does Athena help Odysseus in Book 23?
Their small army tracks Odysseus to Laertes’ house, but Athena, disguised again as Mentor, decides to put a stop to the violence. Antinous’s father is the only one killed, felled by one of Laertes’ spears. Athena makes the Ithacans forget the massacre of their children and recognize Odysseus as king.
Why was hospitality so important in the Odyssey?
An important theme evident throughout the epic poem is hospitality. Hospitality, the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, is very important to the gods and goddesses. It is just as important for the guest to honor the host as it is for the host to honor the guest.
How is hospitality shown in the Odyssey quotes?
By Homer
- [Telemachos] saw Athene and went straight to the forecourt, the heart within him scandalized that a guest should still be standing at the doors.
- (Menelaos:) ‘Surely we two have eaten much hospitality from other men before we came back here.