DISCUSSION+PAGE

= ADD COMMENTS TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AS YOU READ. = = I will be looking for all of you to respond to at least three questions: = = = How do Poseidon and Zeus interact in this book?

What is the balance of power between Poseidon and Zeus?

How does Zeus assert his authority?

How does Odysseus handle his return to Ithaca? How much does he tell those he meets about his true identity and intentions?

How much help does Athena give to Odysseus?

How is this book pivotal regarding the action of the Odyssey as a whole?

What necessary qualities, that is, does Odysseus show in this first step of his return to power?

How does the poem represent mortal women?

Since Penelope is the most important woman in the //Odyssey,// what qualities does she possess, and how does she respond to the troubles she faces? (Some of the other women are of note, too-Eurycleia the serving woman, the faithless maidservants, Nausicaa the Phaeacian princess, and Helen of Sparta, Menelaus' queen, whose elopement with Prince Paris sparked the Trojan War.)