Study Guide Answer Key: Book 11

Use the answers to the questions below as a guide to evaluate student understanding.  Use the Pronouncing Glossary at the back of The Odyssey if you need help with names and places.

Who is the first spirit Odysseus meets? What does he request?

Elpenor, Odysseus’s crewman that fell off of Circe’s roof, asks Odysseus to give him a proper burial.

What specifically does Tiresias warn Odysseus NOT to do? What will happen if he does not comply?

Tiresias tells him to leave Helios’s cattle unharmed. If the cattle are harmed, Odysseus will return late, broken, and alone.

How will Odysseus die?

He will die a gentle, painless death far from the sea.

Who is Anticleia? Why did she die?

She is Odysseus’s mother. She died of grief from longing for her son’s return.

What happens when Odysseus tries to take a break for sleep?

His request is politely declined.

What advice does Agamemnon give Odysseus? Why?

He advises Odysseus to not trust a woman too much. He has learned from experience with his wife.

How does Odysseus comfort Achilles?

He tells him how revered he is among the living and that his son is a great warrior.

How does Ajax greet Odysseus?

He doesn’t. He ignores him.

What did Tityus do to deserve his punishment?

He kidnapped Leto, who was dear to Zeus.

How does Sisyphus spend eternity?

He forever pushes a boulder up a slope only to have it roll back down again.