Book IV Quiz — The Odyssey

What event is being celebrated at Menelaus's palace when Telemachus and Pisistratus arrive?

• A victory feast honoring the fall of Troy
• A double wedding for Menelaus's son and daughter
• A funeral for Agamemnon
• A festival in honor of the goddess Athena

Who first recognizes that the young stranger is Telemachus?

• Menelaus
• Pisistratus
• Helen
• Eteoneus

What is the source of the drug Helen adds to the wine?

• The goddess Athena gave it to her directly
• She brewed it herself from herbs on Mount Olympus
• Polydamna, wife of Thon, gave it to her in Egypt
• Proteus provided it during Menelaus's visit to Pharos

Who teaches Menelaus how to capture Proteus?

• Athena appears to him in a vision
• Idothea, daughter of Proteus
• Calypso sends him a message
• Nestor advises him before he departs

According to Proteus, what fate awaits Menelaus after death?

• He will descend to the House of Hades like all mortals
• He will be turned into a constellation in the night sky
• He will be transported to the Elysian Fields
• He will be reborn as a king in Egypt

How does Penelope learn about the suitors' plot to murder Telemachus?

• She overhears them talking from her room above the hall
• Athena tells her in a dream
• The servant Medon overhears the plot and warns her
• Euryclea confesses the whole plan

Where do the suitors position their ambush ship?

• In the harbor of Pylos
• At the rocky islet of Asteris between Ithaca and Samos
• Along the coast of Lacedaemon
• At the promontory of Malea

True or false: Menelaus initially refuses to let Telemachus and Pisistratus into his palace.

True or false: The phantom vision sent by Athena tells Penelope that Odysseus is definitely alive.

In Book IV, Menelaus says he "will not prevaricate nor deceive you." What does "prevaricate" mean?

• To speak truthfully and directly
• To speak evasively or avoid giving a straight answer
• To exaggerate wildly for dramatic effect
• To repeat something from memory

What does "perfidy" mean in the phrase "murdered through the perfidy of his wicked wife"?

• Physical strength
• Deliberate treachery or betrayal of trust
• A state of deep sorrow
• Supernatural enchantment

When Menelaus says the goddess "put some ambrosia under each man's nostrils," what is ambrosia?

• A type of Mediterranean seaweed
• A strong sleeping potion
• The divine food or fragrance of the gods
• A healing ointment made from olive oil