Book XIV Quiz — The Odyssey

What is Eumaeus doing when Odysseus first arrives at his farmstead?

• Feeding the pigs
• Cutting sandals from ox hide
• Sharpening his sword
• Cooking a meal

How many boar pigs does Eumaeus keep, and why are there fewer than the sows?

• 180, because disease killed them
• 360, because the suitors keep eating them
• 240, because they were sold at market
• 500, because wolves attacked them

In his false autobiography, what nationality does Odysseus claim to be?

• Thesprotian
• Phoenician
• Cretan
• Egyptian

Why does Eumaeus refuse to believe the stranger's claim that Odysseus will return?

• He saw Odysseus die at Troy
• He was previously deceived by an Aetolian with similar claims
• Penelope told him Odysseus was dead
• A god warned him against believing travelers

What special honor does Eumaeus give Odysseus during the evening feast?

• He lets him sit at the head of the table
• He gives him slices cut lengthways down the loin
• He pours the first drink offering for him
• He allows him to carve the meat

What trick does Odysseus describe in his anecdote about the cold night at Troy?

• He stole a cloak from a sleeping soldier
• He pretended to have a divine dream so a soldier would leave his cloak behind
• He asked Agamemnon to send extra blankets
• He built a fire from enemy shields

Who is Mesaulius?

• One of the suitors
• A servant Eumaeus bought with his own money
• Odysseus's old shield-bearer
• A goatherd from the mainland

According to the Cretan lie, where did King Pheidon say Odysseus had gone?

• Back to Troy to retrieve treasure
• To Dodona to consult Zeus's oracle
• To Egypt to free enslaved Greeks
• To Sparta to visit Menelaus

Eumaeus immediately believes the stranger's claim that Odysseus will return before the month is out.

Eumaeus makes seven portions of the sacrificed boar, setting one apart as an offering to Mercury and the nymphs.

In the passage "the swineherd, who was a most equitable man, then stood up to give every one his share," what does "equitable" mean?

• Skilled at horseback riding
• Fair and impartial
• Wealthy and generous
• Quiet and reserved

When Odysseus says Mars and Minerva made him "doughty in war," what does "doughty" mean?

• Reluctant and fearful
• Wealthy and influential
• Brave and resolute
• Reckless and careless

What does "reconnoitre" mean in the passage where Odysseus says he "sent out scouts to reconnoitre from every point of vantage"?

• To set up camp for the night
• To make a preliminary military survey of an area
• To negotiate with the enemy
• To forage for food and supplies