Book XIX Quiz — The Odyssey

What reason does Telemachus give for removing the weapons from the great hall?

• He wants to sell them to pay off the suitors’ debts
• They have become soiled with soot and he fears the suitors may quarrel over wine and use them
• Penelope has ordered the hall redecorated
• He plans to distribute them to loyal servants

What false identity does Ulysses assume when speaking with Penelope?

• A Phoenician merchant named Mentes
• Aethon of Crete, brother of Idomeneus
• A soldier from Sparta who fought at Troy
• An Egyptian priest visiting Greek lands

What specific item of clothing convinces Penelope that the stranger truly met Ulysses?

• A pair of golden sandals she had made for him
• A bronze helmet with a horsehair crest
• A purple wool mantle fastened with a gold brooch depicting a dog seizing a fawn
• A shield bearing the emblem of Ithaca

How did Ulysses receive the scar that Euryclea recognizes?

• He was wounded in battle at Troy
• A wild boar gashed his thigh during a hunt on Mount Parnassus
• He was injured while stringing his great bow as a youth
• He cut himself on the rocks when shipwrecked on Calypso’s island

What does Penelope’s dream about the eagle and the geese symbolize?

• Her fear that Telemachus will leave Ithaca forever
• The suitors’ destruction at the hands of the returning Ulysses
• The gods’ anger at her refusal to remarry
• A warning that famine will strike Ithaca

Who is Autolycus and what notable trait does Homer ascribe to him?

• Ulysses’ father-in-law, known for his wisdom
• Ulysses’ maternal grandfather, the most accomplished thief and perjurer in the world
• Ulysses’ former battle companion, famous for his courage
• A king of Crete known for his just rule

What contest does Penelope announce she will hold the following day?

• A wrestling match between the suitors
• A chariot race around the island
• Stringing Ulysses’ bow and shooting an arrow through twelve axe heads
• A contest of riddles judged by the elders

What supernatural phenomenon does Telemachus witness while carrying weapons to the storeroom?

• A ghostly apparition of his father appears
• The walls, rafters, and crossbeams glow with a brilliant golden light from Minerva’s lamp
• Thunder shakes the palace and cracks the floor
• The weapons float through the air on their own

Penelope recognizes Ulysses during their conversation in Book XIX.

Euryclea offers to identify the disloyal maidservants after she recognizes Ulysses.

In Book XIX, what does "fatuous" mean when Penelope says dreams from the gate of ivory are "fatuous"?

• Terrifying and ominous
• Foolish, deceptive, and without substance
• Extremely vivid and lifelike
• Divinely inspired and prophetic

What does "hecatombs" mean when Euryclea says Ulysses gave the gods finer hecatombs than anyone?

• Prayers recited at midnight
• Temples built in honor of the gods
• Large sacrificial offerings, originally of one hundred oxen
• Sacred songs performed at festivals

When Ulysses says he has "foresworn" rugs and blankets, what does he mean?

• He has never owned them
• He has solemnly renounced and given them up
• He has hidden them for safekeeping
• He has cursed them as bad luck