Book XXIV Quiz — The Odyssey

Who leads the ghosts of the slain suitors to the Underworld?

• Athena (Minerva)
• Hermes (Mercury)
• Apollo
• Hades (Pluto)

What does Agamemnon’s ghost say about Penelope after hearing the suitors’ story?

• She was foolish to wait so long
• Her fame shall never die due to her faithfulness
• She should have remarried sooner
• She was wrong to deceive the suitors

How does Odysseus initially approach his father Laertes on the farm?

• He embraces him immediately
• He sends Telemachus ahead to announce him
• He tells a false story, pretending to be a stranger
• He calls out to him from a distance

Which of these is NOT one of the proofs Odysseus uses to convince Laertes of his identity?

• The scar from a boar’s tusk on Mount Parnassus
• Recounting the trees Laertes gave him as a child
• Describing the design of Penelope’s loom
• Naming thirteen pear trees, ten apple trees, and forty fig trees

Who is Eupeithes?

• The swineherd who helps Odysseus
• The father of Antinous who leads the revolt against Odysseus
• A prophet who warns the townspeople
• One of Dolius’s sons

What does Zeus decree about the aftermath of the suitors’ slaughter?

• Odysseus must go into exile
• The families should forgive and forget, and Odysseus should continue to rule
• A trial must be held to determine guilt
• Telemachus must pay blood-money to each family

Who kills Eupeithes in the final battle?

• Odysseus
• Telemachus
• Laertes
• Eumaeus

How does the epic simile at the opening of Book XXIV describe the suitors’ ghosts?

• As wolves howling at the moon
• As bats squealing in a cave
• As leaves blown by the wind
• As sheep being led to slaughter

In Book XXIV, Penelope appears at Laertes’ farm to greet Odysseus.

More than half of the Ithacan assembly refuses to join Eupeithes’ armed revolt.

In the context of the Underworld scene, what is the "meadow of asphodel"?

• A battlefield where heroes fight eternally
• The region of the Underworld where ordinary souls dwell
• The garden of the gods on Mount Olympus
• A punishment zone for the wicked

When Penelope set up a "tambour frame" to work on needlework, what was she using?

• A type of musical drum
• A circular frame for holding fabric taut during embroidery
• A wooden loom for weaving tapestries
• A display stand for finished cloth

What does "sallied forth" mean when Homer writes that they "opened the gate and sallied forth"?

• Retreated cautiously
• Made a sudden charge out from a position
• Marched in formal procession
• Surrendered peacefully