Student+Notes-Circe

**Questions**

 * 1) Summarize (5-8 sentences) what happens in this part of Odysseus's journey. Odysseus and his men land on an island after Aeolus gave Odysseus the bag of winds. His men are hungry and decide to go hunting for game on this strange island. After a few hours only one of the men return carrying with him a story about how a godess in a stone building has turned the men into animals. The men see a pig and because they are starving they start chasing the pig. The man that had returned started yelling, "Stop that is one of my brothers! It is not just a pig!" Most of the men ignore him and keep chasing the pig but Odysseus stops the men from chasing the pig and he asks the man where the stone house is. When he starts the walk to the stone house he meets Hermes who tells him to eat a certian type of grass so that the sorceress in side could not do anything to him and when her spell failed he should put his sword to her throat and demand his men back or else he would kill her. She turned his men back into humans and then asked if he would like to take her to bed. Of course Odysseus does and he thinks he is only at her house for 5 days but she tells him it has really been 5 years. He runs out to his boat and sees that his boat is burried in a lot of rocks and dirt. then he runs back to the house and threatens her to tell him how to get back home. She tells him he will have to go to Hades and ask a man how the best way to get home was. His men helped him dig the boat out and then they all left the island.
 * 2) What is revealed (positive characteristics) about Odysseus during this episode? It shows that he will let go of his pride and trust Hermes even though it makes him less then the gods.
 * 3) What is revealed (negative characteristics) about Odysseus during this episode? It shows that he cheated on his wife.
 * 4) How is Odysseus's **//heroic flaw//** developed or diminished during this episode? His heroic flaw is slightly deminished because he let go of his pride and ate the grass.
 * 5) Describe in one paragraph (5-8 sentences) the stage of the hero's journey known as **//The Woman as Temptress//**. Circe makes Odysseus go to bed with her and since she is a woman he is attracted to her and is tempted to stay longer. Of course he stays longer and he doesn't end up getting out of bed. She is tempting him enough that he stays even though he is free to go. He threatend her for his men but then he stayed anyway. She tempted him so he stayed even though he had no wish to before she tempted him. The Woman as Temptress really just distracts the hero from his journey.
 * 6) How do the events of this episode with **//Circe//** fit this stage of the hero's journey? (Think of how Odysseus's //affair// with Circe reaffirms his desire to be reunited with his wife.) He starts missing his wife because being with Circe reminds him of being with a wife.