The Land of the Dead

by Mary Pope Osborne

Grades 3-7; Genre - Mythology; GRL P; AR pts. 1.0

A retelling of part of the Odyssey in which Odysseus and his fleet continue their journey and encounter giant cannibals, a beautiful witch, and the Land of the Dead.

Comprehension Questions

Chapter 1

1. What’s a vision? the act or power of seeing p.12
2. What caused Odysseus to anchor his ship away from the others? He had a bad feeling p.14
3. How did listening to his feelings save him? The other men were destroyed by the giants p.18

Chapter 2

1. What gave Odysseus’s men hope in this chapter? The gods provided a large deer for food and Odysseus spoke encouraging to them p.25

Chapter 3

1. What did Odysseus mean when he told his men to “harness their fears”? Control their fears and not panic p.29
2. Why were the men following Eurylochus so anxious and frightened? They were terrified to come upon monsters p.30
3. Describe Eurylochus’s adventure. He and his men came to a stone wall and went through the gate; they came upon wolves and lions that didn’t attack but were like pets; they came to the inner courtyard of a palace and heard a woman singing and saw her weaving at a loom in the window; she beckoned the men to come in and they all went in except for Eurylochus; she turned those men into pigs p.34

Chapter 4

1. What responsibility did Odysseus feel toward the men that were pigs? They were his men, and he knew he needed to save them p.41
2. Define courage. mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty p.43
3. Describe the strange man and how he helped Odysseus. The god Hermes; he gave Odysseus an herb and told him how to protect himself from Circe the enchantress p.43

Chapter 5

1. Why did Circe finally free Odysseus’s men? He demanded it p.53
2. What softened Circe and persuaded her to host all of Odysseus’s men? The brotherly love the men had for him and each other p.54
3. What did Odysseus decide at the end of this chapter? To linger with Circe until he and his men were strong enough to travel p.58

Chapter 6

1. Why was Odysseus unhappy with Circe’s explanation of how to get home? He needed to go see Tiresias on the land of the dead p.62
2. How did Circe assist Odysseus and his men at the end of this chapter? She filled the sails with wind and sent the boat flying over the waves p.67

Chapter 7

1. Why was Odysseus horrified to see his mother in the land of the dead? If she was there, it meant she had died p.72

Chapter 8

1. What instructions did Tiresias give to Odysseus? How to get home; they can’t touch any sheep or cattle as they come to an island, or they will perish p.76
2. Describe Odysseus’s conversation with his mother? It was sad for him; he learned of her death from a broken heart and the status of his other family members p.81

Chapter 9

1. Summarize what happens in this chapter? Odysseus allowed other spirits to drink from the trench and he saw and talked to great men of the past; then he went back to his ship and sailed for home p.83
2. Describe two spirits Odysseus saw. Agamemnon-high king of the Greek forces during the Trojan war; Achilles-bravest of all Greeks; Tantalus-a king whose great pride shared the gods; Sisyphus-a cruel king whom the gods had condemned to forever roll a huge rock uphill; Heracles-a great warrior p.83
3. Why was Odysseus grateful when he left the land of the dead? That he was still among the living p.92