Famous Men of Greece · Ch. IX, part 3 · Unit 3: The Trojan War and Ulysses

14. The Adventures of Ulysses (III): home to Ithaca

Goal: Your child can retell how Ulysses got home and how he won back his wife and kingdom.

⏱ About 30 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • A notebook or paper and colored pencils
  • The voyage map

What's in the book

Section III: Scylla and Charybdis; the crew kills Apollo's cattle and is lost in a squall. Ulysses spends seven years with Calypso, builds a raft, is shipwrecked, and is found by Nausicaa. At home, dressed as a beggar, he wins the contest of the bow and defeats the suitors.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    Find the Strait of Messina, the narrow sea between Italy and Sicily. The book says Scylla and Charybdis were there.

  2. Read the chapter together

    Read pages 102–109 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names. Read section III to the end of the chapter.

  3. Narration

    Close the book. Ask your child to tell the story back in their own words, from the beginning. Don't correct as they go; just listen. If they get stuck, use a prompt:

    - How did Ulysses choose between Scylla and Charybdis?

    - What happened when the crew ate Apollo's cattle?

    - How did Penelope keep the suitors waiting?

    - Who recognized Ulysses first when he came home?

    - What was the contest of the bow?

  4. Talk it over

    Ask:

    1. Penelope waited twenty years. What does that tell you about her?

    2. Why did Ulysses come home dressed as a beggar instead of as a king?

    3. Of all of Ulysses's adventures, which would you most like to see? Which would you least like to be in?

  5. Remember it

    She had spent years in making that shroud and even yet it was not finished,—for every night she had undone what she had woven during the day.

    Say"Between Scylla and Charybdis" means stuck between two dangers.

  6. Finish the map

    Add Scylla and Charybdis, Sicily, Calypso's island, Nausicaa's island, and Ithaca at the end. Trace the whole route with a colored pencil.

Afterwards

With the finished map, your child retells the whole voyage in order, pointing to each stop.

Tip

The suitors are all killed in the hall. The book tells it in a few lines; you can move quickly to Penelope's joy.

Answers to the book's problems

1. A steadfast, loyal and clever wife (her weaving trick). 2. To see how things were and to plan how to punish the suitors without being recognized. 3. Any answer with a reason.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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