The prescribed books from the Odyssey are: 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12.

The topics are:

• Odysseus as a hero

• the role and characterisation of Odysseus, Calypso, Nausicaa, Alcinous, Arete, Polyphemus, the Cyclopes, Circe and Athene

• the presentation of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis

• the role of the gods

• the role of women (to include Calypso and Circe as well as the mortal women)

• Xenia (the guest–host relationship) in the Odyssey

• civilisation and barbarism

• Homer’s narrative and descriptive techniques

• Homer as a story-teller and the idea of epic.

Extracts on the exam paper are from: Homer, The Odyssey, translated by E.V. Rieu, revised by D.C.H. Rieu, published by Penguin, 1991 (2003), ISBN-10 0-14044-911-6.