Odyssey Books 21 and 22: the bow and the slaughter of the suitors - OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (The Homeric World) Exam Questions

Practise 41 exam-style questions on Odyssey Books 21 and 22: the bow and the slaughter of the suitors for OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation (The Homeric World). Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.

41 questions
1–15 marks each
Instant marking
No sign-up needed

20 questions, marked as you go

Sample questions with model answers

Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.

Question 1

1 mark

Source A: Homer, Odyssey 22. After Odysseus has revealed himself, the suitors realise that they must fight for their lives.

'Then the suitor rushed at glorious Odysseus, charging straight at him with his sharp sword drawn, to see if he could make him give way from the door. But Telemachus got in first, striking him from behind with a bronze-tipped spear between the shoulders, and drove it through his chest. He fell with a thud and struck the ground full on with his forehead.'

Name the suitor whom Telemachus kills in this passage.

Model answer

Amphinomus.

Explanation

Amphinomus was the most decent of the suitors (in earlier books he spoke against killing Telemachus and was warned by the disguised Odysseus to leave), but he stayed and shares their fate. Telemachus leaves the spear in the body, afraid that someone might strike him as he pulled it out, then runs to fetch armour from the storeroom.

Mark scheme

1 mark
Amphinomus
Accept Amphinomos. Do not accept Antinous or Eurymachus (both shot by Odysseus).

Question 2

2 marks

In Odyssey 22, the suitors' soothsayer Leodes clasps Odysseus' knees and begs for mercy, saying that he never did or said anything wicked in the palace and tried to restrain the other suitors.

Give two reasons Odysseus gives for refusing to spare him.

Model answer

Odysseus says that, as their soothsayer, Leodes must often have prayed in the palace that Odysseus' homecoming would be far off. He adds that Leodes must have prayed that Penelope would go with him and bear him children, so he will not escape death.

Explanation

Odysseus kills Leodes with a sword dropped by the suitor Agelaus, and his head rolls in the dust while he is still speaking. The killing raises questions about justice, since Homer told us in Book 21 that Leodes alone hated the suitors' reckless deeds; but he was still a suitor in Odysseus' house. By contrast, Phemius and Medon are spared.

Mark scheme

1 mark
As the suitors' soothsayer (priest) he must often have prayed in the palace that Odysseus' homecoming would be far off / that Odysseus would never return
Accept 'he prayed for Odysseus not to come home'.
1 mark
He must have prayed that Odysseus' wife (Penelope) would go with him / marry him and bear him children
Accept 'he wanted to marry Penelope himself' / 'he was one of the suitors wooing Penelope'. Do not accept 'he insulted the beggar' (not in the text).

Question 3

4 marks

Source A: Homer, Odyssey 21. Eurymachus has warmed the bow at the fire, turning it this way and that, but he cannot string it. He groans and speaks.

'Alas, I grieve for myself and for all of us. It is not so much the marriage I lament, though I am sorry for that too; there are many other Achaean women, in sea-girt Ithaca itself and in other cities. But if we fall so far short of godlike Odysseus in strength that we cannot string his bow, that is a disgrace that even men yet to be born will hear of.'

What impressions do you gain of Eurymachus in this passage? Make two points and support each with evidence from the passage.

Model answer

Eurymachus seems more concerned with his reputation than with Penelope: what upsets him is the 'disgrace that even men yet to be born will hear of'. He clearly does not love her, since he says 'It is not so much the marriage I lament' and that there are 'many other Achaean women'.

Explanation

Eurymachus' groan shows the suitors' values: they want the honour of winning Penelope and Odysseus' wealth more than Penelope herself. In heroic society, being remembered as weak was a terrible shame, which is why he worries about future generations. In Book 22 he tries to bargain for his life by blaming Antinous, then charges at Odysseus and is shot.

Mark scheme

2 marks
First impression of Eurymachus with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression, 1 mark for a relevant reference to or quotation from the passage that supports it. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
Two pairs from, e.g.: he cares more about his reputation / honour than about Penelope (1) - 'a disgrace that even men yet to be born will hear of' (1); he does not really love Penelope (1) - 'It is not so much the marriage I lament' / 'there are many other Achaean women' (1); he is self-pitying / emotional (1) - 'Alas, I grieve for myself' / he groans (1); he is weak / physically inferior to Odysseus (1) - he cannot string the bow / 'we fall so far short of godlike Odysseus in strength' (1); he is honest / realistic about the suitors' weakness (1) - he admits they fall 'far short' of Odysseus (1); he thinks of the suitors as a group / speaks for them all (1) - 'for myself and for all of us' (1). The second pair must make a different point. Points must come from the passage.
2 marks
Second, different impression of Eurymachus with supporting evidence from Source A: 1 mark for a valid impression, 1 mark for a relevant reference or quotation. The two marks are independent: award 1 for a valid point even if no evidence is given, and 1 for a relevant quotation from, reference to or close paraphrase of the source even if the point is missing, weak or wrong.
As above; must be a different impression from the first point.

Question 4

8 marks

Source A: Homer, Odyssey 22. Odysseus has revealed himself to the suitors. Eurymachus answers him.

'If you really are Odysseus of Ithaca come home, what you say is right: the Achaeans have done many reckless things in your halls and many on your farms. But the man who was to blame for everything already lies dead, Antinous. He was the one who started all this, not so much because he wanted or needed the marriage, but because he had other plans, which the son of Cronus did not let him achieve: to be king himself over the people of Ithaca, and to ambush and kill your son. Now he has been killed, as he deserved; so spare your own people. We will make amends to you afterwards from the whole land for all that has been eaten and drunk in your halls, each of us bringing the value of twenty oxen, and we will pay back bronze and gold until your heart is softened.'

To what extent are the suitors presented as deserving their deaths in Books 21 and 22? Use Source A as a starting point and your own knowledge.

Model answer

Source A is revealing. Eurymachus admits that 'the Achaeans have done many reckless things' in Odysseus' halls and on his farms, and he reveals that Antinous wanted to be king and planned 'to ambush and kill your son'. His offer of compensation, twenty oxen' worth from each suitor plus bronze and gold, is an admission of guilt; but it comes only when the suitors are trapped, and he shifts all the blame onto the dead Antinous, which makes him seem cowardly and self-serving.

The rest of Books 21 and 22 strengthens the case against them. Penelope accuses them of eating and drinking 'without end' while Odysseus is away. Antinous insults the loyal herdsmen and threatens the beggar, breaking the rules of xenia, and the suitors jeer at Eumaeus as he carries the bow. When Odysseus reveals himself, he lists their crimes: wasting his house, forcing the slave women to sleep with them and courting his wife while he was alive, with no fear of the gods. Even after Eurymachus' offer, the suitors choose to fight, and Melanthius arms them. Odysseus later tells Eurycleia that they were destroyed by the gods' fate and their own wicked deeds, and Athena's help and Zeus' thunder show divine approval.

However, not all the suitors are equally guilty. Leodes hated their reckless deeds and claims he tried to restrain them, yet he is beheaded; Amphinomus, the most decent of them, is killed too. In Homeric society compensation was an accepted way of settling wrongs, so Odysseus' refusal may seem excessive, and a modern audience may feel that death is too harsh for eating someone's food. Overall, as a group the suitors are clearly presented as deserving death for their hubris, their abuse of xenia and their plot against Telemachus, but Homer allows us some doubt about individuals such as Leodes and Amphinomus.

Explanation

The question of justice is central to Books 21 and 22. A top answer uses Eurymachus' speech (his admission, his blame of Antinous and his offer) together with a range of other evidence, considers Homeric values such as xenia and compensation, and distinguishes between guilty leaders and more sympathetic suitors before reaching a judgement. Narrative answers stay in Level 2.

Mark scheme

8 marks
Levels of response (8 marks). AO1 (4) and AO2 (4) are equally weighted.
Level 4 (7-8 marks): consistently accurate and detailed knowledge of the suitors' words and actions and of their deaths in Books 21 and 22, using both Source A and own wider knowledge; very good understanding of Homeric values (xenia, honour, revenge, compensation) and of how different audiences might judge the suitors; a well-argued response with a clear judgement on how far they deserve to die, supported by a range of well-selected evidence, including critical analysis.
Level 3 (5-6 marks): accurate knowledge, using both the source and own knowledge; a focused response with relevant analysis of the suitors' guilt and a judgement.
Level 2 (3-4 marks): sound, mostly accurate knowledge; engages with the general topic of the suitors; limited range of evidence; some analysis.
Level 1 (1-2 marks): limited knowledge, may only use the source given; isolated analysis.
0 marks: no response or no response worthy of credit.
A mainly descriptive or narrative answer with little analysis or judgement cannot go above Level 2.
Indicative content (not a checklist; credit other valid points): AO1: Source A - Eurymachus admits the suitors' many reckless deeds; blames Antinous, who wanted to be king and to ambush and kill Telemachus; offers compensation of twenty oxen each, plus bronze and gold. Own knowledge - Book 21: Penelope accuses them of eating and drinking without end; Antinous scorns the herdsmen and threatens the beggar (the Centaur story, the threat to send him to King Echetus); the suitors jeer at Eumaeus and threaten that his dogs will eat him; Eurymachus cares more for reputation than for Penelope. Book 22: Odysseus' charges - wasting his house, forcing the slave women, courting his wife while he lived, no fear of gods or men; Odysseus refuses the compensation; Eurymachus then calls on them to fight; Melanthius arms them; Agelaus threatens to kill Mentor and his family; Ctesippus had thrown an ox-hoof at the beggar; Leodes claims to have restrained them but is killed; Amphinomus, the most decent suitor, dies too; Odysseus says the gods' fate and their own wickedness destroyed them; Athena and Zeus support the revenge. AO2: for - they abused xenia, consumed another man's property for years, plotted murder and showed hubris, and the gods approve their punishment; Eurymachus' offer is self-serving and comes only when they are trapped. Against - not all are equally guilty (Leodes, Amphinomus); compensation was an accepted way of settling wrongs in Homeric society, so refusing it may seem excessive; some were young men led by Antinous; a modern audience may see death as too harsh for most of the offences. Judgement: e.g. as a group they are presented as deserving death, though Homer allows doubts about individuals.

Ready to try the rest? Every answer you write is marked against the mark scheme, so you can see exactly where the marks are.

AI Tutor Hints first, answers after you try

Hi! Stuck? Ask me for a hint and I’ll help you work it out. Once you’ve checked your answer I can explain exactly where the marks are.