20 marker introduction

• Other languages
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

What do you need to think about/include when answering a 20 marker?

‘Odysseus is never made to feel welcome on his travels’. To what extent do you agree that Odysseus is shown poor hospitality (xenia) in Books 5-12 of the Odyssey? You may use the passage as a starting point, and should justify your responses.

Which band do you think the answer in Example 1 is in for AO1?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Which band do you think the answer in Example 1 is in for AO2?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Which band do you think the answer in Example 2 is in for AO1?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Which band do you think the answer in Example 2 is in for AO2?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Which band do you think the answer in Example 3 is in for AO1?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Which band do you think the answer in Example 3 is in for AO2?

Band 1

Band 2

Band 3

Band 4

Band 5

Homer, Odyssey 9. 105 – 135 (translated E. V. Rieu)

‘So we left that country and sailed with heavy hearts. And we came to the land of the Cyclopes, a fierce, lawless people who never lift a hand to plant or plough but just leave everything to the immortal gods. All the crops they require spring up unsown and untilled, wheat and barley and vines with generous clusters that swell with the rain from heaven to yield wine. The Cyclopes have no assemblies for the making of laws, nor any established legal codes, but live in hollow caverns in the mountain heights, where each man is lawgiver to his own children and women, and nobody has the slightest interest in what his neighbours decide.

    ‘Not very far from the harbour of the Cyclopes’ country, and not so very near either, there lies a luxuriant island, covered with woods, which is the home of innumerable goats. The goats are wild, for the footsteps of men never disturb them, nor do hunters visit the island, forcing their way through forests and ranging over mountain tops. Used neither for grazing nor for ploughing, it lies ever unsown and untilled; and this land where no man goes supports only bleating goats. The Cyclopes have nothing like our ships with their crimson prows; they have no shipwrights to build merchantmen that could give them the means of sailing across the sea to visit foreign towns and people, as other nations do. Such craftsmen would have turned the island into a fine colony for the Cyclopes.

     ‘It is by no means a poor country, but capable of yielding any crop in due season. Along the shore of the grey sea there are lush water-meadows where the grapes would never fail; and there is land level enough for the plough, where they could count on cutting a tall-standing crop at every harvest because the subsoil is exceedingly rich.’

5

10

15

3 Lines 8 – 19 (‘… there lies ... exceedingly rich.’): how does Homer convey Odysseus’ enthusiastic appreciation for the uninhabited island at which he and his men are about to arrive? Use references to the passage to support your answer. [10]

4* What impression does Homer give of the Cyclopes in this passage? In what ways are they different from the other people and monsters that Odysseus encounters on his journey in Books 9 – 12? You may use this passage as a starting point, and should justify your response. [20]

‘So we left that country and sailed with heavy hearts. And we came to the land of the Cyclopes, a fierce, lawless people who never lift a hand to plant or plough but just leave everything to the immortal gods. All the crops they require spring up unsown and untilled, wheat and barley and vines with generous clusters that swell with the rain from heaven to yield wine. The Cyclopes have no assemblies for the making of laws, nor any established legal codes, but live in hollow caverns in the mountain heights, where each man is lawgiver to his own children and women, and nobody has the slightest interest in what his neighbours decide.

    ‘Not very far from the harbour of the Cyclopes’ country, and not so very near either, there lies a luxuriant island, covered with woods, which is the home of innumerable goats. The goats are wild, for the footsteps of men never disturb them, nor do hunters visit the island, forcing their way through forests and ranging over mountain tops. Used neither for grazing nor for ploughing, it lies ever unsown and untilled; and this land where no man goes supports only bleating goats. The Cyclopes have nothing like our ships with their crimson prows; they have no shipwrights to build merchantmen that could give them the means of sailing across the sea to visit foreign towns and people, as other nations do. Such craftsmen would have turned the island into a fine colony for the Cyclopes.

     ‘It is by no means a poor country, but capable of yielding any crop in due season. Along the shore of the grey sea there are lush water-meadows where the grapes would never fail; and there is land level enough for the plough, where they could count on cutting a tall-standing crop at every harvest because the subsoil is exceedingly rich.’ 

What impression does Homer give of the Cyclopes in this passage? In what ways are they different from the other people and monsters that Odysseus encounters on his journey in Books 9 – 12? You may use this passage as a starting point, and should justify your response. [20]

Homer, Odyssey 9. 105 – 135 (translated E. V. Rieu)

What points/evidence might you include for this answer?

Do you understand what is required for a good answer a 20 mark question on the Odyssey?

😒🙁😐🙂😃