The Odyssey quotes, explained for kids
The Odyssey is nearly 3,000 years old, and some of its lines are still among the most famous in the world: the call to the Muse, “rosy-fingered Dawn,” and the trick name that fools the Cyclops. These ten lines come from Samuel Butler’s 1900 prose translation, so they sound a little old-fashioned. Read one aloud, explain any strange words, and ask your child what Odysseus is thinking. They make great starting points for talking about cleverness, patience and home.
Every line is quoted word for word from the original ancient Greek poem by Homer.
Quote 1: “Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.”
Homer (the storyteller), these are the very first words of the poem What it means: The storyteller asks the Muse, a goddess of stories, to help him tell about a very clever hero who wandered for years after a great war.
Ask your child: If you could ask for help telling any story, what story would you tell?
Quote 2: “Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared”
Narrator, this is how the poem often begins a new day, starting with Telemachus getting up early What it means: The pink light of sunrise looks like fingers stretching across the sky. Homer imagines morning as a goddess named Dawn.
Ask your child: What colors do you see in the sky at sunrise or sunset?
Quote 3: “we could see her working on her great web all day long, but at night she would unpick the stitches again by torchlight.”
Antinous, a rude suitor complains about the trick Penelope played to avoid marrying any of them What it means: Penelope promised to choose a husband when her weaving was done, so every night she secretly undid it. That way it was never finished, and she could keep waiting for Odysseus.
Ask your child: Why do you think Penelope chose a trick instead of just saying no?
Quote 4: “there is nothing better in this world than that man and wife should be of one mind in a house.”
Odysseus, shipwrecked and alone, Odysseus thanks the kind princess Nausicaa, who has helped him What it means: Odysseus wishes her a happy family one day. He says the best thing is when people at home agree and work together.
Ask your child: What makes your home a happy place?
Quote 5: “there is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents”
Odysseus, odysseus explains why he refused to stay with the goddesses who wanted to keep him What it means: Even a magical home is not as good as your real home. Odysseus would rather go back to his own people than live in luxury far away.
Ask your child: What would you miss most if you were far from home?
Quote 6: “my name is Noman; this is what my father and mother and my friends have always called me.”
Odysseus, trapped in the cave of the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, Odysseus gives him a made-up name What it means: “Noman” sounds like “no man,” or nobody. Odysseus is setting up a clever trick for later.
Ask your child: Why might a pretend name be useful in a tricky situation?
Quote 7: “Noman is killing me by fraud; no man is killing me by force.”
Polyphemus, the hurt giant shouts for help to the other Cyclopes outside his cave What it means: The other giants hear “no man is hurting me,” so they think nothing is wrong and go away. Odysseus’s name trick has worked.
Ask your child: Can you think of another story where a clever trick beats someone much bigger?
Quote 8: “stop your men’s ears with wax that none of them may hear”
Circe, the enchantress Circe warns Odysseus about the Sirens, whose song lures sailors to their doom What it means: Circe tells him to plug his sailors’ ears so they cannot hear the dangerous song. Odysseus wants to hear it himself, so he has himself tied to the mast.
Ask your child: Why do you think Odysseus still wanted to hear the Sirens?
Quote 9: “he dropped his ears and wagged his tail, but he could not get close up to his master.”
Narrator, odysseus comes home in disguise, and his old dog Argos is lying in the yard What it means: After twenty years, the faithful old dog still knows his master, even though nobody else does. He is too old and weak to run to him.
Ask your child: How do you think a pet knows the people who love it?
Quote 10: “it is a marvellous curiosity which I made with my very own hands.”
Odysseus, penelope tests the stranger who says he is her husband by talking about their bed What it means: Odysseus built their bed around a living olive tree, so it cannot be moved. Only the real Odysseus would know that secret.
Ask your child: What secret could your family use to prove who you are?
Questions about The Odyssey quotes
- What is the first line of The Odyssey?
- In Samuel Butler’s translation it begins, “Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.” Other translations word it differently, but all start by calling on the Muse.
- What does “rosy-fingered Dawn” mean?
- It describes sunrise, when pink streaks of light spread across the sky like fingers. Homer uses the phrase again and again to start a new day.
- What name does Odysseus give the Cyclops?
- He says his name is “Noman” in Butler’s translation, often written “Nobody” or “No-one” in others. When the blinded giant shouts that Noman is hurting him, his neighbors think nobody is.
- Why does Butler’s Odyssey say Ulysses instead of Odysseus?
- Butler used the Roman names for many characters, so Odysseus is Ulysses and Athena is Minerva. Most modern retellings, including ours, use the Greek names.