The Odyssey Book Club Questions
Ten discussion questions for Homer’s The Odyssey (750 BC) - written for groups who have finished the book and want an argument, not a summary. Full spoilers ahead. The first six are anchored to this novel’s specific turns; the last four keep the room talking when the wine runs low.
The Odyssey book club questions · readeasy.app/book-club-questions/the-odyssey/
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1. Odysseus lies fluently and constantly, even to family. Is his cunning the same thing as his wisdom — or its opposite?
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2. Penelope's weaving buys years. Is she the epic's real strategist?
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3. The crew kills the cattle of the Sun after every warning. Why does Homer let them doom themselves so deliberately?
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4. Odysseus taunts Polyphemus and names himself — costing him a decade. What does the poem say about pride?
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5. The suitors are executed en masse; the maids are hanged. Where does the epic's justice feel least just to you?
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6. Telemachus grows up in the poem's first four books. Is this his story as much as his father's?
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7. Which single decision in The Odyssey, made differently, changes everything — and would the book be better or worse for it?
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8. Where in The Odyssey did you stop trusting the narrator — or realize you never should have started?
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9. What does The Odyssey assume about its reader? Do you fit the assumption?
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10. Casting the adaptation of The Odyssey: who plays the protagonist, and who steals the film?
How to run the meeting
Don’t go in order. Open with whichever question matches your group’s mood - a quiet room starts with a character question, a lively one starts with an argument about the ending. Let one question run until it genuinely dies, then jump. Two rules keep it alive: every claim gets pointed at the text (someone will have the book on their phone), and “I hated it” counts as an opinion that must be defended like any other.
The Odyssey runs about 134,000 words - roughly 560 pages - so a month between meetings is comfortable at 30 minutes a day; the full session math is on the reading time page. For a quicker take on who actually finished it, open the meeting with the The Odyssey quiz - scores settle grudges faster than discussion. The book’s famous quotes make good meeting-openers too, and if the group wants a next pick built like this one, the books like The Odyssey list is the handout.
Taking the club through the whole author? Our Homer books in order guide orders the full shelf.
Ground rules that save meetings
Three habits keep a club alive past the first bottle. First, the person who picked the book opens the discussion - they owe the group one sentence on why they chose it, which is usually the strongest prompt of the night. Second, silence is allowed to sit for a full ten seconds; the second answer is always better than the first. Third, end on the next pick while everyone is still arguing, because momentum is the only renewable fuel a book club has. The questions above are written to survive all three rules.
More book club question sets
Moby-Dick questions, Don Quixote questions, Alice in Wonderland questions, The Count of Monte Cristo questions - or grab questions for all 133 classics. For the end-of-season meeting, the mixed-classics book quiz settles who read the most.
Frequently asked questions
What are good The Odyssey book club questions?
The ten above. The first six dig into the book’s specific turns and choices; the last four keep a meeting moving when talk stalls.
Do the Odyssey discussion questions contain spoilers?
Yes - assume full spoilers. They are written for a group where everyone has finished the book.
How long does a meeting need?
Ten questions is roughly a 60-90 minute meeting if the group actually talks. Pick five for a shorter session and let the best argument run long.
Should we read the book again before discussing?
Most groups don’t. The questions reference the book’s big, memorable moments precisely so a single past read is enough to argue from.