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★The year at a glancesix topics, one per half-term, following the narrative in orderPDFOdyssey Scheme of WorkThe full course plan: the six topics, the 37-lesson spine with learning intentions and success criteria, character arcs, the three specification strands, synoptic essay themes and the scholars to weave in.
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★Michaelmas · First Half · Lessons 1–8the foundations — xenia, nostos, kleos and the gods, all planted at onceReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 1Bk 2Book 1 — Athene Visits TelemachusThe council of the gods, Athene as Mentes in Ithaca, and the suitors devouring the hall.Bk 3Book 2 — The Debate in IthacaTelemachus calls the assembly, is defied by the suitors, and sails in secret.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Bk 4Book 3 — Telemachus at PylosNestor's welcome and sacrifice — xenia done properly, and the first news of the returns.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Book 4 — Sparta: Menelaus and HelenHelen's entrance and her drug, the rival Troy stories, and Proteus on Odysseus.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Reading guides — what happens, book by book★Bk 1Reading the TelemachyThe world of the poem, Homer, the twenty-year gap, Odysseus’ journey, how the poem is put together, and the cast.Bk 2Book 1 — Trouble at HomeScene by scene, with quotations from the workbook and the characters you meet.Bk 3Book 2 — Taking a StandThe assembly, the web trick, the eagle omen and the night departure.Bk 4Book 3 — PylosNestor’s welcome, his stories of the returns, and Athene revealed.Book 4 — SpartaMenelaus and Helen, the two Troy stories, Proteus, and the suitors’ ambush plot.Lesson spine — revision pages12Xenia — the guest–host code Books 1, 3–4The code governing host and guest, and why it drives the poem. Read the suitors feasting in the hall, and Nestor's welcome at Pylos.3Nostos — the homecoming Book 1The poem's goal and organising idea: what Odysseus seeks, what blocks him, and how a good return differs from a failed one.4Kleos & timē — fame and honour Proem, Book 1The values a Homeric hero lives by, and how the wish for fame shapes a character's choices.5The gods, fate and responsibility Book 1Athene, Zeus and Poseidon, and the Orestes paradigm in Zeus' opening speech — where the justice thread is planted.6Mētis — cunning intelligence Proem, Book 1Odysseus' defining quality set against biē (force) — ‘the man of many turns’, and Athene disguised as Mentes.7Disguise and recognition Books 1, 4The mechanism that drives the poem: the token, the dramatic irony, and Telemachus known by his likeness.8Storytelling, bards and oral style Book 1Formulae, epithets and the internal bard — Phemius singing the returns, and Penelope's response.✎Women in society — Helen Book 4How the poem first represents women and their power, and the female thread that Topics 2, 3 and 5 develop.Exam skills — the 10-mark questionWhat the passage question asks, the five-point AO1/AO2 structure, and a worked sample from Book 1.▣Seeded: everything — this is where the mains are established, so nothing circles back yet.Teaching note: Only Book 1 is prescribed. Weight the close reading on Book 1, but do the concept-teaching here so the mains are live from the start.LiveTopic Tester 1Knowledge check on Books 1–4 before moving on — 180 multiple-choice questions and 80 explain questions, book by book, with your confidence tracked question by question.
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★Michaelmas · Second Half · Lessons 9–14endurance, suppliancy and the ideal hostReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 5Bk 6Book 5 — Calypso and the RaftHermes' errand, the parting from Calypso, the storm, and the swim ashore.Bk 7Book 6 — NausicaaThe naked stranger on the shore, and the supplication that opens Scheria to him.Bk 8Book 7 — The Palace of AlcinousThe gardens, the hearth, the supplication of Arete — the model household.Book 8 — The Phaeacian GamesThe games, Demodocus' songs, and the hero weeping at his own fame.Lesson spine9Endurance and self-control Book 5Tlêmosynê as the Odyssean virtue — the raft, the storm and the swim ashore, against Iliadic heroism.10The supernatural and the fabulous Book 5The place of the fantastic world in the poem, and what it tests in the hero: Calypso's island and Hermes' errand.11Xenia revisited — the Phaeacian ideal Book 7Alcinous and Arete measured against the Topic 1 code: the model host, the palace, the supplication at the hearth.12Suppliancy and the outsider Books 6–7Supplication as a social-religious act — Nausicaa on the shore, Arete at the hearth, and the suppliant's protection.13Women revisited — Calypso, Nausicaa, Arete Books 5–7Three female figures read side by side, with Helen as foil: power against propriety.14Kleos revisited — the hero hears his fame Book 8Demodocus sings Odysseus, and Odysseus weeps at his own story — the proem's promise delivered.Revisited: xenia (the Phaeacian ideal) · women (Calypso, Nausicaa, Arete) · kleos (Demodocus) · storytelling · disguise and the withheld name.Teaching note: All four books are prescribed — the core close-study term. Let xenia and ‘women’ recur against Topic 1.▣Topic Tester 2Knowledge check on Books 5–8 before moving on.
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★Lent · First Half · Lessons 15–21the apologoi — cunning, appetite, leadership and the deadReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 9Bk 10Book 9 — The CyclopsCicones, Lotus-eaters and Polyphemus — mêtis showcased, xenia inverted, the curse earned.Bk 11Book 10 — CirceThe bag of winds, the Laestrygonians, and Circe's drugs and counsel.Bk 12Book 11 — The Book of the DeadThe Nekyia — Elpenor, Teiresias' prophecy, Anticleia, and Agamemnon's fatal homecoming.Book 12 — Scylla and CharybdisThe Sirens, the strait, and the cattle of the Sun that doom the crew.Lesson spine15The Cyclops — mêtis showcased, xenia inverted Book 9Cunning defeats force; the anti-host set against the Phaeacian ideal. The cave, ‘Nobody’, the blinding, the curse.16Temptation and appetite Books 9–12How appetite threatens the nostos: the Lotus-eaters, Circe's drugs, and the cattle of the Sun — crew against captain.17Leadership and the crew Books 9–12Odysseus evaluated as a leader of men: the bag of winds, Scylla, and his share of the blame.18Death and the afterlife — the Nekyia Book 11The Homeric view of death: Elpenor, Teiresias, Anticleia, and Achilles' verdict on kleos.19Prophecy and omens — Teiresias Book 11The prophecy that steers expectation and tension — the cattle warning, and what awaits at home.20Nostos revisited — Agamemnon's return Book 11The fatal homecoming as the dark mirror, and the Clytemnestra foil planted for Topic 6.21Women revisited — Circe and Clytemnestra Books 10–11The witch-helper and the murderous wife — two foils for Penelope.Revisited: mêtis and xenia (the Cyclops) · nostos (Agamemnon) · women (Circe, Clytemnestra) · the supernatural at its peak · Odysseus as first-person narrator.Teaching note: All four prescribed and full of set-pieces — the richest term for extracts.▣Topic Tester 3Knowledge check on Books 9–12 before moving on.
- ✎ Essay Checkpoint 130-mark essay · the gods or hospitality · Books 1–8
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★Lent · Second Half · Lessons 22–26disguise, deception and the sorting of the householdReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 13Bk 14Book 13 — Odysseus Lands in IthacaThe Phaeacian ship, the first Cretan lie, and Athene's beggar-disguise.Bk 15Book 14 — In Eumaeus' HutThe poor but perfect host — the humble feast, the Cretan lie, and Eumaeus' own story.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Bk 16Book 15 — Telemachus ReturnsThe escape from the ambush, Theoclymenus, and the two strands drawing together.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Book 16 — Father and SonThe reunion and mutual recognition, and the plotting of the reckoning.Lesson spine22Disguise and recognition — the disguise begins Books 13, 16The sustained beggar-disguise, and the first recognition of the homecoming: father and son.23Deception and the Cretan lies Books 13–14The lying tales as testing and self-protection — why and to whom he lies, and how the lies connect to mêtis.24Loyalty, betrayal and slavery Book 14How the household is sorted, loyal against faithless — and what the poem says about enslaved people.25Xenia from below — Eumaeus Book 14The poor but perfect host, set against the Phaeacians and the Cyclops: the humble feast.26Fathers and sons; the generations Book 16Odysseus and Telemachus (and later Laertes) — the reunion, and Telemachus as ally.Revisited: disguise and recognition · xenia from below (Eumaeus) · nostos reached but not yet secured · storytelling turned weapon.Teaching note: Close study on 13 and 16; use 14–15 for loyalty and for the two-strand structure.▣Topic Tester 4Knowledge check on Books 13–16 before moving on.
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★Summer · First Half · Lessons 27–32 · all revisitsa revisit term — every thread of the year brought into the hallReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 17Bk 18Book 17 — Odysseus Goes to the TownArgus on the dung-heap, and Antinous' footstool — xenia at its nadir.Bk 19Book 18 — The Beggar in the PalaceThe fight with Irus, Penelope before the suitors, and Melantho's insolence.Bk 20Book 19 — Eurycleia and the ScarThe interview with the queen, the dream of the geese, the bow decided, and the scar.Book 20 — Prelude to the Crisis‘Endure, my heart’ · the omens gather and Theoclymenus sees blood on the walls.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Lesson spine27Xenia at its nadir — the suitors abuse the beggar Books 17–18The worst hosts in the poem: Antinous and the footstool, the Irus fight, the mockery. The case for punishment is now complete.28Endurance — ‘endure, my heart’ Book 20The peak of the Book 5 quality under maximum provocation: Odysseus awake, restraining his anger.29Disguise and recognition — the scar Book 19The footwashing and Eurycleia's recognition — another link in the token chain, and Auerbach's set text.30Women — Penelope's cunning Books 18–19Her testing and homophrosyne, with Helen and Clytemnestra as foils: the interview, the dream of the geese, the bow decided.31Loyalty and betrayal — the servants Books 17–20Eurycleia and Philoetius against Melanthius and Melantho — and Argus on the dung-heap.32Prophecy and omens — Theoclymenus Book 20Portents readying the reckoning, and tension at its height: the vision of blood at the feast.Nothing new: Topic 5 is a revisit term. The circle-backs above are the work of the half-term.Teaching note: Books 17–19 prescribed, 20 for context. A strong place to build AO2 with scholarship.▣Topic Tester 5Knowledge check on Books 17–20 before moving on.
- ✎ Essay Checkpoint 230-mark essay · Odysseus as leader or disguise and testing · Books 9–20
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★Summer · Second Half · Lessons 33–37justice, revenge and the restoration of orderReading workbooks — annotated text, one per bookBk 21Bk 22Book 21 — The Great BowThe contest, the suitors' failure, and the stringing that names the beggar.Bk 23Book 22 — The Battle in the HallThe slaughter of the suitors, the punishment of the disloyal, and the purification.Bk 24Book 23 — Odysseus and PenelopePenelope's last test, the secret of the immovable bed, and the reunion.Book 24 — The Feud is EndedThe second Nekyia, Laertes, and the peace imposed by the gods — and the authenticity debate.Unprescribed — summary knowledge to support essays; never examined in context questions.Lesson spine33Recognition — the bow Book 21The bow as identity-token: the contest, the suitors' failure, and the stringing only Odysseus can manage.34Justice and revenge — the reckoning Book 22The justice of the suitors' punishment argued both ways, and linked back to the Book 1 principle and divine sanction.35Recognition — the bed-test Book 23Penelope's cunning matches his: the secret of the immovable bed, and the reunion.36Order restored; closure Books 23–24How the poem resolves, whether it ends in the right place, and the Book 24 authenticity debate.37Women — Penelope answers Clytemnestra Book 24Her fame vindicated in the second Nekyia — the foil resolved.Revisited: recognition completed (bow, bed, trees) · xenia vindicated · nostos completed against Agamemnon one last time · Penelope against Clytemnestra.Teaching note: Books 21–23 prescribed, 24 for context. Draw the year's threads together for revision.▣Topic Tester 6Knowledge check on Books 21–24 before moving on.