the journey of odysseus in order

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Odysseus' Journey Timeline

This is a timeline of Odysseus' Journey From Ithaca to the Trojan War Then Back Home

by: Emilia Irovic

Leaving Ithaca to the Trojan War

There was a call to war of the Achaeans (Greeks) against the people of Troy. This war, the Trojan War, started because Paris, the Trojan prince, abducted (or eloped with) Helen, the wife of Menelaus. Menelaus convinced his brother, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, to lead an expedition to find her.

Odysseus left Ithaca and his wife, Penelope, and infant son, Telemachus, to fight in the Trojan War.

The Trojan War

Odysseus had the idea of building a large wooden horse on wheels big enough to fit a bunch of Greek soldiers to hide inside it to ambush the Trojans. The Greeks used his idea to won the war.

After the war was won, Odysseus took all his treasures and the his men (supposedly around 528 soldiers) and was headed back to Ithaca in a fleet of 12 ships.

The Journey Home

After leaving Troy, Odysseus and his men arrive at the island of the Lotus-Eaters. Odysseus sends his men out to find food and they begin to eat the Lotus Flowers. Odysseus must recover them and drag them back to the ships so they can continue their journey home.

Afterwards, Odysseus and his men land on the island of the Cicones to raid it for supplies but the Cicones retaliate and kill 72 of Odysseus' men.

While still on the island of the Cicones, Odysseus and his men come across a Cyclops' cave and is lured in by the wine and cheese. Polyphemus, the Cyclops, traps them inside the cave and kill several of Odysseus' men. Odysseus ends up blinding Polyphemus while his men sneak out under sheep and Polyphemus calls upon Poseidon, his father, to not let Odysseus to return home.

Odysseus and his remaining men come across an island floating above the sea with a steep cliff and a bronze palace on top. This island is the island of Aeolia, home of the god, Aeolus, the god of wind. Aeolus gives Odysseus all the bad winds so they can return safely home.

Odysseus' men get curious and go against his orders of not touching the bag and ends up releasing the bad winds. These winds sends them to unknown waters and they are lost at sea.

Odysseus and his men come across a race of powerful giants who's king, Antiphates, and queen decide to turn Odysseus' scouts into dinner. Odysseus and his men flee for their ships but the giants throw boulders at the ships. Only Odysseus' ship gets away.

Odysseus and his men reach the island of Circe and split into two groups. Eurylochus and his group of twenty-two men hear singing coming from Circe's house and enter her home. Circe turns the men of this group into pigs and only Eurylochus escapes to report it to Odysseus.

Still on the island of Circe, Odysseus goes off by himself and meets the god Hermes, who is disguised as a young man, who gives him a magic herb--moly--that can protect him from Circe's magic. Odysseus confronts Circe and when she uses her magic on him, it doesn't work. Circe then asks Odysseus to stay with her which makes Odysseus suspicious. Odysseus makes Circe take a solemn oath to not harm him. Circe eventually turns Odysseus' men back to normal and they stay on Circe's island for a year.

Odysseus travels to the land of the dead, guided by Circe's instructions, to seek advice of the prophet Teiresias. Teiresias tells Odysseus 3 things:

• stay away from the cattle of Helios
• make a sacrifice to Poseidon
• he will have a peaceful old age

Before leaving the Land of the Dead, Odysseus talks to many people such as famous heroes, his mom, people he fought with in the war, and Agamemnon and Achilles. Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife, gives Odysseus advice about women and Achilles tells him that life is better than death. After talking, he fears the glance of the Gorgon monster and rushes back to his ship.

After leaving the Land of the Dead, Odysseus returns to the island of Circe to retrieve his men and prepare themselves to make their way past the Sirens in which Circe had warned them about.

Odysseus puts beeswax into the ears of his men to keep them from hearing the Sirens' dangerous song, while Odysseus is tied securely to the mast so he can hear the song of the Sirens. They pass by safely and lose no one.

The next feat Odysseus and his men must overcome is getting past Scylla and Charybdis. Circe advised Odysseus to cling to the walls near Scylla and lose six of his men rather than risking his whole ship to Charybdis. She advised him to sail as quickly as possible rather than trying to fight Scylla. Odysseus is not happy about this because he would rather not lose any of his men but Circe practically tells him to "suck it up" and play it safe. Odysseus does this (without telling his men about it to avoid panic) and they get past, losing six men.

Next, Odysseus and his men comes to Thrinacia, the island of the Sun, Helios. Odysseus wants to avoid it completely but Eurylochus insists they need to stop there to rest. They are kept there for a month because of a storm and for a while they are able to survive on the provisions of the ship, but when they run out Eurylochus convinces the other men to disobey Odysseus' orders and they slaughter the cattle of Helios. Odysseus was sleeping the entire time and when Helios finds out, he has Zeus destroy their ship.

Odysseus ends up drifting on the sea without any of his men left and is brought to Ogygia, the island of Calypso. Calypso, a nymph, keeps him on her island for years and years, but all Odysseus wants is to go home. Calypso offers Odysseus eternal life, but he refuses and is still miserable. Hermes is sent to the island to help Odysseus and to convince Calypso to let him go. Calypso eventually agrees and Odysseus is able to build a boat and set off for home once again.

Poseidon, seeing Odysseus at sea again, is furious and brings a violent storm and down on Odysseus and his boat is destroyed. Odysseus drifts to the island of the Phaeacians and is found by the daughter of Alcinous and Arete, Nausicaa. Odysseus is able to talk to Alcinous and Alcinous agrees to help him get home

The Phaeacians take Odysseus home to Ithaca and on their way back, they and their ship are turned to stone by Zeus to punish them for helping Odysseus return home.

After 10 years at war, and 10 years of traveling home, Odysseus is finally home at Ithaca but before he can officially return to his household, he must kick the suitors out of his house. With Athena's help, Odysseus, disguised as an old man from Crete, is able to infiltrate his own home and participate in an shooting challenge that his wife, Penelope came up with, and re-win the hand of his wife.  

      Odysseus is finally home with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. This concludes his journey.

Greek Gods & Goddesses

Odysseus Journey Map

The Greeks celebrate their victory over Troy at the beginning of the Odyssey, forgetting that it was not their own strength that won the city, but rather the will of the gods.

In light of this neglect to give credit where it is due, Athena and Poseidon become very angry. They begged Zeus to make the Greeks suffer, and he agreed. Poseidon drowned many of their boats and made them go off-track with waves from the ocean.

However, this story is about Odysseus’ voyage in particular. He confronts not only perils set before him by fate or gods, but also common challenges that all people face such as fear, stupidity, and maliciousness of others. Here, we take a look at the Odysseus Journey Map in order. With some details about each of the locations.

• Cicones 
• Lotus Eaters 
• Cyclops 
• Island of Aeolia 
• Laestrygonians 
• Circe 

Teiresias and the Land of the Dead

• Circe  
• Sirens 
• Charybdis 
• Scylla 
• Calypso 
• Phaeacia 

The Greeks have won the Trojan War and are now journeying back to their homeland. Led by Odysseus , they could not have predicted the series of lengthy, dangerous events they would encounter along the way.

The first stop on their journey was the land of the Cicones, where they looted and pillaged to their heart’s content.

Lotus Eaters

The Lotus Eaters lived on an island where the lotus flower grew. These flowers caused anyone who ate them to forget their home and desire nothing but to stay on the island forever.

The Greeks ran into trouble when they landed on the island of the Cyclops. This one-eyed, giant creature kept the Greeks captive in his cave until they finally escaped by blinding the Cyclops.

Island of Aeolia

The next stop was the island of Aeolia, where they met the god Aeolus . He gave Odysseus a bag full of wind to help them on their journey.

Laestrygonians

The Laestrygonians were a race of giants who lived on an island and attacked the Greeks with huge boulders. Many Greek ships were destroyed and only a few men escaped.

Odysseus and his remaining men landed on the island of Circe , where they were turned into animals by the witch Circe. They were eventually turned back into humans and spent a year on the island before leaving.

Odysseus journeyed to the Land of the Dead to speak with the prophet Teiresias. The first spirit to visit Odysseus is that of the man they lost on Aeaea. This soul begs his former captain to go back and give him a burial. Next, the blind prophet Tiresias appears to him. He tells Odysseus that Poseidon is punishing the Achaeans because they blinded his son Polyphemus . Odysseus also speaks with his mother.

Upon returning to this land, Odysseus and his men partake in a burial ritual for one of their fallen comrades. Afterwards, Circe spends her last night with Odysseus.

The Sirens were creatures who sang such beautiful songs that sailors would crash their ships into the rocks just to listen. Odysseus had his men plug their ears with wax and tie him to the mast so he could hear the song without being drawn in.

Charybdis was a creature who lived under the water and would spew out a whirlpool every few days. The Greeks barely escaped her clutches.

Scylla was a creature with six heads who lived on a cliff overlooking the water. She would reach down and snatch up sailors as they passed by.

This is where they met the sun god, Helios. The Greeks angered him by eating his cattle and he punished them by causing a storm that destroyed their ship.

Odysseus was the only one who survived the storm and he washed up on the island of Calypso . She fell in love with him and held him captive for seven years.

Odysseus was finally rescued by the Phaeacians and taken back to their land. He told them the story of his journey home and they provided him with a ship to take him the rest of the way.

He finally arrived home to his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus. After twenty years, he was finally reunited with his family.

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Mythology.Guru » Myths » Europe Myths » Odysseus: Hero Of The Trojan War And The Odyssey

Odysseus: Hero Of The Trojan War And The Odyssey

We show you the story of Odysseus . A hero of Greek mythology with a great assortment of amazing and inspiring history and legends.

Table of Contents

Odysseus, the Hero

Odysseus was one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology . He plays one of the central roles in Homer’s Iliad, where the Greeks were, thanks to his ingenuity, able to defeat the Trojans and reclaim the city of Troy.

who was Odysseus?

Odysseus was a legendary hero , king of the island of Ithaca and the main protagonist of Homer’s epic , the “Odyssey” . He was the son of Laertes and Anticlea. This character was considered the most intelligent Greek hero, finding clean solutions to all problems. He was also a great warrior and a very charismatic leader who often inspired his men.

And on the other hand, he was a very faithful and loyal husband and father, as he refused immortality twice on his journey only to return home to his wife and son. No wonder he was admired and protected by Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

Appearance in works of art

In works of art, Odysseus is often depicted as a fully grown problem-solving man on one of his quests. Whether in the company of his men or alone, he is depicted on a journey from the Odyssey or in the war events of the Iliad. There is some art that depicts him returning to his wife Penelope.

History of Odysseus

Odysseus was well known among the Greeks as a very eloquent orator, a witty and cunning trickster. One of Helen’s suitors, Odysseus was forced to join the Trojan expedition, something he did not want, as he was more than happy with his wife, Penelope, and their newborn son, Telemachus, and he knew from a prophecy that if he went to Troy, it would take him a long time to return home.

So, he tried to feign madness, but Palamedes exposed him, and Odysseus had no choice but to leave. He played a crucial role during the Trojan War, both as strategist and warrior; and finally came up with the famous stratagem that decided the outcome of the bloody conflict, the Trojan Horse.

He then set sail for Ithaca, but after blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, he so enraged Poseidon that the god of the sea did all he could to obstruct Odysseus’ return voyage. After numerous memorable adventures, Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the Laestrygonians, Calypso, Odysseus finally made it to Ithaca, ten years after leaving Troy and twenty after joining the Trojan expedition.

There he was reunited with Telemachus and Penelope after killing all his wife’s suitors, he claimed his throne. He died an old man, probably accidentally killed by Telegonus, a child he had fathered with Circe during one of his many adventures.

Odysseus was the only son of Laertes of Ithaca, an ancient Argonaut, and Anticlea, the only daughter of Autolycus. Now this Autolycus, Odysseus’ grandfather, was the son of Hermes and was widely known as a thief so skilled that he could not be caught, being “able to change anything he stole into another form from white to black, or from black to white, from an animal without horns to one with horns, or from one without horns to one without horns.”

However, later authors did not seem too happy with a genealogy that made the wily Odysseus a relative of a thief only on his mother’s side, so they began to spread the rumor that his father was not Laertes, but none other than Sisyphus’ master trickster, who supposedly bargained one night with his father’s Anticlea after he finally caught Autolycus stealing his cattle.

The scar of Odysseus

Many years later, while visiting his grandfather, Odysseus joined his uncles on a wild boar hunting trip and, although he was still an inexperienced teenager, he managed to kill the boar himself, after confronting it. However, the boar hurt him, leaving a deep and recognizable scar on his leg, which will play an important role in the memorable drama of his later life.

A suitor of Helena

Odysseus was one of the suitors of Helen, stepdaughter of King Tyndareus of Sparta. However, he was undoubtedly the most reluctant among them, not only because he was reasonably certain that Menelaus would be the chosen bridegroom, but also because, as beautiful as Helen was, he was much more deeply in love with her cousin Penelope, the daughter of Tindar’s brother Icarus.

With or without Odysseus, the suitors were too many to please, and Tindarus justifiably feared an outbreak of violence, regardless of his final choice. Fortunately, Odysseus thought of an excellent solution.

In exchange for Tindarus’ help regarding Penelope’s hand, Odysseus advised him to make all the suitors swear that they would respect his final choice and support husband and wife in whatever ill fate they might both face in the future. And so, when Menelaus was chosen, all the other suitors peacefully left Sparta; except Odysseus, who remained there until Tindarus kept his part of the promise and convinced his brother to give Penelope’s hand to Odysseus in marriage.

The tactics of Palamedes

After marrying Penelope, Odysseus took her to Ithaca, where the couple lived a happy life, even more so after the birth of their only son, Telemachus. However, while the child was still a baby, Helen was kidnapped by Prince Paris of Troy. Invoking the oath of Helen’s suitors, Menelaus summoned all of them to aid him in his quest to bring her back.

Ironically since it had been he who had proposed the oath in the first place, Odysseus did not want to join the expedition; and he had a good reason for this; the seer Haliterses had informed him that if he participated, it would take him a long time to return home. So he decided to feign madness by taking advantage of a donkey and an ox to plow and sow salt in a field.

Palamedes who was the man sent to recruit Odysseus from Ithaca, did not believe the hero one bit; to test his sanity, he put Telemachus in front of the plow. Odysseus immediately changed course, thus exposing his plan. Odysseus never forgave Palamedes for this and spent many hours planning his revenge.

Myths of Odysseus during the Trojan War

It would be an understatement to say that the successful recruitment of Odysseus was a crucial event, one that would ultimately decide the outcome of the Trojan War perhaps more than any other, without Odysseus, the Greeks might never have sacked Troy.

Recruiting Achilles

In fact, his recruitment began to pay dividends even before the Greeks arrived in Troy. That is, fearing a prophecy that Achilles would either live a long and peaceful life or die gloriously as a mighty warrior, his mother Thetis decided to disguise him as a woman and hide him in the court of King Lycomedes, who ruled with the island of Scyros. Unfortunately, Odysseus learned from the prophet Calchas that the Greeks could only win the Trojan War if Achilles joined forces.

So, after learning of his whereabouts, he devised a plan to penetrate Achilles’ disguise as well. Masquerading as a peddler of women’s clothing, Odysseus placed a spear among his goods, and Achilles (then called Pyrrha) was the only one to show interest in the shiny object. Some are more inclined to tell a different story, according to which Odysseus feigned an attack on Scyros; in this case, all but Achilles fled at the sound of the battle horn.

Odysseus’ role in the Trojan War

From a discussion between Priam and Helen in Homer’ s “Iliad, ” we learn that Odysseus was shorter in the head than Agamemnon, but broader in the chest and shoulders. Physically unimpressive, “you would have thought him a rude man and nothing but a fool,” says Priam.

“But when he uttered his great voice from his chest, and the words fell like snowflakes on a winter’s day, then no mortal man could compete with Odysseus; then we do not marvel so much when we contemplate Odysseus’ appearance.” “He knows all manner of craft and cunning,” agrees Helen, this illustrious “Odysseus of many wiles.”

As might be expected, Odysseus’ primary role during the Trojan War was that of a shrewd strategist and wise counselor . He was the one most capable of keeping the morale of the Greeks at a high level, and the one who managed to prevent the bulk of the Greek army from withdrawing from the war after Agamemnon’s plan to test their resolve by allowing them a furlough had backfired.

Odysseus was also the leader of the three-man expedition sent to appease Achilles who, enraged by what he had perceived as unfair treatment by Agamemnon, decided to leave the battlefield.

However, this does not mean that Odysseus did not prove his worth as a warrior as well. Together with Diomedes, he captured and killed the Trojan spy Dolon and slew the Thracian king Rhesus during a dangerous night attack on the Trojan camp.

He also captured the Trojan seer Helenus to learn from him some conditions on which the fulfillment of the fall of Troy depended. Among them, the recruitment of Achilles’ son Neoptoleus and the wounded archer Philoctetes (in whose possession were the bow and arrows of Herakles), and Odysseus played the central role in both.

The Trojan Horse

Odysseus’ main and most memorable contribution to the successful conclusion of the Trojan War was the creation of the stratagem by which, after a decade of war, the Greeks finally succeeded in entering Troy. It was the construction of the Trojan Horse, a huge wooden sculpture inside which was hidden the hollow belly of the greatest of the famous Greek heroes.

After leaving the Horse near the Gates of Troy, the Greeks pretended to sail away; initially confused, in time, the Trojans began to believe that the war was over and that the Horse had been a divine gift; so they carried the sculpture inside the gates of their city. They spent the entire day joyfully celebrating their victory and dancing around the Horse.

However, as night fell, the Greek warriors jumped off the sculpture and opened the gates for the rest of the Greeks, who, under the disguise of night, had managed to sail back to shore. In short order, the Greeks stormed the unsuspecting, drunken and virtually defenseless Trojans, killing many of them and ultimately winning a famous and conclusive victory.

The cruelty of Odysseus

Odysseus was at times unreasonably cruel to his enemies, which is why, as much as he was adored by the Greeks, he was reviled by the Romans (who knew him as Odysseus and considered themselves descendants of Trojans).

Certainly, Odysseus’ most vicious act occurred just after the fall of Troy: fearing some sort of future retribution, he urged the death of Astyanax, Hector’s infant son. Some even say that it was Odysseus himself who killed Astyanax, possibly by throwing the boy off the walls of Troy.

Moreover, Odysseus never forgot his grudge against Palamedes. According to some authors, he forged a letter from Priam and falsely exposed him as a traitor, after which he and Diomedes stoned Palamedes to death.

Others say that the two comrades tricked Palamedes into descending into a well on the premise that there was treasure hidden inside; once Palamedes climbed down the well, Odysseus and Palamedes began throwing stones at him and finally buried him at the bottom.

Beginning of the odyssey: Journey Home

After the Trojan War , Odysseus set out on a ten-year journey to reach his home, Ithaca ; his adventures are recounted, mostly in flashbacks, in Homer’s monumental epic “Odyssey”. Chronologically, this is the order in which they happen.

The Cicones

Odysseus left Troy with twelve ships – as many as he had sailed a decade earlier. Soon after, a strong wind blows the ships off course and they end up on the southern coast of Thrace, among the Cicones, Trojan allies. In the ensuing battle, Odysseus and his crew kill every man there except a priest of Apollo named Maron.

In gratitude, the priest gives Odysseus twelve jugs of strong wine. Drunk with victory, the Greeks stay a little too long in Thrace, giving the Cicones enough time to summon the necessary reinforcements and finally prevail, overpowering Odysseus’ crew and killing six men from each of the twelve ships in the process.

The Lotus Eaters

They then landed on the island of the lotus eaters. Ulysses sent three men to explore the island before deciding what to do next. After a while, when they did not return, he followed them and discovered that they had been drugged. They had been eating lotus fruits with the natives which were narcotic and caused the men to refrain from their goal of getting home. Odysseus dragged them back to the ship against their will and tied them to the rowing benches to prevent them from escaping to the island.

One-eyed Polyphemus

Next, Odysseus’ ships reach the island of the Cyclops, a race of one-eyed giant shepherds famous for their rude and violent ways. Lured by some resources, Odysseus and twelve of his men end up trapped in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, who, after blocking the cave entrance with a giant rock, begins to eat them, two by two.

The monster manages to devour six of Odysseus’ men before the hero devises a life-saving trick. After introducing himself as Outis – that is, “Nobody” – he gives Polyphemus some of Maron’s wine and gets him so drunk that he can pierce his eye with a stake. “Nobody is killing me by fraud,” cries Polyphemus, “Nobody is killing me by force!” While not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, no one can blame the other Cyclops this time for not coming to Polyphemus’ aid.

The next morning, Odysseus and his six surviving men escape Polyphemus’ cave by hiding under the bellies of their sheep, while the Cyclops let them out to graze unsuspectingly. Before leaving the island, however, Odysseus makes the mistake of revealing his true identity to Polyphemus, who asks his father, the sea god Poseidon, to avenge him; this will have a great impact on the hero’s journey, as it will be Poseidon’s wrath that will keep Odysseus away from his beloved Ithaca for the next ten years.

Winds of Aeolus

The ships then arrive at the island of the god of winds, Aeolus, who welcomes them warmly and shelters them for a month. At the end of it, to help Odysseus on his journey, Aeolus puts all his winds except the West Wind in a leather bag and gives the bag to Odysseus.

For the next nine days, the West Wind gently steers the ships to Ithaca. However, on the tenth day, just before reaching shore, Odysseus falls asleep. Thinking it contains gold, his men steal the leather bag and open it, thus releasing all the other winds at once. The ships are violently driven back to Aeolus’ island, where, realizing that Odysseus must be cursed, the god of the winds refuses to help him again.

The Laestrygonians

Seven days later, Odysseus arrives on the island of the Laestrygonians, a tribe of bloodthirsty, carnivorous giants. Throwing huge boulders at them and spearing the drowning man like a fish, the Laestrygonians sink eleven of Odysseus’ ships and eat most of his sailors; in fact, Odysseus’ ship is the only one that manages to escape, the members of his crew being the only survivors of this gruesome adventure.

The sorceress Circe

Odysseus’ ship arrives at Eea, an island ruled by the sorceress Circe. She turns some of Odysseus’ men into pigs, but Odysseus, aided by Hermes who gives him a magic herb called moly, resists Circe’s sorcery and attacks her with his sword. Overwhelmed by Odysseus’ courage and determination, Circe falls in love with him and agrees to transform the pigs into men. After this, they remain on the island for a year, during which Odysseus becomes Circe’s lover.

Expedition to the Underworld

At the end of the year, Circe advises Odysseus to descend into Hades and seek the advice of the seer Teiresias before continuing his journey. Odysseus does so and, in the process, not only learns of some of the difficulties ahead, but also encounters many famous dead (Agamemnon, Achilles, Herakles), including the spirit of his mother, who tells him to hurry home, as his wife Penelope is surrounded by potential suitors. Back in Aea, Circe reaffirms some of these prophecies and warns Odysseus of many other dangers that await him.

First, Odysseus passes by the island of the Sirens who, as Circe tells him, enchant all who approach them through the seductive sound of their song. However, Odysseus orders his crew to fill their ears with beeswax and wedge themselves tightly against the mast, so that they can not only escape unharmed, but also hear the beautiful song of the sirens.

Scylla and Charybdis

Then Odysseus’ ship must pass through a strait; a strait situated between the whirlpool of Charybdis and the six-headed monster Scylla. Yes, but not before Scylla manages to devour six of Odysseus’ men.

The cattle of Helios

They then reach the island of Trinacia, where Odysseus, remembering the warnings of Circe and Teiresias, warns his companions that they must not eat the sacred cattle of the sun god Helios. In his absence, however, they do so, and Helios, enraged, demands that Zeus punish them, or else he would take the sun with him to the Underworld. Zeus obliges and sends a violent storm during which all Odysseus’ companions, except him, die.

The captive of Calypso

The sea takes Odysseus to the island of Ogygia, where the witch Calypso falls in love with him and keeps him captive for the next seven years. Meanwhile, Odysseus dreams of his beloved Ithaca and even the promise of immortality fails to change his mind. Finally, through the intervention of Zeus and Hermes, at the end of the seven years, Odysseus is freed.

The Phaeacians

Then he arrives at Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians (today’s island of Corfu). There, during a feast, Odysseus tells his impressive story. Happy to have had the honor of receiving such an honored guest, the Phaeacians provide Odysseus with a ship and a couple of sailors, who pilot the exhausted hero to Ithaca. After twenty years of war and wandering, Odysseus has finally returned home.

Back to Ithaca

Odysseus arrives in Ithaca late at night, sound asleep. Not wanting to disturb his sleep, the Phaeacian sailors lay him down on the shore and leave. Odysseus wakes up confused, but Athena appears to him and, after revealing to him what had happened, disguises him as an old beggar, both for his safety and so that he can better learn what had happened during his absence.

Pretending to be a Cretan returning from Troy with news of Odysseus, the disguised hero finds his way to the hut of one of his most faithful servants, the swineherd Eumaeus. Eumaeus gives him a warm welcome, while speaking in superlatives for his former master.

Meanwhile, Telemachus has sailed from Sparta and, after evading an ambush by Penelope’s suitors, lands on the coast and heads straight for the hut of Eumaeus. Odysseus makes himself known, and father and son are finally reunited, twenty years after being separated by the Trojan War and the stratagem of Palamedes.

Penelope and the suitors

Accompanied by Eumaeus, he goes to his own house. There he is ridiculed by the suitors, especially by Antinous, one of their two most prominent leaders, who even hurts him with a footstool and incites him to fight Irus, another beggar present in the palace.

Suddenly, Penelope appears and, prompted by Athena, announces that she is finally ready to remarry. Happy to hear this – since it implies that Penelope has been faithful to him all this time – Odysseus (still in disguise) has a chat with his unsuspecting wife, during which Penelope is moved to tears upon hearing some (false) news of Odysseus’ visit to Crete.

Euriclea and the secret of Odysseus

Appreciating this stranger, Penelope calls Euriclea, Odysseus’ only wet nurse, and asks her to wash the beggar’s feet. In doing so, Euriclea notices a scar on his leg and realizes the stranger’s identity. She tries to tell Penelope, but Odysseus and Athena intervene, and the secret is kept safe.

Odysseus and the test to win over Penelope

Urged on by the beggar, Penelope announces the next morning that she would marry the suitor capable of stringing her husband’s bow and then shooting an arrow through twelve shafts. None of the suitors succeeds; Odysseus, still in disguise, completes the challenge and then reveals himself; aided by his son Telemachus and Athena, he kills all the suitors and hangs twelve of the maids identified by Eurycleia as traitors.

The reunion of Odysseus and Penelope

Eurycleia notifies Penelope of the unexpected outcome of the contest, cheerfully notifying her that the stranger had been none other than Odysseus all along. Penelope does not believe her and refuses to acknowledge Odysseus’ identity even after coming down and seeing him bathed and dressed in royal attire, anything but a god among humans.

Understandably wary, Penelope asks Odysseus to move his marriage bed to another room. This hero replies that such a thing is impossible, since he had made the bed himself and knows that one of its legs is an olive tree still alive and deeply rooted in the ground. Penelope needs no further proof. she runs into her husband’s embrace and they both begin to weep for joy.

Joyful, Athena orders Eos to postpone the dawn for a few hours, so that the two spouses can fully enjoy an extended night of embraces, tears and stories, of love and pleasure.

The death of Odysseus

Not much is known about Odysseus’ later years; or, to be more precise, too many contradictory stories are told by different authors. The more romantic the state that he and Penelope lived happily ever after, the more skeptical it is that, after finding proof of his infidelity, This hero left or even killed Penelope and set out on another journey to the kingdom of Thesprotia, where he eventually married Callidice.

The most famous story of Odysseus’ death, however, concerns Telegono, the son he fathered with Circe while in Aeaea. Once Telegonus reached adulthood, he went to Ithaca to meet his father. Landing on the shore, he killed some sheep to satisfy his hunger.

Odysseus was not pleased with this act and went out to confront him. In the ensuing fight, Odysseus was mortally wounded by Telegonus’ spear with lightning poison. After discovering the identity of his victim, Telegonus took Penelope and Telemachus to Aea, where Circe made all three of them immortal. Afterwards, the two sons married each other’s mother.

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Story of Odysseus: The Brilliant Hero of Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, the name Odysseus is synonymous with bravery, cunning, and resilience. The epic story of Odysseus chronicled in Homer’s poem Odyssey , has captivated audiences for centuries. From his humble origins to his perilous adventures and triumphant return home, the life of Odysseus is a testament to the strength of the human will and the power of perseverance.

This blog post will delve into the origin, life, and death of the legendary hero Odysseus, shedding light on his remarkable exploits and the impact he left on Greek mythology.

Table of Contents

Beginning story of odysseus.

Odysseus was born on the island of Ithaca, nestled in the crystal waters of the Ionian Sea. He was the son of Laertes and Anticlea, both of noble lineage. From an early age, he displayed exceptional intelligence and a natural aptitude for leadership. It is said that even as a child, he would outsmart his playmates with clever tricks and riddles. These qualities would shape his destiny and set him on a path of extraordinary adventures. 

The Trojan War

One of the most significant events in Odysseus’ life was his participation in the Trojan War . As a skilled warrior and strategist, he played a vital role in the ten-year-long conflict. Odysseus is best remembered for devising the idea of the Trojan Horse, a wooden structure that allowed the Greek army to infiltrate the city of Troy and ultimately claim victory. His strategic brilliance and courage earned him the respect and admiration of his comrades.

The Journey Home (The Odyssey)

After the fall of Troy, Odysseus and his men embarked on an arduous journey back to Ithaca. This journey, known as the Odyssey, would last for ten long years and take him through numerous trials and tribulations. During his journey, Odysseus and his crew encounters various mythical creatures and has to overcome several challenges that tested his resolve and resourcefulness. 

• The Lotus Eaters: On his journey home, Odysseus and his men land on the island of the Lotus Eaters. Here, some of his men eat the intoxicating lotus fruit which causes them to lose all desire to return home. Odysseus forcibly retrieves them and continues their journey.
• The Cyclops Polyphemus: On another island, they encounter the Cyclops Polyphemus. The Cyclops traps them in his cave and eats several of Odysseus’s men. Odysseus blinds the Cyclops with a wooden stake and they escape while clinging to the undersides of the Cyclops’ sheep.
• The Island of Aeolus: Aeolus, the keeper of the winds presents Odysseus with a bag containing all of the winds, and he stirs up a westerly wind to guide Odysseus and his crew home. However, just as home is in sight, the men open the bag while Odysseus sleeps, thinking it contains gold. All of the winds fly out and they are swept back to Aeolus.
• Circe: On Circe’s island, Odysseus’s crew are turned into pigs after eating food laced with one of her magical potions. With the help of Hermes, Odysseus resists Circe’s magic and she agrees to change his men back to their human form.
• Song of the Sirens: Later in their journey, they have to sail past the Sirens whose enchanting song can lure sailors to their deaths. Odysseus fills the men’s ears with beeswax and has himself tied to the mast so he cannot steer the ship onto the rocks.
• Scylla and Charybdis: To return home they must navigating past Scylla (a six-headed sea monster) or Charybdis (a dangerous whirlpool), Odysseus choose to pass through Scylla because less dangerous, nevertheless he loses six men.
• The Cattle of Helios: Against advice not to, Odysseus’s crew slaughters and eats cattle sacred to sun god Helios. As punishment, Zeus sends a thunderbolt which destroys the ship and all the greek warriors except for Odysseus.

The Return to Ithaca

Eventually, after a decade of trials and tribulations, Odysseus finally returned to Ithaca. However, he found his kingdom in disarray. Suitors had overrun his palace, vying for the hand of his faithful wife, Penelope. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus devised a plan to reclaim his throne and eliminate the suitors.

With the help of his son Telemachus, the goddess Athena and a few loyal allies, Odysseus executed his plan with precision and brutality. Odysseus revealed his true identity to the suitors and engaged in a battle that resulted in their defeat. Odysseus had triumphed once again, proving himself to be a true hero, reestablishing his reign and reuniting with his beloved Penelope.

The Death of Odysseus

After reclaiming his throne, Odysseus is said to have lived a peaceful and prosperous life in Ithaca. However, his fate took a tragic turn in his later years. According to some accounts, he met an untimely death at the hands of Telegonus, his son with Circe. Mistaking Ithaca for another island, Telegonus accidentally killed his father with a poisoned spear.

Story of Odysseus, the greek hero, continues to capture our imagination with his extraordinary journey. From his cunning tactics during the Trojan War to his tenacious struggle to return home in The Odyssey, Odysseus exemplifies the qualities of a true hero, demonstrated unwavering determination and unmatched intelligence. Though his life ended tragically, his legacy lives on as a symbol of courage, resourcefulness, and the indomitable human spirit.

Story of odysseus serves as a timeless reminder that even in the face of insurmountable odds, one can overcome adversity through courage, wit, and steadfastness.

The Trojan War: The Epic Conflict in the Ancient City of Troy

Greek Mythology: Exploring the captivating Ancient Tales and Their Modern Influence

Story of Medusa: a Tragic Snake-Haired Gorgon from Greek Mythology

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Documentation

Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper (ca. 1909)

The Odyssey —an epic poem made up of 24 books—is one of the earliest works of ancient Greek literature. Together with the Iliad , it is one of two epics said to have been written by Homer, a Greek poet of quasi-mythical status. The Odyssey was probably composed around 750–700 BCE, shortly after the Iliad .

The Odyssey takes place after the end of the Trojan War, a decade-long conflict in which the “Achaean” heroes of Greece attacked and sacked the city of Troy. The poem narrates the wanderings of the Greek hero Odysseus , the “man of twists and turns,” as he journeys home to his island kingdom of Ithaca after fighting at Troy. 

Odysseus’ tale of tumultuous seas, terrifying monsters, and angry gods is interwoven with a parallel narrative set in Ithaca, in which Odysseus’ wife Penelope and his son Telemachus must fend off an army of boorish suitors vying for Penelope’s hand in marriage. 

To this day, the Odyssey is still considered one of the most important works of Western literature, exerting a significant influence on scholarship, the arts, and popular culture.

The title “ Odyssey ” (Greek Ὀδύσσεια or, more rarely, Ὀδυσσείη, translit. Odysseia or Odysseiē ) is a feminine adjective derived from Odysseus’ name. It thus means “Odyssean” or “of Odysseus.” We can imagine the hypothetical full title of the poem as being Ὀδύσσεια ποίησις ( Odysseia poiēsis ), that is, “poem of Odysseus.”

Pronunciation

We know nothing (possibly less than nothing) about Homer, the name traditionally given to the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey .

Homer and his Guide by William Adolphe Bougueraeu (1874)

A handful of ancient biographies of Homer (called “Lives”) were produced in antiquity. These made various claims about Homer, including that he was blind, that he was born on the Aegean island of Chios, that he was a wandering singer, and that he died on the island of Ios after being stumped by a riddle which some fisherman had posed to him. We have no reason, however, to believe that any of these things are true.

Today, most scholars agree that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed between 750–700 BCE, meaning that Homer must have lived around that time. But many details surrounding the authorship and composition of Homer's poems remain fuzzy. Today, most scholars agree that a careful study of the language of the poems—especially their use of repeated words or phrases called formulae—demonstrates that the Iliad and Odyssey had been composed orally before they were written down.

Finally, though scholars today continue to refer to both the Iliad and the Odyssey as “Homeric poems,” it is almost universally agreed that the two poems were not written by the same author (the Iliad is now regarded as the earlier of the two). In other words, the two “Homeric poems” were probably not by the same “Homer.” Many other poems were also attributed to Homer in antiquity (including the Homeric Hymns , the Epic Cycle , the Margites , and the Battle of Frogs and Mice ), but these are now regarded as considerably later works (and, with the exception of the Homeric Hymns , they have not survived).

Mythological Context

The Odyssey tells of Odysseus’ voyage home to his small island kingdom of Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War. [1] This war was fought between the city of Troy (also known as Ilium) on the coast of modern Turkey and the “Achaeans,” a coalition from the mainland and islands of Greece. The Achaeans had sailed to Troy to restore the beautiful Helen to her Achaean husband Menelaus , the king of Sparta, after she was carried off by the Trojan prince Paris . After ten years of fighting, the Achaeans finally penetrated Troy’s impregnable walls, using Odysseus’ cunning trick of the Trojan Horse, and burned the city to the ground.

The myth of Odysseus’ journey home, like the myth of the Trojan War, spans a period of ten years. It begins with Odysseus’ departure from the sacked city of Troy and follows him as he sails to numerous strange and exotic lands throughout the Mediterranean. Along the way, Odysseus encounters hostile populations (the Cicones, the Laestrygonians), fantastic creatures (the Cyclopes , the Sirens , Scylla and Charybdis ), and an array of gods and goddesses ( Circe , Calypso ). At one point, Odysseus even passes through the Underworld. 

Through all his wanderings, Odysseus never loses the desire to be reunited with his homeland and family. Eventually, he does reach Ithaca, though by that point he is all alone, having lost his ships and his men. But Odysseus’ trials do not end there: he must still retake his palace from the savage suitors trying to steal his wife Penelope from him. With the help of his son Telemachus, his patron goddess Athena , and several loyal servants, Odysseus finally kills the suitors and reclaims his kingdom.

While Homer’s Odyssey would remain the main source for the myth of Odysseus’ homecoming, the myth and character of Odysseus himself was developed—and continued to develop—through numerous sources. 

Odysseus is an important character in Homer’s Iliad , of course, usually thought to have been composed just before the Odyssey . The hero also appeared in other Greek epics that told of his role in the Trojan War or even his adventures after returning to Ithaca—though unfortunately, these have not survived.

Later, Odysseus was adapted and reinvented by a variety of lyric poets, tragedians, and visual artists. Euripides’ Cyclops , for example—the only satyr play from antiquity that has survived intact—is a burlesque retelling of the tale of Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus from Book 9 of the Odyssey . 

The Romans (who knew Odysseus as “Ulysses”) reimagined the cunning hero as a kind of deceitful villain. 

Significance

The Odyssey is a key example of what the Greeks called nostos (plural: nostoi ), meaning “return” or “homecoming.” There were many famous nostoi traditions in antiquity, covering the various Greek leaders who fought in the Trojan War. One epic—appropriately titled Nostoi —was even devoted to recounting all these myths. The Odyssey is thus part of a well-developed narrative tradition—and, importantly, the only example that has survived.

Odysseus was not always the sympathetic hero presented by Homer—and even for Homer, Odysseus is a very different kind of hero than the more obviously valorous Achilles . But with his famous cunning and unrivaled ability to escape even the most dire of straits, Odysseus always held an important place in the Greek imagination.

Odysseus’ journey was likely shaped in important ways by historical developments. The myth of the Trojan War itself may have been a historical memory (albeit a heavily embellished one) of a conflict that took place towards the end of the Mycenaean period, the last phase of the Greek Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1050 BCE). This memory was likely preserved as an oral tradition long before it entered written form in the Iliad , the Odyssey ,and other poems.

Mycenaean krater (mixing bowl) showing soldiers setting out for battle (12th century BCE)

Above all, the Odyssey appears to have been influenced by the increase in travel and colonization that marked the Archaic period of Greek history (ca. 800–490 BCE). Odysseus journeys to many distant and exotic lands, meeting strange people and creatures along the way—experiences that probably resonated with the poem’s early Greek audience, who were increasingly discovering other civilizations.

This increased contact no doubt led to foreign influences on the literature and mythology of the Greeks. Indeed, the Odyssey shows clear signs of Near Eastern influence. For example, Odysseus’ travels closely resemble those of the Mesoptomian hero Gilgamesh, who, like Odysseus, journeyed to the end of the world, consorted with goddesses, and visited the land of the dead.

Telemachus and the Telemachy (Books 1–4)

Book 1 of the Odyssey begins with an introduction to Odysseus and his absence. On Mount Olympus, the gods decide that it is time for Odysseus, who has been stranded for seven years on the island of the nymph Calypso, to finally return home. Athena, goddess of wisdom and Odysseus’ protector, goes to Odysseus’ palace in Ithaca, which is being overrun by unruly suitors who wish to marry Odysseus’ wife Penelope and take over the kingdom. Athena disguises herself and convinces Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, to go in search of his father.

The Sorrow of Telemachus by Angelica Kauffmann (1783)

Book 1 of the Odyssey begins with an introduction to Odysseus and a discussion of his absence. On Mount Olympus, the gods decide that it is time for Odysseus, who has been stranded for seven years on the island of the nymph Calypso, to finally return home. Athena, goddess of wisdom and Odysseus’ protector, goes to Odysseus’ palace in Ithaca, which has been overrun by unruly suitors who wish to marry his wife Penelope and take over the kingdom. Athena disguises herself and convinces Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, to go in search of his father.

Odysseus, the Phaeacis, and the Apologoi (Books 5–12)

In Book 5, we finally meet Odysseus. Zeus sends Hermes , the messenger of the gods, to order Calypso to release Odysseus. The hero builds a raft and sets sail. But Poseidon , the god of the sea and Odysseus’ enemy, spots the hero and shipwrecks him. 

Odysseus eventually washes ashore on Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, where Athena arranges for him to be found by the princess Nausicaa (Book 6). With Nausicaa’s help, Odysseus arrives at the court of Alcinous and Arete, the king and queen of the Phaeacians (Book 7).

Odysseus and Nausicaa by Valentin Serov (1910)

The Phaeacians entertain Odysseus, who does not initially reveal his identity (Book 8). Pressed by Alcinous, however, Odysseus finally tells the court who he is and begins recounting the story of his wanderings in Book 9.

Odysseus narrates his adventures after the fall of Troy, including his encounters with the Cicones, the lotus-eaters, and the terrifying Cyclops Polyphemus. He and his men manage to escape Polyphemus by blinding him in his one eye, but this earns Odysseus the hatred of Polyphemus’ father Poseidon.

Odysseus continues his story in the following books. He tells of further adventures with Aeolus (the lord of the winds), the man-eating Laestrygonians, and the sorceress Circe. Circe initially transforms several of Odysseus’ men into swine, but she eventually restores them to their original form and even grants hospitality to Odysseus and his companions (Book 10).

Attic red-figure lekythos (oil jar) showing Odysseus threatening Circe by the Nikon Painter (ca. 480–470 BCE)

In Book 11, Odysseus describes his journey to the Underworld to seek advice from the seer Tiresias. [4] While there, he meets many shades (spirits of the dead), including his warrior companions Achilles and Agamemnon and his mother Anticlea .

In Book 12, Odysseus tells of how he and his men managed to escape the Sirens and the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis. But on the holy isle of Thrinacia, his men decide to devour the cattle of the sun god Helios and are killed in a storm as punishment. Odysseus, the sole survivor, washes ashore on Ogygia, where he is kept as Calypso’s lover for several years before traveling to Scheria.

The Return (Book 13–24)

After Odysseus finishes his tale, the Phaeacians give him lavish gifts, put him on a ship, and return him to Ithaca while he is sleeping (Book 13). In Ithaca, Odysseus is greeted by Athena, who disguises him as an old beggar so that he can go into the city without being recognized by the dangerous suitors.

Still dressed as a beggar, Odysseus is entertained by his old swineherd Eumaeus in Book 14, though he continues to lie about his identity. Telemachus, meanwhile, makes his way back home, meeting the seer Theoclymenus on the way and narrowly avoiding the ambush the suitors had set for him (Book 15). Upon reaching Ithaca, Telemachus stops at Eumaeus’ hut, where he is reunited with his father after twenty years (Book 16). The two begin to plot the destruction of the suitors.

In Book 17, Odysseus and Telemachus go to the palace separately. Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, is viciously abused by the suitors (Books 17 and 18). At night, Odysseus and Telemachus hide all the palace’s weapons so the suitors cannot find them (Book 19). Odysseus speaks with his wife Penelope but does not reveal his identity to her. He is, however, recognized by his old nurse Euryclea, who is sworn to secrecy.

The next day, Odysseus and Telemachus—helped now by Eumaeus and another loyal slave, the cowherd Philoetius—continue their preparations to kill the suitors (Book 20). Penelope announces that she will marry whoever can string Odysseus’ great bow and shoot an arrow through twelve ax heads (Book 21). All the suitors try and fail. Odysseus then takes the bow and, of course, passes the test easily before slaughtering the suitors with the help of Telemachus, Eumaeus, and Philoetius (Book 22).

Odysseus Kills the Suitors by Bela Čikoš Sesija (early 20th century)

After the massacre is complete, Odysseus and Penelope are finally reunited (Book 23). The next morning (Book 24), Odysseus is also reunited with his elderly father Laertes. The angry families of the suitors prepare to attack Odysseus, but Athena swoops down to make peace.

Style and Composition

The Odyssey is generally believed to have been composed just after the Iliad , the other epic regarded as “Homeric.” Like the Iliad , the Odyssey typifies the basic conventions of early Greek epic poetry, employing dactylic hexameter and an elevated, artificial diction, which does not appear to have corresponded to any spoken dialect of ancient Greek. Stylistically, these epics are also notable for their use of elaborate speeches and similes.

Together with the Iliad , the Odyssey represents one of the earliest examples of written literature in ancient Greece; before the eighth century BCE, Greek poetry was composed and transmitted purely orally. In fact, the Odyssey (like the Iliad ) probably originated as an oral poem and retains some of the formulaic elements that distinguished such poetry. However, because it was eventually written down, the Odyssey stands out as a remarkable example of the transition from orality to literacy in ancient Greece.

Head of Odysseus from a sculptural group showing the blinding of Polyphemus (1st century CE). From the Villa of Tiberius at Sperlonga.

Though the Iliad and the Odyssey have many similarities, there are also important stylistic differences between the two epics. For instance, there are fewer extended similes in the Odyssey , as well as greater thematic “variety” ( poikilia ). Such differences may reflect gradual developments in early Greek literature, but they also lend credence to the theory—accepted by most scholars today—that the two epics were not written by the same poet.

The Odyssey explores an astonishing variety of themes, including heroism, duty, family, gender, and the relationship between gods and mortals. These themes are all filtered through the main subject of the Odyssey : the homecoming ( nostos ) of the hero Odysseus. This is announced in the very first lines:

Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered full many ways after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy. Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose mind he learned, aye, and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea, seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades. Yet even so he saved not his comrades, though he desired it sore, for through their own blind folly they perished—fools, who devoured the kine of Helios Hyperion; but he took from them the day of their returning. Of these things, goddess, daughter of Zeus, beginning where thou wilt, tell thou even unto us. [5]

The Odyssey weaves through different worlds as it follows the return journey of Odysseus, leading us to reflect on the value of human life and civilization. We encounter numerous fantastical lands and creatures in Odysseus’ narrative of his travels. These are contrasted with the “real” world of Ithaca, Pylos, and Sparta—a world that contains suffering, death, and war, but that is also defined by order and rules that must be obeyed.

Illustration of Scylla attacking Odysseus and his crew by John Flaxman (1910)

The real world, for all its flaws, is the only place where mortals like Odysseus can find happiness, community, and family. This is why Odysseus turns down Calypso when she offers to make him immortal if he will only forget Ithaca and stay with her on Ogygia (Book 5). It is also why Achilles’ shade tells Odysseus in the Underworld that

“I should choose, so I might live on earth, to serve as the hireling of another, of some portionless man whose livelihood was but small, rather than to be lord over all the dead that have perished.” [6]

In order for the civilized human world to function properly, however, certain rules must be obeyed, and the punishment for violating those rules is severe. The lawless suitors, for example, who try to steal Odysseus’ wife and property, are wiped out in the end. 

The gods, too, must be obeyed, but even they are subject to a hierarchy, with each god ruling over their own domain and Zeus ruling over all. Poseidon can do whatever he wants with Odysseus while he is at sea—even Athena cannot step in—but in the end, Poseidon must bow to the will of Zeus when he decides it is time for Odysseus to return home.

The Odyssey is also a poem about heroes and heroism, not unlike the Iliad . But Odysseus is a very different kind of hero from Achilles, the Iliad ’s protagonist. Though both are great warriors, Odysseus is more approachable than Achilles. He is, as the very first word of the Odyssey declares, a “man.” Throughout his epic, Odysseus’ chief goal is not military glory ( kleos ) but simply to go home to his family. While Achilles’ heroism lies primarily in his superiority as a fighter, Odysseus never shies away from using cunning to get his way. Odysseus also typifies the qualities of endurance and self-control far more effectively than the impulsive Achilles.

While the heroism of the Odyssey is defined by noble male figures, slaves and women also play an important role in this sprawling epic. Penelope is shown to be the intellectual equal of her famously intelligent husband, using her cunning not only against the suitors but also, in Book 23, to test Odysseus himself. Penelope is also the epic’s paragon of female virtue, though this ultimately means she is largely defined by her relationships to men (she is the wife of Odysseus, the mother of Telemachus, the daughter of Icarius, etc.). Indeed, her most notable virtue is her stalwart marital fidelity to Odysseus.

Penelope Holding the Bow of Odysseus by Robert Hartley Cromek after Henry Fuseli (1806)

Throughout the epic, Homeris often remarkably metaliterary or metapoetic; in other words, the Odyssey embeds numerous sub-narratives within the overarching frame narrative. Some of these are told by poets such as Phemius (Book 1) or Demodocus (Book 8), but the most famous internal narrative comes from Odysseus himself, whose story spans four books of the Odyssey . The Odyssey is thus a sophisticated meditation on the nature of storytelling and poetry.

The impact of Homer’s poems cannot be overestimated. The Iliad and the Odyssey have been essential to Greek cultural and religious identity practically since their inception, and they exerted a huge influence on the Romans as well. These texts became the basis for all subsequent hexameter and elegiac poetry; all ancient epics, from Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica to Virgil’s Aeneid to Nonnus’ Dionysiaca , were in some way a response to Homer. Homer was also central to the development of ancient drama, with Aeschylus reportedly describing his own tragedies as “crumbs from Homer’s feast.” Indeed, many have dubbed Homer the father of tragedy.

Already in antiquity, the Odyssey was influencing individual poems as well as whole genres (such as the Alexandrian novels, which became popular in the first century CE). The Odyssey also played a formative role in Latin literature; Livius Andronicus’ Latin translation of the Odyssey around 241 BCE is widely cited as the first true work of Latin literature. Scenes from the Odyssey were extremely popular in ancient art as well.

Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern Europe

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Iliad and the Odyssey became the heart of the Western literary and artistic canon. Numerous translations and adaptations of the Odyssey were produced during this period. In Dante Alighieri’s Inferno , for example, the narrator meets Odysseus in the eighth circle of Hell.

The Odyssey continued to influence later European literary figures, including William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Alfred Tennyson. More recently, James Joyce’s novel Ulysses (1922) reworked the narratives and themes of the Odyssey in a modern context. In 1938, the Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis published his masterful epic Odyssey: A Modern Sequel , which picks up the story of Odysseus where Homer left off.

James Joyce, photographed in Zurich by Camille Ruf (ca. 1918)

Scenes from the Odyssey have also captured the imagination of artists such as Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, William Theed the Elder, and many more.

Pop Culture

The Odyssey remains prominent in contemporary pop culture. It has inspired numerous works of literature, including novels by Margaret Atwood and Madeline Miller. It has also been adapted into films, miniseries, and TV shows, among them the 1954 film Ulysses and the 1997 miniseries The Odyssey .

Translations

There have been numerous English translations of Homer’s Odyssey , many of them dating back hundreds of years. The following is a selected chronological list of important and useful translations:

Pope, Alexander, trans. The Odyssey of Homer . London: Bowyer, 1725: A fluid translation of the Odyssey in rhyming couplets. Still popular today, though known to contain many artistic liberties and inaccuracies.

Butler, Samuel, trans. The Iliad of Homer . London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1900: An old prose translation of the Odyssey , still widely known and used today.

Murray, A. T., trans. Homer: Odyssey . 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library 104–5. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919: An old-fashioned, literal translation. Useful, but not the most readable. Revised by George E. Dimock and reprinted in 1995.

Rieu, E. V., trans. Homer: The Odyssey . London: Penguin, 1946: Prose translation; somewhat formal and dated.

Fitzgerald, Robert, trans. The Odyssey . New York: Doubleday, 1961: An elegant literary translation in blank verse. Popular, but with some creative liberties. Reprinted by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 1998.

Lattimore, Richmond, trans. The Odyssey of Homer . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965: Verse translation in a meter very close to Homer’s original dactylic hexameter. Still highly regarded and very true to the original. Reprinted in 2002.

Fagles, Robert, trans. Homer: Odyssey . New York: Viking, 1996: Very modern, readable, and fast-paced verse translation. Popular with general readers and undergraduates.

Hammond, Martin, trans. Homer: The Odyssey . London: Duckworth, 2000: Clear, accurate prose translation.

Lombardo, Stanley, trans. The Odyssey .Hackett Classics. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000: Accurate and accessible verse translation.

Merrill, Rodney, trans. Homer: The Odyssey . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002: Musical translation written in dactylic hexameter, the same verse employed in the original.

Powell, Barry, trans. Homer: The Odyssey . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014: Accurate verse translation, though regarded as somewhat prosaic at times.

Wilson, Emily, trans. Homer: The Odyssey . New York: Norton, 2017: Well-received verse translation. The first translation of the Odyssey completed by a woman.

Green, Peter, trans. The Odyssey . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2018: Lively, often colloquial translation that remains accurate to the original.

Timeline: The Odyssey

An interactive website for The Odyssey , written by Homer .

• After the Trojan war, Odysseus and his men set sail from Troy.
• They plunder the Cicones but are routed by reinforcements.
• On the island of the lotus eaters , some men eat the food of the enchanting inhabitants and loose all hope of home.
• On the Island of the Cyclops, Odysseus's curiosity causes him trouble: he and twelve others are imprisoned by the cannibal Polyphemus . They blind him in order to escape.
• At Aeolia, the wind king Aeolus offers to help Odysseus. He bags up all the winds and places them on Odysseus's ship. But Odysseus's foolish crew open the bag, thinking it is treasure. The winds become a storm and blow the ships back to the island. Aeolus is angry at their irresponsibility and sends them away.
• They arrive at an island inhabited by cannibals who destroy all of the ships except for Odysseus's.
• Next they land on Aeaea, where the enchantress Circe lives. She turns some of the men into pigs. Later, she restores them and sends Odysseus on a lone quest to the Land of the Dead.
• In the Land of the Dead, Odysseus sees his mother who died while waiting for him to return home. Next, A blind prophet named Teiresias gives Odysseus a warning and a promise: Odysseus will arrive home, but all the other men will die.
• Odysseus and his men return to Aeaea. Circe warns him of three perils that await him: the Sirens, Scylla , and Charybdis . They set sail and manage to avoid the danger.
• After their adventures, they arrive at the island of Helios . Eventually, the crew get discouraged and kill the holy cattle for food. Zeus kills all the crew except for Odysseus.
• Odysseus arrives at Calypso's island where he is held captive for seven years.
• At Athena's urging, the gods on Mount Olympus decide it is time for Calypso to free Odysseus.
• Telemachus sets sail to find information about his father. Nestor tells Telemachus that he should ask King Menelaus about his father. King Menelaus tells Telemachus that Odysseus is being held by Calypso .
• Calypso releases Odysseus, and he builds a raft and sets sail.
• Poseidon , who holds a grudge against Odysseus, destroys the raft in a storm. Odysseus washes up on an island.
• A young girl named Nausicaä finds Odysseus and leads him to the city. Athena appears to Odysseus and leads him to the palace of Alcinous.
• The king invites Odysseus to the feast if he will entertain them for a while. The next day, the king holds a party for Odysseus. They play games and a minstrel sings for Odysseus. Odysseus tells his tale in the courts. Afterward, King Alcinous gives him passage to Ithaca . Athena disguises him as an old beggar.
• Odysseus travels to the hut of his old swineherd, Eumaeus. Eumaeus doesn't recognize Odysseus because of the disguise, but he politely entertains Odysseus.
• Athena appears to Telemachus and advises him to return to his home.
• Telemachus meets his father.
• Telemachus, followed by Odysseus, travels to the palace. There, Odysseus is first recognized by his faithful hunting dog, Argos.
• Another beggar from the local town arrives and tries to drive Odysseus out.
• Still disguised as a beggar, Odysseus tells Penelope that he met Odysseus in his travels. The nurse recognizes Odysseus by his scar, but Odysseus quickly tells her not to tell Penelope.
• Odysseus is nervous about his upcoming task. Athena reassures him that the suitors will die.
• Penelope creates a test to prevent the suitors from marrying her: they must string Odysseus's huge bow—a task that only he can do. All the others fail, but Odysseus is successful. The suitors still ignore the beggar.
• Odysseus defeats the suitors.
• Penelope finally recognizes Odysseus as her husband.
• Odysseus visits his father, king Laertes , but the relatives of the suitors have gathered to revenge. Laertes kills the leader, but Athena interrupts them before anything else can happen. She commands them to end the violence.

Bibliography

Oxford University Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World

A map of Odysseus’s journey

The Odyssey

Odysseus--soldier, sailor, trickster, and everyman--is one of the most recognizable characters in world literature. His arduous, ten-year journey home after the Trojan War, the subject of Homer's Odyssey , is the most accessible tale to survive from ancient Greece, and its impact is still felt today across many different cultures.

• June 26 th 2014

Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey is a classic adventure filled with shipwrecks, feuds, obstacles, mythical creatures, and divine interventions. But how to visualize the thrilling voyage?

The map below traces Odysseus’s travel as recounted to the Phaeacians near the end of his wandering across the Mediterranean. Odysseus’s ten-year trek began in Asia Minor at the fallen city of Troy (the green marker) following the end of the Trojan War. His ultimate destination: his home in Ithaca (the red marker). Click the markers for information on each step of his journey. It is important to note that the 14 locations plotted on this map have been widely debated by both ancient and modern scholars.

Barry Powell, translator of a new edition of The Odyssey , asserts that the currently agreed upon location of the Island of the Sun (#11) is in fact modern-day Sicily. However, the characters in The Odyssey are in “never-never land,” and consequently, the locations plotted cannot be deemed entirely accurate.

Headline image credit: Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse, 1891. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons .

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His new free verse translation of The Odyssey was published by Oxford University Press in 2014. His translation of The Iliad was published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

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Recent Comments

There is NO ‘republic of Macedonia! There’s only a so-called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). Please amend your map. You of all to make such mistake?! It’s disgraceful.

Well, your work is an excellent one and enjoyed it. However, I would like to point out that your map has a huge mistake.Does not exist a state named “Republic of Macedonia”, it is FYROM. So if you want to be accepted by Greeks “Hellines”, you have to correct that name at once. FYROM did not exist at the times of Odysseus, they appeared in that territory many-many centuries later from the NE Slaves.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The map above was created using Mapbox, which sources its geography from Open Street Map. All countries and locations named on the underlying map are modern. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is commonly referred to as ‘Republic of Macedonia’ in English for brevity (as ‘Italy’ instead of ‘Italian Republic’). This is reflected in the Open Street Map data and is not the direct work of the authors or editors.

Alice Northover OUPblog Editor

Thank you of your reply. In any case any official organization must not accept to participate to the propaganda game of Scopia.Their real old name was and is “Vardaska”. So we, Hellines, will never accept to play their game.In any case, if they want to belong to the Hellenic recent history, they have to ask their union with Hellenic state. Regarding “brevity” this is another of their games…..

Since you are interested of Greek/Hellenic history, please see/read new articles regarding recent discovery at ancient Amphipolis of Macedonia.This is the real history and not the constructed one.

Please do not seek in the Mediterranean!

Homeros was not a fanciful poet.

I say: explorations for Homeros should also be in the Netherlands, where in the ever sinking delta formerly was situated the land Phtia, twice a day inundated by the sea. Clay soils it had, with coarse clods, and the king was married to a sea goddess. Maps have recently been reconstructed.

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Odyssey ">An Interactive Map of Odysseus’ 10-Year Journey in Homer’s Odyssey

in Literature , Maps | December 16th, 2013 14 Comments

The Odyssey , one of Home­r’s two great epics, nar­rates Odysseus’ long, strange trip home after the Tro­jan war . Dur­ing their ten-year jour­ney, Odysseus and his men had to over­come divine and nat­ur­al forces, from bat­ter­ing storms and winds to dif­fi­cult encoun­ters with the Cyclops Polyphe­mus, the can­ni­bal­is­tic Laestry­gones, the witch-god­dess Circe and the rest. And they took a most cir­cuitous route, bounc­ing all over the Mediter­ranean, mov­ing first down to Crete and Tunisia. Next over to Sici­ly, then off toward Spain, and back to Greece again.

If you’re look­ing for an easy way to visu­al­ize all of the twists and turns in  The Odyssey, then we’d rec­om­mend spend­ing some time with the  inter­ac­tive map cre­at­ed by Gisèle Moun­z­er .  “Odysseus’ Jour­ney”  breaks down Odysseus’ voy­age into 14 key scenes and locates them on a mod­ern map designed by Esri, a com­pa­ny that cre­ates GIS map­ping soft­ware.

Mean­while, if you’re inter­est­ed in the whole con­cept of ancient trav­el, I’d sug­gest revis­it­ing one of our pre­vi­ous posts:  Play Cae­sar: Trav­el Ancient Rome with Stanford’s Inter­ac­tive Map . It tells you all about  ORBIS , a geospa­tial net­work mod­el, that lets you sim­u­late jour­neys in Ancient Roman. You pick the points of ori­gin and des­ti­na­tion for a trip, and ORBIS will recon­struct the dura­tion and finan­cial cost of mak­ing the ancient jour­ney. Pret­ty cool stuff.

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Relat­ed Con­tent:

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by OC | Permalink | Comments (14) |

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Comments (14), 14 comments so far.

Pret­ty pic­tures, “inter­ac­tive,” but no indi­ca­tion of the sources of the local­iza­tions or method. A great exam­ple of the vapid­i­ty of inter­net tech­nol­o­gy when used aim­less­ly. For a the­o­rized and researched approach to the wan­der­ings of Odysseus, see the site “In the Wake of Odysseus” by J. Burgess

This is a good map I tried screen­shot­ing for my project but it did­n’t let me.

Works ter­ri­bly on my tablet, but then, so does this site.

This map con­tains an impor­tant omission:nOdysseusu2019s near return to Ithaca.nn In Bookn10 of The Odyssey Odysseus and his men, car­ry­ing the leather sack in which Aeo­lus had con­fined the winds and car­ried by a fair wind from the west,come with­in sight of Itha­ca. “u201cFor nine days we sailed, night and day alike, and now on the tenth our native land came in sight, and lo, we were so near that we saw men tend­ing the bea­con fires. (28 ff. Trans­la­tion A.T. Murray).Then, of course, Odysseus falls asleep and his men open the sack allow­ing the winds to escape and blow them all the way back to the city of Aeo­lus. That they had come so close to home in space and end up so far from it not only in space but in time has always struck me as one of the most poignant episodes in the poem. This map includes no indi­ca­tion what­so­ev­er of that part of the jour­ney. (Peter D. Grudin)

It should be remarked that this is just one of many pos­si­ble spa­tial inter­pre­ta­tions of Odysseus’ trip.

Ako se oslan­jamo na Home­rovu Odis­e­ju onda ova teori­ja ne odgo­vara. Primer Kik­lopo­va peći­na na Sicil­i­ji je toloiko mala da taj događaj nije mogao da se odigra.Odisej je plovio Okean Rekom tj . Jad­ra­nom čija ostr­va i danas ima­ju stare Grčke nazive. U Grapčevoj peći­ni na Hvaru pron­ađen je isti broj ljuskih kos­tu­ra koliko je Polifem pojeo Odis­e­je­vih lju­di. Topon­i­mi vetro­vi položaj zvez­da i daljine se u pot­punos­ti pok­la­pa­ju sa Jad­ran­skim morem.

I think some of these local­iza­tions here are real­ly far-fetched.

i had to do this for my school and it isnt inter­ac­tive and i can­not find Ogy­gia or anythig like that. please fix this so oth­ers who come to this site arent dis­ap­point­ed like i am

I think that the map is a great resource for teach­ing, and maybe that is its aim or objec­tive. Of course, I am now inter­est­ed in the ref­er­ence giv­en: ” In the wake of Odysseus” but nev­er­the­less, is impor­tant to inter­act with this places and to see them in a map and to make stu­dents know where the action took place. All is per­fectible, I con­grat­u­late the effort tak­en by the author Gise­le Moun­z­er. The map is not only use­ful but beau­ti­ful.

Homer is quite clear in the num­ber of days Odysseus trav­els, the wind direc­tion and the type of craft he is using. As a sea­far­er one can put all this togeth­er and do a pas­sage plan of his jour­neys, as I have done in my book ‘The Odysseus Code’. For exam­ple, the dis­tance Odysseus trav­els between Ogy­gia and the land of the Phaea­cians makes it impos­si­ble for Scheria to be Cor­fu or even for Ogy­gia to be with­in the Mediter­ranean. He sails from Ogy­gia for 17 days non-stop (i.e. 408 hours)in an east­er­ly direc­tion. At less than 2.5 nau­ti­cal miles per hour he would not have had steer­age way on such a heavy craft — work it out! Homer even tells us what type of craft it was as we have a detailed descrip­tion of its con­struc­tion. But this way of tack­ling the ques­tion is ignored by aca­d­e­mics who insist on plac­ing all the jour­neys with­in the Mediter­ranean Sea because they relate the sto­ry to the Greeks of the Bronze Age where­as Homer is incor­po­rat­ing the myths and leg­ends of the more ancient and more nau­ti­cal­ly capa­ble Phoeni­cians and Minoans whose skills were large­ly lost after the upheaval of the Thera vol­cano around 1500 BC.

Too many mis­takes.

did not even work

did not even work boi

How does one map where a float­ing island (i.e. Aeo­lia) was?

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• Old World Gods

Greek Mythology Odysseus: The Epic Journey of the Brave Hero

In Greek mythology , Odysseus, also known as Ulisses, is a prominent character and the hero of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. He was the king of Ithaca, known for his bravery, intelligence, and leadership.

Odysseus played a crucial role in the Trojan War and embarked on a journey filled with trials and adventures. Upon his return to Ithaca, he faced challenges at home but ultimately reclaimed his kingdom.

Odysseus’ story has become synonymous with epic journeys and courage.

The journey of Odysseus is filled with encounters with mythical creatures and tests of his strength and wit. From his confrontation with the Cyclops Polyphemus to navigating the treacherous Scylla and Charybdis , Odysseus overcame countless perils.

Back in Ithaca, he had to confront the suitors who invaded his home and prove his rightful place as the ruler. With the help of his son and the goddess Athena , Odysseus emerged victorious.

Sources and References: Various Greek texts, including Homer’s Odyssey, and scholarly books on Greek mythology .

Content of this Article

The Story of Odysseus in Greek Mythology

The story of Odysseus, the brave hero of the Trojan War, is a tale filled with adventure, resilience, and the triumph of the human spirit. From his valiant efforts in battle to his enduring love for his wife Penelope, Odysseus is a captivating figure in Greek mythology .

Let’s explore the different aspects of his story:

Odysseus: The Brave Hero of the Trojan War

Odysseus, also known as Ulisses, was renowned for his leadership, bravery, and tactical genius in the Trojan War. His clever strategies, such as the iconic wooden horse, played a pivotal role in the Greek victory over the Trojans.

Odysseus’s unwavering determination and unwavering loyalty to his comrades made him a true hero.

Odysseus’ Wife: Penelope’s Faithful Love

Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, exemplifies faithful love and resilience. During her husband’s long absence, she cleverly avoided the persistent suitors who sought her hand in marriage. Penelope’s undying loyalty to Odysseus and her unwavering hope of his return make her a symbol of devotion and steadfastness.

Odysseus and Circe : The Enchanting Sorceress

Download for FREE here our best selection of Images of the Mythology Gods and Goddesses!

Odysseus’s encounter with the sorceress Circe is a fascinating part of his journey. Circe , with her magical powers, lured Odysseus and his men to her island. However, Odysseus’s wit and cunning allowed him to outsmart Circe and secure his crew’s release from her enchantments.

This encounter highlights Odysseus’s ability to navigate treacherous situations using his intelligence.

Odysseus’ Son: Telémachus’ Journey to Manhood

Telémachus, Odysseus’s son, embarked on a transformative journey to seek information about his father’s fate. With the guidance of Athena , the goddess of wisdom, Telémachus traveled from island to island, encountering various challenges and learning important lessons.

His courageous pursuit of the truth showcases his growth from a young man to a capable and determined individual.

Throughout the story of Odysseus, his strength, intellect, and perseverance shine as he faces formidable obstacles and longs for his homeland.

The tale of his odyssey continues to captivate audiences, offering a timeless exploration of heroism and the human spirit.

The Journey of Odysseus

The Journey of Odysseus is a legendary tale filled with trials, adventures, and notable encounters. Throughout his arduous journey, Odysseus faced numerous struggles and triumphed over them with his wits and courage.

Trials and Adventures: Odysseus’ Struggles and Triumphs

Odysseus encountered a series of trials and adventures on his way back to Ithaca. From facing the seductive Lotus-Eaters to the perilous challenges posed by the Cyclops Polyphemus , each obstacle tested Odysseus’ resolve and resourcefulness.

His ability to outwit and strategize against formidable foes allowed him to overcome these challenges and continue his journey homeward.

Encounter with the Lotus-Eaters and Other Perils

One of the notable encounters in Odysseus’ journey was with the Lotus-Eaters, a group that tempted his crew with their addictive fruit, causing them to forget their mission. With his determination, Odysseus managed to rescue his men and move on to face other perils, such as the temptations of the enchantress Circe and the treacherous Sirens . Through his cleverness and steadfastness, Odysseus navigated through these dangers and forged ahead on his quest.

Confrontation with the Cyclops Polyphemus

One of the most famous episodes in Odysseus’ journey was his confrontation with Polyphemus , the Cyclops . In order to escape the clutches of the one-eyed giant, Odysseus devised a cunning plan.

By blinding Polyphemus , he managed to free himself and his companions, leaving the enraged monster helplessly searching for revenge. This triumph showcased Odysseus’ strategic thinking and bravery in the face of immense danger.

Navigating Scylla and Charybdis

As Odysseus sailed through treacherous waters, he encountered the dual perils of Scylla , a six-headed monster, and Charybdis, a deadly whirlpool. He had to make a difficult choice between risking the lives of his crew by sailing closer to Scylla or facing the threat of being devoured by Charybdis’ whirlpool.

Despite the inevitable loss, Odysseus made the strategic decision to navigate through Scylla ’s path, prioritizing the safety of his men. This moment exemplified his leadership and sacrifice for the greater good.

Odysseus’ journey was a test of his character and resilience. Each trial and encounter showcased his ability to navigate through adversity using his intelligence, bravery, and determination. The fascinating and epic tale of Odysseus’ journey continues to captivate audiences even in the present day, as his story remains an enduring symbol of heroic perseverance.

Return to Ithaca

After nearly a decade of trials and adventures, Odysseus embarked on his long-awaited journey back to his homeland of Ithaca. However, his return was not without its challenges.

Challenges at Home: Odysseus’ Battle Against the Suitors

Upon arriving in Ithaca, Odysseus discovered that his palace had been invaded by numerous suitors vying for his wife Penelope’s hand in marriage.

These suitors displayed disrespect and arrogance, consuming Odysseus’ resources and mistreating his loyal servants.

Odysseus, with the guidance of his son Telemachus, devised a plan to reclaim his kingdom. He disguised himself as a beggar and entered his own palace, observing the suitors’ behavior and testing their loyalty.

After proving his strength and skill, Odysseus engaged in a fierce battle against the suitors, ultimately emerging victorious.

Reunion with Penelope: True Love Prevails

Throughout his absence, Penelope remained faithful to Odysseus, resisting the suitors’ advances with unwavering devotion. When Odysseus revealed his true identity to Penelope, their reunion was filled with joy, relief, and love.

Their enduring love and trust served as a testament to the power of fidelity and the deep connection between Odysseus and Penelope.

Restoration of Odysseus’ Kingdom: Victory and Justice

Having vanquished the suitors, Odysseus set out to restore order and establish justice in Ithaca. He purged the palace of disloyal servants and punished those who had conspired against him and his family.

To solidify his authority, Odysseus revealed himself to the people of Ithaca as their rightful king. His reign brought prosperity, peace, and stability to the land he fought so hard to reclaim.

Odysseus in Greek and Roman Mythology

Odysseus, the legendary hero of Greek mythology , played a significant role in the Iliad and the Trojan War. His cunning tactics and strategic mind were instrumental in the Greek victory over Troy.

As depicted by Homer, Odysseus showcased his bravery and leadership skills in various military engagements, earning him a reputation as a formidable warrior.

Role of Odysseus in the Iliad and the Trojan War

In the Iliad, Odysseus emerged as a key figure among the Greek forces during the Trojan War.

Known for his diplomatic skills and eloquence, he played a vital role in several critical events, including the assembly of the Greek army, the reconciliation between Achilles and Agamemnon , and the strategic deployment of soldiers.

Odysseus’ clever plans and insightful advice contributed greatly to the final Greek victory.

Comparison of the Original Epic and the Odyssey

The Odyssey, a separate epic poem attributed to Homer, focuses specifically on the post-war journey of Odysseus. This remarkable narrative showcases his challenges and adventures as he attempts to return to his homeland, Ithaca.

Contrasting with the war-oriented Iliad, the Odyssey delves into the personal trials and transformations of Odysseus, highlighting his resilience, intelligence, and quest for self-discovery.

Influence of Odysseus in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture

Odysseus’ legend extends beyond the confines of Greek mythology .

His character had a profound impact on both ancient Greek and Roman cultures, serving as a symbol of courage, cunning, and the pursuit of journey and knowledge. Artists, poets, and writers drew inspiration from Odysseus, depicting him in various works of literature, art, and sculpture.

His name and story have become synonymous with bravery and resourcefulness throughout history.

Sources and References

When exploring the rich world of Greek mythology and the captivating story of Odysseus, it is important to refer to various reliable sources and references. These sources provide valuable insights and interpretations of the epic journey and heroic exploits of Odysseus.

1. Homer’s Odyssey : The primary and most influential source is the epic poem itself, written by the legendary poet Homer. It details the trials and tribulations faced by Odysseus during his ten-year journey back to Ithaca from Troy.

2. Ancient Greek Literature: Numerous ancient Greek texts, such as the works of Hesiod, Pausanias, and Apollodorus, provide additional information about Odysseus’ adventures, genealogy, and interactions with other mythical characters.

Ancient Art and Sculptures: The artwork and sculptures of ancient Greece offer visual representations of Odysseus and his renowned exploits, showcasing his cunning tactics and bravery on various vases, murals, and statues.

4. Classical Commentaries: Works by ancient scholars and philosophers, including Plutarch, Strabo, and Aristotle, offer valuable commentary and analysis regarding the character of Odysseus and the symbolic meaning behind his adventures.

5. Modern Interpretations: Contemporary literary works, critical essays, and academic research provide new perspectives and interpretations of the epic journey of Odysseus, shedding light on different themes and psychological aspects that relate to his character.

6. Archaeological Discoveries: Archaeological excavations in ancient Greek sites, such as Troy, Ithaca, and Mycenae, have unearthed artifacts and structures that provide tangible evidence and a deeper understanding of the historical context surrounding Odysseus and the world in which he lived.

7. Scholarly Books and Journals: Academic publications by experts in the field of Greek mythology and ancient literature provide comprehensive analysis, in-depth research, and scholarly discussions about Odysseus, his journey, and his significance within the larger context of Greek mythology .

By consulting these sources and references, we can delve into the fascinating world of Odysseus and gain a more comprehensive understanding of his adventures, his role in Greek mythology , and the enduring legacy he has left behind.

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One hell of a sailor

Odysseus , a legendary hero and an ingenious man...

After his catalytic contribution to the Trojan War , with his inspiration of the Trojan Horse , a wooden structure which the Greeks used to infiltrate Troy, and a sample of our hero's strategic intelligence, the Trojan War comes to an end.

Odysseus begins his journey back to his homeland along with his comrades.

Tragically, after many adventures and losses, he is the only one who manages to return back to his homeland, Ithaca .

During his long voyage, Odysseus ' bravery and intelligence is proven many times over. But... was it bad luck that Odysseus ' unfortunate wandering lasted ten whole years, or was there a reason for this?

But... was Odysseus so unlucky after all, or there was a reason for this unfortunate wandering that lasted ten whole years?

THE ARDUOUS JOURNEY HOME

After the end of the Trojan war , Odysseus , like everyone else, began his long journey home, to the island of Ithaca. And yet, everyone managed to return to their loved ones except Odysseus who wandered for ten whole years through seas and countries far away from home, enduring many hardships until finally reaching Ithaca .

Starting from Troy , Odysseus had 12 ships at his disposal in which his comrades fought, and fell. This was of course no accident, seeing as the Gods of Olympus were very angry for the burning of their temples in Troy by the Greeks.

So, they sent their way strong and wild winds so as to punish them for their hubris by making their journey back home impossible.

The Cicones

When Odysseus ’s ships were sailing in the Aegean, the gods sent wild winds to push them north into the land of the Cicones .

There, Odysseus and his men attack and fight some of the native Cicones , snatching animals and wine, and sitting by the beach to eat and drink. But when Odysseus tells his men that it is time to leave, they refuse, as the food is too good and the wine too sweet.

Shortly, all the Cicones gather and attack them together, killing many while the others quickly boarded the ships and left in a wild storm. Evidently, the lack of prudence and sobriety had cost many good men their very lives…

The lotus eaters

During their journey the strong winds blowing north pushed the ships away, in Africa . And so, Odysseus and his men arrived in the land of the Lotus Eaters .

Once ashore Odysseus sent three of his warriors to see what kind of people lived in this country. There, his men met the Lotus Eaters who offered them persimmons to eat, later revealed to be enchanted fruit!

Because of this enchantment, the men soon forgot their homeland and refused to leave the country of the Lotus Eaters.

Odysseus went to find them and took them back by force, immediately ordering the ships to sail.

According to Homer , it would seem to be quite a tragedy for someone to forget the place from which they came as well as their destination…

Polyphemus the Cyclops

Odysseus was known for being quick-witted even in the face of adversity.

After traveling for many days, the wind pushed their ships to the island of the Cyclops (Sicily).

After disembarking they went out and discovered a mighty cave close to the beach. Inside, they found milk, cheese, lambs and goats to eat.

But then Cyclops Polyphemus , son of Poseidon , who had only one eye, returned to his cave and discovered Odysseus and his men.

He shut the door of the cave with a huge rock and ate some of the men, saving the rest for later. The next day Odysseus offered Polyphemus  sweet wine (the famous red wine, " Mavroudi " that is cultivated in several parts of Greece such as in Kea island ).

Nobody, is my name , he replied, and Polyphemus answered "You, Nobody, I will eat you last".

Then the Cyclop continued to drink until finally he fell asleep.

Odysseus then grabbed a branch and nailed it into the eye of Polyphemus. The Cyclop jumped up screaming and shouting for help.

The other Cyclops ran to his cave, "What happened, Polyphemus?", they asked. " Nobody blinded me !" answered Polyphemus .

"As nobody has blinded you, why are you shouting?" they wondered, and quickly left, making no sense of the Cyclop's words.

The next morning, blind Polyphemus opened the door of the cave and stood at the exit with his arms outstretched waiting to catch Odysseus and his men. But Odysseus, ingenious as he was, had tied his men under the bellies of the largest rams and he himself hung from the hair of the largest animal.

The Cyclop was stroking the rams' backs as they came out of the cave, and did not realize that there were people underneath.

When everyone was safely out of the cave, they ran to the ships and went away.

Island of Aeolus

Then they arrived to the island of Aeolus , the God of the winds . Aeolus welcomed them and hosted them for about a month.

When it was time for them to leave, the God Aeolus blessed Odysseus' journey with a favorable wind and handed him a sac where all the unfavorable ones were confined, so he could return immediately to Ithaca .

However, as they were approaching Ithaca , Odysseus' men opened the bag, causing a storm that destroyed 11 ships and swept away Odysseus to the island of Laestrygones .

Modern-day Greeks use the expression "opening the sac of Aeolus" to describe adverse situations with uncontrollable consequences (similar to the expression "opening a can of worms").

Fleeing the Laestrygonians

In the island of Laestrygonians Odysseus and his men were unwelcome.

As our hero and his comrades were approaching the harbor, the Laestrygonians , these wild and tall giants ran up against them, screaming and throwing boulders on the ships.

The rocks broke and sank the ships and the wild Laestrygonians ate all the men who were close. Only Odysseus' ship survived. He and his men quickly left the land of the wild Laestrygones.

The Sorceress Circe

The Greek hero and his men were driven to the island of Circe by the wind.

Odysseus then asked some of his men to go and ask where they were. The men soon found Circe ’s luxurious palace. Upon their arrival, the immortal sorceress offered them to feast and drink, unbeknownst to them that her goods would magically turn them into pigs , punishing them for their greedy appetite.

Only one of them managed to escape and went back to inform Odysseus. Without hesitation, he grabbed his sword and entered Circe 's palace, being immune to her magic with the help of god Hermes .

Amazed, Circe quickly became fond of Odysseus who eventually forced her to turn his comrades back to humans again.

They stayed in the island of Circe for a long time. When they decided to leave, Circe advised Odysseus to go to underworld and meet prophet Tiresias who would tell him how to get to Ithaca safely.

The Journey to the Underworld

Odysseus and his men arrived to underworld , a place no one ever dared trespass.

After a while the prophet Tiresias came to meet Odysseus and he asked the prophet what he has to do in order to get back home.

Tiresius said to him: "Poseidon hates you, because you blinded Cyclops Polyphemus, his son.

However, take care not to disturb the oxen of the Sun god, when you go to his island, and you will arrive at Ithaca one day".

The island of Sirens

Leaving underworld, Odysseus and his men were drawn to the island of Sirens .

Τhese zoomorphic creatures would enchant sailors with their sweet song and when they approach, they would eat them.

Fortunately, Circe had advised Odysseus to wax his men's ears so as to drown out the sirens' songs , and the men managed to escape the Sirens' call.

Scylla and Charybdis

They then approached the Strait of Scylla and Charybdis , the mythological sea monsters who made sailing through the strait almost impossible.

From one side of the narrow waterway, Charybdis would create whirlpools that would sink the ships, while on the other side, Skylla , curled up in her cave, would stretch out her six terrible heads, and eat the sailors.

"Caught between Scylla and Charybdis" as the proverb goes, Odysseus decided to pass by Charybdis , sacrificing some of his men instead of risking sinking his ship, this way choosing the lesser of two evils.

The cattle of Helios

After many nights at sea, Odysseus and his remaining comrades arrived to the island of the Sun god .

Remembering prophet Tiresias ' advice to stay clear of the oxen of the Sun god , Odysseus begged his men to leave the island. But they were very tired and did not accept.

When they ran out of food, they fasted for a few days. One day, however, when Odysseus was asleep, they slaughtered some oxen and roasted them. When Odysseus woke up it was too late.

Leaving the island of the Sun , Zeus (the father of all gods) sent them a wild storm. An asteroid hit the ship and shattered it. Everyone drowned. Only Odysseus escaped.

Holding onto a board, he spent ten whole nights in the sea until finally being taken to the island of nymph Calypso.

The immortal nymph Calypso took worn-out Odysseus to her cave and took care of him but would not let him go --keeping him prisoner for seven whole years, and dreaming to make him her immortal husband.

Finally, goddess Athena felt sorry for him and begged her father, Zeus , to help him.

Zeus sent Hermes (the messenger god) to Calypso and ordered her to let Odysseus go.

Our hero was once again on his way back home.

Back in Ithaca

After ten years of hardship , Odysseus finally arrives to Ithaca .

Once there, the goddess Athena approached him and informed him that his palace was filled with many suitors who wished to marry his wife, Penelope . Only she was waiting patiently for him to return.

Odysseus then entered his palace, seeing all the suitors eating and drinking. Meanwhile, Athena put it in Penelope's mind to bring the bow of Odysseus , his arrows and twelve axes, which had a hole at the top.

Penelope ordered for the axes to be set in order, and made an announcement:

“Listen, Suitors! Whoever manages  to bend the string of this bow and throw an arrow, which will pass through the holes of the twelve axes, he will become my husband".

Eager, all the suitors, one after the other, began to try, but no one was able to stretch the string. Odysseus then asked to be tested as well.

He grabbed the bow, bent the string and threw an arrow, which passed like lightning through the holes of all the axes.

The moment Penelope realizes the winner is in fact her long-lost husband is undoubtedly one of the best part of the Odyssey .

Lessons from The Odyssey: Perseverance, Strategy, and Collaboration

The epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is one of the most enduring works of literature in the Western canon.

It tells the story of Odysseus, a hero who embarks on a perilous journey home after the Trojan War.

Along the way, he faces numerous challenges, overcomes incredible odds, and learns valuable lessons that are still relevant today.

In particular, we can learn from his perseverance in the face of adversity, his strategic thinking in overcoming obstacles, and his collaborative approach to working with others.

These three lessons - perseverance , strategy , and collaboration - are essential for anyone seeking to navigate the challenges of life and achieve their goals.

1. The value of patience and perseverance in difficult times.

The first lesson we can learn from the adventures of Odysseus is the value of patience and perseverance in difficult times.

Throughout his journey, Odysseus faced many obstacles and challenges, but he never gave up .

Instead, he remained patient , determined , and focused on his ultimate goal of returning home to his family.

His unwavering commitment to his mission serves as a powerful reminder that even in the face of adversity, we must stay strong and resilient, and have faith that we can overcome any challenge.

2. The importance of strategy and wisdom in facing challenges

Throughout his journey, Odysseus encountered many challenges that he could not overcome through strength alone.

Instead, he relied on his strategic thinking and wisdom to outsmart his enemies and overcome the obstacles in his path.

This highlights the importance of having a well-thought-out plan , being adaptable , and using one's intelligence and knowledge to navigate difficult situations.

3. The importance of collaboration, communication, and listening to others

Throughout his journey, Odysseus learned the value of working together with others, communicating effectively , and listening to their perspectives .

This helped him to build alliances, gain new knowledge and insights, and ultimately, achieve his goals.

This highlights the importance of collaboration, empathy, and understanding in achieving success, and shows us that by working together and valuing the contributions of others, we can accomplish great things.

The moral of the story is simple: Have faith and keep on going .

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Odyssey — Calypso and Circe in Homers Odyssey

Calypso and Circe in Homers Odyssey

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Published: Jun 13, 2024

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