Did you know that Odysseus would have been home in a week if he hadn't angered the gods?
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Homer's epic poem the "Odyssey." Don't forget, the easiest way to support us is by giving this
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The "Odyssey" is the second epic poem following the "Iliad" attributed to the ancient Greek poet
Homer. A poem both epic in length, since it sits at over 12,000 lines and in content, with the hero
Odysseus facing numerous monsters, goddesses and even a trip to the Underworld in his travels home.
The "Odyssey" tells the story of a heroic past as does the "Iliad," set during the
Mycenean Period of Greece during the Bronze Age, between approximately 1600 and 1200 BCE.
Who is Homer? Well, he is known as a great blind poet from Chios or Ionia, but whether
the "Odyssey" was composed by this one blind man or perhaps many people over time is still
an unsolved mystery. Either way, the "Odyssey" was composed sometime between the 8th century
and the 7th century BCE, although some scholars would place it even later in the 6th century BCE,
and the 12,000 lines of this truly epic tale was organised by Alexandrian scholars into 24 Books;
what we might think of as chapters. Before it was committed to its final form in writing,
the "Odyssey" was a part of a long oral tradition where the tale was recited by rhapsodes who were
performers of epic Greek poetry and performed to music played on a lyre or kithara. Epithets,
terms that describe an essential characteristic or quality versus simply a trait someone or something
possesses, are an important feature of both of Homer's epics and it's the repetition of these
epithets like "rosy fingered-dawn," "wine-dark sea" or "wise Odysseus," as well as formulas for
recurring scenes and events, like when a person is killed or when someone is putting on armour, which
suggests its early history as an orally composed poem because such phrases are easily memorised.
The "Odyssey" combines places that those living in Greece would have been somewhat aware of - like
the island of Crete, with frightening or unfamiliar places like the Underworld and
the island of Ogygia, where Odysseus was kept for seven years by the goddess nymph Calypso.
There are also fictional settings like the place of the monsters Scylla and Charybdis,
identified with the Strait of Messina, and the Island of the Cyclops, home of Polyphemus with
the island of Sicily, but overall, the geography of the "Odyssey" is a blurred intertwining
of Homer's world of the Aegean and Mediterranean and purely fictional places.
Where the "Iliad" focused on the rage of Achilles, the "Odyssey" is concerned with the 'nostos' or
homecoming by sea of Odysseus, the mythical king of Ithaca. Due to the ruthlessness of the Achaean
sack of Troy, they incurred the wrath of the gods and so Odysseus' nostos was prolonged for 10 years
as his ships were hit with unfavourable seas, storms and misfortune in the form of monsters,
supernatural beings and sorceresses. Much like how the "Iliad" only covers a total of
52 days in the final year of the Trojan War, the "Odyssey" only covers 42 days of Odysseus' 10-year
long journey home, with much of his adventure being told in flashbacks. For the entire 20 years
that Odysseus was away fighting the Trojans and then just trying to get home, his faithful wife
Penelope was waiting for him to return with their son Telemachus who Odysseus left as an infant. The
fate of men being in the hands of the gods is a common theme running through both of the ancient
epics and the gods themselves are once again a big part of the action of the "Odyssey" as they
were in the "Iliad." As they made the journey of Odysseus a much greater challenge for him,
after all, the distance from Troy to Ithaca has been calculated at 565 nautical miles
meaning Odysseus should have made it home in less than a week with good winds,
instead it took him 10 years. After poking the eye out of Polyphemus, a cyclops and son of Poseidon,
of course Poseidon had to take revenge on Odysseus and his men,
and so he sent multiple storms, unfavourable waves and sea monsters. Even though Poseidon
continuously made Odysseus' journey harder, he often had the goddess of wisdom and war strategy,
Athena, looking out for him and aiding him in his travels because she had always favoured him,
even suggesting to him the idea for the Trojan Horse ruse that won them the war.
"Tell me, Muse of the man of many devices, driven far astray after he had sacked the sacred citadel
of Troy. Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose minds he learned, and many the woes
he suffered in his heart upon the sea, seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades."
This is how the "Odyssey" begins, invoking the Muses to help tell the story of one man's journey
home across the sea. It begins in medias res or in the middle of things, where Odysseus is stuck
on the goddess Calypso's Island of Ogygia. Penelope is faithfully at home in Ithaca,
which has been overrun with suitors who are eating her out of hearth and home
and their son, Telemachus, wants information on his father. The first four books of the "Odyssey"
are often referred to as the 'Telemachy' since it tells of Odysseus' son Telemachus leaving
his home in search of news on his father. Even though Poseidon has been tormenting Odysseus,
he has been allowed to return home by the other gods but while he's still on his journey,
108 suitors have moved into his home in the hopes of marrying his wife. Athena tells Telemachus that
he should get on a ship and find his father and if he can't find him, then he should return home,
deal firmly with the suitors and find another man to marry his mother. How has Penelope been keeping
the men at bay? Well, she has said that she will choose a suitor once she has finished the shroud
for her father-in-law, Laertes, but each night she undoes the work she completed that day.
So, Telemachus, with the help of Athena, gathers a crew and a ship and they set sail to the Palace of
Nestor at Pylos. Here, Nestor tells Telemachus how after they sacked Troy, the Greek ships all split
up and he doesn't know what became of Odysseus, although he does recount how King Agamemnon was
killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, this upon his return to Mycenae;
a warning of sorts for Telemachus on treachery and to not stay away from Ithaca too long. Telemachus
then heads to the Palace of Menelaus at Sparta, who also doesn't have any news of Odysseus.
Menelaus tells Telemachus of the wooden horse they used to enter the city and then recounts
how he met the old man of the sea who told him that Odysseus was in the clutches of Calypso,
a goddess nymph who lived on the Island of Ogygia. Back at Ithaca, the suitors learned of Telemachus'
expedition and planned to ambush him on his way home, but Athena reassures Penelope that her son
will be safe. Now the focus shifts to Odysseus who is stuck on Calypso's island but Athena has
finally persuaded Zeus to free him, and so Zeus sends Hermes down to relay the message to Calypso
to set her captive-lover free. Calypso must comply but offers Odysseus immortality if he stays with
her on the island. After sleeping with her one last time, he refuses, makes a raft and sails
for 20 hard days against Poseidon's storms, until he reaches the welcoming Phaeacians.
Princess Nausicaa finds Odysseus scantily clad, shipwrecked on the shore and so he is given a
wash and new robes and some food, which makes him once again look the part of the impressive hero.
Odysseus heads to the Royal Palace of Alcinous, who agrees to help Odysseus return to his home.
The hero is given a grand send-off feast with some sporting games, which he wins with ease,
and then a bard tells first the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles,
he tells the tale of Hephaistos trapping his wife Aphrodite and Ares in their marriage bed,
and finally, the tale of the Trojan Horse, all before the king reveals a prophecy that a fine
ship sailing from Phaeacia will be wrecked by the god of the seas. It is at this point,
Book 9, that Odysseus recounts his adventures, beginning with how he plundered the Cicones,
who in turn chased him and his men from the place. They were barreled with storms sent
by Poseidon and ended up in the Land of the Lotus-Eaters, who from the description of them,
sound like they do ecstasy as they continually ate the potent lotus fruit that makes them forget.
The crew leave before eating the fruit and end up in the Land of the Cyclops. Odysseus and his
men come across a cave full of supplies and so they wait for the owner of the cave to return
but it ends up being the cyclops Polyphemus, who closes the cave entrance with a massive boulder,
and it's two of the men for dinner then another two for breakfast. Odysseus gets the cyclops drunk
and then uses a pole he has sharpened to blind the monster and escapes with his few remaining men
by clinging to the bellies of the cyclops' sheep when they're led out to pasture in the morning.
As they sail away, Polyphemus throws a rock at Odysseus' ship and asks his father Poseidon
to make sure the men never return home. Next in Odysseus' adventures, he and his men are
entertained by Aeolus, the god of the winds, on the fabulous island of Aeolia, who gives Odysseus
a gift; a leather bag with winds inside which will ensure smooth sailing home. The men set off and
sailed for nine days with favourable winds, but then whilst Odysseus was sleeping, his men opened
the bag which they thought had gold in it and the winds blew them all the way back to Aeolia. Aeolus
refused to help them again and they left, winding up in the land of the Laestrygonians - giants who
ate men alive. Their next stop was the land of Aeaea, the home of the sorceress Circe,
who gives some of Odysseus' men a drink that turns them into pigs. Odysseus goes to save his men
after hearing what had happened to them and he's aided by Hermes, who gives him a potion to make
him immune to Circe's potions. Circe promises to release Odysseus' men and they end up staying for
an entire year, enjoying her hospitality, before Odysseus leaves though, Circe suggests that he
visit Hades and speak to the prophet Teiresias who can give him directions on how to get home.
In Book 11, Odysseus heads to the Underworld where Teiresias tells him that he will be able
to get home, rid his palace of the suitors and die at a peaceful old age, only if he and his
crew leave Helios' sacred cattle alone. While he's down there, he also sees the spirit of his mother
and the ghosts of Agamemnon, the heroes Achilles and Hercules, Minos and Leda, and many others.
Teiresias had only echoed Cirece's warning to Odysseus before he left her home, to not interfere
with Helios' cattle, but she'd also told him to beware the Sirens, who are half-bird, half-women
and prey on sailors, and to stay safe by plugging his ears with wax. After getting past the Sirens,
they carefully avoid the sea monster Scylla and the deadly whirlpool Charybdis.
After these perils, Odysseus and his men arrive at Thrinacie where Helios' cattle
are kept. Odysseus' men do not heed the warning and eat some of the cattle while Odysseus sleeps,
and so when they set off from the island, their ship is wrecked in a storm and Odysseus is the
only survivor. He is thrown into the whirlpool Charybdis but is saved by the branch of a fig tree
and then drifts on the sea for nine days before coming ashore on the island of Ogygia.
The flashbacks end here and Odysseus farewells Alcinous, he leaves Phaeacia and finally lands
back in Ithaca. Upon his return, Athena tells Odysseus not to reveal his true identity when
he returns to his palace, so he can deal with the suitors living in his home, in his own time.
Athena transforms Odysseus into an old beggar before leaving to fetch Telemachus. He remains in
disguise when he finds his faithful old servant Eumaeus who gives him food and drink, whilst
updating him on the situation at the palace and confirming that his father Laertes is still alive.
Telemachus departs Sparta after a feast from Menelaus and arrives back on Ithaca,
after a warning from Athena about the waiting ambush. Telemachus arrives at Eumaeus' hut
as advised by Athena and embraces his father after Odysseus reveals his true identity.
The two returned to the palace with Odysseus still disguised as a beggar
and Telemachus is told he absolutely must not reveal his father's true identity.
After 20 years away, Odysseus is still recognised by his loyal old dog Argus who rises to greet him
but staying in character, Odysseus does not acknowledge Argus who then lays down and dies.
In his beggar disguise, Odysseus goes around the suitors, asking for small offerings and is both
physically and verbally abused. Another beggar turns up and fights Odysseus, who wins of course,
and Penelope, who has been made even more beautiful by Athena, asks her suitors to
present her with gifts. As night falls, Telemachus does as he was told by his father and removes
all of the weapons from the great hall and Penelope tells Odysseus, still disguised,
that she will have the suitors compete in an archery competition the next day in order for her
to finally choose a mate as her husband seems to have been lost. Penelope fetches Odysseus' bow the
next morning and challenges the suitors to shoot an arrow through all 12 axe heads and the victor
will win her hand. The weapon though is so mighty that none of the suitors can even string the thing
let alone actually fire an arrow, meanwhile, Odysseus has the servants bar the doors and
then effortlessly strings his bow and twangs the string so that it sings like a swallow,
which is significant since the swallow returns each year to the same nest just as our hero is
about to do. Then as Zeus sends a peal of thunder, Odysseus fires his arrow through all 12 axe heads.
At this point, he reveals who he really is - the king of the great hall they're all standing in,
and then he kills the suitors one by one with his arrows, he throws spears and slashes his sword
and kills every last one. He also rounds up the servants who are disloyal to him and hangs them.
The king is reunited with his faithful wife and they recount what happened during their 20-year
separation. The epic tale ends with Hermes leading the spirits of the slain suitors to Hades where
they meet Achilles and Agamemnon and tell them of Odysseus' revenge. Odysseus is reunited with his
father Laertes and then fights a short battle with the families of the dead suitors before the gods
intervene and peace is restored in Ithaca once more. Why do you think Odysseus' tale is still
famous after several thousand years? Does it speak to some sort of universal human truth? Let us
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