The Tale of the Odyssey
The story of the Odyssey, begins after the events of Homer's Iliad, the terrific battles for Troy, and the savage brutality of the war fought over the lovely Helen of Troy.
This is an account of all the adventures faced by Odysseus and his men as they sail the seas, on their journey home from Troy to Ithaca. The journey was not easy and many men died.
Land of the Lotus-Eaters
Odysseus' first adventure on his epic journey is at the hand of the Lotus-Eaters. This name was given to a tribe native to the north of Africa, where their main source of food was the fruit of the lotus plant. This fruit acted as a narcotic, and made the people sleep in a peaceful state of apathy, where they lost all sense of purpose and emotion.
After arriving on their land, Odysseus sent two of his men among these people. They were well received and were treated nicely, and even given the fruit of the lotus to eat. This fruit was so delicious that they all stopped caring about their home and wanting to continue on their mission; they just wanted to stay and eat this fruit. Odysseus had to drag his men back to the ship and tie them down so they could leave and continue on the journey.
Polyphemus the Cyclopes:
The Odyssey book nine describes the terrible battles and experiences faced on the land of the Cyclopes, the murder of colleagues by the vile Polyphemus and his consequent brutal blinding at the hand of Odysseus and his men. Ending with the Odysseus being cursed by Poseidon for the mockery of his descendants, the Cyclopes.
Upon arriving at the "country of the lawless outrageous Cyclopes" Odysseus and his men sought out the Cyclopes to communicate with them. However Polyphemus trapped them in his cave and began murdering them for his meals.
Odysseus, fearing for his life and the lives of his men, sought a way to escape that dreadful cave and the searching eye of the Cyclopes. Finding a long stake, the men heated and sharpened it into a stake and after getting the uncivilised cave man drunk, they blinded Polyphemus, driving the stake deep into that one dreadful eye. Craftily the men then tied themselves to the belly of the Cyclopes sheep, and managed to escape the cave through this deception.
Unwisely, however, upon escaping the island and fleeing to their ship, Odysseus boasted to Polyphemus and told his true name. Polyphemus, being a descendent of Odysseus' enemy Poseidon, god of the sea, of course told his father who then cursed Odysseus to travel the seas for ten long years, in which he lost all his men.
King of the Four Winds
After their escape from Polyphemus, they landed on the island of Aeolus, the King of the four winds. After beseeching his help, Odysseus was given a bag that contained the south, east and north winds so that they could be blown home by the gentle west wind. When finally in sight of Ithaca, Odysseus collapses from exhaustion and sleeps. While he sleeps the men steal the bag holding the wind and thinking it contained gold and open it. Unleashing all the fury of the three contained winds upon them they were blown all the way back to Aeolus, who upon their return spurns their requests for help.
Land of the Laestrygonians
Upon leaving Aeolus the second time, Odysseus' fleet arrives at the land of the cannibalistic Laestrygonians and enter into a wonderful harbour where there was a perfect calm. Several of the men are sent to scout out the island and meet a young woman, who claimed to be the princess and she took them to her father. When they got to the palace they realized the people were vicious giants. One poor man was immediately snatched up and eaten. The others fled back to the ships being pursued by many of these giant Laestrygonians. These giants cast massive boulders at the ships in the harbour, sinking them and spearing the men to eat them. Only Odysseus, with one of his ships survived.
Odysseus and Circe (The first visit):
Odysseus visits Circe and her charming island twice on his long journey home. The first visit almost ended in disaster with half of Odysseus' men turned into swine, after being drugged with Circe's magical food. With a little help from the goddess Athena and the messenger god Hermes, Odyssey managed to free his men from her power and secure her aid. However he must first travel to the land of the dead.
Journey to the Dead (Odyssey 11):
Acting upon the advice of witch-goddess Circe, the Odyssey arrives at the land of the Cimmerians, a land of eternal night where the sun never shines.
There Odysseus offered sacrifices to the dead, and summoned the spirits to talk to him. He met with dead crew members, asking to be buried. He summoned the spirit of the old prophet Tiresias whom he asked how to appease the god's upon his return home. He met with his dead mother, who had died from grief during the long campaign. He met the ancient heroes of Greece, Agamemnon, murdered by his own wife and her new love, he also met the Greek hero Achilles who had died in the battle against Troy, who told him of the terrible woes of Hades, the futility of living in the realm of spirits. There Odysseus could also see all those who had displeased the god's and who now had to serve eternal punishment. Prometheus, with his liver eaten repeatedly every day, and Tantalus who was trapped in a pool, without being able to drink anything and tormented by a terrible thirst, and Sisyphus who was condemned to pushing a stone up a hill without ever being able to reach the top.
This visit with the dead gave Odysseus the knowledge for what he needed to accomplish next. This is also where he discovered the terrible situation of his wife and estate, that she was nearly ready to give up on him and marry one of her many suitors. The suitors who were destroying his estate and taking all that he had.
This sacrifice and ritual of communing with the dead is an ancient Greek cultist ritual, known as Nekyia, which would be more commonly known as Necromancy. This ritual did not feature the actual descent into Hades, as was the case with the myths relating to Heracles, but was instead a summoning of the dead spirits into the world to communicate with the living.
The call of the Sirens:
The Sirens were mythical creatures of the sea that lured ships to destruction on the rocks with the powers of their song. These mythical creatures, contrary to popular belief do not try and seduce the sailors but instead sing to them, offering their gifts of knowledge. Odyssey encountered these beautiful yet deadly descendants of the god's on his journey to visit the spirits of the dead. He and his crew safely bypassed the land of the sirens, acting on the advice of Circe. Odysseus made all the men on his ship plug their ears with beeswax so they could not hear the song and be compelled to wreck their ship but instead would continue on the journey. However, Odysseus, wishing to hear their beautiful song made the sailors tie him to the mast and ignore any pleas that he might make, but instead tie him tighter so he could do nothing to destroy them, putting all their lives at risk and jeopardising their journey.
Odysseus and Circe (The second visit):
Upon his return from the visit with the spirits, Odysseus returned to the island of Circe where he had promised to bury a dead sailor. From here also he was told of the route he must take to finally return home. He had to make a choice.
Brave the dangers of Charybdis and Scylla or travel through the Planctae or "wandering rocks".
Both routes were deadly, and the choice could not have been easy.
Charybdis and Scylla:
Charybdis and Scylla are two ancient, immortal and irresistible monsters that guarded the waters travelled by Odysseus on his journey home. These two monsters are said to have once been god's or the descendants of god's and then displeased Zeus and were transformed into the terrible monsters that they are. Charybdis is a terrifying whirlpool, where all water in a circle of nearly twenty five meters is sucked down until the sea floor is visible. This whirlpool was capable of destroying many of the Greek ships, and therefore Odysseus would have no desire to risk the ship and his men along this path. Scylla, who featured opposite Charybdis, across the narrow strait, was like the mythical hydra with six snake like heads that devoured everything within its reach.
Odysseus therefore had to choose between the two evils. To risk the life of everyone on the ship and almost certain destruction trying to pass through the whirlpool, or to brave the horrors of the vengeful Scylla.
He lost six of his strongest and best men to this terrible beast.
Thrinacia and the Sun-God:
After suffering through this ordeal and the loss of their comrades, Odysseus men persuaded him to stop over on the island of Thrinacia, where Helios the sun-god kept his sheep, guarded by his daughter Lampetia. Despite the warnings of Circe to pass this island by Odysseus gave in and stopped there to rest.
However, unfavourable winds kept them trapped on this island for months, and the men began to fear starvation. Despite swearing an oath not to touch the sheep of Helios, when Odysseus goes off to pray for a safe return to Ithaca, the men slaughter and eat some of the sacred sheep of the god.
Zeus is told of their deeds and demanded to punish the men for this sacrilege, therefore when they eventually are able to leave a thunderbolt from Zeus causes them to be shipwrecked and all the men are killed, except for Odysseus who is to be punished later.
Odysseus is forced south again all the way to the "pitiless Charybdis", where he has to abandon his raft to the turbulent and destructive waters of Charybdis. He throws himself up, to cling to the fig tree overshadowing this deadly pool of water until it is safe again to travel the waters.
It is only through the aid of the father of the god's that he could manage to escape this precipice of destruction.
Calypso:
Escaping destruction at the hand of Charybdis for the second time, Odysseus was washed up on the shore of the island of Calypso where he was held for seven years as her captive and lover. Calypso was the daughter of the titan Atlas, and she enchanted Odysseus with her singing as she worked on her loom. Odysseus however, all this time was pining away for to return to his wife. He had been away from home too long, and each day he sat on the beach of the island and cried to be able return home.
His protective goddess, Athena, appeals to Zeus to persuade Calypso to let him go. Eventually Hermes is sent to Calypso who begrudgingly lets Odysseus build a raft to return home.
Calypso is angry at this interference and comments on how the god's hate the goddesses having relationships with mortals.
Homeward Bound:
As he neared the end of his journey, to safety the island Scheria, of the Phaeacians, the ever angry Poseidon again shows his hand, and sends a storm that destroys Odysseus small ship nearly sending him again to destruction. But he manages to flounder ashore, naked, and be granted admission to the king.
In the end, the Phaeacians, who saved Odysseus from the ocean after his release from Calypso, sail with him to Ithaca and set him back on his homeland where he must fight another battle to win his own home. Taking advantage of the twenty year absence of Odysseus, and assuming him to be dead, suitors had come and taken over his home, drinking his wine and abusing his servants. Each presenting gifts to win the hand of his wife.
With the help of the god Athena, and disguising himself as a beggar, Odysseus returns to his home. He stays there disguised as a beggar trying to find a way to take his rightful place as lord of the estate.
Odysseus' wife however had devised several clever plans to delay the marriage and to prevent her from being forced to marry one of these men. First, she said that she has weave a funeral shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes. However, after every day of hard work at the loom, she returns and unpicks everything that she had done. All to start again the next day.
Upon the eventual discovery of her shrewd scheme, she reluctantly agrees to marry again. The man she chooses, would however have to string her husband's bow and then shoot it through twelve axe handles. The only man who could do this was Odysseus.
On the day of this contest, no man was able to fulfil the task. Until at last the lonely beggar from the corner, after being repeatedly mocked by these men, stands up and with ease strings the bow and shoots his arrow straight and true.
Then he turns and kills all those who had betrayed him and put his family in danger.
At last, he is able to return freely to his lovely wife, Penelope.