The Odyssey

The Odyssey

1. 1. Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy and the Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors who have overrun Odysseus' palace and pillaged the land whilst attempting to court his wife Penelope. She has for ten years remained faithful to him despite her not knowing if he was alive. Telemachus, is Odysseus and Penelopes' son, he was born days before Odysseus left for the war at Troy, wants to rid the palace of the suitors but he lacks the confidence or experience to fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous plans to assassinate Telemachus, to eliminate the only thing between the suitors and the palace.

2. 2. Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The beautiful sea-nymph, Calypso, possessed by her love for him, keeps him on Ogygia, her island. He longs to go home(Nostos) but he has no means of getting there.

3. 3. On Mount Olympus, the gods and goddess' debate over Odysseus' future, Athena, Odysseus' greatest supporter resolves to aiding Telemachus. Disguised as Laertes' (Telemachus' (grandfather) friend, Mentes, she gets him to call an assembly at which he reproaches the suitors. Athena also prepares him for a journey to Pylos and Sparta, where Kings, Nestor and Menelaus, Odysseus' ex-comrades, to learn about Odysseus and to find out if he is really alive. ON the way home, Antinous and other suitors, who have continued to overstay their welcome, prepare an ambush to kill him when he reaches port.

4. 4. Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso. hermes persaudes her to let Odysseus leave the island and return home. The both, Calypso and Odysseus, build a raft and supply it for travel and he leaves, Poseidon, god of the sea, finds him sailing home and sends a storm to wreck the raft. Poseidon holds a grudge against Odysseus since Odysseus blinded the cyclops Polyphemus, Poseidon's son. Athena saves the day by intervening and got Odysseus to safety on the island of Scheria, where the Phaeacians live.

5. 5. Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, shows him the royal palace and Odysseus receives a warm welcome from the King Alcinous and Queen Arete. They hold banquets in honour of him and entertainment, Demodocus sings of two tragic heros, Achilles and Odysseus, Odysseus weeps, Alcinous noticing this changes the entertainment to the Phaeacian Games. Another banquet is held before the King asks him to identify himself, Odysseus tells the story of his travels and they are stunned. They agree to give him safe passage home and give him many gifts to restore his wealth.

6. 6. Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events leading up to his arrival leading up to Calypso's island. He recounts his trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his battle with Polyphemus the Cyclops, his love affair with the witch-goddess Circe,his temptations by the deadly sirems, his journey into the underworld, Hades, to consult the prophet Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster Scylla. When he finishes his story, the Phaeacians return him to Ithaca, where he seeks out the hut of his faithful swinehead, Eumaeus. Though Athena disguises him as a beggar , eumaecus warmly receices and nourishes him the hut. He soon encounters Telemachus, who has returned from Pylos and Sparta despite the suitors ambush, and reveals to him his true identity. Odysseus and Telemachus devise a plan to massacre the suitors and regain control of Ithaca.

7. 7. When Odysseus arrives at the palace the next day, still in disguise as a beggar, he endures abuse and insults from the suitors. The only person who recognises him is his old nurse, Eurycleia, but she swears not to disclose this secret. penelope takes and interest in the strange beggar, suspecting that he might be her long lost husband. So craftily she sets an archery contest, promising to marry the winner, who can fire an arrow through a row of twelve axes- something only Odysseus has been able to do before. So at the contest, all the suitors take an aim and fail to get the arrow through the row of axes until Odysseus steps up and fires his arrow through all twelve axes with little effort. He then turns the bow on the suitors, he and Telemacus, who has grown up a lot, take on all the suitors killing them with aid from faithful servants.

8. 8. Odysseus reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope. He travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes. They come under attack from revenging families of the now dead suitors, but Laertes, driven by the return of his son, kills Antinous' father and puts an end to the attack. Zeus dispatches Athena to restore peace. With his power secure and his family reunited, Odysseus' ordeal comes to an end.