THE ADVENTURES OF ODYSSEUS

In ancient times Odysseus (or Ulysses) was the Greek king of Ithaca, an island in the Ionian Sea. Penelope was his wife. Odysseus was also the hero of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. When the Trojan War ended, it took Odysseus ten years to return home to Ithaca. During these years he had many adventures.

Journey home to Ithaca

The Ciconians

After Odysseus and his men left Troy, they got on their ships and the strong winds sent them to the land of the Cicones. There Odysseus’ companions robbed the Ciconians’ animals and sweet wine and sat on the beach to eat.

The Ciconians attacked them and many of Odysseus’ men were killed.The rest of them fled to the ships as fast as they could and left.

The Lotus-Eaters

Then the wind sent the ships far away to a land in Africa. They landed on the land of the Lotus-Eaters. Odysseus sent out three men. They ate the lotus and fell asleep. The lotus were magic fruit! After eating them, they did not want to go back home. Odysseus went to the beach and dragged them back to the ship against their will. Then he arrived to the Cyclopes’ island.

The Cyclopes’ island

There was a large cave on the Cyclopes’ island. Polyphemus, a giant who had one eye, lived there. When he returned to his cave, he trapped Odysseus and his men in the cave by blocking the entrance with a very heavy rock. He then ate a pair of the men each day, but Odysseus thought of a cunning plan for escape.

In the evening, after the giant had eaten two of Odysseus’ men, he gave him a bowl of strong wine. Then Polyphemus asked, “What’s your name?” and Odysseus ansered,”Nobody”. Polyphemus said, “I will eat you, too, Nobody”. The giant drank the wine and fell asleep. Odysseus and his men turned a stick into a giant spear and blinded Polyphemus. Hearing Polyphemus’ cries, other Cyclopes came to his cave and asked him what was wrong. Polyphemus replied “Nobody has blinded me!”. The other Cyclopes left him alone, thinking that he must have been mad saying that Nobody had blinded him.

In the morning, Polyphemus rolled back the heavy rock to let his sheep out to graze. Odysseus and his men escaped tied to the bellies of the sheep. They loaded the sheep on board their ships and set sail.

As Odysseus and his men were sailing away, he shouted to Polyphemus that if someone asked him who had blinded him, he should say Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, had. Polyphemus tried to hit the ship throwing rocks at it, but because he was blind, he missed. When the ship started sailing, Polyphemus raised his arms to his father, Poseidon, and asked him not to allow Odysseus to go back home to Ithaca, and if he did, he should arrive back home alone with his crew dead and in a stranger’s ship.

Aeolus

Odysseus stopped at Aeolus’, the god of the winds, island. Aeolus gave Odysseus and his crew hospitality for a month and a bag filled with all the winds except the one that would lead him home. When they were very near Ithaca, a couple of Odysseus’ men decided to open the bag with the winds because they thought there were gold and silver inside. The winds flew out of the bag and blew Odysseus’ ship away to the Laestrygonians’ land.

The Laestrygonians

There was a port near Laestrygonians’ land and eleven of Odysseus’ ships got into it. Only Odysseus’ ship was kept outside the harbour. The Laestrygonians were huge like giants. They threw rocks at the ships, sank them and ate all the men on board. Only Odysseus and his crew escaped with his ship. Next they went to the island of Circe.

Circe

Circe was a woman who enchanted men. Odysseus sent a group of men ahead of the rest of his men. Circe offered them a magic drink, hit them with her wand and changed them into pigs. Only one man escaped and warned Odysseus.

Odysseus took his sword and set out to rescue his men. When Circe tried to hit him with her wand, he raised his sword and made her turn his companions into men again.They stayed at Circe’s island for a year. When Odysseus decided to leave, she advised him to go to the Underworld to ask Tiresias, the foreteller, when he would return to Ithaca.

Journey to the Underworld

Odysseus travelled to the end of the ocean and arrived at the entrance of Hades. There he offered gifts to the deads: flour, milk and wine, water and honey. He met Achilles, Agamemnon and many other men who were killed in the Trojan War.

Then, he talked to Tiresias. Tiresias told him that although Poseidon hated him because he blinded his son, they would arrive to Ithaca one day if they didn’t harm the cattle of Helios.

The Sirens

Then he sailed to the Sirens.The Sirens had the most beautiful voices in the world and enchanted seamen with their songs. Kirki had advised Odysseus to put wax in his companions’ ears so that they wouldn’t hear the Sirens’ song. He did so and also asked his companions to tie him on a pole on the ship’s deck. When he heard the Sirens singing, he asked his companions to untie him to go on shore. However, they tied him even harder until they went away from the Sirens’ island.

Scylla and Charybdis

Then they approached the Path of Scylla and Charybdis. On the one side Charybdis used to drink all the water of the sea and sink the ships. Odysseus and his men passed this point without any accidents. However, on the other side, Scylla seized six men with her six heads and ate them. Although everybody was very sad, they set sail again.

The Cattle of Helios

Finally, Odysseus and his crew approached the island of Helios(=Sun), where he kept sacred cattle. Odysseus had been warned by Tiresias and Circe not to touch the cattle. He told his men not to land on the island. However, they went ashore because they were very tired. Some days later, they ran out of food and were very hungry. One day, while Odysseus was sleeping, some of his men killed some oxen and cooked them. They were punished for their action. Zeus destroyed the ship with a thunderstorm and all the men died except for Odysseus. Odysseus grabbed a piece of wood and was washed up on Calypso’s island ten days later.

Calypso and the Phaeacians

Calypso hosted Odysseus in her cave and took care of him. She made him love her and he stayed with her for seven years. Goddess Athena pitied him and asked her father Zeus to help Odysseus go away. Zeus sent god Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. Odysseus left for Ithaca on a small boat. When Poseidon saw him at sea, he hit the sea with his trident and the high waves washed up Odysseus’ boat on the Phaeacians island, Corfu.

Nausica, daughter of King Alcinous of the Phaecians, found him on the beach and took him to the palace. They all had dinner and after dinner the palace singer started singing songs of the Trojan war. Then, Odysseus revealed his true identity. The next day, the Phaeacians prepared a ship for Odysseus and the next morning they arrived in Ithaca. They travelled all night and as he was still asleep, they carried him to the shore and left some presents next to him.

Odysseus in Ithaca

Goddess Athena appeared to Odysseus when he arrived in Ithaca. She told him that a lot of suitors used to go to his palace every day, they drank and ate and wanted to marry his wife Penelope and become kings of Ithaca. She also told him that his wife cried every day and that she was looking forward to his return.

Then Athena transformed Odysseus into a beggar and he went to Eumaeus’ hut. There Odysseus met his son, Telemachus. They hugged each other and cried for a long time. The next day Odysseus went to the palace and only his dog, Argos, recognised him. After that, Argos quietly passed away.

When Penelope heard that a beggar had come to the palace, she asked her maid to give him food and wash his feet. Penelope wanted to ask him if he knew anything about her husband. While the maid was washing the beggar’s feet, she saw a scar on his right knee and understood that he was Odysseus. However, she promised  Odysseus not to tell anything to his wife, Penelope.

The next morning, Penelope asked the suitors to throw the arrow of Odysseus’ bow through the hole of twelve axes. The one who would be successful, would become her new husband. They all failed. When Odysseus tried, he passed the arrow through all the twelve axes.

After that, Penelope realised that the beggar was Odysseus, her husband. Odysseus killed all the suitors and met his wife. They were all very happy!!!