Odyssey

I

Introduction

Odyssey, ancient Greek epic poem in 24 books attributed to the poet Homer. It was probably composed in the 8th century bc. The Odyssey relates in 12,110 lines the perilous adventures of Odysseus (called Ulysses in Latin), a Greek hero and king of Ithaca in western Greece. After the fall of Troy at the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus is forced to wander for ten years before returning home to his wife Penelope in Ithaca.

The epic poem the Iliad, also attributed to Homer, describes events of the Trojan War. In contrast with the Iliad, which is mainly located in Troy and is recounted in a straightforward narrative, the Odyssey has many changes of scene and a complex plot. Its scenes range from Troy to Egypt, North Africa, the Peloponnesus, Ithaca, and the western Mediterranean. The narrative begins near what is chronologically the end of the story, and earlier incidents are unfolded later in the poem (as in the modern flashback technique).

Homer’s Odyssey is one of the great stories of all time. It has had a strong influence on later European literature, especially on epics of the Renaissance (14th century through 16th century). From Homer’s plan of the Odyssey, a standard practice developed of beginning an epic with an incident from the middle or the end of the story. Earlier events are then related at a convenient point later in the story. The outstanding 20th-century example of the Odysseus, or Ulysses, theme is the novel Ulysses, by Irish author James Joyce.

II

The Action

The Odyssey opens in the tenth year after the fall of Troy, 20 years after Odysseus left Ithaca. Odysseus, owing to the wrath of the sea-god Poseidon, has not been allowed to return home; Odysseus had blinded Poseidon’s son Polyphemus, a Cyclops. At the moment Odysseus is living with the sea-nymph Calypso on her violet-fragrant island in the Ionian Sea. But at last Athena, his constant friend among the gods, persuades Zeus, the king of the gods, to allow him to escape.

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A

Telemachus Seeks News

Athena goes in disguise to Ithaca, where Penelope and her son Telemachus are being harassed by a horde of 108 suitors who want to compel the queen to marry one of them. The suitors presume that Odysseus is dead, though Penelope still has hope that he will return. Athena emboldens the young Telemachus and persuades him to set out on a journey to seek news of his father. He sails for Pylos, capital of the kingdom of Nestor, in the western Peloponnesus.

Nestor welcomes Telemachus, tells him about the experiences of some of the Greek leaders after their departure from Troy, and entertains him for the night. Next day Telemachus goes to Sparta, the kingdom of Menelaus and Helen. (The Trojan War started with the capture of Helen by Paris, a Trojan prince.) They receive him sumptuously and recount some further adventures of the Greek princes, including the exploit of the wooden horse (Odysseus’s invention by which Troy was captured) and the encounter of Menelaus with the shape-shifting Proteus in Egypt. They have, however, no news of Odysseus, except for his captivity by Calypso.

B

The Gods Intervene

The scene changes to Ithaca. Penelope is grieved to hear about her son’s departure; the suitors plan to ambush and kill him on the way home. A second council of the gods assembles on Olympus. Athena reopens the question of Odysseus’s deliverance, and Zeus sends Hermes, the herald of the gods, to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go home. Reluctantly, Calypso submits. Odysseus builds a makeshift boat and sails eastward towards Ithaca. Poseidon, still angry with Odysseus, sends a violent storm and wrecks the boat. Odysseus, with the help of Athena, reaches land after a fearful struggle.

Next morning Odysseus is awakened by the voices of young girls. They are Nausicaä, princess of Scheria, land of the Phaeacians, and her handmaidens. Odysseus appeals to them for help. Nausicaä receives him courteously, provides him with food and clothing, and tells him about herself and her royal parents. She confesses to her handmaidens that he is the kind of man that she would like to marry. She leads him to the capital, where Odysseus, left to himself, admires the splendid palace and gardens of the Phaeacian king. He enters the main hall, supplicates Queen Arete and King Alcinoüs, and is hospitably entertained.

The next day Odysseus witnesses a display of athletic skill, in which he has an opportunity of showing his own prowess. A banquet and a recital of heroic songs by the Phaeacian bard Demodocus follow. Because he weeps when he hears Demodocus sing of the Trojan War, Odysseus is asked to tell his name and recount his adventures.

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