The Odyssey

• Odyssey means journey, passage, lifetime pathway, from lost to found, incompleteness to wholeness, struggle to overcome obstacle, choosing life, survival
• Land of Cicones (Ismarus):

  • Odysseus and his 12 ships stopped at the city of Ismarus
  • His men looted and did not listen to his order to return to the ships
  • The Ciconians' neighbors sent an army against them
  • Odysseus lost 72 men (6 men from each ship)
• Land of the Lotus-eaters (Libya):

  • Natives gave Odysseus and his men intoxicating fruits of lotus
  • Eating the fruit made them lose all thoughts of home and only want more
  • Odysseus had to drag them back to the ship
• Land of the Cyclops (Sicily):

  • Odysseus and his men encountered the rough, uncivilized race of giants
  • Men stole sheep, milk, and cheese from the Cyclops' cave
  • Polyphemus, the one-eyed Cyclops, ate two of Odysseus' men
  • Odysseus blinded Polyphemus and tricked him to escape by clinging to the sheep
• Island of Aeolia (Land of the god of the winds Aeolus):

  • Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag of winds to help them on their journey
  • Men opened the bag out of greediness and curiosity, causing them to be blown back to Aeolia
  • Aeolus refused to help them again
• Island of the Laestrygonians:

  • They arrived at the city of Telepylus, ruled by King Antiphates
  • Ithacans were attacked by the Laestrygonians, resulting in the sinking of 11 ships
  • Only Odysseus' ship survived
• Land of Aeaea (Land of Circe):

  • Circe, a witch goddess, turned Odysseus' men into pigs
  • Odysseus protected himself with an herb called MOLY
  • Odysseus stayed on the island for 1 year
• The Underworld:

  • Circe advised Odysseus to go to the underworld and talk to the prophet Teiresias
  • Teiresias advised Odysseus not to eat the cattle of the sun-god Helius on the Island of Thrinacia
  • Odysseus met his mother Anticleia and Elphenor, his youngest crew member
• Island of the Sirens:

  • The Sirens sing seductive songs that lead hearers to death
  • Odysseus protected his men by stuffing their ears with wax and binding them to the ship
• Scylla is a six-headed monster who swallows one sailor for each head when ships pass
• Scylla was originally a beautiful maiden whom sea-god Glaucus fell in love with
• Circe, who was in love with Glaucus, turned Scylla into a six-headed monster
• Charybdis is a huge whirlpool that can swallow the entire ship
• Odysseus must lose 6 men to Scylla or they will all be drowned in Charybdis
• With the help of the gods, Odysseus and his crew were able to pass the island safely
• The Island of the Sun-god Helius or Helios
• Odysseus and his crew took refuge on the island of Thrinacia
• They were warned not to kill any cattle of Helios
• Due to bad weather and lack of food, the crew ate the cattle against the warning
• As a consequence, most of the crew were drowned or sucked into Charybdis
• Island of Ogygia
• Calypso, the daughter of Titan Atlas, kept Odysseus as her lover for 8 years
• Athena asked the gods to let Odysseus return home to Penelope, who was in trouble with suitors
• Zeus sent Hermes to Ogygia to inform Calypso to let Odysseus go
• Odysseus left Ogygia with the help of Calypso after building a boat
• Island of the Phaeacians
• Ruled by Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, with Queen Arete as his niece
• Nausicaa, their daughter, found Odysseus by the seashore and brought him to the city and palace
• Odysseus was honored with a banquet and gifts before sailing to Ithaca the next day