Origin: King of Ithica, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus. Son of Laertes and Anticlia.
Claim to Fame: Cunning, Trojan Horse, Katabasis (mortal descent into hell)
Literature: Vergil's Aeneid, Homer's Odyssey, Homer's Illiad
Nostos ("Homecoming")
After 10 years of fighting at Troy alongside Achilles, it takes him 10 years to return home to Ithaca to his faithful wife and growing son.1. Cicones, Thracian tribe allied with the Trojans
Odysseus sacks the city of the Cicones at Ismarus, but spares Apollo's priest Maron in exchange for 12 amphorae of wine. Six men from each of his ships are slaughtered as reinforcements arrive and they must flee.
2. Lotus-Eaters, North Africa
As they were rounding the tip of the Peloponnesus, the wind blows them off course to the land of the lotus-eaters, where one taste of their fruit is to attain blissful, apathetic oblivion. Odysseus resists the temptations to be relieved of all wants, desires, and passions in life through eternal sleep, and forces his men back to the ships to continue on home.
3. Polyphemus, one-eyed giant, son of Poseidon
Odysseus is captured by the giant Polyphemus, who kills and eats his six of his men before imprisoning them in his cave. They drug him with the 12 amphorae of wine, and while he is sleeping Odysseus blinds him with a burning stick, whispering to him that his name is "nobody" so the other cyclopes could not charge him. To escape, Odysseus and his surviving crew tie themselves to the bellies of the giant's sheep, so when he took them out to graze the prisoners were left undiscovered. As they sail away, Odysseus accidentally reveals his name, earning the wrath of Poseidon by the wrongdoing of his son.
4. Aeolus, keeper of the winds
They stop of the island of Aeolus, and befriend its inhabitant so that he gives Odysseus a leather bag containing the winds that will blow them home safely. Unfortunately just as they are almost in view of Ithaca Odysseus falls asleep and the mischievous crew open the bag, blowing them all back to Aeolus' island. This time, they cannot convince Aeolus to aid them again, so they turn to the seas once more.
5. Laestrygones, cannibalistic tribe
Captured by cannibals, 11 of Odysseus' 12 ships are destroyed and the men are devoured. Odysseus and his own ship's crew is all that remains.
6. Circe, sorceress, daughter of Helius. Island of Aeaea.
Odysseus and his crew are welcomed by Circe, and while he stays behind with the ship, they are all transformed into swine. Hermes intervenes, giving Odysseus the herb "moly" (antidote to her witchcraft), and Odysseus seduces Circe into transforming his men back into humans and letting them go. He first convinces her to reveal the means by which he can learn how to get home, several warnings for the jounrey ahead, and attains instructions to perform Nekuia ("spirit summoning") to consult the spirit of the dead seer Tiresias.
7. Katabasis, kata "down" + basis "going" (Homer's Odyssey Book 11, "Book of the Dead")
In the far west, Odysseus performs the rituals of Nekuia to summon the spirit of Tiresias. As instructed by Circe, Odysseus sacrificed an unfertile heifer and black sheep as well as pour a libation of honey, wine, milk, water, and blood to replenish the dead and convince Erebus to release several shades:
- Anticlia (mother), who died of a broken heart waiting for her son. Odysseus attempts three times to embrace her, but passes through her shade
- Elpenor (comrade at arms), who died of a drunken escapade and was left unburied and unwept. Cursed for 100 years.
- Achilles (comrade at arms), who died of Paris' divine arrow, asserts "it's better a slave on earth than King of the Dead"
- Ajax (comrade at arms), who died of suicide at the incomprehension of losing a wager to Odysseus, turns his back and refuses to speak.
- Tiresias (seer), who died of old age, is given blood in exchange for the knowledge that will return Odysseus alone to Ithica, where he must face Penelope's suitors before he can attain his rightful place.
8. Sirens, women who lure ships to rocks said to hold intellectual/sexual secrets = femme fatale
Eager to hear their song, Odysseus orders his men to tie him to the mast of the ship (by no means untie him) and plug their own ears with wax so they can safely pass. Like Prometheus, Odysseus succeeds in overcoming temptation with foresight.
9. Scylla and Charybdis, straits of Messina (Sicily and Italy)
To negotiate the violent rocks and whirlpools, Odysseus adheres to the side of the strait associated with Scylla. Six of his men are consumed by her. They also pass safely through Planctae ("clashing rocks"), the Mediterranean Sea/ Black Sea passage connection.
10. Cattle of Thrinacia, island of Helius
Warned by Circe not to touch the cattle, Odysseus's crew disobeys, earning the wrath of Helius as enacted by Zeus's thunderbolt. Everyone drowns but Odysseus, who avoids Charybdis, clinging to the wreckage of his ship.
11. Calypso ("concealer"), sea-nymph and daughter of Atlas
Imprisons Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for 7 years. Although she nourishes him back to health as well as promises him immortality, Odysseus cannot justify (a) not returning to his family and kingdom, and (b) having his name left unspoken due to his concealment. He petitions Zeus, who sends Hermes to sanction his release.
12. Phaeacians, peaceful seafaring tribe, Scheria
Odysseus' raft is shipwrecked by Poseidon near the isle of the Scheria but Leucothea and Athena help him ashore. He is discovered by the princess Nausicaa, daughter of Alcinous and Arete, who earns his stays at their court through the retelling of his adventures. He shows prowess in a number of contests, and is sent home to Ithica with magical intervention.
Poseidon, angered by the Phaeacian's intervention, turns their ships to stone.
Arrival at Ithica
Since Telemachus is too young to be eligible for the throne, Peripheron Penelope ("circumspect") is harassed by a number of suitors intending to steal it from Odysseus.
- Telemacheus travels to Pylos to visit King Nestor, and Sparta to visit King Menalaus, to discover whether Odysseus still lives.
- Meanwhile, Penelope promises she shall pick a suitor once she is finished weaving her husbands shround (each night she undoes the days work to start over in the morning)
Disguised as a begger, Athena directs Odysseus to Eumaeus, the swine herd who kept Odysseus' faithful dog, Argus. The dog recognises his master and drops dead, affirming his identity as the lost king to Eumaeus and Telemachus. Similarly, an old nurse of his (Euryclea, characterized by her gashed thigh) washes his feet as a charity to a beggar, but upon recognizing them, she recognizes her king.
He arranges a meeting with Penelope on the claim he has seen Odysseus, dropping hints at his true identity by commenting on the fact she is not wearing a certain brooch (a gift from Odysseus, long ago).
In response to her suspicion of the stranger at court Penelope arranges an archery contest for the suitors, whereby they must string her husbands bow and shoot through 12 axeheads. Each one fails, until the beggar is given a turn, whereby Odysseus enacts his vengeance through his dramatic reveal.
- Father and son slaughters Antinoos (main suitor) and the rest, sparing only Medon (herald) and Phemius (bard).
- The 12 Servant-girls that taunted the beggar at court as well as slept with the suitors were charged with cleaning up the bloodshed, then were hanged for their disloyalty.
- Goat-herd Melanthius was mutilated and killed for violating Xenia.
