Odysseus (Ch 20)

Etymology: Unknown. Ep. Polytropos "of many twists and turns".
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.

Having been sent away during the bloodshed, Penelope enacts one last test for the stranger by asking Nurse Euryclea to move her marriage bed, which only few know that it is actually hand-carved out of a living, rooted olive tree. Odysseus' outrage at this order confirms his identity as it is a secret symbol of their tryst. Athena then consummates Odysseus's return and he obtains his rightful place as ruler of Ithica.

Orpheus (Ch 16)

Etymology: N/a
Geographic Association: Withdraws to Thrace after the loss of Eurydice.
Origin: Apollo + Calliope (muse of Music)/Oeagrus (Thracian River God) + Calliope
Claim to Fame: Beautiful voice and lyre-playing, can soothe the beastliest of beasts, can make the inanimate animate. Tragic love story. Archetype of poet/musician.
Literature: Ovid's Metamorphosis, Vergil's Georgics,

Underworld Myth

Orpheus is married to Eurydice, a dryad (wood-nymph), but on their wedding night Eurydice dies from a snake bite. Orpheus is determined to bring her back, so he descends to the underworld, using his musical skill to charm the gatekeepers into letting him in. He performs for Hades and Persephone who allow him to take Eurydice home on the condition that he does not look back. Overcome with yearning, he glances back once and she is taken from him forever.
Inconsolable, Orpheus retreats to Thrace with only music as his solace (chooses music over women, ie. Apollo, in the land of Dionysus). When he rejects the Maenads, they slaughter him, consume his flesh, and scatter his remains in the Hebrus River. It is said that his head kept singing and prophetizing, and his  lyre kept playing, while he was united in spirit with his beloved in death.

Orphism (6th C. BCE)

Claimed as a prophet and a religious teacher, a hero-cult is established by his son Musaeus based on music, magic, and prophecy - worshipping both Apollo and Dionysus. In 5th C. BCE, Orphism becomes accepted as a mystery religion.

Hades (Ch 15)

Etymology and Epithets
     (g.) Hades, "unseen", "invisible"
     (l.) Pluto or Dis/Dives, "wealth" (referring to underground metals), "the enricher"
     (l.) Orcus, "confining place"
     Zeus Katachtonius (kata "under" + cthon "earth"), "underground Zeus"
     Polyxenos, "host to many"
     Polydegmon, "receiver of many"
     Erebus, "Darkness"
Domain: Underworld.
Genealogy: Cronus + Rhea, Brother to Zeus
Claim to Fame: God of Death and the Underworld, Abductor of Persephone/Proserpina, General Hardass.
Iconography: Rooster? Anything death related...
Literature: Homer's Odyssey, Book 11 (Nekuia/Book of the Dead/Spirit Summoning), Plato's The Republic (Myth of Er, Book 10), Hesiod's Isle of the Blessed, Vergil's Aeneid (Book 6)

The Greek View of Death: When psyche ("breath"/"soul"),  anima ("soul"/"spirit"), or anemos ("wind") is separated from the soma/corpus ("body"). Literally, when one breathes his/her last. If it is the breath that contains the soul, it can live on in spirit once set free from the body.

Homer's Odyssey (Nekuia, Book 11)

Katabasis ("descent into the underworld") occurs at the farthest reaches of Oceanus, where the sun [literally] sets on living souls. A summoning of spirits requires a libation of milk, honey, wine, water, blood and an animal sacrifice to rehydrate the shades of the dead.
As stated by the shade of Achilles when visited by Odysseus, a common Greek view was that it was better to be a slave on earth than the King of the Dead; Aristophanes furthered the idea that the best thing one could wish for is to never have been born at all; and Milton stated in Paradise Lost that it is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.

Plato's Republic (Myth of Er, Book 10)

One's morality among the living earns proportional punishment and/or reward in the afterlife. Once dead, one's soul serves a quantified sentence whereby they can negotiate the circles of hell based on deed.
Metempsychosis, the transmigration of souls, implies that one has the opportunity to choose a new life after sentence is served out. Souls are reincarnated after drinking from the River Lethe ("forgetfulness")

Vergil's Aeneid (Book 6)

A mixture of Greco-roman myth, religion, and philosophy follows the founder of Rome on his katabasis to illustrate hell.
     Aeneus, son of Aphrodite and Anchises, is ordered to escape the burning Troy and find the new civilization in the west known as Rome. To glimpse a prophecy of the future of his creation, which will outlive him, he descends into hell with the assistance of Cumaen Sybil. Equipped with the Golden Bough sacred to Proserpina, the two offer libations to gain entrance to the opening of the Underworld at the sulphuric Lake Avernus ("birdless") at Cumae. They then meets a series of mythological figures and places:
1. Personified Abstractions (ie. Grief, Cares, Old Age, Worry)
2. Monsters of the Deep (ie. Scylla, Gorgon, Harpies, Chimera)
3. River Acheron ("sorrowful"), which marks the boundary of Hades' realm
4. Charon, Ferryman of the Dead, who mans the only crossing (later traditions they cross the River Styx, "hate"). Golden bough serves as a golden ticket.
5. Cerberus, three-headed hell hound positioned at the far side of the river (no one gets out). Is drugged by meal and honey to allow passage.
6. Thanatos ("death") and Hypnos ("sleep"), winged psychopompous figures.
7. Fork in the road:
     I. Tartarus (left fork): place of punishment for sinners.
     - Surrounded by the flaming River Phlegethon
     - Guarded by the Fury Tisiphone ("punisher")
     - Jury of Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus.
     II. Elesium (right fork) or the Elysian Fields: Reserved for the age of heroes, a paradise realm.
     - Reserved for pure souls, or those that have paid their sentence.
     - Purification ritual of 1000 years completes the circle of time before transmigration.

Sinners

Tityus: tried to rape Leto, mother of Artemis and Apollo. Eternal punishment of having his liver (seat of passion) devoured by vultures daily, only to have it regenerated the next morning.
Tantalus: fed his own son to feasting gods. Eternal punishment of insatiable hunger and thirst while being neck deep in water with sustenance just out of reach.
Sisyphus: cheats Thanatos by chaining him up when he is being claimed, orders wife not to perform burial rights. Eternal punishment of insurmountable task of pushing a boulder to the top of an incline, only to have it fall back again.
Ixion: lusted after Hera, raped Zeus's prototype Nephele Hera ("cloud Hera") but spills his seed on the ground (= birth of Centaurus, father of Centaurs). Eternal punishment of being bound to a rotating wheel of fire.
The Danaids (50 daughters of Danaus, King of Argos): married their cousins, 49 of them which murdered them on their wedding night (except Hypermnestra). Eternally punished of filling leaky water jars (symbolizing impotence, cannot hold seed).

Demeter (Ch 14)

Etymology and Epithets:
     (g.) Demeter, De "wheat" + meter "mother" = Goddess of the Grain
     (l.) Ceres
Domain: Dry earth, fertility goddess.
Genealogy: Cronus + Rhea, Sister of Zeus, Mother of Persephone (a.k.a. Proserpina)
Claim to Fame: Indicter of Elusian Mystery Cult, original scorned mother.
Iconography: sheaves of wheat, pillbox hat, snakes or snakelike things.
Literature: Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Myths

I. Rape of Persephone: Hades abducts Persephone from Demeter (witnessed only by Hecate, but in accordance with Zeus) and drags her down to the underworld. In response, Demeter undergoes 9 days of fasting and non-bathing while she looks high and low for her daughter.
She arrives at Eleusis, disguised as an old woman, seeking refuge at Celeus and Metaneira's palace (Rulers of Eleusis). To deal with her grievances, she offers to nurse the royal couples son, Demophoon, while an attendant Iambe cheers her up. She breaks her fast only with a draught of water, barley meal, and mint.
In attempt to immortalize Demophoon, she burns away his mortal parts in a holy fire at night, then feeds him on nectar and ambrosia during the day. She is caught by Metaneira, however, who thinks she is abusing the child, until Demeter casts off her mortal guise and appears to the family in full glory.
She demands a temple be built in her honor, with an altar, cult-following, and specific rites. Demophoon remains mortal, but is revered for his divine childhood.
Demeter moves on and withdraws from the gods and mankind. The ensuing famine plagues the land, starving mankind and diminishing worshippers, so Zeus sends all deities to win her over. Inconsolable, Demeter demands Persephone's return. Hades obliges at first, but offers his wife pomegranate seeds before her departure (bloody fruit, seeds = symbol of sexual consummation, loss of virtue), thus she is not returned in the same state that she was taken in. As a result, Persephone can only spend 2/3 of the year with her mother and the Olympians, and must remain 1/3 of the year with her husband Hades.
Demeter restores fertility to the land, and promotes her mystery cult.

Interpretation

Allegorical: Hades (earth) + Persephone (seed) = sowing of seeds, seemingly dead things, to bring life when it revisits the surface.
Structural: Cycle of reincarnation present in mother/daughter relationship. Earth mother and dying loved one is revisited each cycle.
Ritualist: Rite of passage for young girl to be married by father (Zeus) to a man often twice her age. Prearranged marriage of Parthenos ("virgin"), deflowered by her berothed. Eating pomegranate symbolizes first menses, the ability to bear children.

II. Eleusian Mystery Cult: To maintain fertility of the earth, Demeter invokes a number of rites of worship to appease her. With the promise of a secret initiation, happy afterlife, and several annual processions, she installs Triptolemus, the Elusian prince,  as her sanctioned messenger to pass on her knowledge of agriculture.
     - Myo "to squint", mystai "squinters"/"initiates"
     - Hierophant, "revealer of sacred things", initiates newcomers at the Telesterion ("hall of initiation")
     - 9 days of fasting, drinking only Kykeon ("barley meal, mint, and water"), torch procession, jest
     - 3 Stages of initiation:
           1. Lesser Mysteries: springtime procession
           2. Greater Mysteries: fall procession
           3. Epopteia ("beholding"): acknowledgement of the Hierophant, obscure unknown ritual.