The Adventures of Odysseus

ODYSSEY

The Adventures of Odysseus1.Troy2.The Island of the Cicones3. The Island of Lotus Eaters4. .The Island of the Cyclopes5.The Island of Aeolus6.The Island of the Laestrygonians7.Circe's Island8.The Underworld9.The Island of the Sirens10.Scylla and Charybdis11.Island of the Sun God12.Ogygia (Calypso's Island): 13.The Island of the Phaecians14.Ithaca

CharactersOdysseus: 

The Greek king of Ithaca who has been off fighting the Trojan War for ten years. 

Telemachus: The son of Odysseus. 

Penelope: The faithful wife of Odysseus.

Aeolus:God of Wind

Polyphemus: The Cyclops who captures Odysseus and his men with the intention of eating them. 

Circe: The witch-goddess with whom Odysseus and his men stay for one year.

Calypso: The nymph goddess who falls in love with Odysseus and keeps him on her island home for seven years. Hermes finally persuades Calypso to free Odysseus.

Odysseus

Odysseus and Penelope

Troy

After the victory at Troy, Odysseus and his men begin their journey home from here.

The Island of the CiconesAfter leaving Troy, they stop to raid this island for supplies. The Cicones attack on horseback,

and Odysseus lost 72 of his men.

The Island of the Lotus EatersOdysseus sends his men out to search

for food, and has to recover them when they eat the Lotus Flower.

The Lotus is a plant that forces the eater to lose all grip on reality.  Once it is eaten, the person knows nothing nor cares for anything other than eating the lotus plant. 

The Island of the Cyclopes:

Here, Odysseus and his men find a Cyclops' cave, lured by his cheese and wine.

The cyclops, Polyphemus, traps them inside the cave. Odysseus and his men blind the cyclops, and then sneak out under his heard of sheep.

Polyphemus

Then Odysseus and his men escape from the cave by hiding under Polyphemus's sheep.

The Island of Aeolus

Aeolus, the god of the winds, gives Odysseus all of the bad winds, so he can safely sail home. Odysseus' men go against his orders and open the bag, and all of the winds escape.

Aeolus

Aeolus, the god of the winds, gives Odysseus all of the bad winds, so he can safely sail home. Odysseus' men go against his orders and open the bag, and all of the winds escape.

Island of the Laestrygonians The Laestrygonians, a race of cannibals, eat the Greeks.

. The giants ate many of Odysseus' men and destroyed eleven of his twelve ships by launching rocks from high cliffs. Odysseus' ship was not destroyed as it was hidden in a cove near shore. Everyone on Odysseus' ship survived

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His soldiers, with a dozen ships, arrive at "the rocky stronghold of Lamos: Telepylus, the city of the Laestrygonians.

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Odysseus lands on Aeaea, home to Circe.  Odysseus sends some of his men to scout out the area, but when they do not return, he becomes worried.  All of Odysseus's men do not return, so Odysseus himself sets off to see why.

Circe’s Island

Circe

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On the way, he is confronted by Hermes.  Hermes tells him that Circe is up ahead and that his only chance of survival is to eat the plant Moly.  Odysseus hesitates; Moly is poisonous.  Nevertheless, he eats it.

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Circe pleads for them to stay on her island, and Odysseus does this because he was promised information on how to return home.  Finally, Circe tells him to go see Tiresias, a prophet located in the underworld.

Tiresias is A blind Prophet.

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The UnderworldOdysseus consults the prophet Tiresias to ask how he can get home, and finds his mother there, who has committed suicide in depression.

Odysseus' mother is Anticlea, wife of Laertes, daughter of Autolycus and Amphithea, granddaughter of Hermes.

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The SirensAfter Tiresias, and a brief stop at Aeaea, Odysseus's men

go to the Sirens.  The Sirens sing a song that no man can resist to passing ships. 

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Scylla and Charybdis

Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a six-headed sea serpent, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool. He did this because he knew that if he went to Charybdis, the whole ship would be destroyed. However, if he went towards Scylla, six men would die. A sacrifice the brave Odysseus decided to make.

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Scylla and Charybdis

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After leaving from the island of Sirens and escaping Scylla and Charybdis, the traveled to the island of they Sun God. If you remember before, Circe and Tiresias said not to mess with the Sun God's cattle. After they beached our ship, Odysseus made them swear not to touch his cattle.

Island of the Sun God

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Ogygia (Calypso's Island)

Odysseus finds this island after drifting in the sea. It is a island of women, with a nymph named Calypso, with whom Odysseus has a seven-year affair with. After the seven years, Hermes convinces Calypso to let Odysseus build a new ship so he could sail home.

Calypso

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The Island of the PhaeciansThe Phaecians accept Odysseus, and he explains his ten-year journey to them during a feast. They happily give him a ride home on one of their magical ships.

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Ithaca

Odysseus finally arrives home, and sees his son, Telemachus, for the first time in 15 years. He and Telemachus kill all of the suitors, and Odysseus takes his place as king, once again, alongside his wife Penelope.

Telemachus

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Odysseus finally made it back to his home.  Athena disguised him as a beggar so he can remain hidden while he analyzes the loyalty of his friends and family.  He confronts his son, Telemachus, and reveals his identity to him.  Penelope laid down a challenge to the suitors.  Any one of them who can string Odysseus's bow and shoot it through the axe-handles like Odysseus used to do would be her choice.  

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Needless to say, none of them could do it, that is, until the beggar got a chance.  He was ridiculed as he tried, but Odysseus shot the arrow perfectly.  Athena then changed his appearance to his previous one. 

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The suitors were awestruck.  It was then that Odysseus and Telemachus began their attack.  With the help of Athena and Zeus, they slaughtered all of the suitors. Odysseus, his father, Telemachus, and other loyal servants meet them in battle.  Laertes kills Antinous's father with a lance.  Zeus soon commands the fighting to stop.  Odysseus finally reclaimed title.