Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged his land continue to court his wife, Penelope. She has remained faithful to Odysseus. Prince Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, wants desperately to throw them out but does not have the confidence or experience to fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only opposition to their dominion over the palace.
Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The beautiful nymph Calypso, possessed by love for him, has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He longs to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help him escape. While the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseus’s future, Athena, Odysseus’s strongest supporter among the gods, resolves to help Telemachus. Disguised as a friend of the prince’s grandfather, Laertes, she convinces the prince to call a meeting of the assembly at which he reproaches the suitors. Athena also prepares him for a great journey to Pylos and Sparta, where the kings Nestor and Menelaus, Odysseus’s companions during the war, inform him that Odysseus is alive and trapped on Calypso’s island. Telemachus makes plans to return home, while, back in Ithaca, Antinous and the other suitors prepare an ambush to kill him when he reaches port.
On Mount Olympus, Zeus sends Hermes to
Prior to the second book, the first book describes the fact that Calypso traps Odysseus on an isolated island other than home. But more importantly, the issue of Odysseus not being home affects the life of the family and the household. Telemachus is mourning over his father whilst acknowledging that the Suitors are abusing Penelope’s will. With that in mind, the Suitors are being arrogant to try to make her marry them. However, Telemachus argues that even the Suitors know that Penelope’s father would not allow her to marry one of
Odysseus’ journey home was a long difficult venture which resulted in the loss of some of his crew, due to various monsters. Once Odysseus finally returned to his kingdom, he was disguised as a beggar and said that he was a friend of Odysseus. After a few days of witnessing his house be trashed by suitors, he revealed himself to his son, Telemachus, who the suitors planned to kill. Odysseus and Telemachus came up with a plan to kill all of the suitors while at the feast they were planning to hold. Penelope was also planning on holding a competition to figure out which one of the suitors she should marry.
Despite his youth and inexperience, Telemachus portrays himself with poise and dignity in the presence of these legendary figures. He engages in thoughtful discourse with Menelaus and Helen, eagerly inquiring about his father and attentively listening to their tales. This serves as a testament to Telemachus's maturity and adeptness in navigating unfamiliar social settings with elegance and composure. In Book 5, we see Odysseus becoming stranded on the island of Ogygia and meeting the nymph Calypso, who holds him captive for seven
Telemachus stands up against the suitors for invading the palace and seeks his father’s whereabouts, displaying his loyalty. Telemachus' loyalty was important to Odysseus's journey because he would sneak Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) to successfully regain Ithaca. If Telemachus had not intervened or gone to Pylos, Odysseus would have found Ithaca in turmoil and struggling, or be defeated when he got home. In addition, Penelope’s loyalty to Odyssey has proven to be critical when Odysseus wants to regain Ithaca from the suitors who attempt to marry her and rule over
For the last eight or nine years we have been hearing about a disorder that is new. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Odysseus developed (PTSD) after coming back home, he developed (PTSD) by remembering and witnessing he’s comrades die.
Odysseus’s wife, Penelope lives back in their town, Ithaka, is being pressured by unwanted suitors. Their son, Telemachos, is visited by the goddess Athene. Athene was quite close with Odysseus, and she tells Telemachos to go looking for his missing father. He travels to Pylos to see the King, Nestor. Nestor takes him in, gives him dinner and then tells him to go see King Menelaos in Sparta. Telemachos does as he’s told and travels to Sparta to see King Menelaos. He tells him that his father Odysseus is alive and is being kept captive on Kalypso’s island. He also tells him that his brother, King Agamemnon, has been murdered by his own wife, Klytamestra, and her lover Aigisthos. But, Agamemnon’s son, Orestes has killed his father’s murderers
Homer gives Odysseus series of conflicts even to the point of Odysseus returning home after 20 years. When Odysseus is given a chance to compete for Penelope, he does not hesitate in killing the ringleader of the suitors. As a result of Odysseus's determination, he tells them that will not “escape death”(1286). This act proves that he will not let anyone try to get with his women. This sense of courage and determination get him what he wants. In spite of Odysseus conquering this task he still has a more important one ahead. Penelope still has doubts and believe he could just be a trick from the gods. As a result, Telemachus tries to convince his mother that he is the real Odysseus and she does not need to question him. As a
Odysseus faces many gods, frightening sea creatures, and mythical beasts. Odysseus’ first obstacle is Calypso. She loves him and wants to hold him captive on her island forever, but with the help of Hermes, the messenger god, Odysseus and his men are able to leave. While they are sailing, Odysseus and his men find an island and they proceed to raid it for food and other things. After a little while, they meet the cyclops, Polyphemus, who eats many men and poses as a big threat to Odysseus’ journey home.
After Odysseus wins the challenge, he calls upon his son, “and the prince/ Telemachus, true son of King Odysseus,/ belted his sword on, clapped hand to his spear,/ and with a clink and glitter of keen bronze/ stood by his chair, in the forefront near his father” (5.1401-1405). Odysseus has just completed the challenge that Penelope set for her hand in marriage. The Suitors are now enraged that all the time they spent on Ithaca was wasted just because of a filthy beggar who turns out to be Odysseus so they are going to kill him. Before they could carry out their wish, Odysseus calls up his son, Telemachus. It is intriguing that Telemachus would fight with his father against so many men even though Odysseus was not there for most of his life. This shows a lot about the undaunted loyalty that his family gives him to return alive and defeat the enemy that was trying to take the land. Telemachus finally felt reunited with his father and would do anything to keep him alive and give him back his position of King of
The final strange and difficult situation Odysseus finds himself in is Ogygia where the goddess Calypso lives. Odysseus drifted there after nine days on a piece of his ship. Zeus had struck the ship with a bolt of lightning because Odysseus' men had eaten the sacred cattle of Helios. Calypso "Loved me and cared for me," but Odysseus didn't want to marry her and become immortal because he wanted to go back to his wife and son (147). After several years of living with calypso, the gods finally decide to help Odysseus escape.
I knew he was coming.I could feel it, he was almost here. He needed me to turn his sailors back to humans after I turned them to animals. He is finally here after twenty minutes of waiting. I must prepare myself for him, I put on my most extravagant outfit including jewelry as I walk I take the appearance of a beautiful young maiden. "Hello?" Odysseus calls, "go-go-go places women" I whisper pushing them into place , speed-walking to the doorway and draping myself against it sexily."Come all mighty Odysseus and join me," he follows me as I walk towards a table with many a food and my potionus drink. " I am Circe, you must be very hungry and thirsty after that long trek up here." I pause seeing his face flash an emotion I couldn't quite catch
Odysseus arrives on Calypso’s island alone, after the loss of his men and ship. Calypso rescues him and loves and cares for him in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn’t seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso’s island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach a day-long activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaka, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune, saying that "he lies away on an island suffering strong pains in the palace of the nymph Kalypso, and she detains him by constraint, and he cannot make his way to his country, for he has not any ships by him, nor any companions who can convey him back
In homer's Odyssey the main character Odysseus is a person who only tries to help himself. Although he earns the trust of his men while in Troy, he loses it on his perilous journey home. Many times in the epic he manipulates others, commits foolish acts and is full of hubris. He tries to take shortcuts and as a result of this is men are killed and his boats destroyed. He plays with the lives of his men and he is punished for it. Odysseus is not a hero because, he is foolish, lacks faithfulness and is consumed by his Hubris and selfishness.
One of the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey is the importance of cunning over strength. This also happens to be the case with Odysseus and his long ten year journey home from fighting in Troy. Odysseus uses his intelligence over strength to ‘fight’ through tough times and bring himself home to Ithaca. Odysseus uses his intelligence when he has his men tie him down while passing the Sirens, so he himself will be able to hear their beautiful song, but not be entranced by their singing. He also uses cunning to escape from the Cyclops’ cave without being harmed. He then uses his cunning by storing away all of the armory, shields, and knives from the suitors so he is able to kill them easily.
After assisting Telemachus, Athena ventures to the Island where Calypso lives to free Odysseus. Odysseus is then given a boat by Calypso to return to home. On the way home, he lands on a strange place which is unknown to him. Athena, cognizant of Odysseus' arrival, travels to the palace of Alcinous disguised as one of Nausicaa's friends. Athena enters the palace and gives Nausicaa advice to venture to river so she would clean herself up to make her presentable to men. In doing this, Athena has sent Nausicaa to meet up with Odysseus at the river. It was then Odysseus' turn to be disguised.