(Note: This is Homers account of Odysseus's journey to Ithaca. It has been geographically proven by noted historians that this voyage was not possible but considering it is regarded as a myth the voyage would have been believed by many in ancient Greece to be true)
1. Odysseus and his men plunder the city of Ismarus, home of the Cicones and are eventually driven back to the sea.
2. Zeus sends a storm, which drives Odysseus and his crew to the land of the Lotus-eaters. There, the fruits of the lotus trap his men, as they suddenly have no desire to leave the land.
3. Having escaped, the crew find themselves facing a new horror, a Cyclops named Polyphemus. He then begins to eat Odysseus’s men but only after conniving and deception does Odysseus manage to defeat Polyphemus and escape.
4. They next encounter Aeolus, ruler of the Winds, and he gives Odysseus a bag of wind. His men later think that it is actually a bag of valuables so they open it and are blown of course.
5. When they finally approach a shore they face the Laestrygonians and most of Odysseus’s men are killed or eaten. Only Odysseus’s ship survives.
6. Odysseus then encounters a witch named Circe, who turns men into pigs. Having avoided being turned into a pig he then becomes her lover.
7. Persuaded by his men, he asks Circe’s permission to leave and is later sent to the Underworld to find his way back home by consulting a prophet.
8. Now wary of the obstacles he must face, Odysseus and his men set off and encounter Scylla and Charybdis as well as the Sirens.
9. Odysseus’s ship is destroyed and he washes ashore on Calypso’s island where he later becomes her lover.
10. After many years, he is finally released and sets sail to Ithaca. However, he washes on the shore of the Pheaecians.
11. With the help of Athena, Nausicaa the princess of the Phaeacians clothes Odysseus and invites him to the palace.
12. Odysseus shares his exploits and is given a safe passage home.
13. Dressed as a beggar he journeys to his palace and finds that there are a number of suitors all hoping to win the hand of his wife, Penelope in marriage.
14. With the help of Athena and his son Telemachus he is able to kill all the suitors and reclaims his home.
To save my father from further punishment I think he should skip over his adventures on Circe and Calypso's island when he recounts his tales to my mother.
ReplyDelete-Commented by Telemachus