Myth of the legendary Odysseus - Greeka.com Discover the myth of Odysseus Odysseus, a legendary man According to Homer, Laertes and Anticleia were the parents of Odysseus. He was married to Penelope and they gave birth to a son, Telemachus. Odysseus was often called "Odysseus the Cunning" because of his clever and quick mind. Autolycus, his grandfather, was a famous skilled thief in the Peloponnese . The Romans transformed the name Odysseus to Ulysses and that is how he is mostly known today all over the world. Odysseus had a proud and arrogant character. He was the master of disguise in both appearance and voice. He also excelled as a military commander and ruler, as is evident from the role he played in ensuring to the Greeks the victory over Troy, giving thus an end to the long Trojan War. The fall of Troy All began the day Paris of Troy abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta.

Enraged, Menelaus called upon all kings of Greece, including Odysseus, as all had once vowed to defend the honour of Helen, if someone ever tried to insult her. Odysseus, however, tried to escape the promise made to Menelaus by feigning insanity. Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus proved Odysseus to be lying and henceforth the legendary warrior set out for Troy, along with Agamemnon the lord of men, Achilles the invincible, Nestor he wise and Teucer the master archer, as they were called. Ten years had passed since the Greeks attacked Troy and they were all still there, outside the strong walls, fighting with the locals, who proved themeselves brave warriors. In the tenth year of the war, Odysseus the Cunning, the most trusted advisor and counselor of king Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, devised a plan to deceive the Trojans. He wanted to make them believe that the Greeks had lost their nerves and had returned back to Greece. In the middle of the night, the Greeks deserted Troy leaving only a gigantic wooden horse on wheels outside the gates of the city.

When dawn broke, the Trojans were surprised to see no Greek army surrounding them, only a wooden horse. They indeed believed that the Greeks had gone and had left this horse as a gift to the gods, to give them a good sea trip. Thus they wheeled the wooden horse into their city and started revelry to celebrate the end of the war. However, unknown to the Trojans, Odysseus had built a hollow into the wooden horse to hide there a few Greek warriors. This plan was the only way to gain entry to the city that had held its defenses for so many years. Now that they were inside Odysseus and his men went out the dummy horse and slaughtered the unsuspecting guards. Then they opened the city gates and allowed the entire Greek army, who were hiding some miles away, to enter the city. Thus, thanks to the plan of Odysseus, the Greeks won the Trojan War. With the war over, Odysseus and his men set sail for their homeland, Ithaca, but in the end only one of them would come back. The long journey home The journey home for Odysseus and his fellows would be long and full of adventures.

Their eyes would see all the strange of the world and Odysseus would come home with more memories and experiences than any other person in the world. The Cicones Odysseus and his legion set sail from Troy aboard twelve ships. Tranquil waters facilitated the movement of the ships and they were well out to sea. After a few days, they sighted land and Eurylochus, second-in-command to Odysseus, convinced him to weigh anchor, go ashore and devastate the city with the assurance that they would not be harmed. Seeing the ships weigh anchor and thenceforth the warriors coming ashore, the Ciconians, the local residents, fled to the nearby mountains. Odysseus and his men plundered and looted the empty city. However, the men of Odysseus resisted his efforts to get them back aboard the ship immediately and after a hearty meal accompanied by wine that flew like water, they fell asleep on the shore. Before the first light, the Ciconians returned with their fierce neighbors and set upon the warriors, killing as many as they could. Odysseus and his men beat a hasty retreat to their ships but heavy damages had already been inflicted on their number.

Berating himself for having listened to Eurylochus and thereafter losing so many valuable men, Odysseus and Eurylochus fought with each other but they were separated by their fellow-men and peace was once again established amidst the warriors. The Lotus-Eaters Rounding to the south, Odysseus and his men were blown off-course, towards the land of the Lotus-Eaters. While Odysseus was scouting around the land, some of his men mingled with the natives and ate the local lotus grown on the land. Soon, everything went hazy and the men found themselves under the heavy influence of some intoxicant that caused them to fall asleep. The lotus flowers they had eaten were narcotic in nature and made them forget all about their family and homeland. These men wanted to stay on this land and eat lotus for the rest of their lives. They refused to go home. Desperately, Odysseus and some other men had to carry them back to the ship. Without delay, they set sail and upon waking these men had to be bound to the masts to prevent them from jumping into the sea and swimming back to the shore to consume the lotus flower that they had got so addicted to.

Polyphemus the Cyclops After sailing for many weeks without further adventure, the warriors chanced upon a strange land. Odysseus and a handful of his men went ashore to search the land. A few minutes walk from the ships brought them to the mouth of a gigantic cave. Curious, the warriors entered the cave and found it to be the habitation of some gigantic being. Further on, they found flocks of sheep inside the cave and being hungry, they slaughtered a few of them and feasted on their flesh. Unknown to them, this was the lair of Polyphemus the Cyclops and this land was the home of the gigantic Cyclopes. Returning to his cave, Polyphemus blocked the entrance with a huge rock, as he usually did. Odysseus and his men ran towards the entrance but they were dismayed at the sight that greeted them. Here was a huge rock preventing their escape from a being that was even bigger than the rock. Laying his only eye on the warriors, Polyphemus asked who they were. Without revealing their identity or mission, Odysseus told Polyphemus they were sea-farers who had lost their way and had come ashore looking for food.

Unhappy that his sheep had been killed and eaten by these men, Polyphemus refused them to exit his cave. Everyday he made a meal of two brave warriors, dashing their brains out on the walls of the cave and chewing them raw. Unable to bear this act of cruelty, Odysseus devised a plan to get them out. He had with him a gourd of strong wine and one day he offered it to Polyphemus, who grabbed it and poured it down his throat greedily. The wine made the Cyclops drowsy and within minutes he fell asleep. Odysseus and his remaining men took a red-hot poker from the fire-place and thrust it into the Cyclop's only eye, blinding him. The sleeping giant awoke in shock, howling in pain and bellowing in rage, demanding to know who had done this. Yet again Odysseus presence of mind proved of the very essence and he shouted out that his name was "Nobody". Polyphemus, now on his feet and stumbling around created such a commotion that his fellow Cyclops came running to his lair to see what had happened.

When they stood outside the cave and asked Polyphemus what had happened, the Cyclops said that Nobody had blinded him. The other Cyclopes laughed out loud, called him an idiot and told him there was nothing they could do for "Nobody" had hurt him. The following morning, Odysseus and his men strapped themselves to the belly of the sheep and in this manner they escaped when Polyphemus let his flocks out of his lair to graze. Once outside, the warriors ran to the safety of their ships. Odysseus, however, priding his brilliance, could not resist taunting Polyphemus. The moment they set sail, he shouted out to the Cyclops that it was he, Odysseus, who had blinded him. Enraged and unable to see, Polyphemus threw a massive rock in the direction of the voice. Luckily for Odysseus, it fell short of its target for else his ship would have been smashed. Polyphemus cried out to his father, the sea-god Poseidon, to avenge this ignominy and hereafter Odysseus became a sworn enemy of Poseidon.

The Bags of Aeolus Fleeing the land of the Cyclopes, Odysseus found his ships nearing Aeolia, home of Aeolus, the god of the winds. Aeolus used to blow the wind over the sea and the land. After hearing of Odysseus' journey home, Aeolus gave him a bag full of winds that would guide him home safely. Odysseus set sail the seas once again and spent many sleepless nights guarding the bag until one day, too tired and overcome with fatigue, he fell asleep. Curiosity overcame a couple of his men who had been awaiting the opportunity to grab the bag to see what their leader was guarding with his life. They got their chance the moment Odysseus fell asleep, as they were approaching the shore of Ithaca. Without a minute of hesitation, the two sailors opened the bag. The winds caught in the bag escaped and created a furious storm that drove the ships backwards. Sensing something wrong in the motion of the ship Odysseus awoke with a start only to find himself back at Aeolia.

This time, Aeolus declined to give again the gift of the winds and a heartbroken Odysseus set out once again on the arduous journey back to Ithaca. The Laestrygonians Out of the darkness of night, an island was raising in the distance. This was Telepylos, an island with natural defenses in the form of the cliffs and with only one narrow passage in. Each ship passed into the calm harbor surrounded by cliffs with the exception of Odysseus, who for some reason anchored it in the turbulent waters outside. Two warriors went ashore to explore the island and they came across a girl who took them to her father. Nearing the castle, they saw a gigantic woman who called out to her husband. A giant man, her husband, came running out and snatching up one of the men devoured him alive. The other ran for his life and the entire race of giants that inhabited the land gave chase to him. At the harbor, Odysseus' men ran for cover but the giants smashed their ships with massive rocks and speared them alive. Only Odysseus managed to escape on his ship with some sailors on it since he had anchored it outside the island.

Circe the Enchantress Having barely saved their lives, Odysseus and the men aboard the one surviving ship landed on the island, Aeaea, home to the powerful Circe, enchantress and powerful sorceress. With the help of strong magic and unknown to the warriors, Circe had already envisioned their arrival on her island. Some fellows of Odysseus who had been sent to explore the island, walked into the palace of Circe and saw her sitting on her magnificent throne, surrounded by wild animals who were once men. The beautiful enchantress, with one touch of her stick, turned the mighty warriors into pigs. With the help of god Hermes, Odysseus drank a certain herb that protected him from Circe's magic. When she saw him, the sorceress found her spells to be ineffective and on his demand that his men be turned back into human form, the sorceress agreed but only if Odysseus shared her bed-chamber. Odysseus consented and moreover, he and his men spent a whole year on this island. At the end of that year, Odysseus decided to depart from Aeaea and continue his way home.

Circe, having the ability to predict future, gave him instructions on what to do afterwards. She advised him to go to the Underworld and meet the blind prophet Tiresius to ask him for instructions. The Journey to the Underworld No alive man had ever entered the Underworld. But brave Odysseus decided to do so, in order to continue his journey and reach Ithaca at last! Odysseus and his men made sacrifices to god Hades by the shores of the River Acheron and Odysseus alone took the path to the dark Underworld. Tiresius appeared to Odysseus and the blind prophet told him that in order to get home he had to pass between Scylla and Charybdis, two great monsters. The Sirens Leaving Hades, Odysseus and his men sailed for many days without sight of land. Not before long, though, strange disquieting sounds reached the ears of the men aboard the ship. The sounds tugged at their hearts and made them want to weep with joy. Odysseus at once realized that they were approaching the Sirens that Circe had warned him about.

The sorceress had told him to block every man's ears with wax for if any were to hear the song of the Sirens, he would surely jump off the ship, go close to the Sirens and the winged monsters would kill them. Odysseus did exactly that with his men, but he himself wanted to hear their strange song. He thus ordered his sailors to tie him up to the mast so he could not jump into the sea in an attempt to meet the Sirens. With their ears blocked with wax, the men heard nothing and the ship passed near the Sirens. Suddenly, Odysseus wanted to get free of his bonds and swim towards the Sirens for their song had just become clear and it was very beautiful and captivating. But the ropes were very tight and fortunately he could not untie himself. His fellows could hear neither the Sirens neither the screams of their leader, who was praying them to untie him. As the ship was sailing away from the shore, the song of the Sirens was fading out.

Scylla and Charybdis Following the advice of Tiresius, Odysseus chose the route that would take him on one side close to Scylla, a six-headed monster who had once been a woman and on the other side Charybdis, a violent whirlpool. Tiresius had advised Odysseus to sacrifice six men to Scylla so they might pass through without losing any more men. Approaching the mouth of the strait between Scylla and Charybdis the warriors shrank back in fear for on either side were violent deaths. Only Odysseus was quiet, sad that he would have to lose six brave warriors but he was ready to do so, in order to save the others. As they passed by Scylla, she picked up six men and allowed the rest to pass through safely. Odysseus never forgot the screams of the men he had to sacrifice and to the very end of his days he lamented his betrayal. He had not informed a single warrior of his motive. Then his ship passed from Charibdys but managed to survive.

The Cattle of Helios Weary and tired from the ordeal, Odysseus ordered his ship to weigh anchor at the island of Thrinacia. This island was sacred to the sun god Helios whose cattle grazed freely here. Even though Odysseus had been warned by Tiresius and Circe not to harm any of the cattles, his men defied him and set about slaughtering and feasting on them. Immediately Helios complained to Zeus, vowing to take vengeance by sending the sun down to Hades, never to rise again. Zeus in response sank Odysseus ship with a thunderbolt as it was leaving Thrinacia and destroyed every man aboard with the exception of the valiant leader. Somehow, a floundering Odysseus was swept past Scylla and Charybdis and washed up ashore on an unknown island. Seven years with Calypso The island that Odysseus found himself was Ogygia and it was there where he spent seven years with the nymph Calypso, who found him unconscious on the beach.

She promised him immortality in exchange for his love, but soon Odysseus sensed once again the desire to see Ithaca and his family, his unfortunate wife and his son who would have grown up till then. Even a beautiful and powerful goddess like Calypso couldn't fill this feeling of the unaccomplished that Odysseus was always carrying in to his heart. However, Calypso had fallen in love with him and wouldn't let him go. On the behalf of Zeus, Hermes appeared before Calypso and told her to let Odysseus go. One day finally, on a raft that he built himself, Odysseus set off for Ithaca with a wooden float but once again he was caught in the middle of a storm and shore to another strange land. Meanwhile on Ithaca Telemachus, the son of Odysseus who had just turned twenty, decided to set out in search of his long gone father. His mother had woes of her own. She was constantly plagued by suitors asking for her hand, since ten years had passed from the end of the Trojan War and her husband had not returned. Day after day, she fended off their advances with an ingenious trick.

She told the suitors that she was weaving a burial shroud for Odysseus' father and only when it was complete, would she even think to marry anyone of them. Penelope's trick was to weave the cloth in the daytime and undo it at night, so the suitors were kept waiting indefinitely, until her husband would return. However, a chambermaid betrayed her to the suitors and soon they were back, asking for her hand and the kingdom of Ithaca. Knowing that his mother was successfully keeping her 108 suitors away, Telemachus decided to set out on his quest. Aided by goddess Athena and along with some of his faithful warriors, he went to Sparta to meet Menelaus and ask him if he had any news from his father. Unfortunately, Menelaus knew nothing and Telemachus disappointed returned to Ithaca. The Phaeacians The land of the Phaeacians, which the historians believe is modern Corfu, was where Odysseus found himself after a terrible storm. Nafsica, the local princess, found Odysseus exhausted and naked on the shore and led him to the palace of her father.

While in the court of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, he heard the bard Demodocus sing of the Trojan War. Odysseus was overcome with grief at hearing stories about the war and of the Trojan Horse that had been his invention. It was then that the emotions came crashing down on him and he broke down into tears. The people gathered around him asked who he really was and why the story affected him. It was then that Odysseus revealed his true identity and his struggles to reach Ithaca. After listening to his ordeals, the Phaeacians gave him their fastest ship, the best of their provisions and bid him good luck on his way home. And so it was that the hero finally returned to Ithaca, eager to see his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, from both of whom he had been separated for two whole decades. Finally on Ithaca The arrival of Odysseus on Ithaca went unnoticed and, in the guise of a beggar, he approached the palace. He first met his old servants and his beloved son, Telemachus. From them, he learnt about the suitors that have been bothering Penelope for so long.

Odysseus, still in the form of a beggar, he met his wife, who didn't recognize him. He told her about her husband's bravery and how he had helped in winning the Trojan War. These tails brought tears to her eyes. Calming herself, she approached the suitors who were always hanging around the palace and set them a simple task. Penelope would marry anyone of them who could string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe-handles joined together. The suitors pushed and shoved each other to be the first to succeed but little did they know that the task they faced was impossible. Stringing the bow that belonged to Odysseus was not an easy task for it required not brute strength but dexterity. One by one, each suitor tried his luck but to no avail. Finally, Odysseus picked up the bow, stringing it with ease and in one fluid motion letting fly an arrow that pierced all the twelve axe-handles. After that, there was chaos.

Revealing his true identity, Odysseus began massacring the suitors and, aided by Telemachus and the swineherd Eumaeus, they had soon cleared the court of all 108 of them. The suitors were killed and the maid-servants, who had made themselves the pleasure slaves of the suitors, were all hung. When Penelope heard the massacre, she run to the court. Fazed by the sudden spate of events, she refused to believe that this strange beggar was indeed her long lost husband Odysseus, so she set up another test for him. In front of Odysseus, Penelope ordered the palace servants to remove the bed from her bed-chamber to the hall outside. On hearing this, Odysseus bristled with anger and opposed the idea, saying that this bed had been fashioned out of a living oak by his own hand and none, save a god, none in the whole world could move it. Joyful, Penelope rushed to Odysseus and hugged him, with big tears in her eyes, for she was reassured that this man was her beloved husband returned to her.

Only Odysseus knew the secret about their bed and his words were the proof she needed to believe him. The real end This, however, was not the end of Odysseus' journey. Prophet Tiresius had forewarned him that once he had re-asserted himself as King of Ithaca, he should travel inland holding the oar of a ship. Indeed, after a few years, Odysseus crowned Telemachus King of Ithaca and left him and his wife Penelope to travel on the opposite inland. Many days did he wander with the oar in hand seeking for people who would not know what it was but wherever he went, people recognized it as an oar. One day, far inland, opposite the shores of Ithaca, Odysseus came across those people who had never seen the sea and hence did not know what an oar was. There it was that Odysseus finished his life travel and took a local princess for his bride. For many years, he lived amongst these people and it was here that he breathed his last, far from the sea, his family and his beloved Ithaca. Share it!

Odysseus Odysseus I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, known to all for my deceptive skills— my fame extends all the way to heaven. Odysseus, MAR Sperlonga Odysseus Laërtiadês (Greek: Ὀδυσσεὺς , Οδυσσέας ) Λαερτιάδης', 'son of Laertes '), or simply Odysseus (meaning "man of wrath" according to Homer ) or more likely (from Greek οδηγός: odigos, a guide; the one showing the way. Odysseus is a character in Greek mythology , known as Ulysses or Ulixes in Roman mythology. He is the hero of the Odyssey, and a major character in the Iliad. Odysseus was the son of Laertes and Anticlea , although some sources, prominent among them Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides, state that Sisyphus was his father. As a child, Odysseus was wet-nursed by Euryclea.

Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus, favorite of Athena , and wiliest of the Greeks involved in the Trojan War . Odysseus earns this title by, among other things, masterminding the According to some late sources, most of them purely genealogical, Odysseus had many other children besides Telemachus , the most famous: - with Circe : Telegonus, Ardeas with Calypso or Circe: Nausinous or Nausitoo with Calidices: Polipetes Most such genealogies aimed to link Odysseus with the foundation of many Italic cities in remote Antiquity. Before the Trojan War Odysseus was one of the original suitors of Helen . He agreed to help Tyndareus , her father, settle the dispute for her hand in marriage, in return for which Tyndareus supported Odysseus in his quest to marry Penelope. Odysseus and all the other suitors pledged to defend Helen's marriage to the winning suitor, Menelaus.

Odysseus did not want to make good on his pledge to defend Menelaus ' marriage. He pretended to be insane, ploughing his fields and sowing salt instead of seeds. Agamemnon (Menelaus' brother), however, sent Palamedes to retrieve Odysseus. Palamedes was very intelligent and placed Telemachus, Odysseus' infant son, in front of the plough. Odysseus could not kill his son and revealed his sanity, then left for the Trojan War . Odysseus discovered Achilles on the isle of Skyros, disguised as a girl by his mother, the goddess Thetis , and convinced him to come out of hiding and fight. According to legend, Odysseus had two carts set up in the city plaza. One was filled with expensive clothing and perfumes, and the other was stocked with weapons of war. Most women rushed to the first cart. However, Achilles , being a man of the sword, went directly to the second, and was thus found by Odysseus. On the way to Troy, Philoctetes was bitten by a snake on Chryse.

Odysseus advised that he be left behind because the wound was festering and smelled bad. Ten years later, Helenus, under torture, revealed that Philoctetes' arrows (which he received from Heracles) would be necessary to win the war. Odysseus and Neoptolemus went to Lemnos to retrieve Philoctetes. Odysseus in the Trojan War Before the Greek fleet sailed for Troy, Odysseus, Phoenix and Ajax went to Scyros to persuade Achilles to join the battle. During the Trojan War, Odysseus and Diomedes stole the Palladium (and King Rhesus' horses) in a nocturnal raid. Later, with the aid of Athena , Ajax rescued the body of Achilles from the hands of the Trojans. In the competition between him and Odysseus for the armor of Achilles, Agamemnon, at the instigation of Athena, awarded the prize to Odysseus. This so enraged Ajax that it caused his death (Odyssey, xi. 541).

According to a later and more detailed story, his disappointment drove him mad; he rushed out of his tent and fell upon the flocks of sheep in the camp under the impression that they were the Trojan enemy; on coming to his senses, in shame he killed himself with the sword which he had received as a present from Hector. Odysseus never forgave Palamedes for sending him to the Trojan War (some sources date to approximately 1194–1184 BC). When Palamedes advised the Greeks to return home, Odysseus accused him of being a traitor, forged false evidence and found a fake witness to testify against him. Palamedes was stoned to death. The Greek siege of Troy had lasted for ten years. The Greeks devised a new ruse - a giant hollow wooden horse (the Trojan Horse). The choice of gift may have been influenced by the fact that the Trojans were famous horse-breeders, as archaeology confirms. It was built by Epeius and filled with Greek warriors led by Odysseus. The rest of the Greek army appeared to leave and the Trojans accepted the horse as compensation for theft of the Palladium.

A Greek spy, Sinon, convinced the Trojans the horse was a gift despite the warnings of Laocoon and Cassandra . The Trojans celebrated hugely and when the Greeks emerged from the horse the city was in a drunken stupor. The Greek warriors opened the city gates to allow the rest of the army access and the city was ruthlessly pillaged - all the men were killed and all the women taken into slavery. Odysseus' return to Ithaca Odysseus had one of the best helmsmen in ancient Greece, Baius. Poseidon delayed Odysseus' voyage for two reasons: his role in the defeat of Troy; and his actions against Poseidon's son, Polyphemus, described below. Members of Odysseus' Crew Polites The Ciconians After Odysseus and his men depart from Troy, the are greeted by friendly and calm waters. The ships near land and Eurylochus, convincing Odysseus that the gods were on their side, told him to go ashore and loot the nearby city. The crew had landed in Ciconia. The city was not at all protected and all of the inhabitants fled without a fight into the nearby mountains.

Odysseus and his men looted the city and robbed it of all its goods. Odysseus wisely told the men to board the ships quickly but they refused and fell asleep on the beach. The next morning, the Ciconians returned with their fierce kinsmen from the mountains. Odysseus and his men fled to the ships as fast as they could but they lost many men still. The Lotus Eaters When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus sent out a scouting party who ate the Lotus with the natives. This caused them to sleep and stop caring about ever going home. Odysseus went after the scouting party and dragged them back against their will to the ship and set sail. The Cyclops Polyphemos and Odysseus Polyphemus A scouting party led by Odysseus (and his friend, Misenus), lands in the land of the Cyclopes and ventures upon a large cave. They enter into the cave and proceed to feast on some food they find there. Unknown to them, this cave is the home of Polyphemus who soon comes upon the trespassers and traps them in his cave.

He proceeds to eat several crew members, but Odysseus devised a cunning plan for escape. To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gave him a barrel of very strong, unwatered wine. When Polyphemus asked for Odysseus' name, he told him that it was "Noman" or "Nobody". Once the giant fell asleep, Odysseus and his men took a hardened spear and destroyed Polyphemus' only eye. In the morning, Odysseus tied his men and himself to the undersides of Polyphemus' sheep. When the Cyclops let the sheep out to graze, the men were carried out. Since Polyphemus was blind, he didn't see the men, but felt the tops of his sheep to make sure the men weren't riding them. Once the sheep (and men) were safely out, Polyphemus realized the men were no longer in his cave. He yelled out to his fellow Cyclopes that "Noman"/"Nobody" hurt him, so they ignored him.

As Odysseus and his men were sailing away, he told Polyphemus that "Noman/Nobody didn't hurt you, Odysseus did!" Odysseus didn't realize that Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, and that telling him his name would have severe repercussions. In another interpretation, Odysseus knew that revealing his name would harm him; however his honor compelled him to do so. According to Virgil's Aeneid, Achaemenides was one of Odysseus' crew who stayed on Sicily with Polyphemus until Aeneas arrived and took him with him. Aeolus Odysseus stopped at Aiolia, home of Aeolus , the god of the winds. He gave them hospitality for a month and provided for a west wind to carry them home. Unfortunately he also provided a gift of a bag containing each of the four winds, which Odysseus' crew members, suspecting that treasure was in the bag, opened just before their home was reached. They were blown back to Aiolia, where Aeolus refused to provide any further help.

The Laestrygonians They came to Telepylos, the stronghold of Lamos, king of the Laestrygonians. These people attacked the fleet with boulders, sinking all but one of the ships and killing hundreds of Odysseus' men. 5745 : Statue of Odysseus Circe The next stop was the island of Circe (Aeaea), where Odysseus sent a scouting party ahead of the rest of the group. She invited the scouting party to a feast, the food laced with one of her magical potions, and she then changed all the men into pigs with a wand after they gorged themselves on it. Only Eurylochus, suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped to warn Odysseus and the others who had stayed behind at the ships. Odysseus set out to rescue his men, but was intercepted and told by Hermes to procure some of the herb moly to protect him from the same fate. When her magic failed he was able to force her to return his men to human form.

She later fell in love with Odysseus and assisted him in his quest to reach his home after he and his crew spent a year with her on her island. According to some sources, Circe and Odysseus had three children: Telegonus, Argius, and Latinus. On Circe's island, one member of Odysseus' crew, his good friend Elpenor, got drunk and fell off Circe's roof. The fall killed him. Journey to the Underworld Odysseus wanted to speak with Tiresias, so he and his men journeyed to the River Acheron where they performed sacrifices which allowed them to speak to the dead, including his mother, Elpenor, Tiresias and Achilles. They all gave him valuable advice on how to pass the rest of his journey. Odysseus sacrificed a ram and the dead spirits were attracted to the blood. He held them at bay and demanded to speak with Tiresias who told him how to pass by Helios' cattle.

He also told Odysseus that after he returned to Ithaca, that he must take a well-made oar and walk inland with it until someone asked him why he carried a winnowing-fan on his back. At that place, he was to make a sacrifice to Poseidon. He also told Odysseus that after all that was done, that he would die an old man, "full of years and peace of mind," that his death would come from the sea and that his life would ebb away very gently. (Some read this as meaning that his death would come away from the sea.) The Sirens Odysseus escaped the Sirens by having all his sailors plug their ears with wax and tie him to the mast. He was curious as to what the Sirens sounded like. When he heard their beautiful music, he ordered the sailors to untie him but they ignored him. When they had passed out of earshot, Odysseus stopped thrashing about and calmed down, and was released.

Scylla and Charybdis When Odysseus had to sail between Scylla and Charybdis , he chose to lose some of his crew to the monster Scylla rather than his whole ship to Charybdis, a whirlpool. Helios' Cattle Finally, Odysseus and his surviving crew landed on an island, Thrinacia, sacred to Helios , where he kept sacred cattle. Though Odysseus warned his men not to (as Tiresias had told him), they killed and ate some of the cattle. The guardians of the island, Helios' daughters, Lampetia and Phaethusa, told their father. Helios destroyed the ship and all the men save Odysseus. Sometimes, Apollo is cited in place of Helios in this part of the legend. Kalypso Departure of Ulysses from the Land of the Feaci , Claude Lorrain Odysseus was washed ashore on Ogygia, where the nymph Kalypso lived. She made him her lover for seven years and wouldn't let him leave, promising him immortality if he stayed.

On behalf of Athena, Zeus intervened and sent Hermes to tell Kalypso to let Odysseus go. Odysseus left on a small raft furnished with provisions of water, wine and food by Kalypso, only to be hit by a storm and washed up on the island of Scheria and was found by Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians, who entertained him well and escorted him to Ithaca. On the twentieth day of sailing he arrived at his home in Ithaca. Odysseus reaches Ithaca Odysseus as a beggar in Ithaca Odysseus killing the suitors of his wife Penelope, Attic red-figure skyphos, c. 440 BC, from Tarquinia, by the Penelope Painter mnestrophonia : mnester = suitor; phonos = slaughter, killing In Ithaca, Penelope was fending off countless suitors while Odysseus' mother, Anticlea, had died of grief. Odysseus disguised himself as an old man or a beggar and using the name Eperitus.

Only Odysseus' faithful dog Argus recognized him in his rags. He had waited twenty years to see his master. Aged and decrepit, he did his best to wag his tail, and then happily lay down to die. Odysseus was welcomed by his old swineherd, Eumaeus, who didn't recognize him in disguise, but still treated him well. The first person to recognize him was his old wet nurse, Euryclea. Odysseus saw that Penelope was faithful to him, pretending to knit or weave a burial shroud (for they claimed he must be dead) and claiming she would choose one suitor when she finished. Every night she undid part of the shroud, until one day, a maid of hers betrayed this secret to the suitors. They demanded that she finally choose someone. Luckily, this occurred just before Odysseus showed up. Odysseus watched the suitors drink and take advantage of his family's hospitality. Meanwhile, Penelope announces that she will marry whoever can string Odysseus' bow and send an arrow through twelve axes. Of course, only Odysseus was capable of stringing the bow.

Odysseus then took off his disguise and, with Telemachus, Athena, and Eumaeus, the swineherd killed them all save Medon, who had been polite to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer who had been forced to help the suitors against Penelope. Penelope, still not quite sure that the stranger was indeed her husband, devised a test. She ordered her maid to make up Odysseus' bed, and move it from their bedchamber. Odysseus is astonished, and tells her that their bed is built into the trunk of an olive tree, and cannot be moved. Since only Odysseus could know this, Penelope accepts that he is her husband. One of the suitors' (Antinous) father, Eupeithes, tried to overthrow Odysseus after the death of his son. Laertes killed him, and Athena thereafter required the suitors' families and Odysseus to make peace, and there the story of the Odyssey ends.

Odysseus has been told (by the shade of Tiresias) that he has one more voyage to make after he has re-established his rule in Ithaca, and also that his death will come from the sea and will be peaceful and pleasant, but the time-frame of these future events is left vague, perhaps because Homer intended to compose the continuation of the story and wanted room for improvisation. According to a rarely heard i.e. derivative version of this story, Odysseus was sent into exile by Neoptolemus for killing the suitors. Other stories Odysseus is one of the most recurrent characters in Western literature. He has been used by innumerable writers, who often interpret his character and actions in very different ways. He figures in the end of the story of King Telephus of Mysia. There may have been a sequel to the Odyssey, named 'Telegonia', after Telegonus, his son with Circe.

In fifth-century Athens, tales of the Trojan War were popular subjects for tragedies, and Odysseus figures centrally or indirectly in a number of the extant plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, (Ajax, Philoctetes) and Euripedes, and figured in still more that have not survived. As Ulysses, he is mentioned regularly in Vergil's Aeneid, and the poem's hero, Aeneas, rescues one of Ulysses' crew members who was left behind on the island of the Cyclops. He in turn offers a first-person account of some of the same events Homer relates, in which Ulysses appears directly. Vergil's Odysseus typifies the Aeneid's view of the Greeks: he is cunning but impious, and ultimately malicious and hedonistic.

Ovid retells parts of Odysseus' journeys, focusing on his romantic involvements with Circe and Calypso, and recasts him as, in Harold's Bloom's phrase, "one of the great wandering womanizers." William Blake, Ulysses and Diomedes In the Divine Comedy, Dante sees Diomedes in the eighth circle of Hell, where he is condemned together with Ulysses to be imprisoned for eternity in a sheet of flame. The specific sin which Dante has in mind as to Diomedes appears to be the theft of the Palladium. Dante , in the Canto Twenty-Six of the Inferno of his Divine Comedy, encounters Odysseus near the very bottom of Hell: with Diomedes, he walks wrapped in flame in the eighth ring (Counselors of Fraud) of the Eighth circle (Sins of Malice), as punishment for his schemes and conspiracies that won the Trojan War. In a famous passage, Dante has Odysseus relate a different version of his final voyage and death from the one foreshadowed by Homer.

He tells how he set out with his men for one final journey of exploration to sail beyond the pillars of Hercules and into the western sea to find what adventures awaited them. After travelling east and south for five months, they saw in the distance a great mountain rising from the sea (this is Purgatory, in Dante's cosmology), before a storm sank them. He appears in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, set during the Trojan War. Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Ulysses presents an aging king who has seen too much of the world to be happy sitting on a throne idling his days away. Leaving the task of civilizing his people to his son, he gathers together a band of old comrades "to sail beyond the sunset". James Joyce's novel Ulysses uses modern literary devices to narrate a single day in the life of a Dublin businessman named Leopold Bloom; which turns out to bear many elaborate parallels to Odysseus' twenty years of wandering. Nikos Kazantzakis' The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, a 333,333 line epic poem, begins with Odysseus cleansing his body of the blood of Penelope's suitors.

Odysseus soon leaves Ithaca in search of new adventures. Before his death he abducts Helen, incites revolutions in Crete and Egypt , communes with God, and meets representatives of various historical and literary figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Jesus, and Don Quixote.

Question: In Greek legend, Ulysses sailed safely between what?
Answer: Scylla and Charybdis