The Odyssey

The Odyssey, by Chagall

Homer’s Odyssey is a nostos, or an epic of return, and asks if one can come home again, especially after years of bloody war. In fact, an odyssey is now meant generally as a long journey home, much like Odysseus’ after the fall of Troy. The Odyssey attempts to remake order after the chaos of war. Odysseus, a young man when Agamemnon and Menelaos recruited him for the campaign against Ilium, is now a middle-aged survivor and veteran of that war who must be smarter than the champion Achilles and the leader Agamemnon in order to return home and set his lands in order. War almost seems easy in the light of Odysseus’ journey — at least in war, he knew his enemies. Enemies during peacetime wear many masks; Odyssey must do the same if he is to survive. Odyssey has emenies that can't be be humanly fought; the gods, but Athena helps him to get home safely.

Summary

The Odyssey’s action is spread over twenty-four books, set in medias res that generally occur half before Odysseus returns home, and half after. Throughout his journey, Odysseus faces numerous challenges that center around the deceits of the gods, the indulgences of men, and the cross-cultural desire to return home. Short summaries and resources for all of the books of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey are below. Students new to the Odyssey might want to begin with this background from MythWeb. Links in red need to be added; the ones in blue might need to be revised.

• Book 1
• Book 2
• Book 3
• Book 4
• Book 5
• Book 6
• Book 7
• Book 8
• Book 9
• Book 10
• Book 11
• Book 12
• Book 13
• Book 14
• Book 15
• Book 16
• Book 17
• Book 18
• Book 19
• Book 20
• Book 21
• Book 22
• Book 23
• Book 24

External Resources

• Chapter Summaries — For briefer summaries, see Eric Perret and Joe Daily’s site.
• The Odyssey Background and Summary — A comprehensive, Cliff’s Notes like, site that also includes summaries of all the major books.
• A Study Guide for Homer’s Odyssey — A site that gives a breakdown of the important elements of each book.

Themes

• Xenia — An ancient tradition lies behind the traveler’s welcome in Greece — and it is a tradition that was fundamentally religious before it became a part of social custom.

Comparisons

• Telemakhos to Paris
• Kirke to Helen

Gods and Mortals

• Athena and Telemakhos
• Muses
• Hermes

List of Characters

The Various Races

• The Achaeans
• The Gods
• The Cicones
• The Phaecians
• The Lotus-eaters
• The Laestrygonians
• The Cyclopes

Human Beings

• Telemakhos
• Odysseus
• Penelope
• Nestor
• Helen

Suitors

• Antinous
• Eurymechus
• Amphinomus

The Women

• Circe
• Clytemnestra
• Kalypso
• Helen
• Penelope

The Supernatural Beings

• Athena
• Circe
• Kalypso
• Polyphemos
• Poseiden
• Zeus
• Hermes

Afterlife

• Greek mythology
• Hades
• Greek Afterlife vs. Christian Afterlife

Additional Resources

• Questions for Consideration

Bibliography

A list of general works about the Odyssey. For secondary works on specific books, see the individual book pages above.

• Grimal, Pierre (1973). Larousse World Mythology. New Jersey: Chartwheel Books Inc.
• Lucas, Gerald R. (2000). "Homer's Odyssey". G. R. Lucas. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
• — (December 29, 2013). "Xenia: A Religious Duty". G. R. Lucas. Retrieved 1 August 2021.