Odysseus

In Homer’s epic, Odyssey, he tells a story of Odysseus’s adventures to return home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. Odysseus is a Greek hero and King of Ithaca. He was one of the leaders of the Trojan War. Odysseus is the son of Laertes, formal ruler of Ithaca where his wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus live. Odysseus is well known for his brain as well as his muscle.

When Menelaus called on the suitors for help to bring Helen back from Troy, Odysseus refused to go. He pretended to being crazy, “…plowing his fields and sowing salt instead of grain.” But when his infant son was placed in front of the plow, he turned to avoid hitting his son, giving in and joining the army. Once in Troy, Odysseus was know for bring a brave and cunning warrior. He was the one who proposed the scheme of the Trojan Horse, which ultimately conquered Troy.

During the 10 year journey from Troy back to Ithaca, Odysseus had many encounters that prolonged his journey home. He has to free his men from the Lotus- Eaters, the Cyclopes giant, Polythemus, and the enchantress Circe. He traveled to the underworld, where he receives valuable information to help him continue his trip home. This new knowledge that he received helped him to have a safe passage from the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. But, he could not save his crew when they violated commandments by slaughtering and eating the cattle of the sun god. Through this action their ship was struck by a thunderbolt and only Odysseus survived. He swam on the island of the nymph Calypso, where he became her lover and lived there for seven years. He built a boat and sailed for Ithaca, but once again he ran into another storm and was ship-wreaked on the island of the Phaeacians where he was given a crew and ship to sail home.

Once he returned home, he still had problems. After being gone for twenty years, Penelope had remained faithful. But the palace was occupied by a group of suitors who were waiting on Penelope to pick one of them to marry. Odysseus arrived at the palace disguised as a beggar and saw everything in disarray. He slaughters the suitors and cleansed the palace before Penelope sees all the blood and bodies. But, then he had to deal with the anger families of the suitors. But Athena stepped in and told the people of Ithaca that there would be peace and that the King of Ithaca was home.

“Odysseus.” Encyclopedia Britannica from Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocID=9373899&query=odysseus>

“Odysseus.” The History Channel from The History Channel Online. http://www.historychannel.com/per/print_book>

“Odysseus.” The Mythweb from the MythWeb Online. http://wwwmythweb.com/odyssey>