Odysseus’ Journey

1. Odysseus’ Journey Isabelle Gregga and Brenna Smith 6

2. Odysseus began his journey after he fought in Troy on the side of the Greeks and started home. He was then blown off course to Ismaros in Circones, where a battle occurred and many died. After that Odysseus arrived at the island of the Lotus Eaters. Some of his crew ate the lotus and wished to stay, but he tied them to the ship to make sure they would return home with him. He was then carried by the ocean currents to the island of the Cyclopes. He and his crew met the fearsome Cyclops Polyphemus, and to get away Odysseus blinded him.

3. Next, he landed in Aeolia, where he was gifted a bag of winds from Aeolius, the wind god. It was a gift of good luck, and if it was opened then all the wind would be released. Odysseus’ crew got their hands on it and proceeded to open the bag, blowing the ship back to Aeolia once more, where the crew pillaged a coastal city for food and weapons, and were driven away by the city dwellers. They were then driven to the Laestrygonian island, and the inhabitants were cannibalistic and ate every crew of every ship except the one Odysseus was on.

4. The lone ship continued on to Aeaea, the island of the powerful sorceress Circe. There, Circe and Odysseus meet, and she tells him to seek the prophet Teiresias, who can tell him his destiny. Teiresias, being dead at this point, needs to be resurrected from Hades. Odysseus goes to the island where he can resurrect him, and Tieresias tells Odysseus how to get home. He returns to Circe at Aeaea. On his way home after Aeaea, he encounters the Sirens in the sea. The sirens tell men of their destiny and make them extremely wise, but they also lure them to their death. Odysseus bound himself tight to the mast to hear their song and stuffed his crew’s ears with wax, and they passed the Sirens safely.

5. After the Sirens, Odysseus encountered the great whirlpool of Charybdis, where he and his crew almost died. Then he made it to Scylla, where more of his crew died. Odysseus arrived at Thrinakia, where the bulls of Helios roamed. The crew was so hungry that they slew the bulls and ate them, against Odysseus’ orders while he slept. Once he woke, they had just enough time to flee the island and Zeus’ wrath, to whom the bull was sacred. Zeus threw a thunderbolt at the ship as it sailed away, and the whole crew drowned except Odysseus.

6. After that tragedy, Odysseus awoke on Calypso’s island. He spends seven years on the island, yearning for his wife and son. Calypso falls in love with him, but he cannot love her in return because he loves his wife too strongly. Athena recognizes that his love for his wife is pure and wishes to help him return to her, and persuades the other gods to help her. She succeeds in helping him leave the island. Odysseus then gets to Phaecia with Athena’s help, and there he tells his story. The people of Phaecia take pity on him, and they aid him in returning to his home, Ithaca. Odysseus finally arrives home and is reunited with his family.