Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus still has

not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors who have
overrun Odysseuss palace and pillaged his land continue to court his wife,
Penelope. She has remained faithful to Odysseus. Prince Telemachus, Odysseuss
son, wants desperately to throw them out but does not have the confidence or
experience to fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to assassinate the
young prince, eliminating the only opposition to their dominion over the palace.
Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The beautiful nymph Calypso,
possessed by love for him, has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He longs to
return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help him escape. While the
gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseuss future, Athena,
Odysseuss strongest supporter among the gods, resolves to help Telemachus.
Disguised as a friend of the princes grandfather, Laertes, she convinces the prince
to call a meeting of the assembly at which he reproaches the suitors. Athena also
prepares him for a great journey to Pylos and Sparta, where the kings Nestor and
Menelaus, Odysseuss companions during the war, inform him that Odysseus is alive
and trapped on Calypsos island. Telemachus makes plans to return home, while,
back in Ithaca, Antinous and the other suitors prepare an ambush to kill him when
he reaches port.
On Mount Olympus, Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso. Hermes
persuades Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and leave. The homesick hero sets
sail, but when Poseidon, god of the sea, finds him sailing home, he sends a storm to
wreck Odysseuss ship. Poseidon has harbored a bitter grudge against Odysseus
since the hero blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, earlier in his travels.
Athena intervenes to save Odysseus from Poseidons wrath, and the beleaguered
king lands at Scheria, home of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess,
shows him to the royal palace, and Odysseus receives a warm welcome from the
king and queen. When he identifies himself as Odysseus, his hosts, who have heard
of his exploits at Troy, are stunned. They promise to give him safe passage to
Ithaca, but first they beg to hear the story of his adventures.
Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events leading up to his
arrival on Calypsos island. He recounts his trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his
battle with Polyphemus the Cyclops, his love affair with the witch-goddess Circe, his
temptation by the deadly Sirens, his journey into Hades to consult the prophet
Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster Scylla. When he finishes his story, the
Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca, where he seeks out the hut of his faithful
swineherd, Eumaeus. Though Athena has disguised Odysseus as a beggar, Eumaeus
warmly receives and nourishes him in the hut. He soon encounters Telemachus, who
has returned from Pylos and Sparta despite the suitors ambush, and reveals to him
his true identity. Odysseus and Telemachus devise a plan to massacre the suitors
and regain control of Ithaca.
When Odysseus arrives at the palace the next day, still disguised as a beggar, he
endures abuse and insults from the suitors. The only person who recognizes him is
his old nurse, Eurycleia, but she swears not to disclose his secret. Penelope takes an
interest in this strange beggar, suspecting that he might be her long-lost husband.

Quite crafty herself, Penelope organizes an archery contest the following day and
promises to marry any man who can string Odysseuss great bow and fire an arrow
through a row of twelve axesa feat that only Odysseus has ever been able to
accomplish. At the contest, each suitor tries to string the bow and fails. Odysseus
steps up to the bow and, with little effort, fires an arrow through all twelve axes. He
then turns the bow on the suitors. He and Telemachus, assisted by a few faithful
servants, kill every last suitor.
Odysseus reveals himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope.
He travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes. They come
under attack from the vengeful family members of the dead suitors, but Laertes,
reinvigorated by his sons return, successfully kills Antinouss father and puts a stop
to the attack. Zeus dispatches Athena to restore peace. With his power secure and
his family reunited, Odysseuss long ordeal comes to an end.

Introduction
After the Trojan War, Odysseus, the handsome, brave hero of The Odyssey makes
the god of the sea, Poseidon, angry by claiming that he alone won the Trojan War.
Poseidon vows he will make Odysseus' journey home tough.
Cicones
Odysseus and his men sail to the island of the Cicones. The Cicones come over the
hill like blades of grass in the spring and Odysseus and his men slaughter all of the
Cicone's horseback soldiers, enslave the women, and kill all of their stock.
Lotus Eaters
After leaving the land of the Cicones, Odysseus and his men sail to the Island of the
Lotus Eaters. Some of Odysseus' men eat the lotus. The lotus is a drug-like plant
that make those who taste it never want to leave or go home. Odysseus drags his
men back to the ship and they continue their journey.
The Cyclops
Odysseus and his men then land on the Island of the Cyclopes. They search the
island for food and gifts and eventually come to an abandoned cave. They wait for
the owner of the cave to come home. The owner of the cave is a one-eyed Cyclops
named Polyphemus. Rather than treating his guests to gifts and food, Polyphemus
eats a Odysseus' men.
The door to the cave is covered by a great rock and Odysseus and his men are
trapped. The Cyclops asks Odysseus his name and he tells him that it is Nohbody.
Odysseus then offers some wine for the Cyclops to wash down his crewmen. The

Cyclops then gets drunk and Odysseus and his men put his plan into action.
Odysseus and his men sharpen a wooden pole and burn the tip to make it hard and
sharp. Then, while Polyphemus is sleeping, they drive the pole into his eyeball.
Polyphemus screams in pain and calls to his brothers telling them that "Nohbody
has hurt him." The brothers, assuming that nothing is wrong, go home.
Odysseus then ties each of his men to one of Polyphemus' sheep. He then grabs
hold of the underside of the largest ram and waits until morning when Polyphemus
lets his sheep out to graze.
The next morning Odysseus and his men sneak past the Cyclops underneath the
sheep and then run to the ship when they get outside. Odysseus then taunts
Polyphemus. Polyphemus begins to throw rocks at Odysseus and his crew and
almost hits them with one. Odysseus then tells Polyphemus that it was Odysseus
that tricked him and they sail off.
Aeolia
After leaving the Cyclopes island, Odysseus and his men sail to Aeolia. This is the
place where Aeolus, the wind king lives. He gives Odysseus a gift of stormy winds in
a bag so they will be able to sail back to Ithaca. As they come upon Ithaca, the men
become mutinous and open the bag. As the stormy winds are released, the men are
blown astray and end up on the island of Aeaea.
Aeaea
Once on the island, Odysseus sends twenty-three men to explore. When they come
upon Circe singing and weaving, they feel there is no need to be cautious around
her. She offers them food and drinks, which turns them into pigs. After Odysseus
receives a protectant plant from Hermes, the messenger god, he goes to Circe, and
she realizes shes met her match. She persuades Odysseus to stay with her for
many seasons, and then sends him to the Land of the Dead to seek the wisdom of
the blind prophet Teiresias.
Teiresias
In order to contact the prophet, Odsseus slays a black lamb and drips the blood into
a pit. After fending off many other dead spirits, Teiresias drinks the blood and begins
to tell Odysseus what his future beholds. He learns about how to fend off the Sirens,
Scylla, and the maelstrom, Charybdis. His men are to tie Odysseus down and wear
earplugs until they have passed the luring Sirens, which only Odysseus can hear.
The Sirens, Charybdis, and Scylla
As they pass the island of the Sirens, they steer close to the shore to avoid
Charybdis, but in doing so, they come upon the six-headed monster, Scylla. While
they row past her, she reaches down and eats six of his men, one with each head.
Lord Helios' Island

On the way to Lord Helios' island, where he keeps is cattle, Odysseus warns his men
to leave the cattle alone. In a mutinous rage, the men slaughter some of the cattle
and eat them.
As soon as Odysseus and his men leave the island, Zeus gets his revenge by
striking the boat with a thunderbolt. Everyone dies excpet Odysseus, who after
many days is washed up on the shore of Calypso.
Calypso
Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years and finally she lets him go
because the messenger god, Hermes, tells her that the gods are angry with her.
Odysseus then lands on the island of Phaeacia and is guest of honor at a banquet in
the Phaeacian king's palace. The king orders his men to give the infamous Odysseus
a ship and Odysseus then sails off for home.
The Return To Ithaca
Afterward, Odysseus is returned to Ithaca by the Phaeacians in secret, disguised as
a beggar. He finds Eumaeus, the swineherd, and stays with him, the swineherd not
knowing who Odysseus is.
Meanwhile, Athena appears to Telemachus who is searching for Odysseus. She tells
him to return to Ithaca, and that Penelopes suitors plan to ambush him. Therefore,
he returns in secret, and goes to Eumaeus, where Telemachus and Odysseus are
reunited.
Telemachus then goes back to his mother. Odysseus once again disguises himself as
a beggar and heads for his palace with Eumaeus. After 20 year, only his dog, Argos,
recognizes him, and the dog dies after waiting 20 years to see his master again.
In the palace hall, Odysseus is taunted by the evil suitors, but Penelope invites the
"beggar," who has news of Odysseus, to visit her later. Penelope then gets mad at
Telemachus for letting the suitors make fun of the stranger.
Later, when the suitors leave, Odysseus and Telemachus plan their strategy. Then,
Penelope talks to the disguised Odysseus about himself. When Penelope asks the
old nurse, Eurycleia, to wash Odysseus feet, the nurse recognizes Odysseus by a
scar on his leg. Odysseus swears Eurycleia to secrecy, and Athena casts a spell on
Penelope so she wont remember.
Odysseus really wants to kill all of the suitors, but he fears the revenge of their
friends, Athena assures him: all of the suitors will die. Penelope devises a test for
her suitors among whom is the "beggar." They must string Odysseus bow and shoot
an arrow through the holes in 12 ax handles in a row. After all of suitors try and fail,
Odysseus steps up and asks to try. The suitors make fun of him, but Penelope
intercedes. Odysseus strings the bow and shoots the arrow through the 12 axes.
Since Odysseus wanted to reclaim his kingdom he killed all of the suitors. He prayed
to Apollo, the god of archery. Odysseus first drew an arrow at Antinous. Antinuos
was the meanest of the suitors, and the ringleader. Odysseuss arrow hit him below
the chin and he fell backwards to his death.

Because Odysseus was fighting, Telemachus, the swineherd, and the cowherd
helped him. Athena sent down a thundercloud. The suitors became scared from this
and ran towards the door. They all got killed.
Since the maids were associating with the suitors he orders them to dispose of the
dead. Then Telemachus hangs them in the courtyard as their payment for not being
loyal to Odysseus.
Odysseus gets his revenge on all the suitors in this book. He turns on Antinous first
because he was ridiculing Odysseus and was the meanest of all the suitors. So when
Antinous goes to sip his wine, Odysseus kills him by shooting him in the throat with
his arrow. The suitors' anger flares when he does this, but it soon turns to fear when
Odysseus tells them what he has in store for them. The suitors plead with him
telling him Antinous made them do it all, but Odysseus doesn't believe them, nor
does he care. So Odysseus fightes the men with his son. Telemaches by his side.
The swineherd and the cowherd help too. The Athena sends down a thundercloud to
sheild Odysseus. The suitors run madly, trying to get free of the hall of hell. But it
was hopeless, none made it out alive.
Odysseus calls forth all of the distrustful maids next, and makes them clean up all
the bodies. Then Telemachus shows his graditude to the maids by hanging them in
the courtyard.
Eurycleia runs to get Penelope to tell her the good news: "Odysseus is back!" But
Penelope doesn't know if she can trust this stranger.
Amused, Odysseus orders Eurynome to bath him so he can get all his dirt tattered
cloths off. Athena returns his good looks and then Penelope gives him the test to
see if he really is Odysseus. Penelope tells Eurycleia to move the bed,but Odysseus
gets mad and says she can't cause he made that bed in the tree. So Penelope sees
it is Odysseus because no one else knows that.