Timelines of the Odyssey

What Happens When

How Homer Tells the Tale

Homer's Epic Lit for 21st century Minds

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 Odysseus' adventures at sea
CHRONO-LOGICAL timeline

Odysseus' sinuous and tormented course begins the moment he leaves Troy.

PART 1 _ From Troy to Thrinacia, island of Sun-god Helios (1.5 2 years)

1. land of the Cicones

Arriving fresh from the war at Troy, Odysseus & his men pillage the city.
Instead of leaving a.s.a.p., they get drunk & sleep on the beach.
Cicones reinforcements arrive & kill several Ithacans,
before the latter manage to escape on their ships.

2. land of the Lotus Eaters

Arriving on a new beach, Odysseus sends a detachment to snoop around.
The vanguard are offered fruits of Oblivion & don't care about returning home.
Odysseus takes them forcibly to the ships & off they go again.

3. land of the Cyclops (feat. Polyphemus)

Odysseus fools the man-eating creature, then gets him drunk & blinds him.
He manages to escape the Cyclop's cave under the belly of a ram,
but Polyphemus asks his father Poseidon to avenge him.

This is where real trouble begins for Odysseus!

4. Aeolia, land of the Lord of Winds

Odysseus & his men are allowed a month's rest there.
The god restraints adverse winds in a wineskin & offers it to O,
but the men disobey his orders & unleash them while still at sea.
Havoc ensues & they return to Aeolia, but this time Aeolus carts them away.

5. Telepylos, land of the Laestrygonians, man-killing giants

The tribe is highly unwelcoming.
They attack Ithacans as soon as they take heed of their presence.
Only Odysseus' ship (out of a fleet of 12) manages to escape.
6. Aea, land of witch Circe
Once again, the vanguard pays a price by being transformed into pigs.
With Hermes' help, Odysseus breaks the spell & releases his men.
After a whole year at Aea, the men urge Odysseus to sail again for home.

7. Hades, land of the Dead

Before being able to proceed with his journey, O has to visit Hades
in order to ask for a prophesy by Teiresias, a powerful oracle who is dead.
Odysseus & his men fulfill this task flawlessly, then return to Circe's.

8. island of the Sirens, deceitful bird-women

The famous episode in which O is tied to the ship's mast.
He listens to the Sirens' marvelous song without being harmed.

9. straight of Scylla & Charybdis, sea monsters

Following Circe's instructions, O prefers to lose six of his men to Scylla,
than letting Charybdis swallow them all in her vortex.

10. Thrinacia, island of Helios, the Sun-god

The Ithacans are not supposed to touch the god's cattle.
However, after being secluded on the island for a month due to bad weather,
the men starve; as soon as O goes off to sleep, they kill & eat some beasts.
Bad move! The god demands justice & Zeus hurls a tempest at them.

They all drown, except Odysseus.

PART 2 _ Captive of Calypso, the powerful sea-nymph (7 years)

Ogygia, island of Calypso, mighty sea-nymph

Calypso takes Odysseus in & keeps him as captive for seven long years.
She wants him to be her husband, but her charms are not enough
to make him forget about his own wife & his home. Sorry, goddess!

Odysseus builds a raft & sets out in search of Ithaca.

Poseidon takes notice, wreaks a tempest on him, and O shiwrecks again.
The White Goddess Leucothea saves his skin and Odysseus manages
to hit an unknown shore.
 PART 3 _ Return of Odysseus (28 + 6 days)

Odysseus builds a raft & sets out in search of Ithaca.

Poseidon takes notice, wreaks a tempest on him, and O shiwrecks again.
The White Goddess Leucothea saves his skin and Odysseus manages
to hit an unknown shore.

Scheria, island of the Phaeacians

Princess Nausicaa helps Odysseus return to civilization.
At the palace, O is welcomed as an honored guest.
One night, he recounts his adventures for the royal parents of Nausicaa.

Ithaca, Odysseus' island

The Phaeacian sailors take Odysseus home.
O wakes up from his deep sleep, not recognizing at first his island.
Goddess Athena comes to his assistance.

Odysseus must now find a way to reclaim his family & his kingdom.
Books 13 24 describe Odysseus' adventures once he lands on Ithaca.

>>> Remarks:

It is well worth noting that the first two parts of the Odyssey (that is, more
than nine years) are covered in no more than five Books.

Only after we follow the son Telemachus in his own adventures do we zoom
back to the Main Character, Odysseus, and go through his own course.
 Odysseus' adventures at sea
NARRATIVE order

How Homer tells the story

PART 1 _ The Telemacheia: Adventures of the Young Prince

Odysseus is not the sole hero of the poem.

Books 1 4 are concerned with Odysseus' son, Telemachus.

We get to know the youth at home. Then, we follow him on his own journey to
mighty Mycenean kingdoms in search of news for father. All this occurs within 6-7
days and here's how we can break it down:

2 days at Ithaca

1.5 day at Pylos w/ king Nestor

1.5 day chariot trip to Sparta

2 days at Sparta w/ king Menelaus (& queen Helena)

At this point, Homer leaves Telemachus as a guest at Sparta and shifts his focus to
Odysseus (books 5 24).
 PART 2 _ The Phaeacis: Adventures of the Warrior King

Odysseus himself appears in Book 5.

He yearns to get home to Ithaca, but he's not allowed to leave his premises:
mighty Calypso, a sea-goddess on her isolated island, wants him as husband and she
just won't let go.

Homer prefers to present Odysseus' wanderings in increments along the following

lines:

5 last days at Ogygia i.e., Calypso's island (book 5)

20 days sailing + tempest (book 5)

3 days as a guest at Scheria i.e., Nausicaa's island (books 6 12, roughly)

During his sojourn at Scheria, Odysseus has the opportunity to recount his past
adventures in two separate instances:

7 years as Calypso's captive (a short reference in reply to Queen Arete, book 7)

1.5 2 years from Troy to Ogygia (a flashback in reply to King Alcinous who
is curious about his guest's identity, books 9 12)

Moved by the account, King Alcinous orders his men

to carry Odysseus back home on one of their swift, mind-reading ships.
 PART 3 _ The Mnesterophonia: Return of Odysseus

The Phaeacian sailors reach Ithaca & leave Odysseus fast asleep on a beach.
Upon his waking, the hero is visited by his patron goddess Athena
who informs him of the dangers that lurk ahead,
advising him to proceed with caution.

Athena transforms her protg into an old pitiful beggar and sends him on his way.
This is how Odysseus proceeds in order to obtain his final goal:

5 days disguised as a beggar at Ithaca (first at the hut of his loyal swineherd
Eumaios, then at the royal palace, books 13 22)
During this time, Telemachus wraps up his stay at Sparta and returns home
(book 15). He re-unites with Odysseus (book 16), then helps dad steal his way
into the palace and re-claim his sweet wife and his throne.

1 night + 1 day of manslaughter, reconnection with family, and leadership at

Ithaca (books 23 24)

Game over, troubles!

Peace reigns again at Ithaca.

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Are you the visual type?

The following diagram will provide you with a quick reference,

bringing all the details together at a simple glance.