From the Invocation

Begin when all the rest who left behind themheadlong death in battle or at seahad long ago returned, while he alone still

hungeredfor home and wife. Her ladyship Calypsoclung to him in her sea-hollowed caves—a nymph, immortal and most beautiful,who craved him for her own.

And when long years and seasonswheeling brought around that point of timeordained for him to make his passage homeward,trials and dangers, even so, attended himeven in Ithaca, near those he loved.Yet all the gods had pitied Lord Odysseus,all but Poseidon, raging cold and roughagainst the brave king till he came ashoreat last on his own land. . . .

Calypso’s Island The first books of the epic (Books 1-4) tell about

Odysseus’ son, Telemachus. Telemachus has been searching the Mediterranean world for his father, who has never returned from the ten-year Trojan War. (Today, Odysseus would be listed as missing in action.)

When we first meet Odysseus, in Book 5 of the epic, he is a prisoner of the beautiful goddess Calypso. The old soldier is in despair: He has spent ten years (seven of them as Calypso’s not entirely unwilling captive) trying to get home.

The goddess Athena has supported and helped Odysseus on his long journey. Now she begs her father, Zeus, to help her favorite, and Zeus agrees. He sends the messenger god Hermes to Calypso’s island to order Odysseus released. It is important to remember that although Calypso is not described as evil, her seductive charms—even her promises of immortality for Odysseus—threaten to keep the hero away from his wife, Penelope.

“I am Laertes’ Son” Odysseus is found by the daughter of Alcinous, king of the

Phaeacians. That evening he is a guest at court (Book 6-8). To the ancient people of Greece and Asia Minor, all guests were

godsent. They had to be treated with great courtesy before they could be asked to identify themselves and state their business. That night, at the banquet, the stranger who was washed up on the beach is seated in the guest’s place of honor. A minstrel, or singer, is called, and the mystery guest gives him a gift of pork, crisp with fat, and requests a song about Troy. In effect, Odysseus is asking for a song about himself.

Odysseus weeps as the minstrel’s song reminds him of all his companions, who will never see their homes again. Now Odysseus is asked by the king to identify himself. It is here that he begins the story of his journey.

Land of the Dead - 1

As part of the quest, a hero must often “face the darkness.” Sometimes it is something about himself he doesn’t like, a bad memory or mistake from his past he would like to forget, or something equally unpleasant.

Whatever the situation, the hero WILL NOT be able to move forward without “facing this darkness.”

Land of the Dead – 2

Circe insisting that Odysseus visit the Land of the Dead is a way of testing him. If he can hear Tiresias’ predictions for the future and still be brave enough to continue the journey, then Odysseus is worthy of her help.

Because Tiresias had lost his natural sight, people believed that he gained the ability to “see the future, ” so he can tell Odysseus what lies ahead on his journey and later in Ithaca.

Land of the Dead - 3

Tieresias is kind of a celebrity in ancient Greece; his prophecies were famous for coming true, so what he tells Odysseus would be taken seriously.

You’ll see him in other Greek tragedies such as Antigone, a play you will read next year in PreAP 2.

Coming Home – intro 1

Odysseus is returned in secret to Ithaca in one of the magically fast ships of King Alcinous. Upon arrival in Ithaca (which Odysseus doesn’t recognize), Athena appears to the hero and tells him that he is really back. Because his home is full of enemies, she advises him to go to the house disguised as a beggar. Odysseus will have to rely on his intelligence and wits instead of his physical power.

Coming Home – intro 2

Once he finds his home, Odysseus goes not to the main house but to the hut of the swine-herd Eumaeus, a faithful and trusty servant who has looked after Telemachus during Odysseus’ time away. It is unusual for an epic to include members of the servant class as important characters, which indicates Homer’s originality. Odysseus does not reveal his identity to Eumaeus just yet…

Coming Home – intro 3

Meanwhile, Athena has appeared to Telemachus and urged him to return home. She tells him of the troubles with the suitors, which have grown while Telemachus has been gone. Plotting to kill him, the suitors wait for Telemachus to return, so Athena advises him to return in secret. Once on Ithaca, Telemachus goes to visit his old friend, the swineherd… now we read

After meeting Telemachus and Argos…

In the hall, the “beggar” is taunted by the evil suitors, but Penelope supports him. She has learned that the ragged stranger claims to have news of her husband. Unaware of who the beggar is, she invites him to visit her later in the night to talk about Odysseus.

In Book 18, Penelope appears among the suitors and reproaches Telemachus for allowing the stranger to be abused. She certainly must have warmed her husband’s heart by doing this and by singing the praises of her lost Odysseus.

Later that night…

In Book 19, the suitors depart for the night, and Odysseus and Telemachus discuss their strategy. The clever hero goes as appointed to Penelope with the idea of testing her and her maids. (Some of the maids have not been loyal to the household and have even slept with the suitors.) The faithful wife receives her disguised husband. We can imagine the tension the audience must have felt. Would Odysseus be recognized?

Stories about Odysseus

The “beggar” spins a yarn about his origins, pretending that he has met Odysseus on his travels. He cannot resist praising the lost hero, and he does so successfully enough to bring tears to Penelope’s eyes. We can be sure that this does not displease the beggar. The storytelling beggar reveals that he has heard that Odysseus is alive and is even now sailing for home.

Book 19 – applied practice #9

• Penelope tells the beggar about her dream…

Ah-HA!

Penelope calls for the old nurse and asks her to wash the guest’s feet, a sign of respect and honor. As Eurycleia does so, she recognizes Odysseus from a scar on his leg, one that he got from a hunting accident long before leaving for Troy. Quickly, Odysseus swears the old nurse to secrecy. Meanwhile, Athena has cast a spell on Penelope so that she has taken no notice of this recognition scene.

Clever PenelopeUntil now, Penelope has managed to put off

picking a husband with a simple trick. She has set up her weaving in the hall, saying to the suitors that she is weaving a shroud for Laertes, her father-in-law. She has promised that she will choose a husband when she has completed the work. “So every day I wove on the great loom, but every night by torchlight I unwove it…”

With this simple trick she has been able to deceive the suitors for THREE YEARS. However, the unfaithful maids have discovered Penelope’s trick and have told the suitors, who are now angry and demanding that she pick a husband.

Penelope adds to the suspense by deciding on a test for the suitors for the next day involving Odysseus’ most prized weapon: his bow. Without realizing it, she has now given Odysseus a way to defeat the men who threaten his wife and kingdom.

In Book 20, Odysseus, brooding over the shameless behavior of his maidservants and the suitors, longs to destroy his enemies but fears the revenge of their friends. Athena reassures him. Odysseus is told that the suitors will die.

After the battle

Use the blue book for Odysseus and Penelope’s chapter.