The Odyssey

Homer

Book I

The poet begins with an invocation to the muse and a question—what has

happened to Odysseus since the Trojan war?

His men died because they consumed Hyperion’s cattle

Odysseus himself was waylaid by the nymph Calypso.

And Poseidon was his sworn enemy

We visit the gods on Mt. Olympus

Zeus is discussing the folly of humans by recounting the fate of Aegisthus

Despite the fact that Zeus sent Hermes to warn him against it, Aegisthus got involved with Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra.

When Agamemnon returned home from Troy, Aegisthus and/or Clytemnestra murdered him

Agamemnon’s son Orestes, who had been exiled, came home.

Orestes avenged his father’s murder by killing his mother and his uncle

Aegisthus

Orestes’ heroism was the talk of heaven and earth.

Athena interrupts on behalf of Odysseus.

Athena reminds Zeus that Odysseus suffers on Calypso’s island and deserves to go home

Zeus reminds us that it is Poseidon who delays Odysseus, because Odysseus blinded his son Polyphemus.

Athena tells Zeus to send Hermes to Calypso and order her to let Odysseus go.

Hermes is the offspring of Zeus and Maia, the 'rich tressed nymph' whose abode was deep within a shady cave. Zeus laid with Maia while his wife Hera was 'bound in the arms of sleep.' That is, he is born of a deception. And already, there is in his origin the mark of Zeus' phallic need to penetrate wherever and whomever he could, whether it be by trickery or by straightforward approach.

Hermes' older brother is Apollo, god of Science and Reason. Hermes was a guardian at crossroads, an inhabitant of dark places, a thief at the gate, a bringer of dreams, a guide to the Underworld. He was the carrier of the caduceus, the staff of healing, which today is the symbol of the art of medicine.

Meanwhile, Athena will go to Ithaca

There, she will encourage Odysseus’ son to challenge his mother’s suitors.

She will also convince Telemachus to visit Pylos and Sparta

Athena comes to Ithaca disguised as Mentes.

Telemachus treats his guest with great hospitality

But all is not well in Ithaca, Odysseus’ rocky kingdom

Odysseus' Family Tree Chione + Hermes | | Chalcomedusa + Arcisius Neaera + Autolycus | | | | Laertes + Anticlea Periboea + Icarius | | | | Odysseus + Penelope | | Telemachus

Odysseus, the king, has been gone for almost twenty years

Penelope has waited faithfully, but yearns for word of him

Meanwhile, suitors from all around have gathered in Ithaca

They hang out at the palace every day, eating and drinking and carrying on

The suitors want Penelope to choose a new husband

If widowed, it is her duty to marry again, but she hopes Odysseus is alive

Meanwhile the suitors eat and drink and fool around with the maids

Odysseus’ mother is dead.

His father, Laertes, lives like a hermit out in the fields.

Telemechus is not even convinced Odysseus IS his father, but wishes he had died a hero’s death

Athena tells Telemachus to call a council and castigate the suitors

She tells him he should enquire of his father of Nestor and Menelaus

When Athena leaves, Telemachus realizes her true identity

Meanwhile the suitors ask Phemius, the house singer, for a song.

Phemius sings of the returns of heroes from Troy

Penelope comes downstairs and asks Phemius not to sing of homecomings, for such songs make her long for her husband.

Telemachus scolds his mother, telling her Odysseus is dead.

Telemachus informs the suitors he will be master in his own house

The suitors leave the palace, and Telemachus goes to bed, assisted by the old nurse

Eurycleia

Odyssey Book II

Next morning, Telemachus gets up and calls an assembly

Athena buffs him up

Telemachus complains about the suitors who, instead of going to Penelope’s father to seek her hand, hang

about the palace and consume everything in sight

But the suitor Antinoos blames Penelope

To stall the suitors, Penelope had told them she had to weave a burial shroud for her father-in-law before she could marry again

But what she wove at her loom each day, she unwove at night.

Penelope was betrayed to the suitors by a maid

She had tricked them for three years

The suitors hugely admired her mind; she had spoiled them for other women. However, her trick allowed them to blame her, they thought.

The suitors tell Telemachus that until he sends his mother back to her father, they will stay

Telemachus refuses to kick his mom out of the house; he asks for a ship and men to search out proof of his father’s death.

The suitors jeered at him, though some feared he might go off and return with friends, and others hoped he would perish at sea

But Telemachus went home and arranged provisions for his trip

He ordered Eurycleia NOT to tell his mother about his trip

Meanwhile, Athena got a ship and a crew

Telemachus and Athena sailed to Pylos

Book III

The ship reaches Pylos, home of Nestor

The sacrifice of bulls to Poseidon is taking place on the beach

Nestor’s son, Pisistratus, invites them to eat and drink

A libation is poured to the gods

At Nestor’s palace, Telemachus introduces himself and asks for news of his father

Nestor explains that after the sack of Troy, the groups argued and split up. He has no news of Odysseus.

Nestor tells Telemachus to beware the suitors

Nestor tells the story of Agamemnon’s murder, and praises the young Orestes.

Nestor invites them to sleep in his house; Athene flies back to the ship

Nestor quickly makes an offering to the goddess

Telemachus leaves for Sparta with Pisistratus in a chariot

Odyssey Book IV

Telemachus arrives in Sparta

At the palace of Menelaus, wedding celebrations are taking place

Daughter Hermione is to wed Neoptolemus, son of Achilles

Megapenthes, son of Menelaus and Tereis, is also marrying

When a servant hesitates about letting the strangers in, Menelaus scolds him and treats the young men like royalty.

As they share a meal, Telemachus remarks on the wealth of the palace

Menelaus explains that he was forced to travel for a long time after leaving Troy, visited many places, and amassed great wealth

But while he was away, his brother Agamemnon was murdered, and he could do nothing to

prevent or avenge his brother’s death

When Menelaus says the person he misses most is his friend the great hero Odysseus, Telemachus weeps.

As Menelaus talks with the two young men, Helen comes in and immediately identifies Telemachus as the son of Odysseus.

Pisistratus makes the introductions, and they prepare to eat.

To end the weeping, Helen slips a drug into the wine

They all get a good night’s sleep

Next morning, Telemachus tells Menelaus the situation on Ithaca and asks for news of his father

Menelaus tells a wonderful story

Trying to get home, Menelaus was stuck on the island of Pharos with no wind.

The goddess Idothea helps him

She is the daughter of Proteus, the old man of the sea

To get information, Menelaus must capture Proteus and hold him tight

Proteus can take many forms

Idothea tells Menelaus that each day at noon, Proteus comes ashore to nap with seals

Menelaus is to pick his three best men and meet Idothea

Idothea told the men to lie down in pits she had dug; then she covered them with seal skins

When Proteus came ashore, the men sprang up and held him

Proteus changed form many times

But the men held on

Proteus tells Menelaus he must go back to Egypt and sacrifice to Zeus

Proteus relates the story of Agamemnon’s murder

He also reveals that Odysseus is being held captive by Calypso

Menelaus invites Telemachus to stay for 12 days, and offers gifts of a chariot and horses

Telemachus explains that horses would not do well on rocky Ithaca, so Menelaus substitutes a silver bowl.

Meanwhile, the suitors were playing at sports back in Ithaca.

When the suitors learn that Telemachus had sailed for Pylos, they

plot an ambush when he returns

Servant Medon reports the plot to Penelope, who grieves for her son

Antinous and 23 men set sail

Athene sends a vision of Iphthime, Penelope’s sister, to comfort Penelope in a dream