By Homer
Homer did a cool thing with this
story. Instead of starting where
he left off in the Iliad, he started
in the middle of Odysseus’
journey home.
“In medias res” is
what I call it.
Telemachus grew up
Back on Ithaca, Odysseus’ home, his
wife is still waiting for Odysseus to come
home.
Men that want to marry
Penelope for Odysseus’ title
and money
The suitors made themselves
at home.
The key to all the of Odysseus’ power
and money is to wait. Not to mention,
Penelope is a “hottie”! I know that
Odysseus is dead. I’ll just wait here
and enjoy myself until Penelope
realizes her husband is dead and picks
a new husband.
Where does Telemachus fit into all of this? He
has grown up without a father and he is
watching all his family’s wealth being eaten
away by the suitors that are after his mom.
The closer to manhood he gets, the more
dangerous life becomes. After all, if
Telemachus starts ruling in his father’s place,
what power would it leave for the suitor who
marries Penelope?
It is time that I started
acting like a man. I know.
I’ll go on a journey (mini
odyssey) and try to find
out what happened to my
dad. That way mom and I
will know how to get on
with our lives. Living like
this really stinks.
Dead
Dead
Dead
Telemachus
visits
Dead
Dad
**Both Nestor and Menelaous
fought at Troy
Do you know what
happened to my dad?
I
don’t
know
Do you know what
happened to my dad?
I knew he was in
trouble but I don’t
know for sure.
I bet he is still
alive.
Did you know you
look just like him?
Tel got a gossip news flash while visiting Menelaous:
Helen and Menelaous are back together!
Can you believe it? After she ran off with Paris? How did she
manage that? She must have him wrapped around her little
finger. After all, she spent 10 years living with another man in
Troy. She was the reason for the war and now she is living as his
wife again! It is surprising that he did not kill her as soon as she
was found.
As Tel started home, Athena told
him of a plot. The suitors were
planning to kill him on his way
home. Athena, the goddess of
wisdom, helped him avoid the
trap. Athena helped Odysseus
many times throughout the Trojan
War. Now it seems that she is
helping his son.
Cool! I’ve got a
goddess on my side!
There are all sorts of signs that
Telemachus is growing up. He is
compared to his father a lot. He looks
like him and he thinks like him and he
even asks a lot of questions like
Odysseus.
And, it is making the suitors mad!
Athena went to Mt. Olympus,
where the gods live, to beg
Zeus to help Odysseus. He
had been on Calypso’s island
for 7 years. He was stranded
there after a nasty run in with
the god of the sea, Posiedon.
“It’s time for Odysseus to go
home.” begged Athena. She
is Zeus’ favorite child and it is
hard for him to refuse her
anything.
Calypso
“Zeus, I love Odysseus
and want to make him
immortal so that I can
marry him and he’ll
live forever”
Zeus
“No, I’m sorry.
send Odysseus on
his way home.”
(Zeus is king of the
gods and what he says
goes.)
“Not fair! Not fair! You gods are
always messing around with
mortal women but if a goddess
wants a mortal man, then the
answer is NO WAY. It isn’t fair!”
Calypso has a little fit but then gives in
and allows Odysseus to leave.
So, where is Odysseus? Isn’t this
story about him?
So far we’ve learned all about his
home, war buddies, wife and son.
So where is this super famous
Odysseus?
All we know is that he is on an
island with a goddess and that he
has been there for seven years.
Meanwhile…
Odysseus is shocked when Calypso tells him
he can leave. She offers to give him supplies
for his trip. He doesn’t believe her until she
swears by the River Styx.
*When a god/goddess swears by the River
Styx, they can not lie.
He was on the ocean for many days.
Then a storm came up.
Oh
no!
Jump! Jump
off the raft
Odysseus.
It will be
okay.
Ino is a minor
goddess who
shows up to help
Odysseus.
I’m getting
water logged
Odysseus woke up in the
jungle next to the seashore.
Odysseus was water-logged, salt encrusted,
sick and very weak from being in the water
for so long. In short, he was an ugly scary,
hairy mess.
Down the beach, girls were doing
laundry. Odysseus needed help but
he was scary looking and naked. He
didn’t want to freak out the girls.
Odysseus went and begged the girls
for help. They gave him soap to
wash with and new clothes to wear.
One of the girls doing wash was the
princess of the land. She told
Odysseus,“Ask my mom and she
will make sure you get home safe.”
Odysseus
Old art work
showing
Odysseus
meeting princess
Nausicaa on the
beach
Once Odysseus was cleaned up,
Nausicaa thought he was a real
cutie. Athena had zapped
Odysseus gorgeous.
“I believe the gods who live in heaven have sent
this man to the Phaeacians. When I first saw
him I thought him unattractive, but now his
appearance is like that of one of the gods who
dwell in heaven. I should like my future
husband to be just such a one as he is, if he
would only stay here and not want to go away.”
Nausicaa’s parents, the king and queen,
welcomed Odysseus with open arms.
The Phaeacians are well known sailors.
They offered to take Odysseus home.
But first, they asked Odysseus to tell
his story and how he had come to their
land.
From Troy, I left with 13
ships.
We went to the land of the
Cicones. We beat them up
but we stayed too long and
their reinforcements came.
We lost 6 men from every
ship. It was sad. Those poor
men, they survived a 10 year
war and then died on the first
stop on the way home.
Next we landed on the island of Cythera
where the Lotus-eaters live. When you eat
lotus, you forget everything. It is like doing
drugs. We had to drag some of our sailors
“kicking and screaming” away from them.
Have you ever heard the
expression, “Out of the
frying pan and into the
fire”? After the next island we
landed on, I know what it means.
We landed on the island of the
Cyclops
Odysseus and some of his men go
and meet the Cyclops. They made
themselves at home in his cave.
When he returned he was cranky
cranky cranky. He ate 6 men before
the rest escaped.
Yum, tastes
like chicken.
They couldn’t kill the Cyclops
because then they would be
trapped in his cave with the huge
boulder for a door. That would
not be the death of a warrior.
Odysseus give him wine, got
him drunk and then blinded
him.
Not being able to see the men, they
snuck out of the cave when the
Cyclops let his animals out.
Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky…
In order to get the glory and credit
for defeating the Cyclops,
Odysseus had to let him know who
had defeated him.
He told the Cyclops his name.
In response, the Cyclops ripped the
top off of a nearby mountain and
threw it at Odysseus’ shop. It was a
very close call.
Notice the
rock almost
hitting the
ship
Telling the Cyclops his real name was a
big mistake that haunts Odysseus for the rest of
his journey. The Cyclops’ dad is the ruler of the seas.
He makes Odysseus’ journey home very difficult.
Oohhhh! My eye!
I’m going to tell my
daddy, Poseidon, on
you.
Odysseus blinded the Cyclops and that is why Poseidon
hates him and tried to keep him from getting home.
Windkeeper
Hi, my name is Aeolus. Odysseus and his men stayed
with me for a whole month. When they were leaving,
I gave Odysseus the best gift I could think of. I gave
him 3 out of 4 of the winds in a bag. It should have
been a piece of cake for him to get home. I guess one
of the gods had other plans. He ended up right back at
my door. I kicked him out because I don’t want to get
in trouble with the gods.
We were almost home. We could
see the cooking fires of Ithaca
burning. Then, I fell asleep and my
*&#@*&%$# men opened the bag
Aeolus had given me. The great
winds that were contained in the
bag blew. They blew us all the way
back to Aeolus’ island. Words
cannot explain my heartbreak.
When Odysseus and his men
came back to my island, I told
them to leave. I did all I could to
help.
After my island they went to the
island of the Laestrygonians.
They are not as nice as I am.
Odysseus’
ship out
here at the
end
The Laestrygonians were giants who smashed
12 ships and speared the men like fish. Only
Odysseus’ ship escaped.
MMMmm! Small
ones taste like
chicken.
Our luck seemed to go from bad
to worse.
We found ourselves on an island with an evil
witch. Whenever any man goes to visit her,
she turns them into animals. It amuses her.
While exploring the island several of my men
met up with Circe and were changed into
pigs.
Rescuing them might be interesting…
Most men are pigs,
so I turn them INTO
pigs. I’m a goddess.
I can do what I want.
Elpenor fell off
the roof and died
Hermes flew in and told
Odysseus how to avoid
Circe’s trap. They
became friends and
Odysseus and his
remaining crew stayed
with Circe for a year.
Circe was the second
goddess who wanted to
marry our stud
Odysseus.
There must be something pretty special
about Odysseus. Two goddess, Calypso
and Circe both wanted to marry
Odysseus. Plus, princess Nausicaa
wanted to marry him.
Odysseus and Penelope must have
had an unbelievably strong love.
He kept trying to get back to her
despite the fact he figured she
would assume him dead by now.
Twenty years! No wonder they
call me “faithful Penelope”
We’ve hung out for a year.
It’s time we hit the road
Okay, but if you want to get home, you
first have to go to Hades and have a
chat with Teireseas, the blind prophet.
He will tell you all you need to know
about getting home.
To summarize Circe:
She thinks men are pigs and she
told Odysseus to go to Hell.
Back in Odysseus’ day, they thought that
one could sail a ship to Hades.
Admittedly, no one wanted to do that but,
it could be done. Our Odysseus wanted to
get home bad enough that he and his men
went to Hades to get the important
information they needed to make it home
safely. They had to speak to an old dead
blind prophet in order to get the
information they needed.
Teiresias said,
1. DON’T eat the cattle of the Sungod! Your men and ship will be
destroyed if you mess with the
cattle.
2. There will be trouble at your house
so be super careful.
3. Go on another journey and sacrifice
to Poseidon to make up for the
wrong.
Odysseus talking
to Teiresias in the
Underworld
Dead souls that gathered around Odysseus
Odysseus ran into
his mother, some old
friends and
Agamemnon
Agamemnon is in Hades?
How did that happen?
Remember:
Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter
to Artemis so that the Greek fleet
could sail for Troy.
Clytemnestra cried, mourned and
hated her husband for 10 years.
Plus Agamemnon had the nerve
to bring home a beautiful woman
(war prize) from Troy
Clytemnestra did something no other
woman ever did. She took on a man’s role
and ruled. Not only that, she took a lover.
When Agamemnon got home,
Clytemnestra killed
Agamemnon in the bathtub.
It wasn’t exactly a hero’s
honorable death.
Agamemnon warned
Odysseus to test his women.
After Hades, they took to the sea…
After leaving Hades, Odysseus had
his crew stuff their ears with wax.
This was to protect them from the
Sirens. He was tied to the mast of
the ship so that he alone could
listen to their song.
They sailed right on by
the Sirens toward
Scylla.
The Sirens sung
beautifully and lured sailors
toward them. They were very
seductive and liked to watch
sailors die on their sharp
dangerous rocks.
Notice Odysseus
tied to the mast of
the ship
Scylla is a big scary
monster with 6 heads that
munches men for fun.
“This was the most sickening sight that I saw
throughout all my voyages.”
Next came...
They missed the ship crunching
whirlpool on their way to the sun-god’s
island.
“No matter what, DO NOT eat the cows!”
Sadly, a big storm stranded them
They ran out of supplies, got hungry and...
Without Odysseus, they ate a cow.
Where’s
the
beef?
The storm cleared up
and they were on their
way…
They were warned!
Don’t mess with the
cows.
Everyone
but
Odysseus
died.
Odysseus survived by holding onto
chunks of his destroyed ship. The waves
took him back toward Scylla and
Charybdis.
The raft was
sucked down into
the whirlpool but
Odysseus hung
onto a tree until the
raft resurfaced.
Next
Odysseus drifted
back by Scylla but
the gods blinded
her. She never
noticed him.
After nine (9) days of
drifting, Odysseus found
himself on Calypso’s island.
This is where we
first saw
Odysseus in
chapter 5. Now
we are up to date.
The Phaeacians, the famous sailors, took
Odysseus home to Ithaca.
Bye bye. Have
a safe trip home
Throughout this story,
Odysseus fell asleep and
bad things happened.
My eyes
are getting
heavy
1. When Odysseus and the crew were
almost home, Odysseus fell asleep.
His men opened the bag Aeolus
gave Odysseus causing the winds to
blow them away from home.
2. While on the island of the sun-god,
Odysseus fell asleep. His men
killed and ate the cattle. All of the
crew died when Zeus zapped the
ship.
ZZZZZZZZ
ZZZZZZZZ
Odysseus fell asleep on the boat ride home.
When he awoke, he found himself on a
beach with the Phaeacians’ gifts all around
him. He didn’t know where he was. He
figured that something horrible had
happened again. He was wrong.
He was finally home.
The Phaeacians were turned into
stone as they reentered the harbor. Poseidon
did not like the fact that they helped
Odysseus.
Remember, Poseidon hates Odysseus!
Athena the goddess of wisdom and
Odysseus the smartest man alive, sat
down and made a plan for testing and
taking revenge on those in his house.
When these two come up with a plan. You
better believe it’ll be a good one.
Athena zapped Odysseus old and ugly so that
no one would recognize him. He could then
find out who was really loyal to him.
The first person Odysseus goes to
visit is his old sheepherder
servant. He knew that if
ANYONE was still loyal, it would
be him.
Can you help me? I am a stranger in
this land?
I am very poor since my
master went away. But,
I will do what I can for
you.
While Odysseus was at
Eumaeus’ hut, Telemachus
shows up. Athena sent him
there (after his mini odyssey).
There was a happy
reunion between
Eumaeus and
Telemachus
An invisable Athena tells Odysseus to reveal
himself to Telemachus. She zaps Odysseus
young and beautiful and then disappears again.
I am
your
father.
Ok son, here is the plan.
1. You are going to give me a list of all the
servants who are loyal to me.
2. I’ll also need a list of the suitors and all their
servants. We need to know what we’re up
against.
3. Athena will zap me old and ugly again.
You’ll see me at the house. Pretend like you
don’t know me.
4. When I nod to you, collect all the armor and
swords in the house. Tell the suitors you are
going to clean it up.
5. Even if they abuse me, do nothing!
The suitors were mad that their plan to
kill Telemachus failed.
The nurse, Eurycleia, was delighted
that Telemachus made it home safe.
Odysseus said, “Tell no one that I
am home.” Not my dad, not the
nurse, and not Penelope.
Odysseus, dressed as
a beggar, went to his
own home. The
suitors and
goatherder abused
him. In fact, one of
the suitors threw a
stool at him (Little
did they know –
They were digging
their own graves).
Argus, Odysseus’ dog,
recognized him. Remember,
this dog would have been over
20 years old! He wagged his
tail and then died. Loyal to his
master to the end. Odysseus
cried.
These suitors had really made
themselves at home. They ate
and partied there, in Odysseus’
home, everyday for at least seven
tears. They have been hitting on
Penelope for many years. They
want the power and money that
go along with marrying her.
Now, when there was a new
“beggar” in the house. They
abused him (physically and
verbally). It isn’t even their stuff
and they won’t share.
They are sooo going to get it...
Penelope heard that there was a stranger in the house
that might have news about her husband. She sent the
nurse to extend hospitality to him. She washed his feet.
While doing this she recognized a scar. She knew it
was him! Odysseus threatened to kill her if she told
who he was. She was a faithful servant.
Meanwhile, the suitors got worse. They were
seriously mean and abusive to Odysseus. In
fact, they encouraged a fight between beggar
Odysseus and the local beggar Irus.
Penelope said, “I hate Antinous like darkness of death itself.”
Antinous is the worst of the suitors.
When Penelope interviews the
“beggar” she reveals that she
has remained faithful to her
husband and that she has
been mourning for him.
Penelope knows that she will
soon have to pick a new
husband but does not want to.
She has been trying to get
gifts from the suitor and she
has done several sneaky things
to put them off awhile.
Homer also describes how
remarkably beautiful Penelope
is.
Penelope told the suitors that she could not pick
a husband until she had completed weaving the
burial cloth for Odysseus’ father. During the day
she would weave and at night she would
unweave. She fooled them for 3 years like this!
1. Telemachus and Odysseus
remove the armor from the
great hall.
2.
Penelope announces that
she will hold a contest to
determine who she will
marry.
The ancient Greeks believed in omens or signs from
the gods. Several omens occurred once Odysseus
arrived on Ithaca.
It proved to build suspense in the story.
One goofy omen occurs while Penelope is talking to
the beggar Odysseus. She expresses her desire to
have Odysseus home. Just then Telemachus
sneezes. “It’s an omen! All the suitors are going to
die and Odysseus is coming home.”
Odysseus, still looking like a
beggar, strings the bow and
wins the contest. Before the
suitors realize what is
happening Odysseus kills the
worst suitor. Meanwhile, Tel
closes and locks the door. It
gets really ugly and lots of
suitors die.
The next few pages of
the Odyssey are very
bloody and ugly. The
suitors beg and bribe
Odysseus but he does
not listen. Odysseus,
Telemachus and the
faithful servant kill
ALL the suitors.
After all the killing, Odysseus orders the unfaithful female
servants to clean up the mess. This would have been horrible for
them since many of the suitors were having “relationships” with
Penelope’s servants. They didn’t know that they were next…
When Odysseus gets revenge, he doesn’t mess around.
After all the killing and clean up, Odysseus is ready to tell
Penelope that he is home. It is frequently called an interview
with Penelope. She is very guarded. After all, he isn’t the first
“Odysseus” to show up.
Penelope like Odysseus is sneaky and
tests people. She will not be fooled!
She and Odysseus have a few secrets
between the two of them. One of their
secrets has to do with their bed.
When Odysseus calls her cold for not greeting her husband
appropriately she tells one of her servants to move Odysseus’
bed out into the hallway. That way, he can sleep in his bed and
she will sleep in the room (away from him).
Such a token was their own bed, which Odysseus himself had constructed,
a detail only known by them. And now he described how he had built it,
bringing to memory the olive tree, thick as a pillar, which grew inside the
court. For round this tree he built the room, and lopping all the twigs off,
he trimmed the stem and used it as a basis for the bed itself. Then he finished
it off with an inlay of gold, silver and ivory, and fixed a set of purple ox-hide
straps across the frame. When Odysseus had described all these details for
Penelope, he said:
"There is our secret, and I have shown you that I know it."
[Odysseus to Penelope. Homer, Odyssey 23.202]
It was then that Penelope, seeing the
complete fidelity of the description, burst
into tears, and running up to Odysseus,
threw her arms round his neck and kissed
him.
Can you imagine what
Penelope’s reaction when
Odysseus tells her that he
has to go on another
journey? Remember he
has to go in order to make
things right with
Poseidon.
1. The families of all the dead suitors show up and want
revenge. Athena says, “Enough is enough. The killing
stops here. Ithaca is a happy place again.
2. Odysseus goes to see his father. There is a happy and
tearful reunion.
3. We learn that Odysseus will live a long good life and then
die peacefully at sea.