THE JOURNEY OF ODYSSEUS Troy He created the plan to sack the city of Troy using a giant hollow horse. He is also famous for his long odyssey, or journey, trying to return home after the events of the Trojan War. Odysseus is one of the most wellknown of the early Greek heroes. Ismarus At Ismaros, Odysseus and his companions pause. The Cicones, who live in the nearby area, are attacked as they sack the town. Despite Odysseus' recommendation that they depart right once, they kill the males, split the ladies and wealth among themselves, and then start to feast. Lotus Eaters By sea, Odysseus and his crew flee. The ships are blown off course by storms, but they eventually reach the Lotus-eaters' homeland. The locals are not hostile, but after consuming the lotus plant, Odysseus' men experience memory loss and lose all desire to return home. Sicily He meets Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, on Sicily, the island of the cyclops. The first of the epic's two major clashes occurs when he blinded Polyphemus while helping him flee the island and angers the Greek god of the sea. THE JOURNEY OF ODYSSEUS Aeolus They are welcomed kindly and hosted for a month at the residence of Aeolus, lord of the winds. Odysseus receives an ox-skin purse from Aeolus, who is eager to continue. All of the winds that can cause the ships to veer off course are caught in it. Laestrygonians The giants attack Odysseus' ships with stones when he and his men arrive on the island home to the Laestrygones, sinking all but Odysseus' own ship. Aeaea When Odysseus and his company came to her island, Aeaea, she transformed them into pigs. But Odysseus forced her to return them to their natural form because he was being protected by the plant moly (a gift from Hermes). Tiresias He serves to reveal the hero's fate and the best course of action. Odysseus eventually receives a direction from Circe, but Teiresias must instruct him on what to do when he arrives. THE JOURNEY OF ODYSSEUS Sirens Odysseus cries out to be freed as they draw near, but the sailors can't hear him, and they are all spared. As they get closer, the sirens start to sing. Some myths claim that the sirens would perish if any sailors heard their song and managed to flee. Charybdis Later, stranded on a raft, Odysseus was swept back through the strait and passed near Charybdis. His raft was sucked into her maw, but he survived by clinging to a fig tree growing on a rock over her lair. Scylla Odysseus successfully navigates the strait, but when he and his crew are momentarily distracted by Charybdis, Scylla snatches six sailors off the deck and devours them alive. Thrinacia Odysseus next sailed to Thrinacia, where Helius pastured his cattle. Again he fell asleep, and his men disobeyed his orders not to touch the cattle and killed some of them for food. THE JOURNEY OF ODYSSEUS Calypso Calypso kidnaps Odysseus on her island (Ogygia) for seven years. She wished to make him fall in love with her, which he did not. Phaeacia Odysseus washes ashore on the island of Scheria, land of the Phaeacians, where he encounters ladies washing their clothes on the nearby water. Ithaca Upon landing on Ithaca, Odysseus discovered that suitors had been trying to marry his wife and take possession of his property for years, thinking he was dead. Odysseus disguised himself, entered his home and talked with his son Telemachus.
