Odyssey Plot Summary
Book I: A Goddess Intervenes
The Trojan war is over and the Greeks have come back victorious – all except
Odysseus. His hometown, Ithaca, stands without its leader. As the book opens,
he is being held captive by the sea nymph Calypso. She is in love with Odysseus
and wants to keep him as her husband. Homer reveals that the reason that
Odysseus is taking so long to get home is that he has angered the sea god,
Poseidon. Athena is looking out for Odysseus, however. While Poseidon is off
attending a banquet, Athena appeals to her father Zeus to help out Odysseus.
She wants Hermes, the messenger god, to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. After
she has taken care of that matter, she goes to visit Telemakhos, Odysseus’ son.
He is about 20, and he’s having his own problems. While Odysseus has been
away, dozens of suitors have come to win the hand of his wife, Penelope.
Odysseus is rich and powerful and these men all want to marry his wife so they
can take over that wealth and power – and it doesn’t hurt that Penelope is
gorgeous. Penelope is diplomatically keeping them at bay, but she is obliged to
entertain them while she stalls, and they are rude pigs. They eat Odysseus’ food,
drink his wine, sleep in his home, and generally act like unwanted party guests
who don’t know when to leave. Telemakhos is understanably frustrated, but
Athena tells him to take courage. She reveals that his father is not dead and will
return one day. In the meantime, she urges Telemakhos to act like a man and get
rid of the suitors as well as make an effort to discover what has happened to his
father.
Book 2: A Hero’s Son Awakens
Telemakhos doesn’t lose any time. He gathers together all the men of Ithaca and
takes a stand against the suitors, demanding that they leave. They respond that
they will only leave when Penelope has chosen one of them to marry.
Telemakhos suggests a compromise. If the suitors hold off, he will go and
determine once and for all if Odysseus is dead. If he finds out that his father is
indeed dead, he will force Penelope to make a final decision. Telemakhos gets
together a crew and sets sail for Pylos, under the guidance of Athena.
Book III - Telemakhos Meets Nestor
Pylos is where Nestor lives – remember him? Telemakhos tells him that he is
looking for Odysseus, and Nestor recounts to him how everybody went their
separate ways after the Trojan War ended, and the last time he saw Odysseus, he
was in a ship and on his way home. Nestor advises Odysseus to inquire of
Menelaos (aka Menelaus) in Sparta to see if he knows more.
Book IV – The Red-Haired King and His Lady
Telemakhos takes his advice and heads off to Sparta. When he gets there,
Menelaos is hosting a wedding banquet for his son and daughter. Telemakhos
waits until the next day to talk to him. When he does, Menelaos is horrified by
the state of affairs at Odysseus’ home. He tells Telemakhos that Odysseus was
still alive, but being held prisoner by Calypso. Meanwhile, over in Ithaca, the
suitors discover that Telemakhos has already gone on the journey to find out
about his father’s fate. They decide to set a trap for him and kill him.
Book V - Sweet Nymph and Opoen Sea
At Athena’s repeated urging, Zeus finally sends Hermes to tell Calypso to release
Odysseus. Resigned to the will of Zeus, she even gives Odysseus a boat to carry
him away. (Finally, we see Odysseus! ) However, Poseidon is back from his trip
and discovers that Odysseus has been set free. Angry, he calls up a storm and
wrecks Odysseus’ boat. Desperately clutching to a piece of the wreckage, he
floats to the island of Scheria where the Phaeacians live.
Book VI – The Princess at the River
Odysseus is discovered buck naked by the young princess of the Phaeacians,
Nausicaa, as she and her friends are playing ball. At first she is scared of the
wild-looking man, but he sweet talks her into giving him some bathing oils to
clean up and some cloth to cover himself. Once he does, he looks incredibly
handsome, and she is won over. He doesn’t reveal who he is, but she tells him
where she’s from and encourages him to head there as well and ask her mother
and father for hospitality.
Book VII – Gardens and Firelight
King Alkinoos and Queen Arete of Phaeacia welcome the stranger. He tells them
about his shipwreck and they offer to help him home.
Book VIII: Songs of the Harper
Alkinoos invites Odysseus to a banquet where stories will be told. He comes, and
hears tales of the Troan war which affect him visibly.
Book IX – New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son
Odysseus finally reveals his identity and tells his story. After he and his men
had left Troy, his ships found themselves in the middle of a terrible storm. They
wound up at an island where they discovered a people known as the “LotusEaters.” Anyone who ate the lotus would forget who they were and what they
were doing, and want nothing more than to stay on the island and consume
more lotus. Two men and a runner take the lotus and want to stay, but they are
dragged back to the ship kicking and screaming and bound to benches until they
come to their senses (assuming they will).
His next stop was at the land of the Kyklopes (aka Cyclopses), one-eyed
monsters with no laws. He takes twelve men onshore with him to seek help on
his journey, but instead the Cyclops he meets, Polyphemos, grabs two of his men
and eats them. He stuffs the rest in his cave and the next morning has another
two for breafast. Odysseus gets the moster drunk and then drives a stake
through his eye. Blinded and in excruciating pain, he demands Odysseus’ name.
Odysseus tells him his name is “Noman.” Therefore, when the Cyclops yells that
“Help - Noman has hurt me,” his fellow Cyclopses think “Well if no man is
hurting him, why is he yelling?” They don’t come to help. Odysseus and the
remaining men escape by binding themselves to Cyclopses’ sheep. Since he can’t
see them, he only feels the wool of the sheep as they pass. As Odysseus and his
men sail away, Odysseus yells back at Polyphemos that his real name is Cyclops.
Enraged, Polyphemus ask his father to seek revenge – and his father is Poseidon.
Book X – The Grace of the Witch
The next stop is the home of Aeolus, king of the winds. Aeolus is very helpful,
and Odysseus stays there a month. When Odysseus is ready to leave, Aelous
gives him a bag of the winds so that he can get the wind to blow just the right
way, with no adverse winds. Unfortunately, Odysseus’ crew are very greedy.
When he won’t tell them about what’s in the bag, they think the bag is full of
treasure. Just as the boat nears Ithaca, some of the men rip open the bag while
Odysseus is sleeping. The winds, loosed and combined, blow them right back to
Aeolus! This time he wants nothing to do with them, thinking they are cursed.
Next stop: Laestrygonia. The men have to row there, as thanks to Aelous, they
have no wind. The residents of Laestrygonia are giants and man-eaters. They eat
the landing party Odysseus sends, then throw boulders as the rest of the ships
try to escape. Only Odysseus’s ship survives, because it had not pulled into the
harbor.
Next stop: Aeaea where Circe lives. Circe is a sorceress who is good with spells
and potions. She also has a bad habit of turning men into pigs. Several of
Odysseus’ men get captured and turned into pigs, but before it can happen to
Odysseus, he is warned by Hermes and receives a magic herb from him that
counteracts Circe’s spell. At swordpoint, he forces her to change his other men
back. Circe is so impressed that she falls in love with him and he stays with her
for a year. She bears him three songs in that time: Agrius, Latinus and Telegonus.
Finally, he leaves, but not before Circe tells him to visit the prophet Teiresias in
the underworld and gives him directions on how to get there.
Book XI – A Gathering of Shades
Odysseus undertakes the journey to Hades. The Greeks believed the earth was a
flat plateau and that Hades existed on the edge of it, so he sails to that edge. In
order to attract the shades of the dead, Odysseus must make animal sacrifices.
The pool of blood the sacrifices create draws the “shades” or souls, all of whom
crave fresh blood. Only when they drink the blook are they able to taste
mortality enough to talk to the living. Many approach, but Odysseus holds them
at bay with a spear while he waits for Teiresias. When Teiresias finally arrives,
he foretells that Odysseus will be able to go home, but he will not be free of
Poseidon’s curse until he has undertaken his journey, and that eventually he will
die of old age. He also warns Odysseus that if he and his men wish to return to
Ithaca, they must not eat any of the sun-god Helius’ heard of cattle which reside
on the island of Thrinacia.
Besides Teiresias, Odysseus also talks to a few other dead people. He sees
Elphenor, a member of his crew who had died on Circe’s island, unbeknownst to
Odysseus. Odysseus promises to bury him. He sees his mother, who had been
alive when he left Itahaca. He talks to heroes such as Hercules, Achilles and
Agamemnon. He also sees Ajax from afar, but Ajax refuses to talk to him because
he had committed suicide because he lost Achilles’ armor to Odysseus and his
fast talking. Many famous women also come by – beauties, consorts of gods, and
queens.
Finally, though, Odysseus can’t take any more of the dead. Overcome by dread
when he sees more shades approaching, he rushes away. Back at Circe’s island,
he is warned about the dangers that remain on their path: the Sirens, Scylla, and
Charybdis. Odysseus remembers to give Elphenor burial rites before leaving.
Book XII – Sea Perils and Defeat
Odysseus and his men first encounter the Sirens. The Sirens are half-bird, halfwomen and live on the island of Anthemoessa. They sing a beautiful song that
draws every man who hears it irresistably to his doom. Either their ships crash as
they rush blindly towards the island, or they rot away on the island itself, unable
to move because they are entranced by the song. As Circe advises, Odysseus
orders his men to fill their ears with wax so they can’t hear the song. However,
he wants to hear the song. Knowing that even he can’t resist their call, he orders
his men to bind him to the mast and ignore him when he begs to be released.
Indeed, they should only bind him harder the more he struggles. As he passes,
he hears the sirens sing of past glory and yearns to go to them, but the ropes hold
and they pass by in safety.
After passing by the Sirens, Odysseus and his men must successfully pass
between the monster Scylla and Charybdis. Unfortunately, it is impossible to get
by without being struck down by one of them. Scylla is a monster with six long
tentacle-like necks each with a dog’s head. (She used to be a beauitful woman,
but when the sea-god Glaucus chose Scylla over Circe, Circe poured a potion into
the water while Scylla bathed which turned her into an immortal man-eating
monster). When a ship goes by Scylla, each of her six dog-head snaps out and
grabs a man. Charybdis, on the other side, is a powerful whirlpool which sucks
in everything around it in the water, then vomits it back up destroyed. Odysseus
decides losing six men is better than losing the entire ship. He sails on Scylla’s
side. Sure enough, he loses the men, but otherwise escapes.
Once past, the men are tired and demoralized. Nearby, they see the islands of
Helios with his sacred cattle. Odysseus doesn’t even want to land, remembering
Teiresius’ warning, but the men led by Eurylokhos protest. They insist on
landing. Odysseus makes them swear not to touch the cattle and they agree, but
they get stuck on the island for over a month due to advese winds. The food
Circe had given them runs out. Odysseus goes to make a sacrifice to the gods to
get good winds so they can leave the island, but falls asleep. While he’s away, the
starving men finally cook a few of the cattle. Unsurprisingly, the gods are
angered. When the men try to leave the island soon afterwards, Zeus hurls a
thunderbolt in the midst of a vicious storm which destroys the ship. All the men
die except Odysseus. He hangs on to some debris and drifts back towards
Charybdis. When the keel he is clinging to get sucked in to the whirlpool, he
grabs on to an overhanging branch and hangs on for dear life. Eventually, the
keel pops back up, and he is able to grab it and get away, with the help of Zeus
who keeps him hidden from Scylla. He drifted for nine more days and finally
winds up on Ogygia Isle where Kalypso lives, staying there for about eight years
as her love-slave until Zeus rescues him (as we saw from earlier in the work).
They actually have two children, Nausinoüs and Nausithoüs.
Book XIII – One More Strange Island
Finished with his story, Odysseus is told by King Alkinoos that he can and must
return to Ithaca. He orders one of his ships to sail Odysseus home. Odysseus
falls asleep in the ship and doesn’t even awaken when they reach Ithaca, so the
men lay him sleeping on his home shore. Unfortunately for the Phaecians,
Poseidon punishes them for helping out Odysseus by turing the ship into stone
as it enters the Phaecian port.
Odysseus awakens alone on the mist-covered shore, at first unable to recognize
his home. Athena appears to him in the guise of a young man. Unsure who to
trust, Odysseus makes up a story about being left on the beach by a mutinous
crew. Amused by his easy lying, Athena reveals her true form. She assures
Odysseus he is indeed at Ithaca, helps him hide the treasures the Phaecians have
left with him in a cave, and changes him into the form of an old beggar so that he
can enter Ithaca unrecognized. She tells him to find his swineherd, Eumaeus, and
ask about how things are in Ithaca. Athena then heads off to get Telemakhos
from Lacedaemon.
Boox XIV – Hospitality in the Forest
Odysseus arrives at the hut of his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus, who tells him a
little about what is happening at his home. Eumaeus is a kind man who gives
great hospitality to this stranger, even giving him his cloak and sleeping
outdoors so Odysseus can sleep in comfort inside. Odysseus is impressed by his
generosity and loyalty. The old swineherd will not believe Odysseus when he
tells him that his master is still living and will return, though.
XV – How They Came to Ithaca
After being warned by Athena about the suitors’ plans to ambush him on the
way home, Telemakhos says goodbye to Menelaus and Helen and leaves for
Ithaca. Meanwhile, at the swineherd’s hut, Odysseus has been pumping
Eumaeus for information by pretending he wants to go to his master’s house to
seek employment. Eumaeus tells him about how horrible the suitors are. The
next morning, Telemakhos lands on Ithaca’s shore and goes to the hut of the
swineherd per Athena’s instructions.
XVI – Father and Son
Telemakhos arrives at the hut to find Eumaeus and the “stranger.” After talkin
together, Eumaeus wants to go tell Laertes, Odysseus’ father and Telemakhos’
grandfather, that his grandson has arrived back safely. After he leaves Odysseus
reveals himself to Telemakhos with Athena’s help. After a tearful reunion, they
devise a plan to take care of all of those suitors. Odysseus will return home in
disguise, telling no one his identity, and wait for the time where he and
Telemachos can exact revenge.
Meanwhile, back at the palace, the suitors hear that Telemakhos has gotten back
safely before they could kill him. They plot to kill him once he returns, but
Penelope overhears one of them, Antinous, and berates him. Antinous is
generally considered their leader, but another suitor, Eurymachus, convinces her
that the rest of the suitors would never hurt Telemakhos. However, we know
that he is also plotting to kill him.
Book XVII – The Beggar at the Manor
Telemakhos goes back home the next day and tells Penelope that Odysseus is
alive and with Calypso, but will return soon. Penelope is afraid to believe it is
true, although she certainly wants it to be. Odysseus later arrives with Eumaeus
and on the way they meet up with Melanthius, Odysseus’ goatherd. Unlike
Eumaeus, Melanthius has not been loyal to Odysseus. He kisses up to the suitors
instead. He is also a cruel man, insulting and violent towards the “beggar.”
Odysseus bites back his rage and leaves his revenge for later.
Odysseus and Eumaeus arrive at the palace. Near the gates, they see Argus,
Odysseus’ old faithful dog, lying forgotten in a dung heap. He recognizes his
master and barks joyfully, then dies happy. Odysseus can barely keep from
crying at the touching display of loyalty and love.
Once at the palace, Odysseus sees the suitors in all their glory, feasting at his
table. Telemakhos tells the “beggar” he can remain at the table to plead for food,
and gives him some. Antinous is not as generous. Not only does he insult
Odysseus, he throws a footstool at him. Once again Odysseus privately vows
revenge, but shows nothing on the outside.
Noticing the “beggar,” Penelope asks Eumaeus about him. She approaches
Odysseus and asks him if he has heard anything about her husband. He says he
has and that he will tell her about it later.
Boox XVIII – Blows and a Queen’s Beauty
A fellow beggar named Irus shows up at the banquet. He is a regular and the
suitors like him. He argues with Odysseus, worried about another beggar
encroaching on his territory. The suitors get a kick out of watching the two fight
and offer a prize to whoever wins a physical confrontation. Odysseus takes off
his tunic to fight. When Irus sees that Odysseus is a well-muscled, strong man,
he gets scared. Despite the fact that Odysseus tries to take it easy on the inept
Irus, he still breaks his jaw. One of the suitors, Amphinomous, is nice to
Odysseus. Odysseus tries to convince him to leave but he doesn’t, doomed to the
same fate as all the others.
Penelope arrives, looking even more beautiful than usual thanks to enhancement
by Athena. She is dismayed by the scene of the bloody beggar with the broken
jaw and the ill-treatment of the new “beggar” and considers it one more example
of the way the suitors have turned her home into a circus. Once again she blames
them for taking advantage of her husband’s estate, but to keep them from
rioting, also hints that she plans to marry the one who woos her with the nicest
gifts. Spurred on by her beauty, the suitors hurry to comply. Their efforts to get
gifts from their home lands serves to delay her choice. Odysseus sees her ploy for
what it is and is proud of her for being so cunning.
Later that night, the “beggar” Odysseus is insulted by Melantho, one of his
servants. She has gotten cocky because one of the suitors, Eurymachus, has taken
her for his mistress. Odysseus calls her disloyal, and when Eurymachus hears, he
throws a footstool at Odysseus. Odysseus is about to get into a confrontation
with him when Telemakhos interrupts and orders everyone to bed. Unused to
Telemakhos ordering anyone to do anything, the suitors are taken aback, but
obey.
Boox XIX - Recognitions and a Dream
When the suitors have left the hall, Odysseus asks Telemachus to remove the
weapons from there. The young man is to say that they are being marred by the
fire in the hall, and that furthermore he is removing them in order to avoid
bloodshed in the event of a quarrel. Eurycleia is asked to shut the women in the
chambers while this task is being completed. Odysseus and Telemachus then
take away the arms, after which Telemachus retires for the night.
Penelope comes to the hall and is made comfortable near the fire. Melantho
reviles Odysseus, again angering him. Penelope chides the rude maid. She then
converses with Odysseus, asking him where he comes from. He praises her
instead of answering her, while she tells him about her failed trick of weaving
and unweaving Laertes' shroud. When she further questions him, he finally tells
her a false story of his past adventures, adding that he had met Odysseus when
he was on his way to Troy twenty years ago. Penelope seeks to test him to
ascertain whether he is speaking the truth, and he manages to convince her by
relating in detail the nature of the garments that Odysseus had worn in that
fateful year. He further tells her not to lament, as Odysseus will soon return.
Penelope is doubtful about this, but is pleased with the disguised beggar and
asks the handmaids to look after him well. Eurycleia is assigned the task of
washing his feet, and she recognizes the scar of an old wound, which he had
received while hunting boar as a young man with his grandfather Autolycus.
The entire tale of Odysseus' naming and the adventure by which he was scarred
is now told. Eurycleia is about to tell Penelope that the beggar is really Odysseus,
but he stops her with the threat of death.
Eurycleia leaves, and Penelope voices her predicament to her disguised husband.
She does not know whether she should stay with her son in the house and keep
her husband's possessions safe or leave with the best of the Achaeans and get
married, leaving the property to Telemachus. She also relates the details of a
symbolic dream to him, in which an eagle kills the geese in her yard, and he
answers by saying that the dream means sure death for the suitors at the hands
of her husband. She then tells him about her plan to offer a contest to the suitors.
Whoever can string Odysseus' bow most easily and repeat his trick of shooting
through a row of twelve axes will win her hand. Odysseus encourages her to
announce the contest soon, promising that her husband will return before any of
the suitors can string the bow. After lamenting once again for her husband,
Penelope retires to her chamber to sleep.
Boox XX – Signs and a Vision
Odysseus prepares to sleep but is unable to. He lies awake with evil thoughts for
the suitors. He sees some of the maids coming forth from their chamber
laughing, on their way to lie with the suitors. He is furious at this sight, but
restrains his anger. Athena appears and tells him not to worry about the suitors
and go to sleep instead. While he sleeps, Penelope awakens and prays to Artemis
that she might be taken away by death rather than marry another man. She
speaks about yet another dream that she had dreamed and starts weeping. In the
morning, Odysseus awakes, hears Penelope weeping, and asks Zeus to show him
some good omen so that he may be reassured. Zeus obliges, and Odysseus is
comforted by a thunderous sound and an ominous prayer uttered by a weary
woman grinding at the mill.
The household begins to stir. Telemachus awakes and asks Euryclea whether the
beggar has been looked after properly. Meanwhile, the maids prepare for yet
another day of feasting. Eumaeus and the disloyal Melanthius arrive at the
palace, and the latter insults Odysseus yet again. Philoetius, a loyal cowherd,
comes to the palace and greets the disguised Odysseus with kind words. The
suitors make plans to kill Telemachus but defer their plot after Antinous sees an
eagle fly by on their left hand with a dove in its talons.
As they dine, the mood is tense. Telemachus sits Odysseus at his own table and
tells the suitors to leave him alone. One of the suitors, Ctessipus, throws an ox's
foot at Odysseus, but he avoids it. After Telemachus delivers another threatening
speech, the suitors are momentarily silenced. Then Agelaus asks Telemachus to
tell Penelope to choose the best man and wed him. Telemachus answers that he
cannot drive away his own mother without her consent. The men begin
laughing, but it is a forced laughter, and the seer Theoclymenus suddenly sees
shrouds of death covering their bodies and the walls dripping with blood. They
laugh at his warnings, and he leaves the doomed company. Meanwhile,
Penelope has heard the words of each one of the men in the halls, for she had set
her chair near them.
Book XXI - The Test of the Bow
Penelope informs the suitors of her plans for the contest. The suitors must use
Odysseus' great bow. Whoever can both string the bow and shoot an arrow
through twelve axes, will be Penelope's next husband. The suitors accept the
challenge. While the suitors are making their preparations, Odysseus takes
Eumaeus and Philoetius aside, and after identifying himself, enlists their aid in
his plan.
None of the suitors is able to string Odysseus' great bow. When Antinous
suggests the contest be continued the next day, Odysseus asks for a chance to try
the bow. The suitors refuse his request, but Penelope intervenes. Telemakhos
orders his mother to leave the hall, and he hands the bow to Odysseus. Eumaeus
and Philoetius secretly lock the doors to the hall.
Odysseus takes the bow and easily strings it. He effortlessly shoots an arrow
through the twelve axes. While the suitors sit in surprise, Telemakhos arms
himself with a sword and goes to his father's side.
Book XXII – Death in the Great Hall
Odysseus kills Antinous with the next arrow. The suitors think the beggar has
gone crazy until Odysseus identifies himself. In horror, Eurymachus tries to
blame the dead Antinous for the actions of the suitors. Odysseus answers him by
killing him with the next arrow. Pandemonium breaks out as the suitors attempt
to defend themselves. Odysseus; however; eliminates them one by one.
Telemakhos brings out arms for Odysseus, Eumaeus, Philoetius, and himself.
These four fight bravely together until all the suitors are killed.
Odysseus calls to Euryclea, and has her identify all of the maids who were
disloyal to him. Twelve maids are targeted, and Odysseus makes them clean out
the carnage in the hall After they complete their chores, the maids are taken
outside and hanged. Melanthius is killed and mutilated for his treacherous
behavior. The hall is then fumigated by the burning of brimstone.
Book XXIII - The Trunk of the Olive Tree
Eurycleia rushes up to Penelope's bed chamber to inform her that the suitors are
dead, and Odysseus has returned. Penelope, not believing this story, goes down
to the hall to see what has occurred. Penelope doesn't recognize Odysseus
because he is still dressed as a beggar and is covered in blood.
Penelope tests Odysseus by telling him his bed has been moved. He is outraged
because the bed is made from an olive tree that grows through the center of the
palace, and cannot be moved. This is a secret only the two of them share so his
knowledge assures Penelope that this is indeed Odysseus. The two share a
loving reunion. Athena delays the sunrise so the two lovers can have more time
together.
The next day, Odysseus goes to visit his father.
Book XXIV – Warriors, Farewell
In Hades all the dead souls of Odysseus' former comrades in Troy are surprised
when Hermes arrives leading the souls of the dead suitors. They are impressed
by Odysseus' valor and his wife's loyalty.
When Odysseus arrives at his father's farm, Laertes is overcome with joy.
Meanwhile the people of Ithaca have learned of Odysseus' return and the
slaughter that took place. At an assembly, the relatives of the slain suitors seek
retribution. Arming themselves, they follow Odysseus to Laertes' farm.
Athena wants to help Odysseus, so she asks Zeus for permission. Zeus, feeling
Odysseus was justified in his actions, agrees to let Athena intervene.
When the armed relatives arrive at Laertes' farm, a fight breaks out. A
thunderbolt from Zeus gets everyone's attention and Athena orders that peace be
restored.
Odysseus returns to reign as king of Ithaca.