The Odyssey
Overview and Quiz
Table of contents
• The Story of Odysseus
• Ciconians
• Cyclops
• Circe
• Hades
• Sirens
• Scylla and Charybdis
• Helios’ Cattle
• Calypso
• Ithaca
Odysseus
The Journey of Odysseus
• The story of the Greek hero, Odysseus,
describes his adventures over the
course of ten years as he tries to get
back to his home and his family. The
story starts after the end of the Iliad,
the eleven year war between the
Greeks and the Trojans. Meanwhile, his
wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus,
have missed him for twenty two years.
Odyssey
Odysseus is
returning from…
Greece
Egypt
Troy, or Ilium
The Ciconians
• After Odysseus and his men depart from
Troy, they are greeted by friendly and
calm waters. The ships near land and
Eurylochus, convincing Odysseus that
the gods were on their side, told him to
go ashore and loot the nearby city. The
crew had landed in Ismara. The city was
not at all protected and all of the
inhabitants fled without a fight into
the nearby mountains. Odysseus and his
men looted the city and robbed it of all
its goods.
The Ciconians
• Odysseus wisely told the men to
board the ships quickly but they
refused, ate dinner and fell
asleep on the beach. The next
morning, the Ciconians (also known
as the Cicones) returned with their
fierce kinsmen from the mountains.
Odysseus and his men fled to the
ships as fast as they could but
they lost many men.
Odysseus
Odyssey
tHe men were forCed to flee beCause…
The old women in the village beat them
with stale loaves of bread
They had too many to fight on such a
tiny beach
They did not listen to their leader
The Cyclops
• A scouting party led by Odysseus lands in the
territory of the Cyclops and discover a large
cave. They go in and feast on food inside.
Unknown to them, the cave is the dwelling of
Polyphemus, a one-eyed giant who soon returns.
Polyphemus refuses hospitality to his uninvited
guests and traps them in the cave by blocking
the entrance with a boulder that could not be
moved by mortal men. He then proceeds to eat a
pair of the men each day, but Odysseus devises
a cunning plan for escape.
Polyphemus
The Cyclops
• To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gives him a bowl of strong,
unadulterated wine. When Polyphemus asks for his name,
Odysseus tells him that it is "Nobody" (Outis). In appreciation for the
wine, Polyphemus offers to return the favor by eating him last. Once
the giant falls asleep, Odysseus and his men take a giant spear,
which they had previously prepared while Polyphemus was out of
the cave shepherding his flocks, and blind Polyphemus. Hearing
Polyphemus' cries, other Cyclops come to his cave and ask what is
wrong, what man has put out his eye? Polyphemus replied that
Nobody has put out his eye by cunning instead of by direct attack.
The Cyclops left, thinking that his outbursts must be madness or the
gods' doing.
The Cyclops
• In the morning, Polyphemus rolls back the
boulder to let the sheep out to graze. Now blind,
Polyphemus cannot see the men, but feels the
tops of his sheep to make sure the men are not
riding them. Odysseus and his men escape,
having tied themselves to the undersides of the
sheep. Once Odysseus and his men are out,
they load the sheep on board their ship and set
sail.
Odyssey
Odysseus and the crew escape
by…
Feeding the giant monster Lotus
leaves to alter his mood
Stabbing Polyphemus in the eye
while he drunkenly snoozes
Getting the monster so hammered
he thinks Odysseus and Co. are
sHeep…
Circe
• The next stop was the island of Circe, where
Odysseus sent a scouting party ahead of the
rest of the group. She invited the scouting
party to a feast, the food laced with one of
her magical potions, and she then changed all
the men into pigs with a wand after they
gorged themselves on it. Only Eurylochus,
suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped
to warn Odysseus and the others who had
stayed behind at the ships. Odysseus set out to
rescue his men, but was intercepted and told by
Hermes to procure some of the herb moly to
protect him from the same fate.
Circe
Circe
• When her magic failed he was able to
force her to return his men to human
form by making her swear the Oath of
the Immortals. She later fell in love
with Odysseus and he was treated well
in her abode. Later, quite reluctantly
(reluctant since she did not want to
part with Odysseus), she assisted him in
his quest to reach his home after he and
his crew spent one year with her on her
island. On Circe's island, Elpenor, the
youngest of Odysseus' crew, got drunk
and fell off Circe's roof and died.
Circe and Odysseus
Odyssey
Odysseus was able to resist the
CHarms of CirCe beCause…
He pushed Elpenor off the roof
He had a holy mole on his cheek,
which protected him.
Hermes gave him a magic herb
Hades
• Odysseus wanted to speak with
Tiresias, so he and his men
journeyed to the River Acheron in
Hades, where they performed
sacrifices which allowed them to
speak to the dead, including his
mother, Elpenor, Tiresias, and
Achilles. They all gave him
valuable advice on how to pass the
rest of his journey. Odysseus
sacrificed a ram and the dead
spirits were attracted to the
blood.
Hades
Hades
• He held them at bay and demanded
to speak with Tiresias, who told him
how to pass by Helios' cattle and
the whirlpool Charybdis. During
the Trojan War Odysseus met a
Trojan boy captured by Achilles
who was later freed to Troy,
named Helios. He didn't remember
the name until he heard how to get
by Helios, the god.
Odyssey
In the Underworld, Odysseus
learns…
How to make a good lamb
stew
How Achilles killed Helios
How to ensure that he dies a
happy old man
Sirens
• Circe warned Odysseus of the
dangers of these singing
creatures who lured men to their
death. She advised him to avoid
hearing the song but that if he
really felt he had to hear then he
should be tied to the mast. His men
should have their ears stopped
with wax and be ordered not to
heed his screams.
Sirens
Sirens
•Odysseus was so curious he
twisted CirCe’s words and told
the men that Circe had told him
that he had to listen to the
song. He obeyed her
instructions and listened to
the song while he was tied to
the mast.
Odyssey
The Song of the Sirens was
dangerous beCause…
It lured men to dash their
ships and bones against the
deadly cliffs
It sounded a lot like a Britney
Spears joint
It prophesied Odysseus
impending death at the
hands of Pericles the Lion
Scylla and Charybdis
• Odysseus was told by Circe that he
would have to sail pass two great
hazards. On one side was a whirlpool,
called Charybdis who would sink the
ship. However on the other side of the
strait was a monster called Scylla,
daughter of Cratais with six heads who
would seize and eat six men. The advice
was to sail close to Scylla and lose six
men.
Scylla and Charybdis
Scylla and Charybdis
• Odysseus initially queried this advice
and asked if he could fight Scylla but
was told not to. However, he did not
dare tell his crew of the sacrifice, or
they would have cowered below and not
rowed and everyone would have ended
up in Charybdis. Six men died and
Odysseus said that their cries were the
worst thing he had ever known.
Odyssey
odysseus’ men braved
the monster and the
wHirlpool beCause…
They were naturally
heroic and brave men
Odysseus promised them
each fantastic riches
Odysseus never told
them about the
required sacrifice of
six human lives
tHe sun god’s Cows
• Finally, Odysseus and his surviving crew
approached an island, Thrinacia, sacred
to Helios, where he kept sacred cattle.
Odysseus had been warned by Tiresias
and Circe not to touch these cattle.
Odysseus told his men that they would
not be landing on the island. Eurylochus
then threatened mutiny and Odysseus
unwisely gave in. The men were trapped
by adverse winds on the island and
began to get hungry.
tHe sun god’s Cows
•Odysseus went inland to pray
for help and fell asleep. In his
absence Eurylochus incited the
men to kill and eat the cattle.
The guardians of the island,
Helios' daughters, Lampetia
and Phaethusa, told their
father.
The Sun God Helios
tHe sun god’s Cows
• Helios complained to Zeus and said
that he would take the sun down to
Hades if justice was not done. Zeus
destroyed the ship with a
thunderbolt and all the men save
Odysseus perished. Odysseus was
swept past Scylla and Charybdis
whom he luckily escaped and was
washed up on Calypso's island.
Odyssey
Odysseus did not want to
land on the island
beCause…
He knew Eurylochus
Couldn’t turn down a
good sun burger
He was afraid the men
would go cow tipping
Tiresias had warned him
not to touch the
cattle
Calypso and Odysseus
Calypso’s island
• Odysseus was washed ashore on Ogygia, where
the nymph Calypso, daughter of Atlas. She
made him her lover for seven years and would
not let him leave, promising him immortality if
he stayed. As a result, Odysseus was strongly
attracted to her by night yet wept by the
shore for his home and family by day. On behalf
of Athena, Zeus intervened and sent Hermes to
tell Calypso to let Odysseus go. Odysseus left
on a small raft furnished with provisions of
water, wine and food by Calypso, only to be hit
by a storm launched by his old enemy Poseidon
and washed up on the island of Scheria.
Realm of Calypso
Calypso’s island
• He was found by Nausicaa, daughter of
King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the
Phaeacians, who entertained him well
and escorted him to Ithaca. While upon
Scheria, the bard sings a song of the
Trojan war. As Odysseus was at Troy
and longed to return to his home, he
wept at the song. Alcinous, realising
this decided to press Odysseus for his
true identity.
Odyssey
Calypso was a(n)…
Egyptian belly
dancer
Rich heiress of a
hotel fortune
Sea nymph
Homecoming
• In Ithaca, Penelope was fending off suitors.
Odysseus, upon landing, disguised as a beggar
by Athena, took the name Eperitus. Odysseus'
faithful dog Argos was the first to recognize
him in his rags. He had waited twenty years to
see his master. Aged and decrepit, he did his
best to wag his tail, but Odysseus did not want
to be found out, and had to feign ignorance,
leading the dog to die. Odysseus was then
welcomed by his old swineherd, Eumaeus, who
did not recognize him in disguise, but still
treated him well. The first person to recognize
him was his old wet nurse, Euryclea.
Homecoming
• Still in his disguise, Odysseus went to
Penelope and told her that whoever
could string Odysseus' bow and shoot an
arrow through twelve axe-handles
would be able to marry Penelope. This
was to Odysseus' advantage, as only he
could string his own bow. The suitors
each tried to string the bow, but in vain.
Odysseus then took the bow, strung it,
and completed the task. Athena then
took off his disguise and, with the help
of his son Telemachus, Athena, and
Eumaeus, the swineherd, killed all the
offending suitors.
Ithaca
Homecoming
• Penelope ordered her maid to make up
Odysseus' bed, and move it from their
bedchamber. Odysseus was astonished
because the bed was built into the
trunk of an olive tree and thus cannot
be moved; he tells her this, and since
only Odysseus and Penelope knew this,
Penelope accepted that he was her
husband. She came running to him hoping
that he would forgive her. He forgives
her because he could understand why
she did it.
Odyssey
Odysseus used ______
to overcome the
suitors.
A banana
Courage and
cleverness
A sword called
Excalibur
The End
•Unleash the Harpies
and the Furies on the
Dunce!
•What fools you mortals
be!
•Perfecto!