Odysseus’ Journey
Isabelle Gregga and Brenna Smith
6
Odysseus began his journey after he fought in
Troy on the side of the Greeks and started home.
He was then blown off course to Ismaros in
Circones, where a battle occurred and many
died.
After that Odysseus arrived at the island of the
Lotus Eaters. Some of his crew ate the lotus and
wished to stay, but he tied them to the ship to
make sure they would return home with him.
He was then carried by the ocean currents to the
island of the Cyclopes. He and his crew met the
fearsome Cyclops Polyphemus, and to get away
Odysseus blinded him.
Next, he landed in Aeolia, where he was gifted a
bag of winds from Aeolius, the wind god. It was
a gift of good luck, and if it was opened then all
the wind would be released. Odysseus’ crew got
their hands on it and proceeded to open the bag,
blowing the ship back to Aeolia once more,
where the crew pillaged a coastal city for food
and weapons, and were driven away by the city
dwellers.
They were then driven to the Laestrygonian
island, and the inhabitants were cannibalistic
and ate every crew of every ship except the one
Odysseus was on.
The lone ship continued on to Aeaea, the island of the
powerful sorceress Circe. There, Circe and Odysseus
meet, and she tells him to seek the prophet
Teiresias, who can tell him his destiny. Teiresias,
being dead at this point, needs to be resurrected
from Hades. Odysseus goes to the island where he
can resurrect him, and Tieresias tells Odysseus how
to get home. He returns to Circe at Aeaea.
On his way home after Aeaea, he encounters the
Sirens in the sea. The sirens tell men of their
destiny and make them extremely wise, but they also
lure them to their death. Odysseus bound himself
tight to the mast to hear their song and stuffed his
crew’s ears with wax, and they passed the Sirens
safely.
After the Sirens, Odysseus encountered the great
whirlpool of Charybdis, where he and his crew
almost died.
Then he made it to Scylla, where more of his crew
died.
Odysseus arrived at Thrinakia, where the bulls of
Helios roamed. The crew was so hungry that
they slew the bulls and ate them, against
Odysseus’ orders while he slept. Once he woke,
they had just enough time to flee the island and
Zeus’ wrath, to whom the bull was sacred. Zeus
threw a thunderbolt at the ship as it sailed away,
and the whole crew drowned except Odysseus.
After that tragedy, Odysseus awoke on Calypso’s
island. He spends seven years on the island,
yearning for his wife and son. Calypso falls in love
with him, but he cannot love her in return because
he loves his wife too strongly. Athena recognizes
that his love for his wife is pure and wishes to help
him return to her, and persuades the other gods to
help her. She succeeds in helping him leave the
island.
Odysseus then gets to Phaecia with Athena’s help, and
there he tells his story. The people of Phaecia take
pity on him, and they aid him in returning to his
home, Ithaca.
Odysseus finally arrives home and is reunited with his
family.