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Greek Mythology
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The most amazing Greek tale... read the story of Odysseus and his adventures
Odyssey
28-02-2013 20:25Odyssey is the second epic poem written by Homer narrating the adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, during his way from Troy to his homeland, after the end of the Trojan War. The narration starts at the point where Odysseus is at the island of Kalypso and in the meantime suitors for his loyal wife Penelope have flocked in the royal palace.
The goddess Athena advises Telemachos to go in search of news of his missing father and he does so, first traveling to Pylos to visit King Nestor and then King Menelaos in Sparta. There he is told that his father is alive and also learns of the sad story of Agamemnon’s murder.
Up on Mount Olympos, Athena asks her father, Zeus to make Calypso to let him go. Odysseus builds a ship but instead of getting home, Poseidon takes him ashore in the land of the Phaiakians. In return of their hospitality, Odysseus tells them his adventures since the end of the Trojan War.
Odysseus left Troy with a ship of his Ithakan men and hit by storm, they landed on the island of the Lotus-eaters. Some of his men ate the lotus flower and forgot their homes and families, and had to be taken back to the ship by force. They next came to the land of the Cyclops – giant one-eyed monsters. Odysseus introduced himself to Polyphemos as “Nobody” and stabbed him in the eye with a sharpened log escaping by getting tied under the bellies of his flock of sheep. But the next morning when sailing away with his men Odysseus revealed his real name. Polyphemos prayed to his father Poseidon god of sea to make Odysseus suffer.
Next, Odysseus and his men came to the island of Aiolos, god of the wind. He helped Odysseus out by putting all the winds – except for the west-bound breeze they needed – into a nice little bag. On the way home, his companions opened it up, thinking it was a treasure letting all the winds out, driving them to the island of Circe, a sorceress. She turned many of the men into pigs. With the help of the gods, Odysseus got his men turned back into humans. But when it was time for them to continue their way home, Circe instructed Odysseus that he had to go the Underworld and get advice from the seer Teiresias.
Teiresias prophesied that Odysseus would make it home, but not without difficulty. Odysseus spoke to several other dead people like Achilles, Agamemnon and his mother, Antikleia. Then Odysseus and his companions sailed off passing by the Sirens, monstrous man-eating women with beautiful voices that seduced men to their death by their song. Odysseus made his men plug their ears and tie him to the mast so he could listen to the song without chasing after it. In this way, he became the only man to hear the Sirens' song and survive. Next they met Skylla and Charybdis, two horrible monsters and then they landed on the island of Helios, the sun god, where his special cattle were kept. Despite having been warned by Teiresias not to eat the cattle, they did so and everyone died in a storm. This is how he ended to Kalypso’s island.
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The Phaiakians were so moved by his suffering that they ferry him back to Ithaka. Once Odysseus gets home, he has to get rid of the suitors. He succeeds in the contest to string his own old bow and shoot it through the heads of twelve axes. Then with the help of Telemachos kills all the suitors in a massive and bloody slaughter and reunites with his wife.
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