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Odysseus

Odysseus was a great warrior who fought in the Trojan war. He is the son of Laërtes and Anticlea, as well as the great-grandson of Hermes and the husband of Penelope and the father of Telemachus. He also has a younger sister named Ctimene. He is most famous for the long time-Ten Years- it took for himself and his crew to get home to Ithaca after fighting in the the Trojan war. That conflict is called the odyssey, and it is one of Homer’s epics. Odysseus was only able to survive this because he was very clever and strong as well.

The Odyssey-The main quest

In this book of Homer’s epic, Odysseus tried to return home to Ithaca. He succeeded, but it took him a ten year period. Odysseus started this book, the Odyssey, by setting off from Troy once Odysseus’s fleet had captured Helen of Troy. They were blown off course and were captured by the cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus treated his men and him okay in the start, but then he went mad and ate six men. Then Odysseus had a little chat with the cyclops and told Polyphemus that the clever warrior’s name was “Nobody”. After the cyclops fell for the trick(they aren’t that bright), Odysseus gave him wine, which put him to sleep. Odysseus and his men then ignited a spear with wine and thrust it into Polyphemus’s eye, blinding him. As they were escaping, Polyphemus woke and cried with pain. When the other cyclopes asked him what was wrong, he said, “Nobody has blinded me!”. The other cyclopes thought he was mad. When Odysseus and his crew escaped the deadly clutches of the cyclops, they Aeolus, the master of winds. Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag, telling him not to open it. When Odysseus and his crew left, the sailors immediately got curious and right when the tip of Ithaca came into view, the sailors opened the bag. They thought it was gold, but when they opened it, all of the wind gods flew out-except for the west wind, who wasn’t in the bag in the first place- and created a strong storm, which blew Odysseus’s fleet back to Aeolus’s island. He sent them off once again and Odysseus and his fleet encountered the Laestrygonians, who were cannibal giants. The Laestrygonians ate eleven ships. Only the ship carrying Odysseus escaped. Even though warned against, they traveled to the sorceress Circe’s house. She turned half Odysseus’s crew into pigs, and she tried to turn him into a pig as well, but he was able to resist the spell with the help of Hermes and his magical drug, moly. When Circe saw that Odysseus was able to resist her spells, she fell in love with him and turned all of the pigs back into men. Circe allowed all of the men to stay at her house for a year to regain their strength. After the year had passed, Odysseus’s crew persuaded him that it was time to leave to get back to Ithaca. They went to the harbor at the western edge of the world, guided by Circe’s instructions. Odysseus sacrificed to the dead there. He summoned the old spirit Tiresias to advise him and his crew, and was able to see his mother’s spirit. She revealed to him that his home was being threatened by Penelope’s suitors. He also got to speak to some fallen war comrades and the mortal shade of the hero Heracles. They went back to Circe’s, who gave them an idea of how to get home. Unfortunately, they had to go between Scylla, the six-headed dog sea monster, and Charybdis, the huge whirlpool monster. Scylla was able to eat six men by pulling the boat towards her by grabbing the oars. They then landed on the island of Thrinacia. Odysseus’s men were hungry, so they found the sun god Helios’s sacred cattle herd, also known as the cattle of the sun. Odysseus told them not to slaughter and eat the cattle, as did Circe and the old soul Tiresias, but they did it anyways. Helios found out about this, reported it to the king of all gods, and told Zeus that Odysseus’s men were to be punished or else Helios would take the sun and shine it in the Underworld. Zeus simply did what he always did: he took his thunderbolt and zapped the ship with it, sinking Odysseus’s ship and killing everyone aboard except for Odysseus, Circe, and Tiresias(even though, you know, he kind of already dead). They washed up on the island of Ogygia, where Calypso kept him for 7 years because she loved him. Odysseus was released when Hermes told Calypso to release Odysseus. He was shipwrecked, so he befriended the Phaeacians. After telling his story to them, the Phaeacians, who were led by King Alcinous, vowed to get odysseus home. They delivered him at night, while he was asleep, to a harbor in Ithaca. He finds his way to the hut of one of his own former slaves, the swineherd Eumaeus, and also sees Telemachus returning from Sparta. Athena disguises Odysseus as a wandering beggar in order to learn how things stand in his household. When disguised Odysseus returned after 20 years, he was only recognized by his faithful dog, Argos. Penelope wants to know which man Odysseus is, so she sets up a challenge in which if any suitor could string the bow of Apollo and is able to shoot an arrow through twelve axe shafts, he shall be recognized as Odysseus. At the contest, none of the suitors is able to even string Apollo’s bow. But then Odysseus in disguise comes along and strings the bow perfectly. Then he aims through the axe shafts, and takes the shot. The arrow flies through perfectly and lands bull’s-eye on the target. Odysseus not only won the contest, but then he started to slaughter the suitors with help from Telemachus and Odysseus' servants Eumaeus the swineherd and Philoetius the cowherd. Penelope did not really believe that it was Odysseus. She thought that it was some god-most likely apollo- in disguise. She then tests him by ordering her servant Eurycleia to move the bed in their wedding-chamber. Odysseus protests that this cannot be done since he made the bed himself and knows that one of its legs is a living olive tree. Penelope finally accepts that he truly is her husband. Many years later, though, Odysseus’s son with Circe, named Telegonus, came to Odysseus’s island to meet his long-lost father. Telegonus kills some sheep to feed himself, and when Odysseus saw this, he thought his own son was a pirate and came down with weapons to confront him. Odysseus attacked, not knowing the man was his own son, and he was killed by Telegonus when he threw a poison spear. When Telegonus found out what had happened, he was mad at himself, but then he took Telemachus, Odysseus’s son with Penelope, to the island of Circe, where they were all made immortal.

The End

https//en.wikipedia.org

Category:Ancient Epic