Map of the Odyssey

After narrowly escaping the storm, Odysseus and his crew arrive to the Land of the Laestrygones.The Laestrygones are Canibal Giants. They destroy all of the ships except for one and killed alot of men.

When Odysseus and his men arrived Circe's Island, Odysseus sent twelve men to explore the island.Only one man,Eurylochus returned. The rest had been transformed into pigs by Circe.They were turned into pigs because they started to act like pigs while they were eating. When Odysseus was told of this, he set out towards Circe's palace. On his way there, he encounters the God Hermes. Hermes gave him "moly".Circe tried to cast a spell on him and it failed. Odysseus made a deal with Circe. She changes all of the men back and Odysseus will go to bed with her. He stays there one year and has an affair with Circe. But after one year, Odysseus is still homesick and decides that they are going to keep sailing.

Circe told Odysseus that if he wanted to return to Ithica, he would have to go to the Underworld and visit the blind prophet, Teiresias. Odysseus gives Teiresias a drink of blood from a black sheep. The blind prophet tells him that whatever Odysseus and his men do, they must not eat the cattle that belong to Apollo. Odysseus also sees his mother in the Underworld.

Before Odysseus and his men set sail, Circe warned them about the Sirens. Sirens were half-bird half-female monsters that lure sailors to the shore with their song. So before Odysseus and his men reached the Sirens,Odysseus had them put melted wax in their ears so that they could not hear the song. Odysseus was curious about what the song sound like, so he had his men tie him to the mast so that he would not try to wreck the ship. Once the Sirens began to sing their song, Odysseus screamed for his men to untie him, but the men just kept rowing for they could not hear him.

When Odysseus lands on the Land of the Phaeacians, Nausicaa, the princess shows him the palace.Odysseus is welcomed by the King and Queen. He tells them who he is and they are amazed. They help him get to Ithaca safely.

When Odysseus arrives at the Island of the Winds, he meets King Aeolus, who was made the "Keeper of the Winds" by Zeus.Odysseus impressed Aeolus with his stories and legends that Aeolus gave him the greatest gift possible for a sailor. He gave Odysseus three winds in a bag, so the West wind would help him get home. Aeolus warned Odysseus not to open it otherwise he would be blown offcourse. Odysseus and his men sailed for ten days and came in sight of Ithica. Odysseus, who had not slept since they left, finally fell asleep. His crew were jealous and a bit curious about the bag given to Odysseus by the King. So they opened it. It created a storm so large that it sent them all the way back to the Island of the Winds. When Odysseus went back to Aeolus and asked him one more time for the gift, the King denied him for he feared that Odysseus was cursed by the Gods.

Odysseus battles in the Trojan War for 10 years. After that, he begins to head for home.

At the Land of the Cyclops Odysseus and his men arrived starving. They found a feast in a cave. Without thinking they began to eat. After they were done, Odysseus decided that they should stay and wait for the owner of the cave to arrive.Little did they know that it was the home of the Cyclops. The Cylops ate some of the men.He went out to tend to his sheep.When he came back, Odysseus gives the Cylops wine and the Cyclops asks him what his name is. He says Nobody. When he passes out, Odysseus and his men stab his eye. He shouts to the other Cyclops, "Nobody is hurting me! " The next morning the Cyclops moves the bolder,to let his sheep out. The men hide under them and escape.The Cyclops is so mad that he throws a hill at them and seeks revenge. His father Poseiden helps him achieve that.

Once Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, Athena disguises him as a begger. He and Telemachus form a plan to get the palace back. The next day, Odysseus goes to the palace still disguised as a begger and competes in an archery contest.Each suitor steps up to try to shoot it threw twelve axes, then Odysseus steps up and easily does it. Odysseus, Telemachus, and some of the servants kill all the suitors. Then Odysseus shows his true identity to the whole palace and they live happily ever after.

Circe had also warned Odysseus about Charybdis and Scylla.If he went towards Charybdis, he would lose his ship and his men. If he went towards Scylla, he would lose only six of his men-one for each of the heads. Odysseus decided to go the way of the Scylla. As the six men were being carried away by Scylla, they shouted for Odysseus to save them. He felt great sorrow because it was his decision was the reason they were going to die.

Once Odysseus and his men passed Scylla and Charybdis, they were near starvation.Then they landed on the Land of Sun God. Before they went to explore the land, Odysseus warned them not to kill and eat the cattle. So while Odysseus stayed and prayed for nicer weather, his crew disobeyed him by killing some of the Sun God, Apollo's cattle. Apollo was so angry that he went to Zeus and pleaded for the men to suffer, Zeus agreed. As soon as Odysseus and his men left the land, Zeus sent a monstrous storm and one of his thunderbolts wrecked the ship. Because the men ate the cattle they died, but Odysseus made it alive because didn't eat the cattle.

The monstrous storm sent Odysseus towards the Island of Calypso. Calypso the nymph, became Odysseus's lover for seven years. On the seventh year, Athena asks Zeus if Odysseus could return home. Zeus agreed to this and sent Hermes to tell Calypso.But Calypso wanted to make Odysseus her husband. She told him, "As long as you stay with me for forever, I will make you immortal." Odysseus was still homesick and refused to stay. He began to make a raft and started to sail again. Poseidon saw Odysseus and sent a storm, but Leucothea, the sea goddess, saved Odysseus by giving him her veil.

At the Land of the Lotus Eaters, Odysseus' men are introduced to the Lotus plant by the Natives. The Lotus makes them forget everything, including their journey home. Odysseus manages to get them on their way again.