Odysseus Travels

Cicones

Cythera

Lotus-Eaters

Polyphemus (po-li-fee'-mus)

Cyclops

Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon, had initially trapped Odysseus and his accompanying men within his cavern after they had attempted to parlay for hospitality. The Cyclops consumed several of his men, before leaving the cavern to tend to his herds. In this time, Odysseus devised a plan to overcome the giant once he returned. As the cyclops reappeared and began to sup, the king offered him wine to inebriate Polyphemus. Sufficiently in a stupor, the cyclops would then be impaled in the eye, with Odysseus proclaiming himself as "Nobody", leaving Polyphemus injured and unable to identify his enemy either by sight or name.

King Aeolus and the Bag of Winds (ee'-oh-lus)

Aeolia

Escaping from Polyphemus, Odysseus and his men seek refuge on Aeolia, the island of Aeolus – the God of the Winds. After being hosted for a month, Aeolus blessed Odysseus with a safe journey home and gifted him a bag of winds that contained a favorable wind. Unfortunately, Odysseus’s men open the bag as they get close to Ithaca, destroying 11 ships and taking them to the Island of the Laestrygonians.

The Laestrygonian Island

(lee-stri-goh'-ni-un)

The Laestrygonian Island

Odysseus and his men approach the Laestrygonian Island, where a race of Giant cannibals live. The king of the Giants, named Antiphates, howls, making Laestrygonians swarm their ships. The giant throws boulders at the crew and spears the men like fish, taking the men back to eat them. All ships except Odysseus are destroyed, and their men are killed, as Odysseus is not docked in the Laestrogonian harbor.

The Sorceress Circe (sir'-see)

Circe, The Sorceress

Circe, regarded as a minor goddess, is the child of the god Helios and an ocean nymph named Perse. Odysseus and his men are driven here by the wind. Her offer of feast and drink turns all but one of Odysseus’ men into pigs. Aided and immune from the god Hermes, Odysseus confronts Circe, who is amazed by him and eventually turns his men back to humans by force. Circe advises Odysseus to head to the House of Death alone. He must meet Persephone in the Underworld to meet with the prophet Tiresias, the seer of Thebes.

The Underworld:

Prophet Tiresias (teye-ree'-si-as)

The Underworld: Prophet Tiresias

After Odysseus does the needed prayers and sacrifice, the Theban prophet approaches him. He says Poisdeon will never let go of Odysseus blinding his son, the Titan named Polyphemus, and will wrack his journey with suffering, even if he and his crew make it home. Tiresias says to go to the cattle of Helios and not hurt them, or else he and his crew will all be destroyed; even if Odysseus survives, he will arrive home to his wife being courted by suitors.

Island of the Sirens

The Island of Sirens

After leaving the Underworld, Odysseus and his men come by the island of the Sirens. With the advice of Circe, Odysseus softens beeswax and fills his mens' ears with it. He is also bound to the ship’s mast by his men, who quickly rowed by the Sirens as the Sirens attempted to call Odysseus, who did not block his ears. If not for this, Odysseus and his men would be taken in by their song and be transfixed.

Scylla and Charybdis

(sil'-a) & (ka-rib'-dis)

Scylla and Charybdis

Passing through a narrow strait, Odysseus’ ship would be flanked by two terrible monsters, the man-eating and many-headed serpent Scylla, and Charybdis, a great beast that created whirlpools from underneath the water. Forced to make a decision, Odysseus chose to approach the crags where Scylla resided, thinking it to be the lesser of the two evils as Scylla may take several men, the rest would get away unscathed, whereas Charybdis could potentially take the entire ship under.

Cattle of Helios

Cattle Of Helios

Odysseus and his men arrive on the island of the sun god, and Odysseus begs his men to leave. They are tired and do not want to go. Eventually, they ran out of food and fasted for a few days, but his men got desperate and slaughtered oxen as Odysseus slept. When he and his men left the island, Zeus punished them with a windstorm. A bolt of lightning strikes the ship, drowning all but Odysseus. He spends ten nights in the sea before being taken in by Calypso.

Calypso

Odysseus is taken in by Calypso, who takes care of him and then refuses to let him go. She keeps him for seven years, wanting Odysseus to become her immortal husband. In the end, Athena begs Zeus to have Calypso let him go, and so Zeus sends Hermes to order Calypso to let Odysseus go. So, Odysseus makes his way to Ithaca.

Back to Ithaca

Back to Ithica

Athena, disguised as a young shepherd boy with elegance, is greeted by Odysseus as she approaches. Odysseus is overjoyed when Athena says they are on the island of Ithaca but lies about the events that brought him here to hide his identity. Heading home, his true self is revealed to his son, Telemachus, who hatches a plan with Odysseus. At home, Odysseus passes Penelope's tests and kills her suitors.

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