The Odyssey Map

• Tiresias, Elphenor, Odysseus' mother Anticlea, Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax, and many more people lived here.

Kirtana George

4/25/14

4B

The Lesson

• Odysseus was treated well here by most of his friends who died at Troy, except Ajax. Ajax was bitter towards Odysseus from a previous quarrel, and refused to speak to him.
• A lesson that can be learned from this experience is to be brave enough to face death before you are actually ready to die.
• Odysseus had to enter the Land of the Dead in order to speak to Tiresias and find a way back to Ithaca. In order to do this, he had to be brave and courageous, despite the fact that he still wanted to live.

• The Cicones lived here

The Lesson

• Odysseus was treated disrespectfully by his men. He told them to board the ship quickly, but they did not heed his word, and decided to sleep on the shore at Ismarus instead.
• A lesson that can be learned from Ismarus is to obey the leader.
• The men did not obey Odysseus when he said to quickly board the ship after looting Ismarus. The men slept on the shore, and the next morning the Cicones returned and killed many of the men. For this reason, obedience toward the leader is a lesson that can be learned.

• King Alcinuous, Queen Arete, their daughter Nausicaa, and the other Phaeacians lived here

• The Trojans lived here

The Lesson

• Odysseus was treated very well here, as the people were extremely hospitable, especially King Alcinuous.
• A lesson that can be learned from this experience is to be hospitable to others.
• When Odysseus met the king and queen, they had pity on him, fed him, and gave him a room as a guest. They even went on to honor him with a huge banquet, even before they found out who he really was. After this, they gave him many gifts, and a ship and men to help him return home. The hospitality shown by the Phaeacians can serve as a lesson and example to the readers.

The Lesson

Aeolia

• Odysseus is not treated well in Troy by the Trojans, because they are enemies of the Greeks.
• A lesson that can be learned from Trojan war is that everything is not as it seems.
• The Trojan horse is what led the Greeks to victory. What the Trojans did not realize was that the Greeks were hiding inside the horse, which eventually led to the Greek's victory. For this reason, the Trojan war teaches the lesson to be aware of everything and everything is not as it seems.

• Aeolus, the wind god, his wife, and children all lived here.

The Lesson

• Odysseus was first treated well by Aeolus, who gave him a bag with the storms trapped, so he could return to Ithaca quickly. However, Odysseus was treated disrespectfully by his men who disobeyed his orders to not open the bag.
• A lesson that can be learned is to not be greedy.
• The men opened the bag, not knowing what was inside, because they thought it had valuable treasures inside. This was a disastrous choice, which led to Odysseus and his men having to face many more problems before reaching Ithaca.

This image shows the Trojan horse that was used to trick the Trojans.

• Penelope, Telemachus, and the other Ithacans lived here.

The Lesson

• Odysseus was treated badly by the suitors in his kingdom at Ithaca, especially when he was disguised as an old beggar.
• A lesson that can be learned from this experience (and the whole poem) is that family is a motivating factor through life.
• Throughout all the various trials he went through, Odysseus was determined to return home to his family, and he did whatever it took to do so. Because of this, the poem (and Odysseus' joyous reunion with his family) teaches the reader the importance and value of family.

• Scylla and Charybdis lived here

The Lesson

• Odysseus was not treated well by Scylla and Charybdis, both of whom tried to kill him and his men. They were successful in killing many of his men.
• A lesson that can be learned from this experience is to be a good leader, despite terrifying obstacles.
• When they saw the menacing monsters Scylla and Charybdis, all of Odysseus' men were extremely frightened. Odysseus, however, displayed excellent leadership skills by encouraging and inspiring his men to face the monsters. For this reason, being a good leader at all times is a lesson that can be learned from this experience.

• The Cyclopes lived here, including Polyphemus.

The Lesson

• Odysseus (and his men) were treated cruelly and mercilessly by the Cyclops Polyphemus.
• A lesson that can be learned from the situation with Polyphemus is to not be conceited and excessively proud.
• After successfully blinding and escaping from Polyphemus' cave, Odysseus' arrogance drove him to further taunt the Cyclops as they were sailing away. He even revealed his identity to the Cyclops to boast of his "mighty achievements". However this backfired when the Cyclops (son of Poseidon), prayed to his father for vengeance upon Odysseus. For this reason, they were cursed by Poseidon and wandered the sea for 10 more years.

• Helios, the sun god , and his cattle lived here

The Lesson

• Odysseus was treated disrespectfully and betrayed in a way, by his men.
• A lesson that can be learned from this experience is to obey the leader.
• Tiresias warned Odysseus that he and his men must not eat the cattle of Helios, if they wanted to return home. Odysseus conveyed this message to his men, but they disobeyed him and ate the cattle when Odysseus had left to pray to the gods. In this way, Odysseus' men betrayed his trust by doing this deed while he was gone. Helios prayed to Zeus for revenge, and all of Odysseus' men were killed.

• The Lotus-Eaters lived here.

The Lesson

• Odysseus was not treated respectfully by his men here. He told them to find out who lived in this place, but they decided to try the lotus flower instead, and ended up losing their memory.
• A lesson that can be learned from the island of the Lotus-Eaters is to stay on task, and focus on a goal without being distracted.
• If the men were solely determined to find information about the island, they would not have eaten the lotus and consequently lost their memory.