The Odyssey Travel Map

The Land of the Dead

Aeaea

• An island ruled by the sorcerer-goddess Circe
• She transforms half of Odysseus' crew into swine (pigs)
• Odysseus is protected by a magic herb so she cannot change him and he demands that she change his men back to human form
• Odysseus and his crew remain there one year
• Circe tells Odysseus that in order to reach home, he must visit the underworld (The Land of the Dead or Hades) and speak with the prophet Tireseas

Laestrygonians

• Race of cannibals (human-eaters)
• They destroy all of Odysseus' ships except one
• Odysseus and his reduced crew escape

Ismarus, The City

of the Cicones

• Odysseus and his men arrive here after the Trojan War
• They need supplies for their journey home, so they steal what they need from the Cicones
• The Cicones fight back and Odysseus loses 6 men per ship by the time the battle is done

The Sirens

• half bird, half women
• beautiful singing voices
• they use their voices to lure sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores

The Land of the Lotus-Eaters

• The Lotus is a fruit so sweet that it makes you lose all thoughts of going home
• A few of Odysseus' men eat the plant and do not want to leave the island
• Odysseus has to drag the men back to the ship and tie them up in order to get them to leave

Calypso

• Odysseus drifted in the sea for 9 days
• Calypso wanted to make him her immortal husband
• Odysseus didn’t accept her generosity – he was dreaming about going back to his Ithaca and his wife.
• Eventually, she made him her lover.
• They lived together for seven years (He was really more like a prisoner)
• Athena asked Zeus to “save” Odysseus from Calypso.
• Zeus sent the messenger of the gods, Hermes, to persuade Calypso to let Odysseus go.
• She was scared of Zeus' power, so she helped Odysseus build the boat that would take him back to his wife and his Ithaca. She provided enough food and wine for the long journey, and good winds.

1. The Trojan War

so close!

• Helen of Troy - The most beautiful woman in the world
• Odysseus leaves his wife Penelope and his new born some, Telemachus at home to go fight
• Odysseus and his men fight in a 10 year long battle
• Odysseus helps to win the war with his craftiness by devising a plan using a large wooden horse as a gift

The Suitors

• men who had been staying as "guests" at Odysseus' home over the last 20 years
• suitors were competing for Penelope's attention and wanted Odysseus land and power
• they had plans to kill Telemachus and Odysseus (if he returned)
• were defeated by Odysseus and Telemachus

Island of Aeolia

• Aelous, King of Winds, sends Odysseus on his way with a gift - a sack containing all winds except the favorable west wind
• When they are almost home, Odysseus' idiots of a crew open the sack and let loose a storm
• The storm blows them back to Aeolia
• King Aelous kicks them out because he decides they are hated by the gods and wants nothing to do with them

The Suitors

• The men who were trying to marry Penelope and take over Odysseus land, wealth, and power
• Ate all of Odysseus' food
• brought gifts to try and win over Penelope
• Rude, disrespectful behavior
• How should these people have treated their king's wife??

Telemachus

• Odysseus's son
• was born on the same day that his father left 20 years ago
• has been looking for his father
• is trying to help his mother keep the suitors from taking over their land

Telemachus, continued

• Odysseus's son
• struggles to accept that Odysseus is his father because he had heard that his father died
• helps his father to defeat the suitors by hiding all of their armor

Scylla and Chrybdis

• Scylla = 6-headed monster
• Chrybdis = whirlpool monster

Ithaca =HOME!

Helios

• God of the Sun
• Odysseus and his men were warned not to touch his precious cattle
• They were trapped on the island by storms and went through all their food and drinks
• Odysseus went to pray and fell asleep
• While he was sleeping his men rebelled and butched some cattle
• Helios demanded revenge
• Odysseus and his men left Thrinacia
• Zeus sent down a thunderbolt that destroyed the ship and killed all the men

The Cyclops

• Odysseus and his men explore the island and find themselves in a cave that looks like someone's home
• They wait for the owner to return
• The owner is a gigantic and brutal Cyclops named Polyphemus
• Polyphemus eats a few a Odysseus's men, so Odysseus uses his cunning to escape the situation
• Odysseus pokes out Polyphemus's eye and this angers Polyphemus's father, Poseidon

Zeus

• Agrees to help Helios get revenge by destroying Odysseus' ship with a lightning bolt
• All of Odysseus' men die when the ship is destroyed in the storm
• Odysseus drifts alone and is blown back past Charybdis and Scylla
• Later, Zeus will help to free Odysseus from Calypso's island

Athena

• Goddess of wisdom and war
• Odysseus is her favorite Greek because he's a great warrior and also cunning
• helps Odysseus throughout his journey