The ODYSSEY SIMPLIFIED and SUMMARIZED
If it is your first time reading the Odyssey, there'll be no doubt that you'll be confused. Well that is because the story started in the middle and the portions of the story that happened before the middle part were all recollections Odysseus made as he narrated his journey to the Phaeacians. They were instrumental to his successful homecoming. Now to help you understand the order of Odysseus' travels, I retold and of course summarized it, in an order we could easily understand. LET'S BEGIN!
The adventures of Odysseus, or shall we say ill-fate, began after the fall of Troy. After ten long years of needless bloodshed, the Greeks finally defeated the Trojans. All thanks to the crafty engineer of the WOODEN HORSE. Victory over the Trojans made Odysseus rather too proud and arrogant. He proclaimed that he was invincible, taunting the sea god Poseidon. He thought that not even the ill-tempered god could stop him from seeing Ithaca again. This blasphemy, however, angered the gods, most especially Poseidon.
Odysseus and his fleet departed from Troy with heads and hearts painted with the vivid images of Home, Ithaca. They stopped at the Island of Ismarus where the Ciconians live. Odysseus and his men set foot on such a bountiful island. Odysseus instructed his men then to take only what they needed. The Ciconians, on the other hand, were not so happy with all the looting going on. So, they attacked the Greeks in their sleep. Those who survived, including Odysseus, hurried back to their ships.
They sailed on to wander the vast waters. They saw land and this time, they can only hope there are no more attacks. Unexpectedly, they were welcomed by hospitable and beautiful women. They offered them LOTUS to eat. When the men got themselves a taste of the lotus flower, they began to feel good. Too good, actually. They became high. Worse, they forgot all desires of going back home. Odysseus and some of his sober men had to drag those who seemed not themselves back to their ships.
From the land of the comely Lotus-eaters, Odysseus' fleet sailed and eventually hit land once again. They found a cave teeming with cheese. They decided to stay there for the night. Then, they heard loud stomps approaching the cave. It was the Cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus’ men cowered in fear at the sight of the gigantic one-eyed monster. They thought of going out of the cave but Polyphemus closed the cave with a huge boulder only he could carry. Odysseus, who introduced himself as "No Man", courageously offered the cyclops wine. Polyphemus liked the taste of it and asked even more until he got drunk and fell asleep.
While the monster was fast asleep, Odysseus ordered his men to help him sharpen a log. Once the log already had a pointed end, they pierced it through the monster's eye. Polyphemus cried in pain. He grabbed some of Odysseus' men and crushed them. He ran towards the cave opening and moved the huge rock that covers it. He called his brothers and said, "Brothers! Help me, No Man has harmed me!" His brothers hearing his foolish cry thought Polyphemus was crazy and they just went on with their chores. Odysseus and his men successfully came out of the cave. They ran straight to their ships and sailed away in haste.
As the ships took off, Odysseus shouted to tell Polyphemus of his real name. Polyphemus, enraged by Odysseus' treachery , called unto his father, Poseidon, for help. He then threw a huge boulder which almost sank Odysseus' ship. Consequently, Poseidon, with no second thoughts, sent forth huge waves through Odysseus' journey to express his wrath for what he did to Polyphemus and among other things.
From the Island of the Cyclops, they came to Aeolia, the land of King Aeolus - keeper of the Winds. When Odysseus came to ask for the king’s help, he gladly summoned all the troublesome winds into the leather bag. He instructed Odysseus, however, never to open it unless they've reached Ithaca. In a long time, they've had a smooth journey and finally they can already see Ithaca with their eyes from whence they stood. Men were rejoicing at such a sight; then they thought that the leather bag may have contained treasures their master might not want to share with them. So when Odysseus fell asleep, they opened the bag thus releasing all the Winds which immediately formed a tumultuous weather. They drifted far, far away from Ithaca. They were that close, though.
They came back to King Aeolus to ask the same favor but the king refused. They sailed away unsure where the waves may drag them to. They reached the country of the Laestrygonians, ruled by Antiphates. These Laestrygons were not very welcoming indeed; their reputation preceded them. They were giants and cannibals as well. Odysseus' men were devoured as soon as they docked. Odysseus, seeing the terror that had become of his men ordered to turn his ship away from the island. He lost his fleet that day and only the ship he was on survived the attacks.
When Odysseus and his crew reached Aeaea, he asked his men to scout the area. Moments later, Eurylochus came back in a hurry as though he'd seen a ghost. He said his comrades were turned into swine by an enchantress. Little did they know that it was the land of Circe, a witch who turns men into beasts. Odysseus was determined to rescue his men, so he set on to trek the steep mountains. On his way up, he met Hermes. The god warned him about Circe's enchantment. He told Odysseus to eat a poisonous herb which goes by the name moly, to counter the enchantment.
Odysseus did as he was told. He drank wine from the cup the bewitching enchantress prepared for him. When he didn't turn into an animal, Circe fell on her knees and begged him to stay if he wanted to see his men again. He agreed. Circe did her end of the bargain turning Odysseus' men back to their true form. They feasted, drank, danced and forgot how long they've stayed. When Odysseus realized they'd been doing nothing but being drunk, he bade Circe goodbye and readied his men to leave, but she insisted they should stay. Odysseus was persistent, so with a heavy heart, she gave them instructions to first seek the Prophet Teiresias who by then already resided in the underworld.
Odysseus followed Circe's instructions in order to safely get to the underworld. When they reached the portal, Odysseus slew a sheep and put its blood in a cup. As he walked into the fiery and dark place of Hades, he met souls of the fallen warriors of the Trojan war. Surprisingly, he also met his mother, Anticleia, who told him that his wife, Penelope, had remained faithful to him but suitors came flocking his palace. Odysseus was disheartened with the truth that her mother died in grief for the long wait of his homecoming. Odysseus went on and saw Teiresias, who immediately drank the sheep's blood he brought. The prophet foretold that he shall surely come home to Ithaca when the time is right. Moreover he warned about the OXEN of the Sun. He shall never harm them in any form possible. With such news Odysseus carried on with his journey.
They passed through the Island of the Sirens, whom Circe already warned them about. She told them to cover their ears with beeswax to stop them from hearing the sirens' melodious voice, which was believed to be fatal. They lived in a meadow surrounded with bones and decaying human bodies. However, Odysseus wanted to hear what the Sirens' songs were about. He told his men to tie him tightly into the mast. When he heard the song he began to desire to jump off the ship and be with the sirens. Fortunately, he was tightly tied.
They have passed the isle of the Sirens safely but they must be cautious when they get to the passage between Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla, the twelve-footed monster, devoured six of Odysseus' men. They were all so focused on watching out for Scylla that they forgot Charybdis, the whirlpool, which tends to suck ships into the depths of the seas. However, they were lucky to have escaped the pangs of Charybdis and went on to journey through the vastness of uncertainty.
Uncertainty brought them to see a glimpse of hope. They reached the Island of the Sun. Odysseus very well recalled the warning of Teiresias not to harm the oxen that roam there. He ordered his men never to touch any of the oxen while he was away to pray. At first, the men were determined to follow their master’s order but the longer they stayed the hungrier they became. So, they slaughtered an ox to satiate their need for food. Helios, the Sun god, was angered at this sacrilege, so he asked Zeus to punish Odysseus. Zeus then sent a lightning bolt that hit Odysseus' ship which hurriedly left the island. Odysseus lost his ship and his men. Needless to say he was the sole survivor.
Odysseus, dehydrated and unconscious, drifted on the island of the nymph, Calypso. Only women dwelt in this island and Odysseus was the first man they'd seen in over a hundred years. Calypso took care of him and fell madly in love with Odysseus for seven years, but Odysseus never really loved her back. His thoughts were of his wife, Penelope. Odysseus, spent most of his time by the shore wondering how and when he could ever get to see his home, his wife and his son. The gods took pity on him. Zeus himself called a gathering of the gods; all came except Poseidon. Zeus ordered that Odysseus must be sent back home and he asked Hermes to deliver the message to Calypso. Calypso was hesitant but she is nothing compared to the Olympians, thus she must comply. So she commanded her maidens to build Odysseus a raft and gave him provisions for the journey. When the raft was ready, Odysseus set sail.
Odysseus' voyage away from Ogygia started with fine weather not until Poseidon decided to send him waves which destroyed his raft and everything in it. Odysseus again, shipwrecked, was washed out to the land of the Phaeacians, ruled by King Alcinous and Queen Acrete. There he met Nausicaa, the princess, who gave him instructions on how to get to the palace and that he should find the queen, her mother, first. It was in Phaeacia that Odysseus retold his adventures. The king, with the queen's advice, agreed to help Odysseus to get home. He ordered his subordinates to prepare a ship to send him to Ithaca.
With the Phaeacians' help, Odysseus, at long last, came home to Ithaca. He went straight to Eumaeus' house as he was warned by Athena about his wife's suitors. Eumaeus, Odysseus' ever loyal swineherd, introduced him to Telemachus, Odysseus' son. Odysseus devised a plan on how to enter the palace without being noticed. So he disguised as a beggar. Meanwhile in the Palace, Penelope hosted a contest; to string the bow of Odysseus and successfully shoot through 12 axe handles. Whoever wins will be her husband but Penelope knows no one is up to the task because only Odysseus and Odysseus alone can string the bow and shoot through 12 rings of axe handles.
All the suitors tried in vain. So the beggar (Odysseus) tried to string the bow. At first, they laughed at him but when he successfully did the task they were all terrified. The tension heightened when the beggar transformed into Odysseus himself. After shooting the arrow through 12 axe handles, he shot at the suitors and killed them all. Odysseus, Penelope and Telemachus finally lived as a family again, after 20 long years.
My retelling of the Odyssey does not necessarily give you all the information there is to learn about the epic. I still suggest to grab the book and sink in into the beautiful work of HOMER. This is written to show you the chronological order of events only as I cannot even begin to imagine how to retell it to be at par with that of HOMER. Hence, I do not intend to pull out HOMER's artistry nor that of Edith Hamilton's.
Originally published in July 20, 2015 @ jeanillec.blogspot.com
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