Odysseus, who was later called Ulysses by the Romans, was king of
Ithaca, a small island on the west coast of Greece. When summoned to
join his fellow chieftains in the war against Troy, he could not bear to
leave his young wife, Penelope, and their son, Telemachus.
He therefore pretended to
be insane. To convince everyone of his madness, he plowed the sand along
the seashore as though it were a field. But Prince Palamedes, who came
for him, recognized this as a trick. To prove it, Palamedes placed
little Telemachus in the path of the plow. When Odysseus quickly turned
the plow aside to avoid striking his son, all saw that his madness was a
pretense.
So Odysseus fitted 12 ships
and went to Troy. By the war's end he had been away from home for ten
years. He filled his ships with treasure taken from the Trojans and set
sail. Ordinarily the trip from Troy to Ithaca would have taken only a
short time. The Greek gods, however, decided that it should take
Odysseus ten years to reach his wife and son. During those years he and
his men endured a series of hazardous and remarkable adventures.
Soon after leaving Troy the
ships ran into a raging storm. For nine days the winds drove the ships
past Ithaca and far off course. On the tenth day they reached the island
of the Lotus-Eaters.
When a party of men
went ashore, they ate of the lotus plants. This magic food made them
forget all longing for home. Odysseus had them dragged back to the
ships, and again they set sail. They arrived at the island of the
Cyclopes, a race of fierce one-eyed giants (see Cyclops). Odysseus set
out with 12 men to explore the island. They entered the cave of
Polyphemus, the most ferocious of the Cyclopes. He kept them prisoners
and devoured six of the men. While the giant slept, Odysseus stole his
staff and sharpened it. With this weapon, heated red-hot, he burned out
the giant's eye. Odysseus and his men escaped by tying themselves to the
bellies of some sheep let out to pasture.
Their next stop was
at the Aeolian Isle, a peaceful land where Aeolus, Keeper of the Winds,
lived. When they left after a month of relaxation, Aeolus gave them a
favorable wind to speed them on their way. The other winds he bound into
a leather bag and put on board Odysseus' ship.
The ships sailed
smoothly for nine days until Ithaca was in sight. While Odysseus was
sleeping his men determined to open the leather bag because they
believed it was filled with gold. Upon doing so, the winds were
released. They drove the ships back to the Aeolian Isle. This time,
however, they were not welcomed. Aeolus believed that men so unlucky
must be hated by the gods.
A week later the ships
beached at the island of the Laestrygones, a country of cannibals. Huge
men hurled rocks and destroyed 11 of the ships. The crews of all 11
ships perished. Only Odysseus and his ship's crew survived to continue
their journey.
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Their next stopping place
was the island home of Circe, the enchantress. She cast a spell on
Odysseus' men, changing them into swine. Odysseus himself was protected
by an herb given to him by Hermes, messenger of the gods. When Circe
realized he was protected by Hermes, she changed the swine back into men
and prevailed upon them all to remain for a year at her palace. When
they decided to leave, she said they must first journey to Hades, the
dwelling place of the dead (see Hell and Hades). When they reached
Hades, Odysseus met many of his departed comrades, including Achilles.
He and his companions were told that many perils still awaited them.
There was a chance of reaching home. If they were to do so, however,
they must curb their greed when they came to the place where the sun-god
Helios pastured his herds. If a single beast were harmed, they would all
be doomed.
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As they continued
their journey, they were forced to sail past the dwelling place of the
Sirens, sea nymphs whose singing lured men to certain death. To prevent
this from happening, Odysseus had his men put wax in their ears. He had
himself tied to the mast so he could listen to the singing. Once this
danger was bypassed, a more ominous one lay ahead. The ship had to sail
between Scylla and Charybdis. On one side of a narrow strait Charybdis
pulled everything nearby into a vast whirlpool. On the other side
Scylla, a six-headed monster, waited to devour anyone who passed by. The
ship succeeded in getting through with a burst of speed but not before
losing six sailors to the jaws of Scylla.
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Those who survived
reached the pleasant Isle of the Sun, where Helios pastured his animals.
Odysseus wished to sail past it, but the men feared the night seas. They
disembarked and were held there for a month by strong winds. As their
food supply ran out, the sailors decided they had to kill one of the
animals. While Odysseus slept they did so. They were able to sail away
without problems, leading them to think they had escaped the wrath of
Helios. But Zeus, highest of the gods, replied to the sun-god's request
for vengeance by sending a hurricane. It destroyed the ship and crew,
leaving Odysseus alone in the sea, clinging to the mast. Ten days later
he was carried ashore on the island of Calypso.
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She kept him
prisoner for seven years before he was released through the aid of
Athena and Hermes. He made a raft, and after a series of other
adventures he finally reached Ithaca. His problems were not over. He had
been gone for 20 years, and no one believed he could still be alive. It
was dangerous for him to make himself known because several men were
waiting to wed Penelope and gain the kingship. Athena changed Odysseus'
appearance and hid in a cave his treasure that he had brought with him
from his last stopping place. Penelope's suitors were staying at the
palace, wasting the kingdom's wealth and trying to make the queen choose
among them. Telemachus, the son and heir to the throne, had grown up and
spent his time vainly trying to rid the palace of the suitors. Penelope
herself put them off by a ruse. She insisted she could not marry anyone
until she had finished weaving a shroud for Laertes, the aged father of
Odysseus, who was near death. What she wove by day she unraveled each
night, so the cloth was never finished. Servants finally gave away her
secret to the suitors, however, and they hounded her for an answer.
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Odysseus meanwhile
found shelter in the hut of his former swineherd. There Telemachus
appeared, having escaped the plan of the suitors to kill him. Odysseus
revealed himself to his son, and together they plotted what they would
do. Telemachus returned to the palace, bringing along Odysseus disguised
as a beggar. No one recognized Odysseus except his nurse and his aged
dog Argos, but the animal was too weak and soon died. Penelope did not
recognize her husband, but she made him welcome and prepared a room for
him. She had by this time decided finally to choose one of the suitors.
She decided to make the choice on the basis of a contest among them. The
next evening she brought out the great bow Odysseus had left at home,
along with its quiver full of arrows. She announced she would marry the
man who could drive an arrow through holes in the blades of 12 axes set
in a row. Many tried, but none could even bend the bow. Odysseus, still
clothed as a beggar, stepped forward and asked to test his strength. The
suitors thought the idea ridiculous, but Telemachus gave him the bow.
Snatching an arrow, he sent it flying straight through the 12 axe
blades. After Odysseus had shown who he was, he and Telemachus killed
all the suitors And the kingdom of Ithaca was finaly restored to him.
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