The Odyssey

The Odyssey
Plot Overview

TEN
YEARS HAVE PASSED since the fall of Troy, and the Greek hero Odysseus
still has not returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob
of suitors who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged his land
continue to court his wife, Penelope. She has remained faithful to
Odysseus. Prince Telemachus, Odysseus’s son, wants desperately to throw
them out but does not have the confidence or experience to fight them.
One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince,
eliminating the only opposition to their dominion over the palace.
Unknown
to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The beautiful nymph Calypso,
possessed by love for him, has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He
longs to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or crew to help
him escape. While the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus debate
Odysseus’s future, Athena, Odysseus’s strongest supporter among the
gods, resolves to help Telemachus. Disguised as a friend of the prince’s
grandfather, Laertes, she convinces the prince to call a meeting of the
assembly at which he reproaches the suitors. Athena also prepares him
for a great journey to Pylos and Sparta, where the kings Nestor and
Menelaus, Odysseus’s companions during the war, inform him that Odysseus
is alive and trapped on Calypso’s island. Telemachus makes plans to
return home, while, back in Ithaca, Antinous and the other suitors
prepare an ambush to kill him when he reaches port.
On Mount Olympus,
Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso. Hermes persuades
Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and leave. The homesick hero sets
sail, but when Poseidon, god of the sea, finds him sailing home, he
sends a storm to wreck Odysseus’s ship. Poseidon has harbored a bitter
grudge against Odysseus since the hero blinded his son, the Cyclops
Polyphemus, earlier in his travels. Athena intervenes to save Odysseus
from Poseidon’s wrath, and the beleaguered king lands at Scheria, home
of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, shows him to the
royal palace, and Odysseus receives a warm welcome from the king and
queen. When he identifies himself as Odysseus, his hosts, who have heard
of his exploits at Troy, are stunned. They promise to give him safe
passage to Ithaca, but first they beg to hear the story of his
adventures.
Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain
of events leading up to his arrival on Calypso’s island. He recounts his
trip to the Land of the Lotus Eaters, his battle with Polyphemus the
Cyclops, his love affair with the witch-goddess Circe, his temptation by
the deadly Sirens, his journey into Hades to consult the prophet
Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster Scylla. When he finishes
his story, the Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca, where he seeks out
the hut of his faithful swineherd, Eumaeus. Though Athena has disguised
Odysseus as a beggar, Eumaeus warmly receives and nourishes him in the
hut. He soon encounters Telemachus, who has returned from Pylos and
Sparta despite the suitors’ ambush, and reveals to him his true
identity. Odysseus and Telemachus devise a plan to massacre the suitors
and regain control of Ithaca.
When Odysseus arrives at the palace the
next day, still disguised as a beggar, he endures abuse and insults
from the suitors. The only person who recognizes him is his old nurse,
Eurycleia, but she swears not to disclose his secret. Penelope takes an
interest in this strange beggar, suspecting that he might be her
long-lost husband. Quite crafty herself, Penelope organizes an archery
contest the following day and promises to marry any man who can string
Odysseus’s great bow and fire an arrow through a row of twelve axes—a
feat that only Odysseus has ever been able to accomplish. At the
contest, each suitor tries to string the bow and fails. Odysseus steps
up to the bow and, with little effort, fires an arrow through all twelve
axes. He then turns the bow on the suitors. He and Telemachus, assisted
by a few faithful servants, kill every last suitor.
Odysseus reveals
himself to the entire palace and reunites with his loving Penelope. He
travels to the outskirts of Ithaca to see his aging father, Laertes.
They come under attack from the vengeful family members of the dead
suitors, but Laertes, reinvigorated by his son’s return, successfully
kills Antinous’s father and puts a stop to the attack. Zeus dispatches
Athena to restore peace. With his power secure and his family reunited,
Odysseus’s long ordeal comes to an end.