OUTLINE
I. Odysseus & Penelope (King of Ithaca and his wife)
- birth of Telemachus at Ithaca
- Agamemnon & Menelaus (kings) - Greece
- Athena (Odysseus’ protector), goddess of wisdom
II. Odysseus sets sail for Troy - destiny to defeat Trojans
- at Troy, with Achilles vs. Hector (defender of Troy)
- “whose side the gods were on” - noone knew
- 7th year, Achilles was slain
III. Trojan Horse (10th year) - Odysseus’ plan
- King Priam (of Troy)
- soothsayer - “Beware the Greeks and their gifts”
- Poseidon’s sea-serpent
- Trojans celebrate
- raid on Troy (inside walls); Troy burns
IV. Poseidon - god of the sea - speaks:
- “man is nothing without the gods”
- (Odysseus) will not reach shores of Ithaca
- victorious, Odysseus sails for home
- Poseidon’s revenge
V. Arrival at island of Cyclops
- cave, cheese
- sheep, giant Cyclops (Polyphemus) - son of Poseidon
- Odysseus - “Nobody”
- sharp stick - poke Cyclops’ eye
- Cyclops - “father, avenge me!”
VI. Arrival at island of Aeolus , god of wind
- cousin of Poseidon, wants to help Odysseus
- captures winds into a bag
- why are you helping me? because “you are the first mortal to use his mind and knows there’s always something to learn”
VII. Set sail for Ithaca (west wind - 9 days)
- Odysseus falls asleep, curious men open sack,
thinking it is some treasure (gold)
- Ithaca is within sight - sack is opened
- winds escape from bag - ship blown back to sea
“fury of unlocked winds”
- swept to farside of world
VIII. Arrival at island of Circe (sorceress)
- pig (human) - report of Eurylochus
- witch turns soldiers into pigs
- Odysseus climbs rocky cliff
- Hermes (Mercury) - messenger of the gods
- gives Odysseus herb Moly (antidote to spell)
- at Circe’s palace (5 years)
- Odysseus & Circe
- animals turned back to men (humans)
- magical lotus blossom & potion (clouds mind)
IX. Telemachus goes in search of his father [interludes]
- Anticlea, mother of Odysseus, wants to die
- goes to Land of the Dead - into “Oceanus”
- Penelope grieves
- Penelope appears to Odysseus in a dream
- Odysseus discovers he has been bewitched
[Interludes]
- nobles of Ithaca seek hand of Penelope in marriage
- she must entertain them
- suitors stay - Penelope weaves tapestry
[later - Prince Telemachus appeals to Assembly]
[later still - ship for Telemachus to search for father]
X. Odysseus must visit Land of the Dead
- Tiresius, the prophet, in underworld
- cross river of fire (River Styx), sacrifice ram
- Volcanic island - enter cavern
- shades (ghosts) of dead appear
- descends stairs, through tunnel
- Tiresius: “Orion the hunter” will lead to Scylla & Charybdis
- Odysseus sees his dead mother
XI. Sailing between Scylla & Charybdis
- 3-headed monster
- whirlpool; shipwrecked
- Odysseus survives (holds onto broken mast)
XII. Island of Calypson (goddess)
- maids of Calypso
- Odysseus is tormented by nightmares
- Calypso: “You must forget” (consoles him)
- Calypso doesn’t want Odysseus to leave
- Hermes appears, tells Calypso to set Odysseus free
- Odysseus builds raft
- Calypso says she can make Odysseus immortal
- Odysseus chooses to leave for mortal wife
XIII. Odysseus at sea on raft
- storm (Poseidon): “I want you to Suffer!”
Lesson: “That without gods, man is nothing!”
- Odysseus lays unconscious on beach
- found by Nausicaa, princess of king Alcinous
XIV. Palace of King of Phaeacia (King Alcinous)
- ship given to Odysseus to help him return
- “I was only ONE MAN in the world, nothing more,
nothing else.”
- sleeping potion given to Odysseus (dream
of Penelope)
XV. Return to Ithaca
- Odysseus and Eumaeus (swineherd)
- Telemachus returns from Sparta (king Menelaus)
- Father & Son reunion (“My boy” / “Father”)
- Odysseus plans revenge on suitors
XVI. Athena - helps Odysseus by turning him into an old
man
- courtyard scene - suitors
- Telemachus tells Penelope of wise old beggar
- Contest: Telemachus vs. suitor
- Nurse Eurycleia recognizes Odysseus’ (scar on leg)
- Penelope talks with old beggar
- Odysseus: “Tomorrow I will take my world back”
XVII. The Day of the Contest
- Bow of Odysseus
- Rules of Penelope:
- “the man who strings it and shoots an arrow
through all 12 axes will become my husband”
- the suitors can’t string the bow
- Odysseus strings bow - shoots through 12 holes
- Odysseus is revealed! Sits on throne.
- Death to the suitors!
“Now is the right time for your anger”
XVIII. The Last Battle
- Suitor: “What is our crime?”
- Odysseus: “The crime that you tried to steal my
world, the world I built with my sweat and blood, and
noone will take that world away from me.”
- Last suitor shot by Odysseus’ arrow
XIX. Odysseus & Penelope Reunion
“I will never leave you.”
20 years.
Odysseus: “You are my world” (Penelope)
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