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Telemachy

Telemachy

The Telemachy is a term used to describe the first four books of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey.

The Telemachy as an Introduction to the Odyssey

It is widely known that the 'Odyssey' tells the epic story of Odysseus, who travels home to Ithaka from the Trojan War. The epic consists of more than twelve thousand lines of text and it is divided into 24 books. The story must be understood in the context of its events following those of the Iliad - an earlier work dealing with the conduct of the War itself. Odysseus is well known in the Iliad as being the clever architect of Troy's demise, and the threads of the two epics are carefully linked despite the fact that the Odyssey begins ten years after the Iliad has closed. That decade allows the various Iliadic heroes to meet their respective fate. Only Odysseus remains abroad. The first book of the Odyssey, however, begins neither with Odysseus nor in Troy. Instead the tale starts where it will later end: in Ithaka at Odysseus' palace. This circular format is employed because the Odyssey is not only the story of Odysseus' heroic journey, but also of his homecoming and the events that transpire upon his return. The first four books of the Odyssey give the reader a glimpse of the goings-on and the palace in Ithaka - in order that the homecoming should be understood and that the urgency of the journey should be realized. The principal character developed throughout those books is Telemachos - Odysseus' son. In consequence, the four books are often referred to as the Telemachy. The Telemachy begins in the year of Odysseus' return. The nymph Kalypso detains Odysseus on Ogygia. Odysseus has angered Poseidon for reasons that the story later reveals; the God of the sea blocks his progress from the island. Poseidon, however, is away and Athene pleads Odysseus' case to the other Olympians. Zeus makes a decision and the wishes of Poseidon are set aside: Odysseus will be allowed to return home.

Ithaka

In Ithaka, meanwhile, suitors beset Odysseus' wife Penelope. They are rapidly consuming the absent King's wealth as they entertain themselves at his palace. Penelope, faithful to the possibility of Odysseus' return, has successfully avoided the suitors for the last ten years - but things cannot go on as they are. The matter of her re-marriage must be addressed. Homer does not clarify the constitutional situation on Ithaka, but it is far more than the fate of the crown that is at risk. Lives are at stake. If Odysseus lives, then to court his wife is treason, and, as the story of Aigisthos and Agamemnon relates, the penalty for treason is death. In the case of Aigisthos, Agamemnon's son Orestes inflicted that penalty. Therefore, Odysseus' son Telemachos is a danger to the suitors; and he is coming of age as Orestes did. The suitors decide to kill Telemachos. Their success, however, would leave Odysseus without an heir. To avoid this unhappy outcome Athene escorts Telemachos on a voyage of his own: a quest for news of his father.

Odysseus in the Telemachy

Whilst the Telemachy develops Telemachos and sets the scene in Ithaka, it is not at all true to say that Odysseus is left unmentioned. In fact, any opportunity to remind the reader of the acclaim that he achieved in the Iliad is fully exploited. Although second-hand, much of this information comes from the champions of the Iliad themselves. The spinning of their tales and personalities into the Odyssey dignifies the epic by including it amongst the Nostoi or stories of homecoming that surround the heroes of Troy. Two characters introduced to encourage Telemachos and to build the credibility of Odysseus are Nestor and Menelaos, both heroes of the Iliad and the kings of Pylos and Sparta respectively. They lavish their praise upon Odysseus, in particular with regard to his guile. During Book 3, when in Pylos, Telemachos is told of his father by Nestor: :"Then there was no man who wanted to be set up for cunning against the great Odysseus; he far surpassed them in every kind of strategem..." (3.120-2) In Book 4, at the Spartan palace, Menelaos states: :"In my time I have studied the wit and counsel of many men who were heroes, and I have been over much of the world, yet nowhere have I seen with my own eyes anyone like him, nor known an inward heart like the heart of enduring Odysseus." (4.267-9) Odysseus, then, is a man of insight and cunning; but is this the way in which a great hero should behave? Reassurance as to this comes from both the gods and men. Athene, instead of intervening directly into the situation on Ithaka, assumes human form and gives Telemachos the confidence to act for himself. She uses disguise to coach Telemachos, but he must do his own 'dirty work'. Part of the role of the Telemachy, perhaps, is to prepare us for this indirect application of the Gods' influence. The characters of the Odyssey are the masters of their own destiny. Zeus says as much when he relates the story of Aigisthos; and the proem says as much when it describes the fate of Odysseus' crew. Menelaos is also prepared to use trickery during his own sea voyage home from Troy. In Book 4 he tells us how he and his crew found themselves marooned on the island of Pharos off the Egyptian shore. He tells Telemachos how he used a sly plan to capture Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea, in order that the way home would be made known to him. The plot involved Menelaos and three others concealing themselves inside seal skins and lying on a sandbank. There they waited, each with a pinch of Ambrosia to guard against the smell of the beasts, until Proteus arrived whereupon they revealed themselves and took hold of him. The scheme was not of Menelaos' devising, however, it does demonstrate that whilst the battlefield permitted only bravery of its heroes, shrewd plotting was more than acceptable from them on the way home.

The nature of epic poetry

Tales of derring-do are not the only way in which Odysseus' fine character is established. The poet makes frequent use of 'Homeric epithet' as the content of the story is fixed into the metrical framework of the poem. There is repitition of such phrases as 'godlike Odysseus', 'great Odysseus', 'wise Odysseus', and 'resourceful Odysseus'. It should be realized that these epithets are a result of the formulaic system through which the poem is related orally to the audience in rhyme. Jones[2] gives an instructive example of the formulaic system at work. Homer often repeats a particular phrase to introduce Telemachos as a speaker: 'Then the thoughtful Telemachos said to him/her in answer'. The phrase is used at 1.213, 230, 306, 345, 388, 412 and so on. It is not, however, the case that everything that Telemachos says is thoughtful. The phrase is employed because it conveniently fills an entire line and fits the pattern of the metre. The other main characters of the epic have their own phrases as have many commonplace events such as sunrise. Without the use of these stock phrases as building blocks, the bard would have far greater difficulty in telling the story. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to think that the epithets ascribed to Odysseus are chosen at random. By lauding him with superlatives the poet clearly wishes Odysseus to be considered godlike and great and wise and resourceful. The epithets may be convenient but to a limited extent they are also revealing. Perhaps they are intended to indoctrinate the audience, but in so doing they disclose the hidden-agenda of the poet as he strengthens Odysseus' reputation. Ancient listeners might, conceivably, be disappointed if a heroic champion of Troy were to thereafter win all of his battles by deception. Odysseus, then, must also be described as a man of action. Likewise, the audience must be prepared for the suitors' violent fate, as the matter may seem too cold-blooded if introduced suddenly upon Odysseus' return. Thus, in Book 1, Athene vists Odysseus' palace in the form of the traveller Mentes. She witnesses the suitors' behaviour for herself whilst she is being entertained by Telemachos. He complains to her, :"... all these are after my mother for marriage, and wear my house out. And she does not refuse the hateful marriage, nor is she able to make an end of the matter; and these eating up my substance waste it away; and soon they will break me myself to pieces." (1.248-51) Athene responds, :"Oh, for shame. How great your need is now of the absent Odysseus, who would lay his hands on these shameless suitors. I wish he could come now to stand in the outer doorway of his house, wearing a helmet and carrying shield and two spears ... I wish that such an Odysseus would come now among the suitors. They all would find death was quick, and marriage a painful matter." (1.253-66) We have been told what will happen when Odysseus reaches Ithaka. He will attack the suitors, and the goddess Athene sanctions this action. An essential motif of the poem is, thus, established early on. The suitors, by their own particular wild recklessness (as it were), have brought his wrath upon themselves.

Is the Telemachy useful?

The Odyssey is sometimes criticized because Odysseus is not encountered in the text until Book 5. The question then is whether or not the Telemachy is a worthwile diversion? Those that seek to support the Telemachy point out the benefits of this four-book introduction to Ithakan politics. The listeners are briefed about the situation on the island and they understand that Odysseus' urgent return is necessary. Telemachos and Penelope are developed as characters. The excesses of the suitors are detailed and their murderous plot against Telemachos is revealed. Likewise, influential friends at Pylos and Sparta are visited and they speak well of Odysseus. Odysseus' good standing with the gods is established and, with the exception of Poseidon, he clearly enjoys their support. How much poorer wold the epic be if it failed to achieve our early understanding of these elements? By the end of the Telemachy, the scene is set for Odysseus to appear in chief.

References

:#Griffin, J. 1999. Homer: the Odyssey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. :#Jones, P. 2001. Homer's Odyssey. London: Bristol Classical Press. Category:Ancient Greek poems

Odyssey

- by Charles Gleyre]] The Odyssey (Greek Οδύσσεια) is the second of the two great Greek epic poems ascribed to Homer, the first of which is the Iliad. The 11,300 line poem follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his voyage home after a heroic turn in the Trojan War. It also tells the story of Odysseus' wife Penelope who struggles to remain faithful, and his son Telemachus who sets out to find his father. In contrast to the Iliad, with its extended sequences of battle and violence, all three are ultimately successful through use of cleverness, and the support of the goddess Athena. This cleverness is most often manifested by Odysseus' use of disguise and, later, recognition. His disguises take forms both physical (altering his appearance) and verbal (telling the Cyclops Polyphemus that his name is "Nobody" then escaping after blinding the Cyclops because Polyphemus cries foul at the hands of "nobody"). The poem is considered one of the foundational texts of the Western canon and continues to be read in both Homeric Greek and translations around the world. While today's Odyssey is usually a printed text, the original poem was an oral composition sung by a trained bard, in an amalgamated Ancient Greek dialect, using a regular metrical pattern called dactylic hexameter. Each line of the original Greek was composed of six feet; each foot a dactyl or a spondee. Among the most impressive elements of the text are its strikingly modern non-linear plot, and its elevation of the status of women and the lower classes. In the English language as well as many others, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage. Today's Odyssey consists of twenty-four books, or chapters. The first four books, known as the Telemachy, trace Telemachus' efforts to maintain control of the palace in the face of suitors who would have his inheritance, and his mother Penelope's hand in marriage. Failing that, he sets off to find his father. In book 5, we find Odysseus near the end of his journey, a not entirely unwilling captive of the beautiful nymph Calypso, with whom he's spent 7 of his 10 lost years. Released from her wiles by the intercession of his patroness Athena and her father Zeus, he departs. His raft is destroyed by his nemesis Poseidon, who is angry because Odysseus blinded his son, Polyphemos. When Odysseus washes up on Scheria, home to the Phaeacians, the naked stranger is treated with traditional Greek hospitality even before he reveals his name. Odysseus satisfies the Phaeacians' curiosity, telling them - and us - of all his adventures since departing from Troy. This renowned, extended "flashback" leads him back to where he stands, his tale told. The shipbuilding Phaeacians finally loan him a ship to return to Ithaca, where, home at last, he regains his throne, reunites with his son, metes out justice to the suitors, and reunites with his faithful wife Penelope.

Plot summary

Book 1

"Tell me, o muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy." With the invocation of the muse Homer begins his epic, though the hero himself is still offstage. We are treated to a glimpse of life among the supreme gods on Mount Olympus. Urged on by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle-tactics, they decide that Odysseus has been marooned too long on the island of the nymph Calypso. Athena also decides to pay a visit to Telemachus who is Odysseus's son.

Book 2

Meanwhile, the mansion of Odysseus is infested with suitors for the hand of his wife Penelope. Everyone assumes Odysseus is dead. Encouraged by Athena who arrives in the form of Mentes, Telemachus calls an assembly to ask for help. He breaks down and cries and is pushed off the platform by Athena. Antinous mocks Telemachus. He issues an ultimatum to Telemachus: "Either you force your mother to marry a suitor, or we ruin your house." Telemachus refuses to comply. Zeus sends an omen of the suitors' doom. Two eagles swoop down, tearing each other's throats and necks with their talons. The suitors mock Halitherses, who makes the prophecy. Afterwards, Telemachus, accompanied by Athena, sets sail for Pylos to seek news of his father.

Book 3

Telemachus travels to Pylos to consult Nestor, accompanied by Athena, who is disguised as Mentor, a man from Ithaca. When they arrive at the shore of Pylos, they find Nestor and the men of Pylos performing sacrifices to Poseidon. Nestor tells what he knows of the Greeks' return from Troy: "It started out badly because of Athena's anger. Half the army, your father included, stayed behind at Troy to try to appease her. The rest of us made it home safely--all except Menelaus, who was blown off course to Egypt, where he remained for seven years. Seek advice from Menelaus. I'll lend you a chariot to travel to his kingdom." Athena flies away in the form of an eagle. The very next morning, Nestor performs a sacrifice to Athena and Telemachus is borne away, accompanied by Nestor's son.

Book 4

Menelaus tells what he learned of Odysseus while stranded in Egypt after the war. He was advised by a goddess to disguise himself and three members of his crew in seal pelts and then pounce on the Old Man of the Sea. If they could hold him down while he transformed himself into various animals and shapes, he would send them on their homeward way and give news of their companions. Menelaus did as instructed and was informed that Odysseus was presently being held against his will by the nymph Calypso.

Book 5

Zeus, the King of the Gods, sends his messenger Hermes skimming over the waves on magic sandals to Calypso's island. Calypso promises Odysseus immortality, but he refuses. At last all fails. Though the nymph isn't happy about it, she agrees to let Odysseus go. But the raft on which he sets sail is destroyed by his enemy, the god Poseidon, who lashes the sea into a storm with his trident. Odysseus barely escapes with his life and washes ashore days later, half-drowned. He staggers into an olive thicket and falls asleep.

Book 6

Odysseus wakes up to the sound of maidens laughing. Princess Nausicaa of the Phaeacians has come down to the riverside to wash some clothes because Athena came to her in a dream and instructed her to do so. Now she and her handmaids are frolicking after the chore. Odysseus approaches as a supplicant, and Nausicaa is kind enough to instruct him how to get the king's help in returning to his home.

Book 7

Odysseus stops on the palace threshold, utterly dazzled. The very walls are covered in shining bronze and trimmed with lapis lazuli. The blacksmith god Hephaestus has even provided two brazen hounds to guard the queen. Odysseus puts his case to her as a supplicant. The king knows better than to refuse hospitality to a decent petitioner. He invites Odysseus to the banquet which is in progress and promises him safe passage home after the king and his guests have been suitably entertained.

Book 8

The next day is declared a holiday in honor of the guest, whose name the king still does not know. An athletic competition is held, with foot races, wrestling and the discus. Odysseus is invited to join in but he declines the invitation, prompting someone to suggest that he lacks the skills. Angered, he takes up a discus and throws it with such violence that everyone drops to the ground. That night at a banquet, as the court bard entertains with songs of the Trojan War, Odysseus is heard sobbing. "Enough!" shouts the king. "Our friend finds this song displeasing. Won't you tell us your name, stranger, and where you hail from?"

Book 9

"My name is Odysseus of Ithaca, and here is my tale since setting out from Troy. We sacked a city called Ísmaros first off, but then reinforcements arrived and we lost many comrades. Next we visited the Lotus Eaters, and three of my crew tasted this strange plant. They lost all desire to return home and had to be carried off by force. On another island we investigated a cave full of goat pens. The herdsman turned out to be as big as a barn, with a single glaring eye in his forehead. This Cyclops promptly ate two of my men for dinner. We were trapped in the cave by a boulder in the doorway that only the Cyclops could budge, so we couldn't kill him while he slept. Instead we sharpened a pole and used it to gouge out his eye. We escaped his groping by clinging to the undersides of his goats."

Book 10

"Next we met the Keeper of the Winds, who sent us on our way with a steady breeze. He'd given me a leather bag, which my crew mistook for booty. They opened it and released a hurricane that blew us back to where we'd started. We ended up among the Laestrygonians, giants who bombarded our fleet with boulders and gobbled down our shipmates. The few survivors put in at the island of the enchantress Circe. My men were entertained by her and then, with a wave of her wand, turned into swine. Hermes the god gave me an herb, called moly, that protected me. Circe told me that to get home I must travel to the land of Death."

Book 12

"At sea once more we had to pass the Sirens, whose sweet singing lures sailors to their doom. I had stopped up the ears of my crew with wax, and I alone listened while lashed to the mast, powerless to steer toward shipwreck. Next came Charybdis, who swallows the sea in a whirlpool, then spits it up again. Avoiding this we skirted the cliff where Scylla exacts her toll. Each of her six slavering maws grabbed a sailor and wolfed him down. Finally we were becalmed on the island of the Sun. My men disregarded all warnings and sacrificed his cattle, so back at sea Zeus sent a thunderbolt that smashed the ship. I alone survived, washing up on the island of Calypso."

Book 13

When Odysseus had finished his tale, the king ordered him sped to Ithaca. The sailors put him down on the beach asleep. Athena cast a protective mist about him that kept him from recognizing his homeland. Finally the goddess revealed herself and dispelled the mist. In joy Odysseus kissed the ground. Athena transformed him into an old man as a disguise. Clad in a filthy tunic, he went off to find his faithful swineherd, as instructed by the goddess.

Book 14

Eumaeus the swineherd welcomed the bedraggled stranger. He threw his own bedcover over a pile of boughs as a seat for Odysseus, who does not reveal his identity. Observing Zeus's commandment to be kind to guests, Eumaeus slaughters a prime boar and serves it with bread and wine. Odysseus, true to his fame as a smooth-talking schemer, makes up an elaborate story of his origins. That night the hero sleeps by the fire under the swineherd's spare cloak, while Eumaeus himself sleeps outside in the rain with his herd.

Book 15

Athena summons Telemachus home and tells him how to avoid an ambush by Penelope's suitors. Meanwhile back on Ithaca, Odysseus listens while Eumaeus recounts the story of his life. He was the child of a prosperous mainland king, whose realm was visited by Phoenician traders. His nursemaid, a Phoenician herself, had been carried off by pirates as a girl and sold into slavery. In return for homeward passage with her countrymen, she kidnapped Eumaeus. He was bought by Odysseus' father, whose queen raised him as a member of the family.

Book 16

Telemachus evades the suitors' ambush. Following Athena's instructions, he proceeds to the farmstead of Eumaeus. There he makes the acquaintance of the tattered guest and sends Eumaeus to his mother to announce his safe return. Athena restores Odysseus' normal appearance, enchanting it so that Telemachus takes him for a god. "No god am I," Odysseus assures him, "but your own father, returned after these twenty years." They fall into each other's arms. Later they plot the suitors' doom. Concerned that the odds are fifty-to-one, Telemachus suggests that they might need reinforcements. "Aren't Zeus and Athena reinforcement enough?" asks Odysseus.

Book 17

Disguised once more as an old beggar, Odysseus journeys to town. On the trail he encounters an insolent goatherd named Melantheus, who curses and tries to kick him. At his castle gate, the hero is recognized by a decrepit dog that he raised as a pup. Having seen his master again, the old hound dies. At Athena's urging Odysseus begs food from the suitors. One man, Antinous, berates him and refuses so much as a crust. He even hurls his footstool at Odysseus, hitting him in the back. This makes even the other suitors nervous, for sometimes the gods masquerade as mortals to test their righteousness.

Book 18

Now a real beggar shows up at the palace and warns Odysseus off his turf. This man, Irus, is always running errands for the suitors. Odysseus says that there are pickings enough for the two of them, but Irus threatens fisticuffs and the suitors egg him on. Odysseus rises to the challenge and rolls up his tunic into a boxer's belt. The suitors goggle at the muscles revealed. Not wishing to kill Irus with a single blow, Odysseus breaks his jaw instead. Another suitor, Eurymachus, marks himself for revenge by trying to hit Odysseus with a footstool as Antinous had done.

Book 19

Odysseus has a long talk with his queen Penelope but does not reveal his identity. Penelope takes kindly to the stranger and orders her maid Eurycleia to bathe his feet and anoint them with oil. Eurycleia, who was Odysseus' nurse when he was a child, notices a scar above the hero's knee. Odysseus had been gored by a wild boar when hunting on Mount Parnassus as a young man. The maid recognizes her master at once, and her hand goes out to his chin. But Odysseus silences her lest she give away his plot prematurely.

Book 20

The next morning Odysseus asks for a sign, and Zeus sends a clap of thunder out of the clear blue sky. A servant recognizes it as a portent and prays that this day be the last of the suitors' abuse. Odysseus encounters another herdsman. Like the swineherd Eumaeus, this man, who tends the realm's cattle, swears his loyalty to the absent king. A prophet, an exiled murderer whom Telemachus has befriended, shares a vision with the suitors: "I see the walls of this mansion dripping with your blood." The suitors respond with gales of laughter.

Book 21

Penelope now appears before the suitors in her glittering veil. In her hand is a stout bow left behind by Odysseus when he sailed for Troy. "Whoever strings this bow," she says, "and sends an arrow straight through the sockets of twelve axe heads lined in a row--that man will I marry." The suitors take turns trying to bend the bow to string it, but all of them lack the strength. Odysseus asks if he might try. The suitors refuse, fearing that they'll be shamed if the beggar succeeds. But Telemachus insists and his anger distracts them into laughter. As easily as a bard fitting a new string to his lyre, Odysseus strings the bow and sends an arrow through the axe heads. At a sign from his father, Telemachus arms himself and takes up a station by his side.

Book 22

Antinous, ringleader of the suitors, is just lifting a drinking cup when Odysseus puts an arrow through his throat. The goatherd sneaks out and comes back with shields and spears for the suitors, but now Athena appears. She sends the suitors' spearthrusts wide, as Odysseus, Telemachus and the two faithful herdsmen strike with volley after volley of lances. They finish off the work with swords. Those of the housemaids who consorted with the suitors are hung by the neck in the courtyard, while the treacherous goatherd is chopped to bits.

Book 23

The mansion is purged with fire and brimstone. Odysseus tells everyone to dress in their finest and dance, so that passers-by won't suspect what's happened. Even Odysseus could not hold vengeful kinfolk at bay. Penelope still won't accept that it's truly her husband without some secret sign. She tells a servant to make up his bed in the hall. "Who had the craft to move my bed?" storms Odysseus. "I carved the bedpost myself from the living trunk of an olive tree and built the bedroom around it." Penelope rushes into his arms.And they make love by the fireplace.

Book 24

The next morning Odysseus goes upcountry to the vineyard where his father, old King Laertes, labors like a peasant. Meanwhile, the kin of the suitors have gathered at the assembly ground, where the father of the suitor Antinous fires them up for revenge. Odysseus, his father, and Telemachus meet the challenge. Laertes casts a lance through the helmet of Antinous' father, who falls to the ground in a clatter of armor. But the fighting stops right there. Athena tells the contending parties to live together in peace down through the years to come.

Alternative Word Spellings

Alternative Spelling - Spelling used in this article: Ithaka - Ithaca, Kalypso - Calypso, Telemakhos - Telemachus, Kyklops - Cyclops, Akhilleus - Achilles, Nausikaa - Nausicaä, Meneláos - Menelaus, Hephaistos - Hephaestus, Phaiákians - Phaeacians, Aiolos - Aeolus, Laistrygonians - Laestrygonians, Lotos - Lotus, Teiresias - Tiresias, Eumaios - Eumaeus,

Geography in the Odyssey

The text of the Odyssey does not contain many modern place names that can immediately be located on a map. Scholars both ancient and modern are divided as to whether or not the locations were in any way real places or mere inventions. Eratosthenes, the third century BC Alexandrian geographer, ridiculed attempts to identify places mentioned in the Odyssey, saying "you will find the scene of the wanderings of Odysseus when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of winds." Those who tend towards real locations point to the high degree of realism present throughout the poem, especially in Homer's description of sailing. It seems most likely that Homer strung together tales of one or more sea voyages and that some locations at least should follow a logical sequence. Even amongst those scholars who believe the locations to have some basis in reality there is much dispute. The traditional orthodox theory, which has been taken as accurate by many including some encyclopedias and other reference works, sees Odysseus driven into the western Mediterranean with most of his adventures taking place between Tunisia, Sardinia, Italy and Sicily. However this theory has a number of flaws which make little sense either from a sailing or identification point of view. Ancient Greek ships were small, rarely ventured out onto the open sea and their captains did not explore unknown territories but instead sought to regain their course if blown off it. The orthodox route includes the following locations:
- The island of Calypso is associated with Gozo, which is part of the Maltese archipelago. Odysseus is said to have landed on the northern shore of the island, on the beach of Ir-Ramla.
- The Lotus Eaters are located in Tunisia on the basis that this is where a sailing vessel blown off course at Cape Malea could reach at full speed. However, a vessel blown off course would have been more cautious and would not have ventured so far away, especially if trying to reach home.
- Aeolus is traditionally located in the Aeolian Islands to the north of Sicily. However, for Odysseus' vessels to have caught a favourable wind all the way to Ithaca and then have an unfavourable wind blow them all the way back so that they would have had to sail through the Straits of Messina is extremely implausible.
- There is a real river Acheron in north west Greece. However, its location has been ignored by many, since the orthodox theory makes no allowances for Odysseus being in that region.
- Scylla and Charybdis are traditionally located in the Straits of Messina. However, the channel they inhabit is said to be narrow. The Straits are over two miles wide at their narrowest point, and even wider at the rock traditionally identified as Scylla's. The whirlpools around the straits are not even in the "narrows" and are nothing more than gyrating patches of water caused by the cross-section of two currents. It is impossible to conceive of them producing the legend of Charybdis.
- Thrinicia, the island home of Helios' cattle, is said to have been Sicily since the name Thrinicia implies an island connected to the number 3 and Sicily has three corners. However, Sicily is huge by ancient Greek standards and so its three corners are only noticeable on a modern map, not at sea, and it is more likely that the name Thrinicia would have come about because sailors could use it to easily identify an island as they could see it. More generally the orthodox theory assumes that the ancient Greeks knew about Italy, but there are very few references at all in the Odyssey to any part of the world to the west of Greece, though lands in the east and south such as Egypt and Sudan are mentioned in several places. The historian of science and specialist in the cartography of antiquity Tullio Catullo Stecchini makes interesting speculations in an essay [http://www.metrum.org/mapping/navigations.htm "The Navigations of Odysseus"], among several alternative theories that have been proposed in recent times. Not all are based purely on readings in the classics: Tim Severin sailed a replica Greek sailing vessel (originally built for his attempt to follow Jason's argosy) along the 'natural' route from Troy to Ithaca, following the sailing directions that could be teased out of Homer. Along the way he found locations at the natural turning and dislocation points which fit the pattern much more closely than the orthodox theory. However, he also came to the conclusion that the sequence of adventures from Circe onwards derived from a separate voyage to those that ended with the Laestrygonians, possibly coming via the stories of the Argonauts. He placed many of the later adventures on the northwest Greek coast, near to the river Acheron. Along the way he found on the map Cape Skilla and other names that implied strong mythological links to the Odyssey. His adventure is recounted in The Ulysses Voyage: Sea Search for the Odyssey.

Derivative works

- The contemporary play [http://www.amrep.org/articles/1_3/homer.html Highway Ulysses by Rinde Eckert] tells the story of the journey of a Vietnam veteran travelling to his son, meeting modern day characters akin to characters or monsters in the Odyssey (including the Sirens and Cyclops).
- Some of the tales of Sindbad the Sailor from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) were taken from Homer's Odyssey.
- A modern book inspired by the Odyssey is James Joyce's Ulysses (1922).
- Nikos Kazantzakis wrote The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, a 33,333 line epic poem which continues Odysseus' journeys past the point of his arrival in Ithaca.
- Andrew Lang and H. Rider Haggard collaborated on The World's Desire in which Odysseus and Helen meet in Egypt at the time of the Exodus.
- The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? has the basic plot of The Odyssey; Joel and Ethan Coen admit to basing the movie loosely on The Odyssey but insist that they haven't read it.
- R.A. Lafferty retold the story in a science fiction setting in his novel Space Chantey.
- Progressive metal group Symphony X based a 24-minute epic track The Odyssey on the story in their 2002 album, The Odyssey.
- The animated cartoon Ulysses 31 featured a science-fiction tale of a hero trying to get back to his wife Penelope.
- The first half of Virgil's Aeneid parallels the Odyssey in structure.
- Ulysses, a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
- Tank Girl: Odyssey borrows freely and irrevently from Homer and James Joyce's Ulysses, casting targets in the contemporary media as the trials the heroine must overcome to get back to her mutant kangaroo boyfriend.
- Odyssey: A Stage Version, 1993 play, divided into two acts (respectively broken up into 14 and 6 scenes) written by Derek Walcott and originally performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

External links

[http://www.mythweb.com/odyssey/index.html Greek Myth: the Odyssey]
- [http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/homer/odyssey.html Homer's Odyssey resources on the Web] by Jorn Barger. Provides links to the original and various public domain translations.
- English translations:
- George Chapman, 1616 (couplets)
- Alexander Pope, 1713 (couplets); Project Gutenberg edition; [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/3160]
- William Cowper, 1791 (blank verse)
- Samuel Henry Butcher and Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg edition; [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/1728]
- William Cullen Bryant, 1871 (blank verse)
- Samuel Butler, 1898 (prose), Project Gutenberg edition; [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/1727]
- [http://www.orplex.com/gkcp/readbook.aspx?style=basic.xslt&book=The%20Odyssey.xml English Text] Samuel Butler, 1898 (prose)
- A. T. Murray (revised by George E. Dimock), 1919; Loeb Classical Library (ISBN 0674995619)
- Richmond Lattimore, 1965 (ISBN 0060931957)
- Robert Fitzgerald, 1963 (ISBN 0679728139)
- Walter Shewring, 1980 (ISBN 0192833758), Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics)
- Robert Fagles, 1999 (ISBN 0140268863); an unabridged audio recording by Ian McKellen is also available (ISBN 014086430X).
- Stanley Lombardo, 2000 (ISBN 0872204847) has what is considered by many to be the best combination of faithfulness to the original Greek and a more vernacular style. An audio CD recording read by the translator is also available (ISBN 1930972067).
- Category:Epics Category:Trojan War Category:Ancient Greek poems ko:오디세이아 ms:Odyssey ja:オデュッセイア

Odysseus

:This article is about the mythological character. See also Odysseus crater, Ulysses (robot), Ulysses (poem), Ulysses (novel) Ulysses (novel) Odysseùs Laërtiádēs (Greek: ', 'son of Laertes'), or simply Odysseus (meaning "man of wrath" according to Homer, or more likely, from Greek οδηγός: odēgós, "a guide; the one showing the way"; it may also mean "pain" in the sense "the one inflicting and suffering pain" - ironically nearly always he suffers pain in return if he inflicts pain on some one and vice versa - mental and/or physical), is a character in Greek mythology, known as Ulysses or Ulixes in Roman mythology. Known for his guile and resourcefulness, he is the hero of Homer's Odyssey, and a major character in the Iliad. He is most famous for the twenty years it took him to return home from the Trojan War. Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus. He was the son of Laertes and Anticlea, although some sources, prominent among them Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides, state that Sisyphus was his father.

During the Trojan War

Sisyphus)]] Odysseus was one of the main Achaean characters in the Trojan War. The others were godlike Achilles, Agamemnon lord of men, Menelaus, Nestor, Big Ajax and Little Ajax, Diomedes and Teucer the master archer. Early in the Iliad, there is a scene where Dardan Priam is asking Helen of the identity of various Achaean heroes. Odysseus is among them, and Helen answers that he is from Ithaca and very crafty and cunning. At one point during the Trojan War, the Trojans - led by Hector and fighting with high morale due to the absence of Achilles - had closed in on the Achaeans. That night, Agamemnon gives a speech where he sets forth the not inconsiderable gifts he would give to Achilles if the latter returned to the fray. However, he makes an addendum that Achilles must submit to his authority. Odysseus was sent with Telamonian Ajax and Phoenix to pass Agamemnon's message to Achilles. They do not succeed. There is a scene where Hector and the Trojans are chasing the Achaeans back to the latter's encampment by the hollow ships, and Odysseus decides to run instead of stay and get slaughtered. Nestor sees this, and utters the line: "Where are you going in such a hurry, son of Laertes, O cool tactician..." - but his sarcasm is wasted. After Patroclus had been slain, it was Odysseus who counselled Achilles to let the Achaean men eat and rest, for Achilles, driven by rage, wanted to go back on the offensive - and kill Trojans - immediately. Eventually, Achilles reluctantly consents. During the Funeral Games for Patroclus, Odysseus is involved in a wrestling match as well as a chariot race. With the help of Athena, who favors him, and despite Apollo helping another of the competitors, he wins the race. He also draws the wrestling match. Odysseus was one of the most influential Greek champions during the Trojan War. It was Odysseus who restored order to the Greek camp when Agamemnon unwittingly announced the departure of the Greeks earlier on in the Iliad, to test the morale of the Greek soldiers. Odysseus also volunteered himself to battle Hector in the duel the Trojan hero proposed. Odysseus aided Diomedes during the famous 'Night Operations', when the two heroes slaughtered many of the Trojans while they were sleeping. Among the killed was Dolon and King Rhesus. Odysseus as a warrior was behind only Achilles, Hector, Telamonian Ajax (also spelt as 'Aias') and Diomedes. He was injured during the part of the Trojan War described by Homer. After Achilles' death, Odysseus competed with his great rival, Telamonian Ajax for Achilles' armour. Though Ajax was the greater warrior, Odysseus won the armour because of his orating abilities and eloquence. Consequently Ajax, for the first time defeated, killed himself by the sword Hector had given him. The Trojan Horse, the famous stratagem, was devised by Odysseus. It was built by Epeius and filled with Greek warriors led by Odysseus. When the horse was brought inside Troy, Odysseus and Menelaus descended from it and travelled straight toward Prince Deiphobos' house, where they engaged in their most ferocious battle yet. Ultimately Deiphobos was killed and Menelaus won Helen back. However other Greeks committed great evils in Troy, such as the execution of King Priam and Hector's son, Astyanax. The most significant crime however, was the rape of Cassandra, carried out by Ajax, son of Oileus. This angered Athene, as Cassandra was a priestess of the goddess. It was Odysseus who advised the Greeks to stone Ajax to death for his crime. However the Greeks declined the life- saving advice. Athene was intensely infuriated, and as a result she sent a storm that destroyed most of the Greek fleet.

Journey home to Ithaca

The Ciconians

After Odysseus and his men depart from Troy, they are greeted by friendly and calm waters. The ships near land and Eurylochus, convincing Odysseus that the gods were on their side, told him to go ashore and loot the nearby city. The crew had landed in Ciconia. The city was not at all protected and all of the inhabitants fled without a fight into the nearby mountains. Odysseus and his men looted the city and robbed it of all its goods. Odysseus wisely told the men to board the ships quickly but they refused and fell asleep on the beach. The next morning, the Ciconians (also known as the Cicones) returned with their fierce kinsmen from the mountains. Odysseus and his men fled to the ships as fast as they could but they lost many men still.

The Lotus-Eaters

When Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus sent out a scouting party of three or so men who ate the lotus with the natives. This caused them to fall sleep and stop caring about ever going home. Odysseus went after the scouting party and dragged them back against their will to the ship and set sail. lotus

Polyphemus

A scouting party led by Odysseus (and his friend, Misenus), lands in the territory of the Cyclopes and ventures upon a large cave. They enter the cave and proceed to feast on some food they find there. Unknown to them, this cave is the home of Polyphemus, who was rumored to be Poseidon's son, who soon comes upon the trespassers and traps them in the cave by blocking the entrace with a boulder that could not be moved by mortal men. He proceeds to eat several crew members, but Odysseus devised a cunning plan for escape. To make Polyphemus unwary, Odysseus gave him a barrel of very strong, unwatered wine. When Polyphemus asked for Odysseus' name, he told him that it was "Nobody" (Outis). Once the giant fell asleep, Odysseus and his men took a hardened spear and destroyed Polyphemus' only eye. Other cyclopes came by and asked Polyphemus what was wrong, but Odysseus' plot succeeded. Polyphemus replied and said that it was Nobody, the cyclopes didn't bother to help Polyphemus because they thought that it was the Gods' doing. In the morning, Odysseus tied his men and himself to the undersides of Polyphemus' sheep. When the Cyclops let the sheep out to graze, the men were carried out. Since Polyphemus was blind, he did not see the men, but felt the tops of his sheep to make sure the men were not riding them. Once the sheep (and men) were safely out, Polyphemus realized the men were no longer in his cave. He yelled out to his fellow Cyclopes that "Nobody" hurt him, so they ignored him. As Odysseus and his men were sailing away, he told Polyphemus that "Nobody" didn't hurt you, Odysseus did!" Odysseus did not realize that Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, and that telling him his name would have severe repercussions. His crew tried to stop him, but he didn't listen. In another interpretation, Odysseus knew that revealing his name would harm him; however his honor, or hubris compelled him to do so. According to Virgil's Aeneid , Achaemenides was one of Odysseus' crew who stayed on Sicily with Polyphemus until Aeneas arrived and took him with him.

Aeolus

Odysseus stopped at Aiolia, home of Aeolus, the god of the winds. Aeolus gave Odysseus and his crew hospitality for a month in return of Odysseus telling interesting stories. Aeolus also provided for a west wind to carry them home. Unfortunately he also provided a gift of a bag containing each of the four winds, which Odysseus' crew members, suspecting that treasure was in the bag, because of Odysseus guarding the bag for the entire voyage home without a wink of sleep. A couple of the men decided to open it as soon as Odysseus fell asleep and just before their home was reached. They were blown by a violent storm back to Aiolia by Poseidon, where Aeolus refused to provide any more help because he thought Odysseus was cursed by the gods. Now, Odysseus has to start his journey from Aiolia to Ithica over again, he is heartbroken, but he tries to hide his feelings from his crew.

The Laestrygonians

They came to Telepylos, the stronghold of Lamos, king of the Laestrygonians. These people attacked the fleet with boulders, sinking all but one of the ships and killing hundreds of Odysseus' men.

Circe

Circe] The next stop was the island of Circe (Aeaea), where Odysseus sent a scouting party ahead of the rest of the group. She invited the scouting party to a feast, the food laced with one of her magical potions, and she then changed all the men into pigs with a wand after they gorged themselves on it. Only Eurylochus, suspecting treachery from the outset, escaped to warn Odysseus and the others who had stayed behind at the ships. Odysseus set out to rescue his men, but was intercepted and told by Hermes to procure some of the herb moly to protect him from the same fate. When her magic failed he was able to force her to return his men to human form by making her swear the Oath of the Immortals. She later fell in love with Odysseus and assisted him in his quest to reach his home after he and his crew spent 1 year with her on her island. According to some sources, Circe and Odysseus had three children: Telegonus, Argius, and Latinus. On Circe's island, Elpenor, the youngest of Odysseus' crew, got drunk and fell off Circe's roof. The fall killed him (x.607ff).

Journey to the Underworld

Odysseus wanted to speak with Tiresias, so he and his men journeyed to the River Acheron where they performed sacrifices which allowed them to speak to the dead, including his mother, Elpenor, Tiresias, and Achilles. They all gave him valuable advice on how to pass the rest of his journey. Odysseus sacrificed a ram and the dead spirits were attracted to the blood. He held them at bay and demanded to speak with Tiresias, who told him how to pass by Helios' cattle. He also told Odysseus that after he returned to Ithaca, that he must take a well-made oar and walk inland with it until someone asked him why he carried a winnowing-fan on his back. At that place, he was to make a sacrifice to Poseidon. He also told Odysseus that after all that was done, that he would die an old man, "full of years and peace of mind," that his death would come from the sea and that his life would ebb away very gently. (Some read this as meaning that his death would come away from the sea.)

Helios' Cattle

Finally, Odysseus and his surviving crew landed on an island, Thrinacia, sacred to Helios, where he kept sacred cattle. Though Odysseus warned his men not to (as Tiresias had told him), they killed and ate some of the cattle. The guardians of the island, Helios' daughters, Lampetia and Phaethusa, told their father. Helios destroyed the ship and all the men save Odysseus. Sometimes, Apollo is cited in place of Helios in this part of the legend. Apollo - by Charles Gleyre]]

Kalypso (Calypso)

Odysseus was washed ashore on Ogygia, where the nymph Kalypso (Calypso) lived. She made him her lover for seven years and would not let him leave, promising him immortality if he stayed. On behalf of Athena, Zeus intervened and sent Hermes to tell Kalypso to let Odysseus go. Odysseus left on a small raft furnished with provisions of water, wine and food by Kalypso, only to be hit by a storm and washed up on the island of Scheria and found by Nausicaa, daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians, who entertained him well and escorted him to Ithaca. On the twentieth day of sailing he arrived at his home in Ithaca.

Odysseus reaches Ithaca

In Ithaca, Penelope was fending off countless suitors while Odysseus' mother, Anticlea, had died of grief. Odysseus, upon landing, disguised himself as an old man or a beggar and took the name Eperitus. Odysseus' faithful dog Argos was the first to recognize him in his rags. He had waited twenty years to see his master. Aged and decrepit, he did his best to wag his tail, and then happily lay down to die. Odysseus was then welcomed by his old swineherd, Eumaeus, who did not recognize him in disguise, but still treated him well. The first person to recognize him was his old wet nurse, Euryclea. Odysseus learned that Penelope was faithful to him, pretending to knit or weave a burial shroud (for they claimed he must be dead) and claiming she would choose one suitor when she finished. Every night she undid part of the shroud, until one day, a maid of hers betrayed this secret to the suitors, and they demanded that she finally choose one of them to be her new husband. Luckily for Odysseus, this occurred just before he returned. Odysseus watched the suitors drink and take advantage of his family's hospitality. Still in his disguise, Odysseus went to Penelope and told her that he had met Odysseus, and he said that whomever could string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through eight axe-handles would be able to marry Penelope. This was to Odysseus' advantage, as only he could string his own bow (it is believed that Odysseus' bow was a composite bow, requiring great skill and leverage to string, rather than brute strength). Penelope then announced what Odysseus had said. The suitors each tried to string the bow, but in vain. Odysseus then took the bow, strung it, took off his disguise and, with the help of his son Telemachus, Athena, and Eumaeus, the swineherd, killed all of them save Medon, who had been polite to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer who had only been forced to help the suitors against Penelope. Penelope, still not quite sure that the stranger was indeed her husband, tested him. She ordered her maid to make up Odysseus' bed, and move it from their bedchamber. Odysseus was astonished because the bed was built into the trunk of an olive tree and thus cannot be moved; he tells her this, and since only Odysseus and Penelope knew this, Penelope accepted that he was her husband. She came running to him hoping that he would forgive her. He forgives her because he could understand why she did what she did. One of the suitors' (Antinous) fathers, Eupeithes, tried to overthrow Odysseus after the death of his son.Laertes killed him, and Athena thereafter required the suitors' families and Odysseus to make peace; this ends the story of the Odyssey. Odysseus had been told (by the shade of Tiresias) that he had one more voyage to make after he had re-established his rule in Ithaca, and also that his death would come from the sea and would be peaceful and pleasant. The time frame of these events is left vague, however, perhaps because Homer intended to compose the continuation of the story and wanted room for improvisation. According to a rarely heard (or derivative) version of this story, Odysseus was sent into exile by Neoptolemus for killing the suitors.

Classical references to Odysseus

- Homer. Iliad
- Homer. Odyssey
- Apollodorus. Bibliotheke III, 8
- Apollodorus. Epitome III, 7; V, 6-22; VII, 1-40
- Ovid. Metamorphoses XIII, 1-398

External links

- Archaelogical Discovery in Greece may be the tomb of Odysseus [http://maderatribune.1871dev.com/news/newsview.asp?c=167178] Category:People who fought in the Trojan War Category:Characters in the Odyssey Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy ko:오디세우스 ja:オデュッセウス

Trojan War

The Trojan War was a war waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor by the armies of the Achaeans, following the kidnapping (or elopement) of Helen of Sparta by Paris of Troy. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in a cycle of epic poems of which only two, the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, survive intact. The Iliad describes an episode late in this war, and the Odyssey describes the journey home of one of the Greek leaders, Odysseus. Other parts of the story, and different versions, were elaborated by later Greek poets, and by the Roman poet Virgil in his Aeneid. Ancient Greeks believed that the events Homer related were basically true. They believed that this war took place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and that Troy was located in the vicinity of the Dardanelles in what is now north-western Turkey. By modern times both the war and the city were widely believed to be mythological. In 1870, however, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated a site in this area which he believed to be the site of Troy, and at least some archaeologists agree. There remains no certain evidence that Homer's Troy ever existed, still less that any of the events of the Trojan War cycle ever took place. Many historians believe that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various stories of sieges and expeditions by the Greeks of the Bronze Age or Mycenean period, and do not describe actual events. Those who think that the stories of the Trojan War derive from a specific historical conflict usually date it to between 1300 BC and 1200 BC.

Background

Peleus and Thetis, the apple, and the judgment

:See also Judgement of Paris. Judgement of Paris)]] According to Greek mythology, Zeus became king of the gods by overthrowing his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had overthrown his father Ouranos. Zeus came to learn of a prophecy that he himself would be overthrown by a son of his. (Within the extent of Greek myth, though, this never happened). Another prophecy said of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus had an affair, that her son would be greater than his father. Possibly for one or both of these reasons, Thetis was betrothed upon Zeus' orders to a now-elderly human king, Peleus. To Peleus and Thetis a son was born, named Achilles. It was prophesied that he would die, young, at Troy. Hoping to protect him, when he was an infant his mother bathed him in the river Styx, making him invincible everywhere except the heel by which she held him. He grew up to be the greatest of all mortal warriors. All of the gods were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding, except Eris, or Discord. Insulted, she attended invisibly and cast down upon the table a golden apple on which were inscribed the words Kallisti, (To the fairest one). The apple was claimed by Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite. They quarrelled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favouring one contender for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually, Zeus ordered the matter to be settled by the judgment of Paris, a prince of Troy, who was being raised as a shepherd because of a prophecy that he would be the downfall of Troy. The goddesses tried to bribe the boy. Athena offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the greatest warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of all of Asia, and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, and returned to Troy.
The elopement of Helen
The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, one of the daughters of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. Her mother was Leda, who had been seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan; accounts differ over which of Leda's four children were fathered by Zeus and which by Tyndareus. Helen had scores of suitors, and her father was unwilling to choose one for fear the others would retaliate violently. Finally, one of the suitors, Odysseus of Ithaca, proposed a plan to solve the dilemma. In exchange for Tyndareus' support of his own suit towards Penelope, he suggested that Tyndareus require all of Helen's suitors to promise that they would defend the marriage of Helen, regardless of who she chose. The suitors duly swore the required oath, although not without a certain amount of grumbling. Helen chose Menelaus to wed. He had humbly not petitioned for her himself, but instead sent his brother Agamemnon on his behalf. The two brothers had been living at Tyndareus' court since being exiled from their homeland of Argos after their father, Atreus, was killed and had his throne usurped by his brother Thyestes and Thyestes' son Aegisthus. Menelaus inherited Tyndareus' throne of Sparta, with Helen as his queen, and Agamemnon married Helen's sister Clytemnestra and took back the throne of Argos. On a diplomatic mission to Sparta, Paris fell in love with Helen and, with Aphrodite's help, kidnapped or seduced her (accounts vary) and took her back to Troy as his wife. All the kings and princes of Greece were called upon to make good their oaths and retrieve Helen. The story of Helen is paralleled by the earlier elopement from Troy of the princess Hesione with Telamon of Salamis.
The marshalling of the forces
Odysseus had by this time married Penelope and fathered a son, Telemachus. In order to avoid the war, he feigned madness, and sowed his fields with salt. Palamedes outwitted him by putting his infant son in front of the plough, and Odysseus turned aside, unwilling to kill his son, and so revealed his sanity and joined the war. Calchas the oracle had stated that the Greeks would not win without Achilles. His mother Thetis, knowing that Achilles would die if he went to Troy, disguised him as a woman in the court of king Lycomedes in Scyros. There he had an affair with the king's daughter Deidameia, resulting in a child, Neoptolemus. Odysseus, Ajax the Greater, and Achilles's tutor Phoenix went to retrieve Achilles. According to one story they blew a horn, and Achilles revealed himself by seizing a spear to fight intruders rather than fleeing. According to another, they disguised themselves as merchants bearing trinkets and weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other women by admiring the wrong goods. Eventually, a fleet of more than a thousand ships was gathered, commanded by Agamemnon. But when they reached Aulis, the winds ceased. The prophet Calchas stated that the goddess Artemis was punishing Agamemnon for killing a sacred deer (or a deer in a sacred grove) and boasting that he was a better hunter than she. The only way to appease Artemis, he said, was to sacrifice Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia. According to some versions, he did so, but others claim that he sacrificed a deer in her place, or nothing, and that Iphigenia was taken by Artemis to the Crimea to prepare others for sacrifice to her. Hesiod said she became the goddess Hecate. The Greeks also brought the bones of Pelops, father of Atreus and grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus to help them win the war. An oracle said they would be necessary to win. The Greek forces are described in detail in the Catalogue of Ships in the second book of the Iliad. They consist of 28 contingents from mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, the Dodecanese islands, Crete and Ithaca, amassing to a force of some 100,000 men. The Trojan forces are also listed in the second book of the Iliad, consisting of the Trojans themselves, led by Hector, and various allies listed as Dardanians, Zeleians, Adrasteians, Percotians, Pelasgians, Thracians, Ciconian spearmen, Paionian archers, Halizones, Mysians, Phrygians, Maeonians, Miletians and Lycians.
The War
Lycia
Telephus
When the Greeks left for the war, they accidentally stopped in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus. In the battle, Achilles wounded Telephus, who killed Thersander. The wound would not heal and Telephus asked an oracle who claimed "he that wounded shall heal". Telephus went to Aulis, and either pretended to be a beggar, asking Achilles to help heal his wound, or kidnapped Orestes and held him for ransom, demanding the wound be healed. Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Odysseus reasoned that the spear had inflicted the wound and the spear must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed.
Philoctetes
Philoctetes was Heracles's friend and, because he lit Heracles's funeral pyre when no one else would, he received Heracles's bow and arrows. He sailed with seven ships full of men to the Trojan War, where he was planning on fighting for the Greeks. They stopped on Chryse for supplies, and Philoctetes was bitten by a snake. The wound festered and smelled horrible; Odysseus advised and the Atreidae ordered Philoctetes to stay on Lemnos. Medon took control of Philoctetes's men. Philoctetes stayed alone on Lemnos for ten years.
Arrival
An oracle had prophesied that the first Greek to walk on the land after stepping off a ship in the Trojan War would be the first to die. Protesilaus, leader of the Phylaceans, fulfilled this prophesy. The Greeks buried him as a god and Hermes was sent to show him his wife one last time before going to Hades. His wife, Laodamia, followed him to his death. Alternatively, Hector killed Protesilaus and Laodamia killed herself in grief. After Protesilaus' death, his brother, Podarces, joined the war in his place. The Greeks besieged Troy for nine years. There were occasional skirmishes, both with Troy and her allies. At one point, Greek forces sacked a nearby town and Agamemnon took as his slave-girl Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo. When Chryses tried to buy her back, he was rebuked, so he prayed to Apollo to punish the Greeks, and the army was struck by a plague.
Chryseis and Briseis
The events of the Iliad begin at this point. For more information, see that article. An oracle told Agamemnon he must give up Chryseis. Furious at this, and at Achilles who had guaranteed the oracle his own protection, Agamemnon took Achilles' concubine Briseis as his own. Achilles and Agamemnon argued and Achilles refused to fight any longer. Although the Greeks were destined to win the war, Achilles begged his mother Thetis to intervene with Zeus and ensure that the Greeks did badly until Agamemnon apologized to Achilles. The next day the Greeks were badly beaten in open battle, and all of the major warriors but Ajax were eventually injured too seriously to continue. The Trojans, led by Hector, advanced steadily on the Greek position. Seeing the danger, Achilles let his comrade Patroclus borrow his armour, and lead his troops into battle. Patroclus was killed by Hector who then took Achilles' armour. Maddened with grief, Achilles swore revenge. He donned new armour from Hephaestus brought to him by Thetis, and killed Hector, then dragged his body from his chariot around Troy three times. He refused to return it to the Trojans for funeral rites. Priam, with protection from the gods, personally came and begged to have it back, at which point Achilles relented, and a truce was called for twelve days while Hector was buried.
Xanthus
During the Trojan War, Xanthus, one of Achilles' horses, was rebuked by Achilles for allowing Patroclus to be killed. Xanthus responded by saying that a god had killed Patroclus and a god would soon kill Achilles too. The Erinyes struck the horse dumb. The narrative of the Iliad ends here.
The death of Achilles
Shortly after the death of Hector, Achilles defeated Memnon of Ethiopia, Cycnus of Colonae and the Amazonian warrior Penthesilia (with whom Achilles also had an affair in some versions). He was very soon killed by Paris — either by a poisoned arrow (the arrow was guided by Apollo; Paris did not do it by himself), or in an older version by a knife to the back (or heel), while visiting a Trojan princess, Polyxena, during a truce. Both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valour, saying Achilles remains undefeated on the battlefield. His bones were mingled with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held. Like Ajax, he is represented as living after his death in the island of Leuke at the mouth of the Danube.
Achilles' armour/death of Ajax
Achilles' armour was the object of a feud between Odysseus and Ajax. They competed for it and Odysseus won. Ajax went mad with grief and vowed to kill his comrades; he started killing cattle (thinking they were Greek soldiers), and then himself. The Greeks captured Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy, a prophet, and tortured him until he told them under what circumstances they could take Troy. Helenus said they would win if they retrieved Heracles' arrows (which were in Philoctetes's possession); steal the Trojan Palladium (they accomplished this with the Trojan Horse; or Odysseus and Diomedes did so one night) and persuade Achilles' son (Neoptolemus) to join the war. Neoptolemus was hiding from the war at Scyros but the Greeks retrieved him. Alternatively, he told them that they could win if Troilius, Helenus' half-brother, son of Apollo and Hecuba, was killed before he turned twenty. Achilles ambushed Troilius. Odysseus and Neoptolemus retrieved Philoctetes from Lemnos. Philoctetes' wound was healed by Machaon or Asclepius. Philoctetes then killed Paris with a poisoned arrow he got from Heracles.
Diomedes
Diomedes almost killed Aeneas in battle but Aphrodite, Aeneas's mother, saved him. Diomedes wounded Aphrodite and she dropped her son, fleeing to Mount Olympus. Aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by Apollo, who took him to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy. Artemis healed Aeneas there. Later in the war, Diomedes fought with Hector and saw Ares, the war-god, fighting on the Trojans' side. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares's mother, saw Ares's interference and asked Zeus, Ares's father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares and he threw his spear at the god. Athena drove the spear into Ares's body and he bellowed in pain and fled to Mount Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back.
The Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse] The end of the war came with one final plan. The Greeks (or, in some records, Odysseus on their behalf) devised a new ruse - a giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the Trojans. It was built by Epeius and filled with Greek warriors led by Odysseus. The rest of the Greek army appeared to leave and the Trojans accepted the horse as a peace offering. A Greek spy, Sinon, convinced the Trojans that the horse was a gift despite the warnings of Laocoon and Cassandra. The Trojans, who were understandably overjoyed that the ten-year siege had lifted, entered a night of mad revelry and celebration, and when the Greeks emerged from the horse the city was in a drunken stupor. The Greeks opened the city gates to allow their fellow soldiers in, and the city was utterly destroyed--every single man and boy killed (including infants), every woman and girl enslaved, all its wealth pillaged, and the city itself reduced to rubble. There is much question as to whether a wooden horse was even created. Homer's stories are believed by many to be the merging of many wars fought on Troy. In his merging, he creates many characters out of the gods and uses many metaphors. It is suggested that the Trojan Horse actually represents an earthquake that occurred between the wars that could have weakened Troy's walls and left them open for attack. Structural damage on the city believed to be Troy - its location being the same as that represented in Homer's Iliad and the artifacts found there suggesting it was a place of great trade and power - shows signs that there was indeed an earthquake. Other scholars, including several ancient sources, suggest that the "Trojan horse" was in fact a battering ram.
The aftermath
The ghost of Achilles appeared to the survivors of the war, demanding Polyxena, the Trojan princess, be sacrificed before anybody could leave. Neoptolemus did so. According to the Odyssey, Menelaus's fleet was blown by storms to Crete and Egypt where they were unable to sail away because the wind was calm. Menelaus had to catch Proteus, a shape-shifting sea god to find out what sacrifices to which gods he would have to make to guarantee safe passage. Proteus also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven) after his death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen. According to some stories the Helen who was taken by Paris was a fake, and the real Helen was in Egypt where she was reunited with Menelaus at this point. They had a daughter, Hermione. After the war, Idomeneus's ship hit a horrible storm. Idomeneus promised Poseidon that he would sacrifice the first living thing he saw when he returned home if Poseidon would save his ship and crew. The first living thing was his son, whom Idomeneus duly sacrificed. The gods were angry at his murder of his own son and they sent him in exile to Calabria in Italy. (Aeneid III, 400). In an alternate version, his own subjects on Crete sent him into exile because he brought a plague with him from Troy. He fled to Calabria, and then Colophon, in Asia Minor, where he died. In yet a third version, used by Virgil, the plague was visited upon Crete as punishment for Idomeneus' act. Virgil illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church.]] Cassandra was raped by Ajax the lesser, then taken as a concubine by Agamemnon. Agamemnon returned home to Argos. His wife Clytemnestra (Helen's sister) was having an affair with Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, Agamemnon's cousin who had conquered Argos before Agamemnon himself retook it. Possibly out of vengeance for the death of Iphigenia, Clytemnestra plotted with her lover to kill Agamemnon. Cassandra foresaw this murder, and warned Agamemnon, but he disregarded her. He was killed, either at a feast or in his bath according to different versions. Cassandra was also killed. Agamemnon's son Orestes, who had been away, returned and conspired with his sister Elektra to avenge their father. They killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Orestes married Hermione and retook Argos, becoming king over all the Peloponessus. Neoptolemus took Andromache and Helenus as slaves and married Andromache. He feuded with Orestes, because Menalaus had promised his daughter Hermione to him, but now wanted her to marry Neoptolemus. They fought, and Neoptolemus was killed. Helenus then married Andromache and they ruled over a colony of Trojan exiles in what had once been Achilles' kingdom. There Aeneas encountered them on his journey to Italy. Queen Hecuba of Troy was enslaved by the Achaeans. Lycaon was enslaved by Achilles. He was later killed trying to escape. Since Antenor, Priam's brother-in-law, had supported giving Helen back to the Greeks, he was spared. Helen Galleria Borghese, Rome]] Aeneas led a group of survivors away from the city, including his son Ascanius, his trumpeter Misenus, father Anchises, the healer Iapyx, all the Lares and Penates and Mimas as a guide. His wife Creusa was killed during the sack of the city. They fled Troy with a number of ships, seeking to establish a new homeland elsewhere. They landed in several nearby countries that proved inhospitable and finally were told by a Sibyl that they had to return to the land of their forebears. They first tried Crete, where Dardanus had once settled, but found it ravaged by the same plague that had driven Idomeneus away. They found the colony led by Helenus and Andromache, but declined to remain. After seven years they arrived in Carthage, where Aeneas had an affair with Dido. Eventually the gods ordered him to continue onward (Dido committed suicide), and he and his people arrived at the mouth of the Tiber in Italy. There a Sibyl took him to the underworld and foretold the majesty of Rome, which would be founded by his people. He negotiated a settlement with the local king, Lavinius, and was wed to his daughter, Lavinia. This triggered a war with other local tribes, which culminatied in the founding of the settlement of Alba Longa, ruled by Aeneas and Lavinia's son Silvius. Three hundred years later, according to Roman myth, his descendants Romulus and Remus founded Rome. The details of the journey of Aeneas, his affair with Dido, and his settling in Italy are the subject of the Roman epic poem the Aeneid by Virgil. Odysseus, attempting to travel home, underwent a series of trials, tribulations and setbacks that stretched his journey to ten years' time. These are detailed in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey.
The Trojan War in art
The story of the siege of Troy provided inspiration for many pieces of art, most famously Homer's Iliad, set in the last year of the siege. Some of the others include Troades by Euripides, Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer, Iphigenia and Polyxena by Samuel Coster, Palamedes by Joost van den Vondel and Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz (1855-1858).
Participants

Armies on the Greek side (Achaeans)
Achaeans See Catalogue of Ships #Abantes #Arcadia #Aetolia #Athens and Salamis #Argos and Tiryns #Boebeans (Thessaly) #Boeotia #Crete #Dulichium #Elis #Elone (Thessaly) #Enienes #Iolcus (Thessaly) #Ithaca #Locris #Magnesia #Meliboea #Minyans #Mycenae and Corinth #Myrmidones of Argos #Oechalia #Ormenius #Pherae #Phylacia #Phocia #Pylos #Rhodes #Sparta #Syme
Armies on the Trojan side
Syme] #Amazons #Adrasteia #Chalybes (Halizones) #Colonae #Cicones #Dardania #Ethiopia #Lycia #Maeonia #Miletus #Mysia #Paionia #Pelasgians #Percote #Phrygia #Thrace #Troy #Zeleia
Participants on the Greek side
(incomplete list) Gods #Athena #Hera #Poseidon #Hermes #Hephaestus #Thetis Humans #Acamas #Achilles #Agamemnon #Ajax the great #Ajax the lesser #Alcmaeon #Antilochus #Asclepius #Automedon #Canopus #Diomedes #Epeius #Eteoneus #Eumelus #Euryalus #Eurybates #Eurypylus #Halaesus #Idomeneus #Machaon #Medon #Meges #Menelaus #Meriones #Neoptolemus #Nestor #Nireus #Odysseus #Patroclus #Philoctetes #Podarces #Polidarius #Polypoetes #Sinon #Stentor #Sthenelus #Teucer #Thersander #Thersites
Participants on the Trojan side
(incomplete list) Gods #Aphrodite #Ares #Apollo #Artemis #Scamander #Leto Humans #Aeneas #Ainia #Anchises #Andromache #Antibrote #Antiphus #Ascanius #Asius #Astyanax #Cassandra #Cebriones #Cleite #Coroebus #Cycnus #Deiphobus #Dolon #Euphorbus #Eurypylus #Eurytion #Glaucus #Hector #Hecuba #Helenus #Hicetaon #Iapyx #Lycaon #Memnon #Mygdon of Phrygia #Pandarus #Paris #Penthesilea #Phorcys #Polites #Poludamas #Polyxena #Priam #Rhesus #Sarpedon #Tenes #Teucer #Troilius #Two sons of Merops (Adrastus and Amphius)
Participant/killer

Unknown side
#Ascalaphus #Mentes, King of the Cicones #Mentes, King of the Taphians
Cultural References

- Trojan Condoms: a brand of condoms, product of Church and Dwight, makers of Arm and Hammer baking soda.
- Trojan Horse: a malicious Computer program that is disguised as legitimate software.
- Caballo de Troya (Trojan Horse) is a song by mexican group Mago de Oz (Wizard of Oz).
In film
Many films have been inspired by the Trojan War, including:
- Helen of Troy (1956), featuring Stanley Baker as Achilles.
- Helen of Troy (2003), a miniseries starring Rufus Sewell as Agamemnon and Sienna Guillory as Helen.
- Troy, by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, Orlando Bloom as Paris, and Diane Kruger as Helen; released in 2003.
External links

- [http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/trojanwar.html Timeless Myths - Trojan War] A full summary of the Trojan War.
- [http://www.archaeology.org/0405/etc/troy.html/ Was There a Trojan War?] Maybe so. From Archeology, a publication of the Archeological Institute of America. May/June 2004
- [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/TrojanWar.html The Trojan War] at [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/ Greek Mythology Link]
- [http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/clas101/troy.HTM The Legend of the Trojan War]
- [http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/27.html The Historicity of the Trojan War] The location of Troy and possible connections with the city of Teuthrania. Category: Trojans
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- ko:트로이 전쟁 ja:トロイア戦争 simple:Trojan War

Iliad

:For the webcomic author Illiad, see J.D. Frazer. The Iliad (Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) tells part of the story of the siege of the city

Telemachy

The Telemachy as an Introduction to the Odyssey

Ithaka

Odysseus in the Telemachy

The nature of epic poetry

Is the Telemachy useful?

References

Odyssey

Plot summary

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

Book 5

Book 6

Book 7

Book 8

Book 9

Book 10

Book 12

Book 13

Book 14

Book 15

Book 16

Book 17

Book 18

Book 19

Book 20

Book 21

Book 22

Book 23

Book 24

Alternative Word Spellings

Geography in the Odyssey

Derivative works

External links

Odysseus

During the Trojan War

Journey home to Ithaca

The Ciconians

The Lotus-Eaters

Polyphemus

Aeolus

The Laestrygonians

Circe

Journey to the Underworld

Helios' Cattle

Kalypso (Calypso)

Odysseus reaches Ithaca

Other stories

Ancient

Modern

Other cultures

Classical references to Odysseus

External links

Trojan War

Background

Peleus and Thetis, the apple, and the judgment

The elopement of Helen

The marshalling of the forces

The War

Telephus

Philoctetes

Arrival

Chryseis and Briseis

Xanthus

The death of Achilles

Achilles' armour/death of Ajax

Diomedes

The Trojan Horse

The aftermath

The Trojan War in art

Participants

Armies on the Greek side (Achaeans)

Armies on the Trojan side

Participants on the Greek side

Participants on the Trojan side

Participant/killer

Unknown side

Cultural References