BOOKS 9-12

Books 9-12:

In which Odysseus recounts his journey thus far

Book 9: Odysseus and his men end up on the land of Cyclopes. Odysseus ends up stabbing Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, in the eye and thus causes Poseidon to have a beef with him (as in a problem with him, not an actual cow. That comes later).

Book 10: Odysseus and his men sail to the home of Aeolus, ruler of the winds. He gives Odysseus a bag of winds to help guide him home, but seals it tightly shut. The men are off, and are just off shore of their homeland when Odysseus falls asleep. Curiosity of the men gets the best of them, and they open the bag, propelling the ship quickly away from their land. They sail to the land of the Laestrygonians, who end up being really mean giants and destroy all but one of Odysseus’ ships. Next they sail to Aeaea, home of Circe. She turns his men into pigs, but Odysseus is helped by Hermes and forces her to turn them back to men. They live here for one year, but they finally leave to go to Hades and speak with the prophet Tiresias.

Book 11: Odysseus travels to the River of Ocean in the land of the Cimmerians. He preforms a sacrifice and speaks to Tiersias, who foretells Odysseus’ fate – that he would return home, reclaim his wife and palace, and make another trip to a distant land to try and patch things up with Poseiodon. He warns Odysseus not to touch the flocks of the sun, otherwise he won’t return home without more hardships and losing all of his crew. He then meets the spirit of his mother, who had died after Odysseus left for Troy. He then speaks of the various people he met in the underworld, and how the souls mobbed him and he sailed away.

Book 12: They head back to Circe’s island to give a proper burial to a newly deceased crewmember, then kept sailing. They passed by the island of the Sirens. His crew have their ears plugged, but Odysseus is tied to the mast and listens to their song. After this, they navigate the straits between Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla eats six of the sailors. The rest arrive on Thrinicia, and after being stranded for a month, his crew eat the cattle. They finally sail off the island, and Zeus destroys the ship and kills everyone except Odysseus. Odysseus ends up on Calypso’s island.

Theme: succumbing to temptation

They spend a long time on Circe’s island (1 year)

            Killing the cattle even though they weren’t supposed to

Character List:

Polyphemus

Aeolus

Antiphates

Circe

Elpenor

Tiresias

Anticleia

Agamemnon

Achilles

Ajax

Charybdis

Scylla

Eurylochus

BOOKS 5-8

BOOKS 5-8

“Odysseus’ Stay in Scheria”

Overall Summary:

In book five, Zeus sends Hermes to Calypso’s island to tell her to let Odysseus go home. Calypso complains about the double standard going on (i.e. gods can fall in love with any mortal, but when goddesses do the same the mortal is taken away from them), but follows what Zeus said. She helps Odysseus make a raft, and he sails away. After eighteen days at sea, he spots Scheria. Poseidon realizes that the other gods have been helping Odysseus and stirs up a storm. A goddess comes to Odysseus’ rescue, and gives him a veil that will help keep him afloat. After two nights being tossed around in the waves, he swims up a river and goes to sleep.

In book six, Athena appears in Nausicaa’s dream. She tells the princess to go to the river to wash her clothes so she will have more men courting her. Nausicaa does as Athena says, and plays ball with her handmaids. Odysseus wake up and pleads for their help. Nausicaa falls in love with him (shocker) but doesn’t want to be seen with him walking through the town. They start heading to the castle.

In book seven, a young girl who is Athena in disguise stops Odysseus. She shrouds him in a mist to keep him hidden from the townspeople. She tells him to direct his plea to Arête, the wise queen. Athena then goes to Athens. Odysseus throws himself at the queen’s feet. The queen and king promise to help him leave the island. The king offers Odysseus his daughter’s hand in marriage.

In book eight, councilmen approve of giving Odysseus a ship. A blind singer sings about the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles, and Odysseus weeps. Odysseus is pressured into playing some games. A song is sung about Ares and Aphrodite. The king asks Odysseus who he is, where he is from, and where he is going.

Major Theme:

A major theme in these books is overcoming supernatural challenges. An example of this is when Calypso finally released Odysseus, surviving Poseidon’s wrath, etc.

Character List:

Hermes

Calypso

Odysseus

Ino

Poseidon

Nausicaa

Arete

Alcinous

Demodocus

Broadsea

Books 1-4

BOOKS 1-4

Overall Summary

In book one, Zeus and Athena are discussing Telemachus and his father. Athena visits Telemachus and tells him to call a meeting for all for all of his mother’s suitors.

In book two, Telemachus called a meeting for all of his mother’s suitors. He requested that they leave the property, but the men refused. They stated that his mother said she would marry when she was finished making a funeral shroud. For three years, she wove it, and then unraveled it at night. A servant tattled on her, and now she must marry. Telemachus prepares to head to sea to find out more about his father.

In book three, Nestor tells Telemachus about Odysseus and his experiences with the war. He sends his own son Pisistratus along to accompany Telemachus to Sparta.

In book four, Menelaus and Helen recognize Telemachus as Odysseus’ son. Telemachus finds out that his father is alive and imprisoned, and return to Pylos to set sail to Ithaca. Meanwhile, the suitors at Odysseus’s house learn of Telemachus’s voyage and prepare to ambush him upon his return.

Major Theme: Hospitality

Penelope and Telemachus allow the suitors to eat them out of house and home because in this society, how you treated your guests was very important. We also see this in book three, Nestor allows Telemachus and his crew to have a large meal before questioning anything. Basically, your guests are allowed to eat whatever they want when they arrive at your home. It wasn’t polite to reject them.

Character List:

Zeus

Telemachus

Athena (Mentes, Mentor)

Penelope

Aegyptius

Antinous

Eurymachus

Antinous

Halitherses

Eurycleia

Nestor

Pisistratus

Menelaus

Helen