Summary
Odysseus has been missing for twenty years and his family
are tormented by a group of evil men intent on marrying
his wife. Odysseus’s son Telemachus sets out to find him.
Odysseus is not dead, but is being held prisoner on the
island of the goddess Calypso. She is in love with him, and
only sets him free after Zeus orders her to. He arrived on
the island after a series of adventures following the Trojan
War. He and his men had fought a monster Cyclops,
had nearly been enticed to their death by the Sirens, had
escaped from the fearful Scylla and Charybdis, had been
turned into pigs by Circe, and had been shipwrecked
several times. Eventually, Odysseus leaves the island and
is reunited with his son on the island of Ithaca. Together,
and with the help of the goddess Athene, they fight and
kill the suitors. He convinces his wife Penelope that he
really is her long lost Odysseus and they become husband
and wife once more.
Chapters 1–2: In Chapter 1, the goddess, Athene,
disguised as a friend of Odysseus, goes to the island of
Ithaca to visit Telemachus, Odysseus’s son. Odysseus has
been missing, presumed dead, for twenty years, and his
house is now full of disagreeable suitors who are all trying
to marry Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. Athene convinces
Telemachus to go in search of his father and helps him
find a boat and twenty men. Telemachus sets sail to
Pylos on the first part of his journey. In Chapter 2, King
Nestor of Pylos greets Telemachus warmly and recounts
tales of the Trojan War in which he had fought alongside
Odysseus. However, he has no news of Odysseus and
advises Telemachus to go to Sparta and talk to Menelaus.
He sets of to Sparta in a chariot and is welcomed by
Menelaus. Menelaus tells him that his father is alive and a
prisoner of the goddess Calypso, who is in love with him.
Meanwhile, Antinous and the other suitors plan to kill
Telemachus.
Chapters 3–4: In Chapter 3, Zeus sends the messenger
Hermes to tell Calypso to release Odysseus. Calypso
reluctantly agrees and Odysseus sets out to sea in a raft.
The god Poseidon, angry with Odysseus, sends a terrible
storm, which overturns the raft. Odysseus swims to the
shore and falls unconscious on the beach. King Alcinous’s
daughter, Nausicaa, finds him and takes him to the
entrance of the city. He enters the palace and falls at the
feet of Queen Arete to everyone’s surprise. In Chapter 4,
Odysseus tells the queen his story and how her daughter
had helped him. Then everyone goes to a meeting place to
test each others sporting prowess. Odysseus, angered by a
sportsman’s taunts, displays some fine sporting skills. Later
a dinner is organised and a poet sings of the Trojan War,
and of the famous Trojan horse. Alcinous is puzzled when
Odysseus starts to cry and questions him about the war.
Chapters 5–6: In Chapter 5, Odysseus tells King
Alcinous his name and about his experiences in the land
of the Cyclopes, huge monster-like beings with one eye.
He and his companions come across a Cyclops in a cave
where the monster eats four of his men. After drugging
in their boat. In Chapter 6, after a terrible experience in
the land of the barbaric Laestrygonians, they then travel to
the island of Aeaea. Here they meet a woman called Circe
who turns some of Odysseus’s men into pigs with a magic
potion. Odysseus meets Hermes on his way to rescue the
men, and Hermes tells Odysseus to eat a flower to combat
Circe’s magic. He convinces Circe to turn the pigs back
into men and they all become friends.
Chapters 7–8: In Chapter 7, Odysseus visits the
Underworld and sees various ghosts, one of whom is that
of his mother. They then continue their journey, but have
to pass the island of the Sirens, whose singing had caused
the death of many sailors. They also have to face the perils
of Scylla and Charybdis. They then arrive on the island of
the Sun-god. Despite warnings not to, the men kill some
of the sacred cows. This angers the god and Odysseus’s
boat is overturned. He eventually makes it to Calypso’s
island. In Chapter 8, Odysseus thanks Alcinous and
returns to Ithaca. Athene comes to him and turns him into
an old man so no one will recognise him. He meets an old
pig farmer, Eumaeus, who tells him about the evil suitors,
and how much he misses Odysseus, his master.
Chapters 9–10: In Chapter 9, Athene goes to Sparta
and tells Telemachus to return to his palace in Ithaca.
Meanwhile, Eumaeus is recounting his life story to
Odysseus in his hut. Telemachus arrives and asks Eumaeus
who his guest is. Athene appears and turns Odysseus
back into a young man. The overjoyed Telemachus and
his father begin to plan the overthrow of the suitors. In
Chapter 10, Odysseus, again disguised as an old man,
travels to the city. He asks for food at the palace and one
of the suitors attacks him. When the suitors have gone to
bed, Odysseus and Telemachus hide their swords. Later,
Odysseus has a conversation with his wife Penelope. She
doesn’t realise it is him, but a servant girl, while washing
his feet, recognises a scar on his leg and knows he is
Odysseus.
Chapters 11–12: In Chapter 11, Penelope announces that
she will marry the suitor who can fire an arrow through
twelve axe handles. They all try and fail. Then Odysseus
asks if he can try and succeeds. He kills one of the suitors
and a huge fight starts. By the end of the fight all the
suitors lie dead.
In Chapter 12, Penelope is told that that all the suitors are
dead and that Odysseus killed them. By making Odysseus
say something that only he could know, Penelope is now
sure he is her husband, and they both retire to bed.the Cyclops, and driving a stick into its eye, they escape
