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Odysseus left his home in Ithaca, and his wife, Penelope, to fight in the Trojan War.
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After defeating the city of Troy, ending the long seige with the clever idea of a large wooden horse to infiltrate the city, Odysseys began his journey home.
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Odysseus and his men raided the Cicones who were allies of the Trojans, and was then pushed back by their army, losing 72 men in the battle.
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Odysseus and his men arrived at the island of the Lotus Eaters, where three of the men that were sent the scout the island ate the lotus flower and lost all desire to return home. Odysseus tied the men to the ship and sailed away.
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Odysseus and his men landed at the island where the Cyclops, Polyphemus, lived, and entered his cave. Polyphemus feasted on several of the men, until Odysseus devised a plan to escape. When Polyphemus was asleep, Odysseus and some of his strongest men drove a scorching stake into the eye of the Cyclops, blinding him. The company then snuck out by tying themselves under Polyphemus's sheep as they exited the cave and sailed to safety, although Poseidon now had his will bent against them.
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Odysseus and his men landed on the island of Aeolus, the wind king. Aeolus trapped the foul winds in a large bag, allowing Odysseus and his men to travel until they were within sight of Ithaca. However, Odysseus's men were suspicious of him, and opened the bag of foul winds, suspecting that it contained gold. The foul winds blew the company back to Aeolus, who then refused to further assist Odysseus, accusing him of being cursed by the Gods.
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After being lost for awhile, Odysseus and his men passed the island of the Laestrygones, vicious cannibals that bombarded the fleet with boulders. Only one ship, the ship that Odysseus was in, escaped.
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Odysseus remained on the ship and sent a group of men to explore the island with Eurylochus appointed as the leader. They were welcomed into the home of the goddess Circe, except for Eurolychus who was suspicious of her motives. Circe transformed the men into swine and Eurylochus returned to Odysseus to tell him of what had happened. Odysseus went to confront Circe, and on the way met Hermes, the messenger god, who gave him a magical plant called a moly and (continued)...
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the warning that he must make her swear to play no witch'es tricks. Odysseus remained there for a year, and begged her to revert the men to humans. Circe sent Odysseus on a quest...
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Odysseus traveled to the Land of the Dead and spoke to the prophet Tiresias. Tiresias warned Odysseus not to eat the cattle of Helios, the sun god. He also spoke to some of his slain men and saw his mother, who he discovered died of a broken heart (caused by the longing for his return).
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Odysseus returned to Circe to tell her of his adventure in the Land of the Dead. She gave him advice for his journey back to Ithaca.
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After the brief stop at Circe's island, Odysseus and his men set sail for Ithaca once again. Before confronting the sirens, Odysseus' men covered their ears with beeswax to protect themselves from their tempting song. Odysseus ordered his men to tie him to the mast so that he could hear their song.
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Immediately after passingthe sirens, Odysseus concludes to sail toward Scylla and lose six of his men rather than risk losing all of his men by sailing toward the whirlpool monster Charybdis.
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Odysseus and his men sailed to the island of Helios, the sun god. Despite the several warnings from Odysseus not to eat the sun god's cattle, his men ate the cattle while he was sleeping. Infuriated, Helios threatened to stop shining. To appease Helios, Zeus sank Odysseus's ship with a thunder bolt after they had set sail from the island, killing all but Odysseus, who did not feast upon Helios' cattle.
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Odysseus drifted towards Calypso's island, where he was cared for but help captive for seven years.
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Athena convinced Zeus to order Calypso to release Odysseus. Zeus sent Hermes to deliver his message to Calypso, who provided Odysseus with a raft and allowed him to leave, after tempting him to continue to reside with her and be immortal.
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After sailing for 20 days, Odysseus arrived at the island of King Alcinous, where he slept under a shrub. The king's daughter discovered him in the morning and brought him to her father, where he proceeded to tell the story of his travels.
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Odysseus awoke and was told by Athena that he was in Ithaca. Athena disquised him as a beggar so that he would not draw attention from his wife's suitors and he traveled to his home.
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Odysseus saw his dog, Argos, who he had trained as a puppy twenty years before, laying on a pile of dung. The dog recognized its master, wagged its tail, and promptly died.
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Odysseus met is son, Telemachus, for the first time. Telemachus was at first resilient, but later accepted that his father had returned, after Athena lent him beauty and transformed him.
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Penelope decided to hold a contest to choose one of her suitors to marry. Whichever of them could string Odysseus's bow and fire an arrow through twelve axe rings would win her hand in marriage. After every suitor failed, Odysseus, still disquised as a beggar, passed the challenge.
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Odysseus, Telemachus, and the swineherd and cowherd battled the suitors, aided by Athena, whose shield became visible in the midst of the slaughter. All of the suitors, which were very numerous, were slain.
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Odysseus told Penelope who he was, although she was skeptical of the true identity of Odysseus. She told him that she had moved their bed, and Odysseus then explained how he crafted it and how it could not be moved. Penelope kissed and embraced her husband, and they then told each other of all that had happened while they were separated.
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Aww, it's over. How sad.
