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Menolaus and Aggamemnon come to Odysseus' home, Ithaca, to recruit him for the Trojan War
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Odysseus' idea of the Trojan Horse works, and Troy is sacked.
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Odysseus, trapped in the cave of a brutal cyclops, escapes but is cursed by the cyclops, Poseidon's son
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Odysseus and his crew sack a city near Troy. Though Odysseus wants to leave immediately, they stay and eventually are attacked by the native people.
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Odysseus recieves a gift of winds bundled up in a bag. Aeolus excludes a Westerly wind so they can sail straight home
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A curious and envious member of Odysseus' crew opens the bag, thinking it is treasure Odysseus kept for himself. They are blown back to Aeolus' island
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They sail to an island inhabited by vicious giants. Most of the crew is killed. Only Odysseus and the crew of his boat escape.
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Odysseus lands on the island of Aeaea, whose queen is named Circe. Circe bewitches the crew and turns them into pigs. Odysseus overpowers Circe and they stay and live with her for a year.
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After living with Circe for a year, Odysseus and his crew finally leave. When they are about to leave, the youngest member of the crew, Elpenor, who had passed out drunk on the roof, falls do his death.
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Odysseus and his remaining crew go to the Underworld to speak with Tiresias, the great blind prophet also in Oedipus Rex. To speak with him, Odysseus must sacrafice several animals. Tiresias tells them that Poseidon has cursed them and that, in their travels, they must not kill Apollo's cattle or they will suffer even more.
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They return to Circe's island after the ghost of Elpenor asked Odysseus to return and give him a proper burial.
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Zeus sends a bolt of lightening to hit Odysseus' ship. The mast is destroyed. The debris drifts back to Charybdis and all the men except Odysseus perish. Odysseus makes a makeshift raft and floats on the open ocean for a long time.
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On their way to Scylla and Charybdis, the crew encounters the sirens. They are creatures with beautiful singing voices that entice men to jump overboard and swim to them, only to be eaten. They survive by filling their ears with wax. Odysseus wants to hear their song so he has the crew tie him to the mast.
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The crew encounter Helios's herd of cattle. Despite warnings from Tiresias and Circe, they, in desperate hunger, slaughter and eat some of the cattle. The Gods are very unhappy.
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After departing Aeaea, the crew is faced with a choice: a deadly six headed monster or a massive whirlpool. They choose Scylla, the monster. 6 men are killed, but they escape with the ship intact.
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Odysseus washes up on the shore of Calypso, who, blinded by love for him, traps him on her island for 7 or 8 years.
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Odysseus lands in Phaecia and, at the feast, begins to recount his 10 year journey from Troy until his landing in Phaecia.
