Odyssey Absent Notes
Nostos: A Greek word meaning “homecoming song.”
The Odyssey is Odysseus’s nostos. It is the song and tale of his return home to Ithaca after
fighting in the Trojan War.
“Tell the Story”
This introduction to the epic is Homer’s invocation of the Muse. In ancient Greece, the Muses were
believed to be nine daughters of Zeus who were responsible for inspiring people in artistic and
creative expression. Here, Homer asks that the Muse inspire him to tell the story of Odysseus.
Odysseus is introduced to us as “that man skilled in all ways of contending,” meaning that he is
skilled in every manner of fighting and dealing with difficulties.
The invocation gives us a brief summary of what is to come in the Odyssey, explaining that Odysseus
was long away from home on the sea. We learn that he fights to save his shipmates, but that their
own recklessness brings about their demise when they eat the cattle (kine/beeves) of the sun god,
Helios. Homer explains that everyone else from the War has returned home long ago, but Odysseus
is being held by the sea nymph Calypso. It is here that we are first introduced to the fact that the
primary source of Odysseus’s troubles is the sea god Poseidon.
PART ONE: THE WANDERINGS
“Calypso: The Sweet Nymph”
When we begin, Odysseus has been on Calypso’s island for seven years. Athena appeals to Zeus to
allow him to leave and finally return him, and Zeus agrees, sending Hermes to tell Calypso that she
must let Odysseus go.
Hermes does so, and when Calypso goes to tell Odysseus the news, she makes it seem as though the
idea to release him were hers. We can surmise from this that she is somehow attempting to get him
to stay with her by choice in trying to make him think that she loves him so much, she would allow
him to leave if he chose. Odysseus and Calypso have been involved in a romantic affair, but we are
told that he always regrets being with her and still longs for home and for his wife, Penelope.
Prior to his departure, they dine together and Calypso tries to convince him to stay, arguing that she
has more to offer than Penelope; Calypso is immortal, more beautiful than any human, and can offer
Odysseus immortality. Odysseus, however, maintains that he wishes for home.
Odysseus sets out on a raft, but Poseidon brings up a storm and destroys it. Odysseus is rescued by
Athena and a sea nymph and comes ashore on the island of Scheria, where live the Phaeacians and
their king, Alcinous.
“’I Am Laertes’ Son’”
Odysseus is found by Alcinous’s daughter and taken to the king. In a reflection of Greek culture, he
is treated with great dignity and honor and a feast is held. To the Greeks, guests were to be treated
with the utmost respect, and to fail to do so was considered an affront to the gods. In particular,
unexpected and unannounced guests were considered to be godsent.
Odysseus begins weaving the tale of his wanderings in the ten years after he left the Trojan War. He
begins by introducing himself in a rather boastful manner. Although we may consider this
unattractive, the ancient Greeks looked upon boasting as an art form. It was especially lauded when
coming from a hero (which Odysseus is).
The first episode that Odysseus recounts from his wanderings is the encounter in and with the
Cicones. Odysseus and the Achaeans (his men, the Greeks) storm and plunder the place, taking
women as their captives. The army of the Cicones retaliates, and the Achaeans are forced back onto
their ships in defeat after heavy losses to their ranks.
Before departing, the Achaeans lament their dead (as we all do) by raising a cry of each man’s name
three times. When they set sail, Zeus brings up a storm. They wind up drifting on the sea for nine
days.
“The Lotus Eaters”
On the tenth day, they come upon the land of the Lotus Eaters. The Lotus plant causes those who eat
it to lose all hope of and desire for home, and the Lotus Eaters attempt to seduce the men. Odysseus
must force the men who have eaten the Lotus off of the island and tie them up in order to depart.
“The Cyclops”
Odysseus and the Achaeans next end up on the island of the Cyclopes and in the cave of the Cyclops,
Polyphemus (the son of Poseidon). When Poseidon comes home with his sheep, he rolls a huge stone
in front of the mouth of the cave, blocking the Achaeans’ escape. He addresses the Achaeans and
asks where their ship is, with the implied intent of destroying it. Thinking quickly, Odysseus lies and
tells him that the ship was already destroyed. Polyphemus picks up two of Odysseus’s men and eats
them. After he falls asleep, Odysseus entertains the idea of killing him, but he quickly realizes that
killing Polyphemus would kill them all, as there is no way to escape if Polyphemus is dead.
When Polyphemus awakens the next morning, he eats two more men and goes out with his sheep for
the day. While he is gone, the Achaeans fashion a stake of sorts out of an olive tree. Upon his return
home, Polyphemus eats two more men and Odysseus offers him wine. Polyphemus offers Odysseus
a gift if he reveals his name, and Odysseus lies and tells Polyphemus that his name is “Nobody.”
Once Polyphemus is drunk and asleep, Odysseus and his men drive the stake into the Cyclops’s one
eye, destroying it. Polyphemus cries for help, but when the other Cyclopes come, he tells them that
“Nobody’s tricked me! Nobody’s ruined me!”, The other Cyclopes, thinking that there is literally no
one hurting him, return home.
The Achaeans strap themselves to the bottom of Polyphemus’s rams in order to escape. When
Polyphemus allows the sheep out the next morning, Odysseus and his men escape with them. They
race to their ships, load on the sheep, and set sail. As they depart the island, Odysseus reveals their
escape and their location in that he begins to scream insults and taunts at Polyphemus. Enraged, the
Cyclops rips off a hilltop and heaves it at the men, sending up a tidal wave that nearly beaches the
ships.
In true pompous and prideful form, Odysseus once again begins screaming insults at Polyphemus,
revealing both his name and his home. With this information, Polyphemus sends up a prayer to his
father, Poseidon. He prays that Odysseus and his men never see him. If Odysseus is to reach home,
though, Poseidon demands that it be many dark and miserable years away and that he do it without
companions and under a strange sail. He prays that, once Odysseus reaches home, he will return to
strife. It is at this point that Poseidon really takes issue with Odysseus. Since Odysseus has
blinded his son, Poseidon now has a personal problem with him.
“The Witch Circe”
After escaping Polyphemus, the Achaeans land in Aeolia, the land of Aeolus, the wind king. He bags
up all the stormy winds and gives them to Odysseus, who hides them on the ship. The crew,
thinking that Odysseus may be hiding treasure from them, opens the bag and unleashes storms that
blow them back to Aeolia. This is a sterling example of the recklessness that will lead to their
ultimate demise.
Odysseus and his crew next encounter the Laestrygonians, giant cannibals who destroy and eat all
but one ship and its men.
At last, the Achaeans land in Aeaea, home to the witch Circe. Twenty-three men go out to explore
the island and find Circe’s home. When they first encounter he, she is weaving and singing
beautifully, so they assume she is no threat to them. Only Eurylochus fears a snare and stays outside.
The twenty-two men who go in are turned into pigs. Eurylochus races back to the ship and relays the
story to the Achaeans.
Odysseus, armed with moly given to him by Hermes, confronts Circe in the matter. In the end, they
begin an affair and he and his men stay on Aeaea for “several seasons.” At last, he requests that Circe
aid them in returning to Ithaca. She agrees, but says that they must first descend to the Land of the
Dead (also called the Underworld, Hades, or Erebus) to seek a prophecy from the great seer Teiresias,
one of the two most famous seers/prophets in the Greek mythological tradition (In case you’re
interested, the other is Cassandra). Teiresias figures heavily into the Oedipus myth and the story of
Antigone, which you will study in depth during your sophomore year.
“The Land of the Dead”
Odysseus and his men descend into Erebus and carry out ritual sacrifices to appease the dead and to
summon Teiresias. Teiresias emerges, surprised that they are in the Land of the Dead, and reveals his
prophecy.
He says that Odysseus is questing for home, but that Poseidon is putting up a fight against it,
vengeful over the fact that Odysseus blinded his son. Teiresias warns them that they will make
landfall on Thrinakia, where the cattle of the sun god, Helios, graze. He advises that, if they refrain
from eating the cattle, they will reach home safely. Should they eat the cattle, he foresees destruction
of the ship and of every man except for Odysseus. Odysseus will then wander for years alone before
finally returning home under a strange sail. When he reaches Ithaca, he will come home to suitors
using his resources and courting Penelope. He will have to kill them. Thereafter, Odysseus will have
to travel to make amends and offerings to the gods and, specifically, Poseidon. Then, and only then,
will Odysseus be able to die a peaceful death at an old age with loved ones at his side.
“The Sirens; Syclla and Charybdis”
Upon returning to Aeaea from Erebus, Odysseus receives warning and instruction from Circe
regarding the three obstacles he will encounter once setting sail – the Sirens (who sing men to their
deaths), Scylla (a giant six-headed monster who eats the crews of ships), and Charybdis (a whirlpool
monster that sucks in everything around her). In order to get past the Sirens, Circe warns that
everyone should have beeswax in their ears. Anyone who wishes to hear the song must be tied down
tightly so as not to allow them to bring the ship toward the Sirens and certain destruction.
In dealing with Scylla and Charybdis, however, Circe advises that Odysseus steer in the direction of
Scylla and lose the six men that Scylla will certainly take. This is a preferable alternative to steering
in the direction of Charybdis and losing all the men and the ship.
The Achaeans set sail and first encounter the sirens. All the men have beeswax in their ears except
Odysseus, who is tied down so that he can hear the song. When the Sirens begin to sing, he begins to
struggle to get to them, but the crew only ties him down tighter.
That crisis averted, they sail on in the direction of Scylla and Charybdis. Following Circe’s
instructions, Odysseus has his men steer in the direction of Scylla. He does not warn them of the
danger, knowing that if they were aware of the death that was about to come for six men, they would
panic and all wind up in Charybdis. As they approach the two monsters, the whitewater churned by
Charybdis distracts Odysseus from keeping an eye out for Scylla. As such, he does not see her until
six of his men go flying through the air in her clutches and are eaten in front of him. The men finally
get past the dangers, and Odysseus feels the worst he has felt during his entire journey. This is the
first time in which he knowingly sent some of his men to their deaths.
“The Cattle of the Sun God”
The Achaeans finally reach the coast of Thrinakia. Odysseus attempts to persuade the men to keep
sailing, but they are exhausted and saddened from their battle and losses with Scylla and Charybids.
They make landfall, but Odysseus warns them of the prophecy and advises that they not eat the cattle
of Helios.
They are then stuck on Thrinakia for a month due to gales. There is no reason to go near the cattle as
long as their provisions hold out, but once they have eaten everything on board the ship, the men
become desperate for food. One day, Odysseus goes off on his own to pray to the gods and falls
asleep. While he sleeps, Eurylochus persuades the other men to eat the cattle, arguing that dying at
the hands of the gods is far better than dying of starvation. In addition, they may not be punished for
eating the cattle immediately and could have a chance to make sacrifices and amends for eating the
kine. Eurylochus was the only man to stay behind when the other men were turned to swine at the
hands of Circe. As the only man with sense enough in that situation, it stands to reason that the other
Achaeans would look upon Eurylochus’s word as sensible. They heed his advice, make sacrifices,
and kill and eat the cattle. No sooner have they done so then Odysseus awakens, blaming the gods
for his slumber. In true pompous fashion, Odysseus does not accept responsibility for leaving his
crew unsupervised and instead blames the deities for conspiring against him by causing him to sleep.
It seems in our story that every time something goes well, Odysseus is to be praised. If something
goes wrong, he absolves himself of all responsibility (with the exception of the loss of his men to
Scylla).
Helios almost immediately goes to Zeus and warns that, if the Achaeans are not punished for eating
his beloved cattle, he will take the sun down to Erebus and not return. When Odysseus and his men
set sail, Zeus sends a lightning bolt that destroys their ship. Everyone perishes except for Odysseus,
who washes ashore on the island of Calypso. We are not caught up with what has been going on
with Odysseus since he left Troy.
PART 2: COMING HOME
“The Meeting of Father and Son”
After being away for so long, Odysseus finally returns home to Ithaca under the Phaeacian sail
(fulfilling part of the prophecy). At Athena’s advice, he goes back disguised as a beggar and finds his
old swineherd, Eumaeus. Although he does not tell Eumaeus who he really is, Eumaeus shows him
the proper dignity one would show a guest in Greece.
It is interesting that Homer makes Eumaeus such an important character in this epic. Greek literature
typically focused on the upper echelons of society – gods, goddesses, heroes, royalty, etc. Seldom (if
ever) did stories have within them such an important character of such low class. It presents an
interesting perspective regarding the originality of Homer’s work.
Meanwhile, Telemachus has been out searching for his father for a year. Athena alerts him that it is
time to return to Ithaca as suitors have taken up in his home and are courting his mother. It is
important, however, that he go in quietly as the suitors wish to ambush him. Telemachus does so
and heads to the home of Eumaeus, where his father is staying.
Telemachus is warmly welcomed by Eumaeus, who informs him that his mother is still in morning
and has not taken up with any of the suitors. Eumaeus provides the men a meal and then goes to
inform Penelope of her son’s return. While he is away, Athena transforms Odysseus, and
Telemachus is frightened by the transformation, feeling he is in the presence of a god and making
offerings. To the Greeks, the gods were individuals to be feared. Typically, a god only appeared to
you if their intent was to punish you for some wrongdoing. Odysseus reveals his true identity to
Telemachus. At long last, father and son are reunited.
“The Beggar and the Faithful Dog”
Telemachus returns home to his mother, Penelope, and his old nurse, Eurycleia. A soothsayer
(seer/prophet/future teller) informs Penelope that her husband has returned and is in Ithaca.
Shortly thereafter, Eumaeus and Odysseus head for the compound. Along the way, Odysseus notices
his old dog, Argos, lying on top of a pile of manure, near death. Argos instantly recognizes his old
master and is able to die in peace having seen Odysseus one last time. Eumaeus explains that the dog
was left in the state he was because the servants refused to care for him. He explains that servants
without a master will do what they please. He also notes that an individual loses half of his/her
humanity the day s/he enters into servitude.
Odysseus and Eumaeus reach the compound and Odysseus is harassed by the suitors. He claims to
have knowledge of Odysseus’s whereabouts, and an appointment is made for he and Penelope to
meet in private so that he may reveal the news he knows to her. Odysseus returns to Penelope that
night (still disguised as the beggar) with a fabricated tale about who he is, where he comes from, and
how he knows Odysseus. In true pompous fashion, he cannot resist praising himself while speaking
as “the beggar.” He informs Penelope that, to his knowledge, Odysseus is sailing for home at that
very moment.
Eurycleia comes to wash his feet (again, a reflection of the Greeks’ customs regarding the treatment of
guests). When Odysseus was a young man, he went on a boar hunt and received a wound above his
knee from a boar’s tusk. As Eurycleia goes to wash his feet, she notices the scar and realizes that this
beggar is really Odysseus. He quickly swears her to secrecy while Athena casts a spell over Penelope
to keep her from realizing what has happened.
“The Test of the Great Bow”
Fitting an archetypal pattern of the impossible task to gain a maiden, Penelope devises a contest for
the suitors. She challenges them to the impossible task of threading Odysseus’s bow and then
shooting an arrow cleanly through the sockets of twelve ax handles. None of the suitors are able to
do so.
Meanwhile, Eumeaus and Philoeteus (the cowherd) leave the hall dejectedly. Odysseus approaches
them disguised as the beggar and asks if they would be loyal to him if he were to return. Both men
instantly begin to laud Odysseus and pray for his return. Seeing their loyalty, Odysseus reveals his
true identity to them and promises them wives, cattle, and houses near his if they help him. He
warns that the suitors will not allow him to attempt the bow, so they must get it for him. In addition,
they must ensure that all the women have locked themselves in their rooms to keep them out of
harm’s way. The men do so, and Telemachus removes the weapons of the suitors from the hall.
Odysseus quickly and effortlessly accomplishes the task that no other suitor could. Satisfied,
Telemachus joins him at the front of the hall as dinner is served in a stance that suggests both men are
preparing for battle.
“Death at the Palace”
As the suitors partake of dinner, Odysseus begins the massacre. First is Antinous, the ringleader of
the suitors. As he lifts his glass to take a sip of wine, Odysseus shoots an arrow that pierces him
through the throat. The other suitors panic and go for their weapons, only to find that there are none
in the hall. Odysseus reveals his true identity to them and informs them of why they are all about to
be killed. They begin to appeal to Odysseus, offering reparations for their actions. They ask that he
not kill them, for Antinous was their leader and Odysseus already put an end to him. Odysseus,
however, vows that death will be their payment for what they have done. Joined by Telemachus,
Eumeaus, and Philoeteus, he sends a rain of arrows down upon the suitors, killing each of the over
one hundred men.
“Odysseus and Penelope”
Once every suitor is dead, Odysseus summons all the maids and servants who have been disloyal to
him and loyal to the suitors. He orders that they clean up the blood and dead bodies. Once they
have done so, he executes them by hanging.
Eurycleia runs to inform Penelope of the beggar’s true identity and her husband’s return. Penelope,
however, is not taking any chances and decides to test this mysterious man before accepting him as
Odysseus. Upon entering the same room as Odysseus, she sits opposite him and does not speak.
Telemachus, enraged, demands to know why she is not welcoming the husband she has been without
for twenty years. Penelope explains that she must know for sure that this man is Odysseus and that
there are secrets only the two of them know. Odysseus smiles slyly, understanding the challenge at
hand.
After the men bathe, Odysseus asks Eurycleia to make him a bed. Penelope instructs Eurycleia to
make up his bed outside of their bedroom, the bedroom that Odysseus built himself. Odysseus flies
into a rage, exclaiming that it is impossible to move the bed because one of the bedposts was once a
tree and is still rooted in the ground. As such, no regular individual could move the bed since it is
literally planted into the ground. This is the answer Penelope has been waiting for; this was the
secret she tested him with.
Penelope throws her arms around Odysseus, asking his forgiveness and revealing that she has been
faithful to him. He begins to weep, the two cling to each other, and they live happily ever after…