ODYSSEY by HOMER

Prepared by
Mary Ann Negi
Department of Languages & Literature
School of Humanities & Social Sciences

The Iliad and The Odyssey are the most famous and celebrated poems of Homer. Unlike The
Iliad, which is a war epic, The Odyssey tells an individual story of a man and his struggles on the
way to go back home to his family. We recommend it to all readers of classical stories, as well as
to aspiring authors. Homer is considered as the well from which everyone can get inspiration.

Homer Biography: Homer is one of the first authors of Ancient Greece whose work has
survived until today. It is still unknown if the name is of an individual
author, or a collective name, which represents many collectors that
have turned the oral tradition into writing in the course of many years.
Many theories are revolving around Homer’s identity, but whoever he
was, it is certain that his works are one of the most influential and
important pieces of writing ever created.

PLOT OF THE EPIC

The Prologue: The epic starts with an invocation to the Muse of

poetry, which was the kind of beginning that ancient authors used when
writing their books, believing that poetry and literature are a “gift” from the Gods. After the
invocation, the story begins in medias res, at the moment when Odysseus has been away from his
home in Ithaca for two decades – the first of which he spent in the Trojan War, and the last ten
years trying to return back home. While Odysseus is wandering and looking for his way back, his
wife Penelope struggles with the hundred suitors who have entered the royal palace to ask for her
hand and marry her. All of these suitors are a great experience for the palace since they indulge
in great amounts of alcohol and food. Penelope and Odysseus have a son, Telemachus, who
wonders what the right step would be to take with the suitors. He and his mother pray for his
father’s return.

This was the setting of the story which fully develops in 24 books.
It is interesting that the book does not start with its protagonist, Odysseus. In fact, we are
unaware of his presence until the fifth book.
The first four books tell the story of Telemachus’s struggle which is also the secondary plot of
the text – his coming of age and learning how to find his own path.
The young prince gets some help from the goddess Athena, who disguises herself to advise him
to gather the island’s leaders to protest together against the suitors and their invasion of the
palace.
At the assembly, two of the suitors confront the prince, saying that the queen has taken a long
time to choose a husband.
Although Telemachus tries to speak to them and explain his family’s position, he does not
accomplish anything.
The suitors come from some of the strongest families and do not have the patience to wait for
Penelope that long.
Telemachus, not knowing what to do, secretly goes for Pylos and Sparta, to try to get some news
of his father. In the meantime, the suitors decide to assassinate him and plot their murderous
plan.
Homer knew how to tell exciting stories, so he ended the part about the young prince at the exact
moment when his destiny is uncertain, and he is ambushed by the suitors on his return back
home.
He then starts the story of Odysseus who is alive but held a prisoner by the goddess Calypso who
is a nymph that wants Odysseus to marry her.
He has spent the last few years in her company – sleeping with her during the nights, and longing
for his family during the day.
Athena urges the gods to free Odysseus from Calypso’s lustful prison. He then sets off to find his
way back home. But his trip is nowhere near a smooth one.
The gods constantly block his path because of their own grudges.
Poseidon shipwrecks him because he wants to avenge his son whom Odysseus blinded.
Odysseus then ends up on Phaeacia where he is welcomed warmly, and the citizens ask him to
tell his adventures.
Then, Homer takes us ten years back, through the tales of Odysseus.
The third section of the book is also known as “The Wanderings of Odysseus,” and it is the most
popular part of the epic.
It starts at the end of the Trojan war and explains how Odysseus and his men lost their way, and
he ended up as a captive of Calypso.
He tells a story filled with gods and mythical creatures who stand on his way of returning to his
family.
Once he finished the story of his adventures, the fourth part of the epic starts, in which he
receives gifts from the people who listened to his story.
They sail him to his homeland, just like they do with any other strangers that have mistakenly
ended up there.
He returns to his home in the disguise of a beggar.
Since a long time had passed no one can recognize him, except the nurse who cared for him
when he was a child and recognizes an old scar while she is bathing him.
Meanwhile, Penelope decides to arrange a contest in which whoever string Odysseus’ great bow
and shoots an arrow through a dozen axes, is the one who will marry her.
Every one of the suitors fails, except Odysseus himself.
Then, he and his son manage to slaughter the suitors
The Epilogue: The text ends with a scene where the gods help people once again – Athena
makes sure that they retain peace in the country filled with vengeful families.
The Odyssey is one of the two classical Greek epics composed by the poet Homer. In many
ways, it serves as a sequel to the preceding Iliad. Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus' attempts
to return home after the decade-long Trojan War despite the anger of Poseidon and other forces
that delay that his homecoming by a decade. While parts of the epic focus on the plights of his
wife and his son's attempt to locate him, Odysseus dominates the majority of the narrative.
Fittingly, “odyssey” has come to mean a long, arduous journey marked by many changes in
fortune.
The Odyssey follows the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, as he tries to return home after the
Trojan War. He is delayed due to a combination of forces both manmade and divine. “Odyssey”
eventually came to refer to a long and arduous journey. This reflects on the long and arduous
journey undergone by Odysseus, the main character in Homer's epic poem the Odyssey.
Significance of the Themes of the Odyssey: The Odyssey is a strangely modern-seeming story,
complete with a complicating, novelistic character and many different branching themes.
Because the Odyssey differs so dramatically from its predecessor the Iliad, understanding the
thematic emphases will lead to a more holistic understanding of both the epic and its central
character.
THEMES IN ODYSSEY
The three most important themes in the Odyssey are hospitality, loyalty, and vengeance. Each
of these were important cultural standards held by the Ancient Greeks, oftentimes backed by
divine law.
Hospitality: Out of all of the themes in the Odyssey, hospitality takes center stage. Hospitality
was considered an important virtue—particularly inhospitable individuals, or individuals who
took advantage of another's hospitality, could expect to be punished by the gods. This particular
moral obligation toward hospitality was referred to as xenia by the Greeks, meaning “guest-
friendship”. The Odyssey opens with a scene in which hospitality is simultaneously offered and
abused.
Penelope, the wife of Odysseus and queen of Ithaca, has been approached by a variety of suitors
who seek her hand in marriage. As her husband Odysseus has been gone for twenty years, all are
convinced that he is dead and that it is time for Penelope to remarry. Penelope is convinced that
Odysseus is alive but nevertheless is forced to accede to external pressures and allow the suitors
entry. She proves a very hospitable host, feeding and lodging the suitors while she subtly deflects
their interests. The suitors, on the other hand, abuse her hospitality—they eat egregious amounts,
are rude to their host, and get into fights that destroy Penelope's possessions. Penelope could
potentially turn the suitors away, but to do so at first would be inhospitable, and to do so later
would be dangerous. This scene alone showcases how important hospitality is within the work—
the moral characters actively disadvantage themselves in order to extend hospitality to others.
While there are many other moments of hospitality in the work—consider the multiple occasions
where Odysseus or Telemachus (Odysseus’ son) are met with open arms, such as with the
amicable Phaecians—there are two instances in which hospitality is corrupted or proves
dangerous. The most obvious example is Odysseus' encounter with Polyphemus the Cyclops.
Polyphemus traps Odysseus and the other sailors in his cave-dwelling, then proceeds to batter
and devour some of the sailors. This direct breach of hospitality demands punishment.
As a part of Odysseus' escape, Polyphemus is blinded. Another example of twisted hospitality is
offered by Circe, a witch who turns Odysseus' men into pigs. After her magic fails to transform
Odysseus (thanks to gifts from the god Hermes) she becomes a genuine and delightful host. In
fact, her hospitality is dangerously good—it tempts Odysseus into staying on her island and
delaying his return home for a year.
Loyalty: Loyalty is another theme that permeates the Odyssey. It most commonly occurs in
relation to loyalty to Odysseus—Penelope steadfastly waiting for him, for example. Similarly,
Odysseus' servants Eumaeus and Eurycleia have maintained loyalty to Odysseus throughout the
years even though it caused them a good deal of grief from the suitors. When Odysseus returns to
his kingdom of Ithaca in disguise, Eurycleia (his old nurse) was the first individual to recognize
him due to a birthmark. Eumaeus offered Odysseus hospitality even before he recognized him,
and afterward helped Odysseus in his martial pursuits to drive the suitors out. Argos, Odysseus'
old hunting dog, also acts as a paragon of loyalty: despite being beaten out of Odysseus' hall by
the suitors and surviving at the edge of starvation, he waited two decades for Odysseus to return.
Each of these are important moments of loyalty, but the moments of disloyalty and betrayal
establish loyalty as a central theme of the Odyssey. Agamemnon's account to Odysseus in the
Underworld is the clearest example of this. Agamemnon was slain by his own unfaithful wife,
and he cautions Odysseus not to trust Penelope. This caution leads Odysseus to test Penelope's
faithfulness later on, only for him to realize that her loyalty to him was beyond approach.
Vengeance: If hospitality and loyalty flavor the story and grant it meaning, vengeance drives it.
Odysseus finds himself in such dire straights due to attracting the wrath of Poseidon, whose
heavy-handed ire drives him to misfortune after misfortune. Odysseus does so by taunting
Polyphemus after blinding the Cyclops, which drives Polyphemus to call upon his father
Poseidon to give him revenge. A series of horrific storms sent by Poseidon in response
drastically elongates Odysseus' journey.
The most direct and brutal moment of vengeance is Odysseus' actions against the suitors. When
he returns to find his loyal servants cast aside and the suitors having effectively plundered his
home and possessions and pressured his wife being constantly, he takes bloody vengeance upon
all of them with the assistance of his son and a few loyal servants. Athena blesses this
vengeance, granting it a certain divine justification. Altogether, vengeance against Odysseus
drives the story until he arrives at Ithaca, at which point Odysseus' vengeance consumes the rest
of the narrative.
Wandering: While it is not central as a theme as hospitality, loyalty, or vengeance, wandering
and journeying take a large amount of space. This is epitomized by Odysseus' various challenges
and trials. Odysseus wanders outside of the civilized world, and as such, he finds himself
encountering monsters. Out of the many potential examples, this includes Charybdis and Scylla:
the former was a creature that would inhale massive quantities of water in a strait, causing a
whirlpool that would suck in unwary travelers. On the opposite side of the strait sat Scylla, a
monstrous being with six heads and twelve feet that would pluck sailors off the ships attempting
to avoid Charybdis. Polyphemus, Circe, and even Calypso (the latter being a very pleasant and
lonely nymph that imprisoned Odysseus for seven years) all lurk at the edges of the civilized
world. Wandering, for Odysseus, involves moving from one threat to another savage threat.
As a counterpoint to the threats facing Odysseus during his wandering, Telemachus' voyages to
find news of his father were more consistently amicable. He went to visit his father's old
comrades, including Nestor and the married couple of Helen and Menelaus. Each of those visits
was delightful and calm even though none of those individuals could effectively help
Telemachus find his father. Journeying through civilization is a pleasant affair, mostly due to
the xenia by which the Ancient Greeks abided. Journeying on the fringes of society was a
dangerous affair.
Other themes of The Odyssey: The most important themes in the Odyssey is that of hospitality
or, as the Greeks called it, xenia. This translates to something akin to “guest-friendship”.
Hospitality is portrayed as a moral imperative throughout the epic, with a failure to provide
hospitality or an attempt to take advantage of hospitality often inspiring divine punishment.
The Power of Cunning over Strength: If The Iliad is about strength, The Odyssey is about
cunning, a difference that becomes apparent in the very first lines of the epics.
Whereas The Iliad tells the story of the rage of Achilles, the strongest hero in the Greek
army, The Odyssey focusses on a “man of twists and turns” (1.1). Odysseus does have
extraordinary strength, as he demonstrates in Book 21 by being the only man who can string the
bow. But he relies much more on mind than muscle, a tendency that his encounters showcase. He
knows that he cannot overpower Polyphemus, for example, and that, even if he were able to do
so, he wouldn’t be able to budge the boulder from the door. He thus schemes around his
disadvantage in strength by exploiting Po1yphemus’s stupidity. Though he does use violence to
put out Polyphemus’s single eye, this display of strength is part of a larger plan to deceive the
brute.
Similarly, Odysseus knows that he is no match for the host of strapping young suitors in his
palace, so he makes the most of his other strength—his wits. Step by step, through disguises and
deceptions, he arranges a situation in which he alone is armed and the suitors are locked in a
room with him. With this setup, Achilles’ superb talents as a warrior would enable him to
accomplish what Odysseus does, but only Odysseus’s strategic planning can bring about such a
sure victory. Some of the tests in Odysseus’s long, wandering ordeal seem to mock reliance on
strength alone. No one can resist the Sirens’ song, for example, but Odysseus gets an earful of
the lovely melody by having his crew tie him up. Scylla and Charybdis cannot be beaten, but
Odysseus can minimize his losses with prudent decision-making and careful navigation.
Odysseus’s encounter with Achilles in the underworld is a reminder: Achilles won great kleos, or
glory, during his life, but that life was brief and ended violently. Odysseus, on the other hand, by
virtue of his wits, will live to a ripe old age and is destined to die in peace.
The Pitfalls of Temptation: The initial act that frustrated so many Achaeans’ homecoming was
the work of an Achaean himself: Ajax (the “Lesser” Ajax, a relatively unimportant figure not to
be confused with the “Greater” Ajax, whom Odysseus meets in Hades) raped the Trojan priestess
Cassandra in a temple while the Greeks were plundering the fallen city. That act of impulse,
impiety, and stupidity brought the wrath of Athena upon the Achaean fleet and set in motion the
chain of events that turned Odysseus’s homecoming into a long nightmare. It is fit
that The Odyssey is motivated by such an event, for many of the pitfalls that Odysseus and his
men face are likewise obstacles that arise out of mortal weakness and the inability to control it.
The submission to temptation or recklessness either angers the gods or distracts Odysseus and
the members of his crew from their journey: they yield to hunger and slaughter the Sun’s flocks,
and they eat the fruit of the lotus and forget about their homes.
Even Odysseus’s hunger for kleos is a kind of temptation. He submits to it when he reveals his
name to Polyphemus, bringing Poseidon’s wrath upon him and his men. In the case of the Sirens,
the theme is revisited simply for its own interest. With their ears plugged, the crew members sail
safely by the Sirens’ island, while Odysseus, longing to hear the Sirens’ sweet song, is saved
from folly only by his foresighted command to his crew to keep him bound to the ship’s mast.
Homer is fascinated with depicting his protagonist tormented by temptation: in general,
Odysseus and his men want very desperately to complete their nostos, or homecoming, but this
desire is constantly at odds with the other pleasures that the world offers.
Divine Intervention and Justice: Early in The Odyssey, Zeus explains his vision of justice. The
gods mete out suffering fairly, he says, but some mortals suffer more as a result of their unwise
or wicked actions: “From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes,/But they themselves,
with their own reckless ways,/Compound their pains beyond their proper share.” In some
cases, The Odyssey shows its characters suffering as a result of their own actions. Polyphemus is
blinded after he kills several of Odysseus’s men. Odysseus’s men die when they ignore the
commands of Odysseus and the gods not to kill the Cattle of the Sun. The poem’s most dramatic
comeuppance befalls the suitors, who are killed for insulting Odysseus and consuming his
wealth. It’s debatable, however, whether the murder of the suitors is just. Odysseus believes one
of the suitors, Amphinomus, is blameless. Odysseus even risks blowing his cover to warn
Amphinomus about the danger to his life: “I say he’s right at hand—and may some power save
you.” Nevertheless, “Athena had bound him fast to death,” so Amphinomous is murdered along
with the rest of the suitors.
In other cases, The Odyssey shows unambiguously that the gods place their personal pride ahead
of justice. The Odyssey is deeply concerned with the moral code binding hosts to treat strangers
and travelers kindly. Throughout the poem, Zeus punishes anyone who violates this code. When
Poseidon complains to Zeus that the Phaeacians have offended him by extending hospitality
toward Odysseus, however, Zeus does nothing to protect these excellent hosts. The Phaeacians
not only give their guest Odysseus shelter, they restore all his lost wealth and give him direct
passage home to Ithaca. The Phaecians help Odysseus because they are good hosts, not because
they have any desire to thwart Poseidon. There is no way for them to know that by doing their
duty and helping a guest they are offending Poseidon. Nevertheless, Zeus endorses Poseidon’s
plan to prevent the Phaecians from ever helping travelers again. Zeus says that Poseidon may
“Do what you like” to punish the Phaeacians. In assuring justice to his fellow god, Zeus denies
justice to the innocent Phaecians.
Homecoming and the Family Ties: The Odyssey is the ultimate endorsement of nostos, or
homecoming, the idea that a heroic warrior’s greatest triumph comes when he returns from war
to his own home and family. Odysseus’s trials end with the offer of not one but two alternative
wives, and two alternative places to live. As Calypso’s husband, Odysseus could live forever in
divine luxury. As Nausicaa’s husband, Odysseus would be a prince in the richest, most
untroubled country he has visited. Without hesitation he rejects both these offers. He prefers
Penelope and Ithaca, not necessarily because they are better, but because they are his: “Mine is a
rugged land but good for raising sons—/and I myself, I know no sweeter sight on earth than a
man’s own native country.” At the same time, nostos is not an uncomplicated idea in The
Odyssey. When Agamemnon returns home, he is murdered by his wife. Menelaus and Helen
have an unhappy marriage which is destined to last for all eternity. Even Odysseus’s own home
is troubled. Telemachus speaks harshly to Penelope and criticizes her to other people, even after
Odysseus has returned and revealed his identity.
Nostos is only possible if a warrior’s home is still there when he returns, unchanged from when
he left. Accordingly, what makes a home valuable in The Odyssey is not its happiness as much as
its stability and continuity. Odysseus and Penelope are reunited when Odysseus is able to
describe their marriage bed, which is literally unshakeable because it is (again literally) rooted in
the soil of Ithaca. Nestor suggests that Agamemnon is fortunate, even though he has been
murdered by his wife, because his son has avenged him. What matters is the continuance of
Agamemnon’s family and reputation: “Ah how fine it is, when a man is brought down,/to leave a
son behind!” Odysseus’s own homecoming is not complete until he has revealed himself to
Laertes, so that Laertes can relish the continuity of his own family and reputation: “What a day
for me, dear gods! What joy—/my son and my grandson vying over courage!”
Cunning: Although The Odyssey begins with the Trojan Wars that separate Odysseus from
Ithaca and touches on themes of warfare throughout, mental agility is as crucial as physical
prowess to Odysseus’s homecoming. Athena praises Odysseus for being cunning, a trait she
considers herself to have as well, and may be especially inclined to help him because she
admires his mental ability. Even Odysseus’s epithet, the man “of twists and turns,” suggests a
mind that works cleverly and not always in a straightforward, honest manner. Odysseus’s
cunning is most clearly displayed in the episode with Polyphemus the Cyclops. Odysseus tricks
Polyphemus twice. First, Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is “Nobody,” so that the Cyclops
is forced to say that “nobody” is hurting him. Second, Odysseus instructs his men to hide under
the Cyclops’ sheep as they leave the cave, so that the now-blind Cyclops will only feel his
sheep’s wool as they go out the cave door. Odysseus also uses cunning at the end of the poem
when he disguises himself as a beggar, to discover who on Ithaca remains loyal to him after his
long absence.
MOTIFS
These are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform
the text’s major themes.
Storytelling: Storytelling in The Odyssey, in addition to delivering the plot to the audience,
situates the epic in its proper cultural context. The Odyssey seems very conscious of its
predecessor, The Iliad: Odysseus’s wanderings would never have taken place had he not left for
Troy; and The Odyssey would make little sense without The Iliad and the knowledge that so
many other Greek heroes had to make nostoi, or homeward journeys, of their own. Homer
constantly evokes the history of The Odyssey through the stories that his characters tell.
Menelaus and Nestor both narrate to Telemachus their wanderings from Troy.
Even Helen adds some anecdotes about Odysseus’s cunning during the Trojan War. Phemius, a
court minstrel in Ithaca, and Demodocus, a Phaeacian bard, sing of the exploits of the Greek
heroes at Troy. In the underworld, Agamemnon tells the story of his murder, while Ajax’s
evasion prompts the story of his quarrel with Odysseus. These stories, however, don’t just
provide colorful personal histories. Most call out to other stories in Greek mythology,
elevating The Odyssey by reminding its audience of the epic’s rich, mythic tradition.
Disguises: The gods of Greek literature often assume alternate forms to commune with humans.
In The Odyssey, Athena appears on earth disguised as everything from a little girl to Odysseus’s
friend Mentor to Telemachus. Proteus, the Old Man of the Sea whom Menelaus describes in
Book 4, can assume any form, even water and fire, to escape capture. Circe, on the other hand,
uses her powers to change others, turning an entire contingent of Odysseus’s crew into pigs with
a tap of her wand. From the first line of the epic, Homer explains that his story is about a “man
of twists and turns” (1.1). Quick, clever, and calculating, Odysseus is a natural master of
disguise, and the plot of the epic often turns on his deception.
By withholding his true identity from the Cyclops and using the alias “Nobody,” for example,
Odysseus is able to save himself and his crew. But by revealing his name at the end of this
episode, Odysseus ends up being dogged by the god Poseidon. His beggar disguise allows him to
infiltrate his palace and set up the final confrontation with the suitors. It also allows Homer to
distinguish those who truly love Odysseus—characters like Eurycleia, Penelope, and even his
dog, Argos, begin to recognize their beloved king even before he sheds his disguise.
Seductresses: Women are very important figures in The Odyssey, and one of the most prominent
roles they fulfill is that of seductress. Circe and Calypso are the most obvious examples of
women whose love becomes an obstacle to Odysseus’s return. Homer presents many other
women whose irresistible allure threatens to lead men astray. The Sirens enchant Odysseus with
their lovely song, and even Penelope, despite all of her contempt for the suitors, seems to be
leading them on at times. She uses her feminine wiles to conceal her ruse of undoing, every
night, her day’s work on the burial shroud, and even gets the suitors to give her gifts, claiming
that she will marry the one who gives her the nicest things. While these women do gain a certain
amount of power through their sexual charms, they are ultimately all subject to divine whim,
forced to wait and pine for love when it is absent.
MAJOR SYMBOLS
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Food: Although throwing a feast for a guest is a common part of hospitality, hunger and the
consumption of food often have negative associations in The Odyssey. They represent lack of
discipline or submission to temptation, as when Odysseus tarries in the cave of the Cyclops,
when his men slaughter the Sun’s flocks, or when they eat the fruit of the lotus. The suitors,
moreover, are constantly eating. Whenever Telemachus and Penelope complain about their
uninvited guests, they mention how the suitors slaughter the palace’s livestock. Odysseus kills
the suitors just as they are starting their dinner, and Homer graphically describes them falling
over tables and spilling their food.
In almost all cases, the monsters of The Odyssey owe their monstrosity at least in part to their
diets or the way that they eat. Scylla swallows six of Odysseus’s men, one for each head. The
Cyclops eats humans, but not sheep apparently, and is gluttonous nonetheless: when he gets
drunk, he vomits up wine mixed with pieces of human flesh. In these cases, excessive eating
represents not just lack of self-control, but also the total absence of humanity and civility.
The Wedding Bed: In Book 23 symbolizes the constancy of Penelope and Odysseus’s marriage.
Only a single maidservant has ever seen the bed, and it is where the happy couple spends its first
night in each other’s arms since Odysseus’s departure for Troy twenty years earlier. The
symbolism is heightened by the trick that Penelope uses to test Odysseus, which revolves around
the immovability of their bed—a metaphor for the unshakable foundation of their love.
Penelope’s Shroud for Laertes: During Odysseus’s long absence from Ithaca, his house fills
with suitors seeking Penelope’s hand and her riches. Penelope tells them she will choose one to
marry after she has finished weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes. This ruse
symbolizes Penelope’s cunning resistance, as she weaves during the day and unravels her work
at night. Her power over her own home rests on her ability to keep from remarrying. Homer's
world in The Odyssey looms large, and it presents symbols, ranging from specific objects to
geographical entities, that are large in their significance. Examples include the shroud that
Penelope weaves for Laertes, the great bow of Odysseus, the sea itself, and the island of Ithaca.
The shroud that Penelope weaves for her father-in-law, Laertes', eventual funeral symbolizes the
cunning with which she confronts the suitors. She lacks the power to fight them with physical
strength so she wards them off with her wits. The suitor Antinous bitterly tells the story of the
shroud to the assembly in Book 2: Penelope devoted herself to the shroud for three full years,
promising she would choose a husband when she finished. By day, the queen, a renowned
weaver, worked at a great loom in the royal halls. At night, she secretly unraveled what she had
done, deceiving the young suitors. The ruse failed only when Penelope was betrayed by a
disloyal maidservant.
The Bow of Odysseus: The bow symbolizes the physical superiority of the king — an important
point in a world in which the mighty prevail. But the bow also symbolizes the maturity and
perhaps the character of the king. The suitors can't come close to stringing it (Book 21),
illustrating the fact that none of them is capable of leading Ithaca. Prince Telemachus, trying the
bow just for sport, comes close. The reader is told that Telemachus probably could string the
bow on his fourth attempt, but his father signals him to desist. We take from this passage that
Telemachus is almost ready to be king but patiently and properly acquiesces to his father's
judgment. Only Odysseus can string the bow on his first attempt, and he does so with ease,
showing that he is the proper mate for Penelope and the only man ready to be king of Ithaca.
The Sea: The sea itself is a recurring symbol throughout the epic. It is, in effect, the sea of life. It
represents a great man's journey through life with all its victories and heartbreaks. Because
Odysseus is far from Ithaca and the only way home is by way of the sea, he shows lack of
judgment when he incurs the wrath of the sea god, Poseidon, by blinding the god's son
Polyphemus. The sea god answers the Cyclops' prayer by making Odysseus' struggle long and
hard, assuring that he returns home alone and finds formidable problems in his household. Part
of the appeal of The Odyssey is this universal journey that we all undertake, in ways great or
small.
The Kingdom of Ithaca: The island of Ithaca symbolizes home. There Odysseus can share his
life with his beloved wife and son, enjoy the wealth that he has earned, eat the food of his youth,
and even sleep in the bed that he built. Ithaca symbolizes the end of the journey, the goal of the
mythic trek. Nevertheless, it is not gained without a fight. Unsure if he will be welcomed after a
decade away from his home, Odysseus initially enters his own home in disguise. This is
necessary because his home has been invaded by the enemy: the suitors. Being the military
leader that he is, Odysseus first gathers pertinent information. He then plans the time and place
of his attack, doing what he can to limit the enemy's weapons while procuring his own. His son
and two loyal herdsmen stand by him, and Athena intervenes only enough to encourage victory
so long as Odysseus fights well. The reward is that Odysseus resumes his proper position as king
of his homeland, Ithaca.
Protagonist
The Odyssey’s protagonist is Odysseus, “the man of twists and turns.” The action of the poem is
driven by Odysseus’s desire to return home and assert his claim to his house and family. We first
encounter Odysseus on an island, where he has been the prisoner of the nymph Calypso for
seven years. He seems a broken man. He spends all day weeping and all night in a kind of sexual
servitude to Calypso. As soon as Calypso offers Odysseus the chance to escape, he is ready to
jump into action, even though the risks of leaving—on a hastily-built raft—are great. He washes
up in Phaeacia, where he recounts the story of his travels and we learn about the many obstacles
that Odysseus has already overcome in his quest to return to Ithaca. All of the action of this
portion of the poem is incited by Odysseus’s decisions, which are driven by his desire to return
home and his duty to his men. In the second half of the poem, Odysseus completes his
homecoming by defeating the suitors who have occupied his house. By killing the suitors and
reclaiming his home, Odysseus shows that his many trials have only made him stronger.
Antagonist
Odysseus faces many antagonists who obstruct his journey home. The god Poseidon does
everything he can to prevent Odysseus returning to Ithaca. Monsters and immortal beings try to
kill or capture him. Odysseus’s own men obstruct him often, particularly when they defy his and
the gods’ commands not to kill the Cattle of the Sun. Above all, Odysseus must battle his own
weaknesses. His greed gets him trapped in the Cyclops’ cave, and his pride causes him to reveal
his name to the Cyclops, who calls down Poseidon’s wrath. He succumbs to the temptation of
luxury and stays with Circe for a full year. War itself may also be considered an antagonist in the
poem – war is what separated Odysseus from his home, and he spends much of the poem battling
the traumas he and his men suffered in the Trojan War. For instance, Odysseus says that Circe’s
luxuries appealed to his and his men’s “battle-hardened spirits.” While Odysseus’s identity as a
warrior is often praised and celebrated in the poem, war itself is presented as a divisive force
separating men from their families and causing misery and pain.
SETTINGS IN THE ODYSSEY
It is set on the Mediterranean Coast during the Bronze Age which is approximately the 12th
century B.C.E.
The Odyssey was composed around the year 700 B.C.E. The poem is set about 500 years earlier,
around 1200 B.C.E., a period known as the Bronze Age. The poet imagines this time as a golden
age in which kings enjoy extraordinary wealth, warriors possess almost superhuman strength,
and women are supernaturally beautiful. The gods walk among humans. Monsters pose a threat
to any traveler who strays off the map. In many respects, however, the world of The
Odyssey reflects the era in which it was written rather than the era in which it is set. The feudal
society of Ithaca belongs to the eighth century B.C.E. rather than the twelfth.
Sometimes, the poem’s armor and weapons are made of bronze, as they would have been in its
Bronze Age setting, but at other times they are made of iron. In some respects, the two worlds
are the same. When Odysseus tells stories of piracy and slave-trading, he is describing the reality
that faced seafarers on the Aegean right up to the nineteenth century. Above all, the values which
motivate the poem’s characters, like respect for the guest-host relationship, would also have
motivated the poem’s earliest readers.
The Odyssey repeatedly contrasts two kinds of setting: domestic and wild. The poem’s characters
often find themselves in luxurious domestic settings, the palaces of kings and goddesses. In these
locations Odysseus and Telemachus negotiate the subtleties of the guest-host relationship, and
often the sheer wealth and luxury of the settings makes this negotiation difficult. Telemachus
proves his growing maturity when he tactfully explains that his own homeland is too rocky for
the chariot he is offered by the spectacularly wealthy Menelaus.
Odysseus is lulled by the incredible luxury of Circe’s home into wasting a year on her island. At
other times, the poem’s characters find themselves in unknown, untamed spaces, where they face
serious threats. At sea they are threatened by storms and the wrath of gods and monsters. In
unknown lands they face hostile armies. Odysseus’ most dangerous encounter comes when he
mistakes a wild setting for a domestic one. He seeks out the home of Polyphemus the Cyclops
because he expects a guest-gift, only to find that the Cyclops pays no heed to human laws.
Odysseus: He has the defining character traits of a Homeric leader: strength, courage, nobility, a
thirst for glory, and confidence in his authority. His most distinguishing trait, however, is his
sharp intellect. Odysseus’s quick thinking helps him out of some very tough situations, as when
he escapes from the cave of the Cyclops in Book 9, or when he hides his slaughter of the suitors
by having his minstrel strike up a wedding tune in Book 23. He is also a convincing, articulate
speaker and can win over or manipulate his audience with ease. When he first addresses
Nausicaa on the island of Scheria, for example, his suave, comforting approach quickly wins her
trust.
Like other Homeric heroes, Odysseus longs to win kleos (“glory” won through great deeds), but
he also wishes to complete his nostos (“homecoming”). He enjoys his luxurious life with
Calypso in an exotic land, but only to a point. Eventually, he wants to return home, even though
he admits that his wife cannot compare with Calypso. He thinks of home throughout the time he
spends with the Phaeacians and also while on Circe’s island. Sometimes his glory-seeking gets in
the way of his home-seeking, however. He sacks the land of the Cicones but loses men and time
in the process. He waits too long in the cave of Polyphemus, enjoying the free milk and cheese
he finds, and is trapped there when the Cyclops returns.
Homeric characters are generally static. Though they may be very complex and realistic, they do
not change over the course of the work as characters in modern novels and stories do. Odysseus
and especially Telemachus break this rule. Early in his adventures, Odysseus’s love of glory
prompts him to reveal his identity to the Cyclops and bring Poseidon’s wrath down on him. By
the end of the epic, he seems much more willing to temper pride with patience. Disguised as a
beggar, he does not immediately react to the abuse he receives from the suitors. Instead, he
endures it until the traps he has set and the loyalties he has secured put him in a position from
which he can strike back effectively.
Penelope: Though she has not seen Odysseus in twenty years, and despite pressure the suitors
place on her to remarry, Penelope never loses faith in her husband. Her cares make her somewhat
flighty and excitable, however. For this reason, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Athena often prefer
to leave her in the dark about matters rather than upset her. Athena must distract her, for
instance, so that she does not discover Odysseus’s identity when Eurycleia is washing him.
Athena often comes to her in dreams to reassure or comfort her, for Penelope would otherwise
spend her nights weeping in her bed.
Though her love for Odysseus is unyielding, she responds to the suitors with some indecision.
She never refuses to remarry outright. Instead, she puts off her decision and leads them on with
promises that she will choose a new husband as soon as certain things happen. Her astute
delaying tactics reveal her sly and artful side. The notion of not remarrying until she completes a
burial shroud that she will never complete cleverly buys her time. Similarly, some commentators
claim that her decision to marry whomever wins the archery contest of Book 21 results from her
awareness that only her husband can win it. Some even claim that she recognizes her husband
before she admits it to him in Book 23.
Telemachus: Just an infant when his father left for Troy, Telemachus is still maturing
when The Odyssey begins. He is wholly devoted to his mother and to maintaining his father’s
estate, but he does not know how to protect them from the suitors. After all, it has only been a
few years since he first realized what the suitors’ intentions were. His meeting with Athena in
Book 1 changes things. Aside from improving his stature and bearing, she teaches him the
responsibilities of a young prince. He soon becomes more assertive. He confronts the suitors and
denounces the abuse of his estate, and when Penelope and Eurycleia become anxious or upset, he
does not shy away from taking control.
Telemachus never fully matches his father’s talents, at least not by The Odyssey’s conclusion. He
has a stout heart and an active mind, and sometimes even a bit of a temper, but he never schemes
with the same skill or speaks with quite the same fluency as Odysseus. In Book 22, he
accidentally leaves a weapon storeroom unlocked, a careless mistake that allows the suitors to
arm themselves. While Odysseus does make a few mistakes in judgment over the course of the
epic, it is difficult to imagine him making such an absentminded blunder. Telemachus has not yet
inherited his father’s brassy pride either. The scene with the bow captures the endpoint of his
development perfectly. He tries and tries to string it, and very nearly does, but not quite. This
episode reminds us that, at the close of The Odyssey, Telemachus still cannot match his father’s
skills but is well on his way.
Athena: As goddess of wisdom and battle, Athena naturally has a soft spot for the brave and
wily Odysseus. She helps him out of many tough situations, including his shipwreck in
Book 5 and the mismatched battle of Book 22. She does not merely impart sense and safety to
her passive charge, however. She takes an interest in Odysseus for the talents he already has and
actively demonstrates. Although she reassures Odysseus during the battle with the suitors, she
does not become fully involved, preferring instead to watch Odysseus fight and prevail on his
own.
She also often helps Telemachus—as when she sends him off to Pylos and Sparta to earn a name
for himself—but she has the most affection for Odysseus. Athena is confident, practical, clever, a
master of disguises, and a great warrior, characteristics she finds reflected in Telemachus. Her
role as goddess of the womanly arts gets very little attention in The Odyssey. Penelope works at
the loom all the time but rarely sees Athena, and then usually only in dreams.
Calypso: Calypso is an immortal goddess who holds Odysseus prisoner for seven years on the
island where she lives and forces him to be her lover. Calypso loves Odysseus and wants to make
him immortal so he can stay with her and be her husband forever, even though she understands
that he doesn’t love her back and wants to return to Penelope. Throughout the poem Calypso is
described as “lustrous Calypso” and “the nymph with lovely braids.” In addition to being
powerful, Calypso is smart and insightful.
When Zeus orders Calypso to release Odysseus, she complains about the gods’ double standard
which allows male deities to take human lovers but punishes goddesses who do the same: “You
unrivalled lords of jealousy—/scandalized when goddesses sleep with mortals.” Calypso’s
speech draws our attention to the similar double standard which exists in the mortal world of the
poem. Neither the poet nor any of the poem’s characters rebuke Odysseus for sleeping with
Calypso and Circe, but Penelope is repeatedly criticized for allowing the suitors to remain in her
house, even though she has little or no power to expel them
Circe: Like Calypso, is an immortal goddess who seeks to prevent Odysseus from returning
home. Also like Calypso, Circe is described as “lustrous” and “the nymph with the lovely
braids,” and is first seen weaving at her loom. Circe has magic powers, which she uses to turn
some of Odysseus’s men into pigs. When Odysseus resists her magic with the help of the god
Hermes, Circe invites him into her bed, then bathes him, feeds him, and releases his men from
the spell she’s cast on them. Odysseus describes Circe’s home as overflowing with abundant
food and luxury: “handmaids bustled through the halls[…]One draped the chairs with fine
crimson covers[…]
A third mulled heady, heart-warming wine[…]she eased me into a tub and bathed me.” In
Circe’s home, Odysseus loses sight of the goal of returning to Ithaca, and he happily spends a
year enjoying her hospitality, until his men remind him of their mission. Because Circe succeeds
in distracting Odysseus from his quest, she can be seen as representing the dangers of excess
comfort and pleasure. Once she agrees not to play any more tricks on Odysseus and his men,
Circe turns out to be the ideal host – in fact, too ideal for any guest who wants to eventually
leave.