The Adventures of Odysseus

11.  Athena and Poseidon had been
the Greeks greatest allies among
the gods but when the Troy fell
all that had changed. They
became their bitterest enemy.
Poseidon struck the
Greek after they left for
Greece .
When the Greeks attacked
the city, Cassandra was in
Athena’s temple, clinging to
her image. Ajax the little
chieftain tore her from the
altar and dragged her out of
the sanctuary.
Athena’s wrath was
deep. She went to Poseidon
and laid her wrongs before
him and Poseidon agreed.

12.  Agamemnon came near to
losing all his ships. But he was
the most fortunate of the
victorious chieftains. His ship
came safely through the storm.
Menelaus was blown to Egypt.
At the height of the storm,
Ajax boat was shattered and sank
but he succeeded in swimming to
shore. He would have been saved
but in his mad folly he cried out
that he was tha one the sea could
not drown.
Such arrogance always
aroused the anger of the gods.
Poseidon broke of the jagged bit
of the rock to which he was
clinging. Ajax fell and the waves
swept him away to his death.

13.  Odyssues did not lose his
life, but if he did not suffer
as much as some of the
Greeks he suffered longer
than them all.
His ship were driven
across the sea for nine days.
On the tenth day, they
landed on the land of Lutos-
Eaters.
The inhabitants met
them with kindness and
gave them flower food to
eat but those who tasted it,
on a few fortunately, lost
their longing for home.
They wanted only to dwell in Lotus land
and let their memory fade from their minds.
Though they were all weary, Odysseus
dragged them on shipboard and chain them.
They wept for they desired to stay and taste
forever the honey-sweet flowers.

14. Since Poseidon was
Polyphemus father,
Poseidon swore that
Odysseus should reach
his own country only after
a long misery and when
he had lost all his men

15. King Aeolus gave Odysseus a parting gift, a leather sack
which he had put all the storm winds.
It was fastened tightly not
the very least puff off any wind
that spells danger a ship could
leak out.
The sack was so heavy that
the crew had difficulty in
putting it to their ship.
They thought that the bag
was probably full of gold so
they opened it.
At once, the winds rushed
out and swept them away to
their terrific temptest.

16. Laestrygons were people of
gigantic size and cannibals
too.
They destroyed all
Odysseus’ ships except the one
he himself was in which had
not yet entered the harbor
when the attack was made.
It was the worst disaster they met. So they put on at the next
island they reached.

17. Odysseus’ some men
spied on Circe’s home.
She turned them
into swine with human
brain, penned them in
a sty and gave them
acorns to eat.
The men eat them since they are swine but they were aware of
the taste since they have their human sensitivity but they were
completely under her power.

18.  Luckily, Odysseus was too
cautious to enter the house.
He watched what happened
and fled in horror back to the
ship.
He started off all alone to try
to do something to save his
men.
On his way, he met Hermes.
Hermes gave him a herb which could save him from
Circe’s deadly art. Odysseus took the herb and went
back to Aeaea thankfully.

19.  Circe offered him a cup of drink.
With the herb, Odysseus was unchanged and to her amazement, she
fall in love with him and she was ready to do whatever he pleased.
Then, she turned his men
back to their normal form
again.
She treated them all with
kindness, feasting sumptuously in
her house, that for a whole year,
they stayed happily with her.

20.  Before they left, Circe told Odysseus to find the spirit of
Teiresias for he would tell him how to get back home.
Odysseus cross the river
Ocean and beach the ship
one Persephone’s shore
where there was an entrance
to the realm of Hades.
He induced the ghost to
come to him by killing sheep
and filling a pit with blood.
All ghost had an irresistible
craving to drink blood.
Everyone of them come rushing to the pit, but Odysseus drove
his sword and kept them away until he saw the ghost of Teiresias.

21.  He let him approached him and drink the blood and put a question
to him. He told him that in any event Odysseus himself would
reach home and although he would find trouble waiting for him,
in the end he would prevail.
After the prophet
speaking, a long
procession of dead
came up and drink the
blood and speak
Odysseus and pass on,
great heroes and fair
women of
old;warriors, too, who
fallen at Troy.
Achilles came and Ajax, still
wrathful because of the armor of
Achilles which the Greeks captain had
given to Odysseus and not to him.
Many others came all
eager to speak to him. Too
many that he hastened to the
ship and bade the crew sail.

22. Sirens were marvellous
singers whose voices
would make a man forget
all else and at last their
song would still his breath
away.
Odysseus told his men about
them and that the only way
to pass them safely was to
put each man’s ear wax.
He himself was determined to hear them and he proposed that the
crew should tie him to the mast so strongly that he could not get away
how much he tried.
They did this and drew near to the island. Odysseus heard the
enchanting song and the word were even more enticing.

23. Odysseus chose to pass under nearer to Scylla,. They
succeeded in passing it. But six of his crew died.

24. The crew were hungry and so
they killed the oxen sacred to the
sun while Odysseus was away to
pray.
When he returned, the oxen
were already roasted and
eaten.
The vengeance of the sun was
swift. As soon as the men left
the island, a thunderbolt
shattered the ship.
All were drowned except Odysseus. He clung to the keel and
was able to ride out the storm.

25. Calypso loved
him and planned
never to let him
go. In every other
way she
overwhelmed him
with kindness.
There, Odysseus
stayed for seven
years.

26. Twenty years had passed since Odysseus sailed for Troy.
In Ithaca, the island where his home was, things had
gone bad to worse.
Everyone by now except
Penelope and Telemachus took
it for granted that Odysseus
was dead.
Men came swarming to
Odysseus house and forcing
Penelope to marry one of them.
But she has none of them. They were rude, cruel and bossy.

27. She tricked them by telling
that she could not marry
anyone of them if she
cannot finished weaving a
very exquisite shroud for
Odysseus’ father, Laertes
and they agreed.
Penelope unwove every
night what she had woven
everyday.
One of her hand maidens
told the suitors about this
and they caught her in very
act.
Of course after that, they were more insistent and unmanageable
than ever.

28. After ten years of
wandering, the gods were
now sorry for Odysseus
with the exemption of
Poseidon.
On one gathering, in the
absence of Poseidon, Athena
laid out the sad case of
Odysseus before the others
and Zeus promised to send
Hermes to Calypso to tell
her to let Odysseus go back
for his voyage for home.
So Athena glide down to Ithaca to find Telemachus.

29. She disguised herself as seafaring man and Telemachus saw her
and invited her and let her sit in on the seat of honor.
They talked and
Telemachus shared to her
the problem of the house.
Athena advised him to go to
Menelaus or Nestor to find
news about his father.

30. The next day, he summoned the assembly and told them that he
needed men and crews in finding his father but he only got
mockery.
Telemachus in despair went
faraway along the seashore
and prayed to Athena.
Athena heard him and she
disguised herself as a mentor
and spoke good words to him
and encouraged him.
At that very night,
Telemachus sailed for
Nestor’s home with the
mebtor.

31. Nestor received him gladly and hospitably.
But Nestor knew nothing about Odysseus so he send his son and
Telemachus on chariot to Sparta to inquire Menelaus.
The lordly dwelling of
Menelaus welcomed them.
He told them that Odysseus
was imprisoned by Calypso
according to Proteus, a sea-
god who is capable of
changing himself to any form
he wanted to.

32. Meanwhile, Hermes went
to Calypso and told her to
let Odysseus go.
Calypso was at first
hesitant but because she
was afraid to arise the
anger of Zeus, she agreed.
Calypso set gloomily
for the preparations.
She helped him build the raft and put all the necessities inside it
including the delicacies he wanted most.

33. For seventeen days, Odysseus journeyed on calm waters.
But on 18th day, Poseidon
from Ethiopia caught sight
of him and summoned all
the violent winds to him.
Princess Ino advised him
to leave the raft and gave
him her veil. The veil
would protect him as
long as he is in the water.
Odysseus swim for shore for three days and he landed on an
island one evening.

34. The next day, after Nausicaa
the Pheaecian princess washed
the soiled linens, she found
Odysseus.
She told him to enter the
kingdom and asked for help for
the kingdom was ruled by her
father.
The king and queen welcomed
him hospitably.
He laid out his sufferings to
them and in the presence of
Phaeacian chiefs, the king
promised to send him home that
very day.

35. They arrived in Ithaca and Athena appeared to him and advised
him to stay at Eumaeus to work out a plan.
She turned Odysseus to an old
ragged man so that he can go
everywhere unrecognized.
Then he went to Eumaeus
house.
Eumaeus welcomed the
stranger , fed him well and
lodged him for the night.
The next day, Telemachus
arrived at Eumaeus house and
send him to his mother to
inform that he has arrived
already.

36. While Eumaeus was away, Athena changed Odysseus back to his
normal form.
Odysseus introduced himself to
his son and they cried and hugged
each other.
When Eumaeus came back,
Athena changed Odysseus to an
old beggar again.
Next day, Telemchus went
home alone, leaving the other
two to follow.
They reached the town, they
came to the palace and at last
Odysseus entered his dwelling.

37. As he did so, his dog Argos, knew him and wagged his tail but
he did not dared to go to him for fear of arousing suspicion in
the swineherd/.
As he turned away that moment the old dog died.
Penelope welcomed him
and let Eurycleia washed
the stranger’s feet.
Odysseus was afraid
beacause he has a scar in
his one foot and he
thought Eurycleia would
recognized it and he was
right but the nurse
promised him not to tell
anyone.

38. The next day, Penelope descended to where the suitors were
gathered carrying the bow and arrows of Odysseus.
She told them that he
who could string the
bow and shoot an arrow
straight through twelve
rings in a line, she will
take as her husband.
Penelope then went to her chamber very assured that none of them can
do so.
Telemachus first tried but he failed. He only shoot the arrow
through eleven rings in a line.

39. Certain that none could be
successful, Odysseus left the
contest and stepped out to the
courtyard where the swineherd
was talking to the cattle
keeper.
He told them who really he
was and showed his mark.
They recognized it and burst
out weeping for joy.
He then instructed them to shut
and bar the gates of the court
and keep the weapons. Then he
turned back to the hall.
He then asked Telemachus if he could shoot the arrow and
Telemachus agreed.

40. All watches him as he carefully studied the bow. He notched an
arrow to the string and drew and not moving from his seat, he
sent through twelve rings.
The next instant, at one leap
he was at the door and
Telemachus was beside him.
He then shot an arrow to the
suitors and they were
slaughtered without a chance to
defend themselves.
Then the slaughter ended.

41. Eurycleia and her maids were summoned to cleanse the place
and restore all to order.
They surrounded
Odysseus, weeping,
laughing and
welcoming him home.
Eurycleia climbed the stairs
to her mistress’s chamber
and informed him that her
husband has arrived.

42. Penelope could not believed
her. She hurried down the
hall to see her own eyes.
A tall man and princely-
looking was sitting by the
hearth where the firelight fell
full on him. She sat down
opposite to him and looked at
him in silence.
She then told Telemachus that
if this man was Odysseus then
the two of them have ways of
knowing each other.
Then the well-ordered hall
was full of rejoicing for
Odysseus at last after long
wandering had come home
and every heart was glad.