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The Odyssey Summary and Analysis

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The Odyssey Summary – Introduction

The Odyssey is an epic poem written by the celebrated Greek poet in approximately 700 B.C. The companion poem to The Odyssey is The Iliad which was published around 750 B.C. This work follows the brave and famed hero, Odysseus, who is trapped far away from his family with the nymph Calypso.

Held hostage out of obsessive love, Odysseus is unable to return home to his family in Ithaca. In his absence, a team of suitors take up residence at his palace and attempt to court his wife and murder his son, usurping Odysseus’s rulership. However, the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus intervene on his behalf and after a series of trials and grand adventures, he is able to return home and restore order.

Literary Elements

Type of Work: Poem

Genres: Epic  

Published Date: Unknown, but estimated to be written around the year 700 B.C.  

Setting: Greece during what is known as the Bronze Age, twelfth/thirteenth century B.C.  

Main Characters: Odysseus, Telemachus, Athena, Penelope

Protagonist/Hero: Odysseus

Antagonist: Many monsters and evil forces threaten Odysseus’s journey back home. A mob of evil suitors waits for him at home, pillaging his palace and trying to court his wife and murder his son.  

Major Thematic Elements: The power of the mind over physical strengths; the dangers of temptation; the dangers of isolation; how maturity comes from trials and triumphs  

Motifs: Characters in disguise; storytelling traditions; temptress characters

Exposition: It has been 10 years since the fall of Troy and the people of Ithaca are still awaiting the return of their hero, Odysseus. A mob of suitors have overrun his palace and are courting his wife, Penelope. However, she does everything she can to remain faithful to her husband, believing he will return, despite their plots to take control of Odysseus’s kingdom by any means necessary.

Conflict: Odysseus has to get home to get rid of the suitors who are trying to win over his wife and take control of his kingdom. His son, Telemachus, is faced with the need to mature early to protect his family’s honor and to secure his place as ruler of Ithaca should his father not return home.

Plot: Chronological, jumping between Odysseus’s current location and his home in Ithaca

Major Symbols: Food and feasts; Odysseus’s bow; characterizations of temptation

Climax: The beggar in the palace reveals his identity as Odysseus in Book 22.

Literary Significance of The Odyssey

Furthermore, audiences of all ages throughout the millennia have enjoyed stories in which brave heroes face insurmountable challenges and then preserve. The thematic elements of The Odyssey speak to the triumph of good over evil and that even a human man can withstand temptations and persevere until he is reunited with what is important to him. This speaks to the boldness of the human spirit, which is always a winning idea in literature. Historically speaking, the poem also conveys a nice peak at the values that were important to ancient Greeks.

Homer’s Odyssey Summary

However, Odysseus is still alive and is being kept from returning home by the nymph Calypso. She has fallen into an obsessive love for the brave hero and is keeping him captive on her island, Ogygia. Although he wants to return home to his family, he has no way to take on the journey, being utterly alone and without a crew to help him sail.

While Odysseus is held captive, the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus are debating his fate. His strongest supporter in Mount Olympus is the goddess Athena. She decides she will take the charge to protect his son, Telemachus. She arrives to Odysseus’s palace disguised as a friend of Telemachus’ grandfather, Laertes. She convinces Telemachus to call an assembly during which he will condemn the mob of suitors. Afterwards, he is convinced to embark on a journey to appeal to some powerful friends of Odysseus, the kings Pylos and Menelaus, of Pylos and Sparta. Through his travels, he learns that Odysseus is alive and well, but trapped on Ogygia. While Telemachus returns home, Antinous and the other suitors are preparing to ambush and kill him as he returns to port in Ithaca.

He spends the night telling them of his travels and all the interesting creatures and foes he met along the way. When he finishes, they make good on their promise and deliver him safely home. For safety, Athena has disguised him as a lowly beggar upon his arrival. His old friend Eumaeus receives him warmly, unaware of his true identity. Before long, he encounters his son and reveals his true identity to him. Telemachus was able to survive the ambush of the suitors and the two work together to plan a massacre of the suitors and regain control of the palace.

The next day, Odysseus shows up at the palace, still disguised as the beggar. Although he is mocked and abused by most of the people present in the palace, his wife, Penelope, takes interest in him and suspects he may be more than what he seems. Picking up on the fact that this beggar may be her husband in disguise, she decides to organize an archery contest the following day. She promises to marry any man who is able to string Odysseus’s bow and accurately shoot an arrow through a row of twelve axes. During the contest, none of the suitors are able to make this happen. Odysseus takes up the task, still under disguise. He turns his bow on the suitors and Telemachus leaps into action and together they kill each suitor.

After this is accomplished, Odysseus reveals his identity to who is left at the palace. He is able to reunite with his wife, and then he visits his father, Laertes. The family members come to attack them, consumed with thoughts of vengeance. Laertes, however, is so overjoyed at his son’s return that he musters the energy to fend off the attackers. Once again, Athena arrives to restore peace after these long trials. Finally, Odysseus is able to control full power of his kingdom once more and to be peacefully reunited with his family.

• The Odyssey
• Literature Notes
• Poem Summary
• The Odyssey at a Glance
• About The Odyssey
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Books 13-14
• Books 15-16
• Character Analysis
• Athena (Pallas)
• Polyphemus (the Cyclops) and King Alcinous
• Circe and Calypso
• Character Map
• Homer Biography
• Critical Essays
• Major Themes in The Odyssey
• Major Symbols in The Odyssey
• Literary Devices of The Odyssey
• Famous Quotes from Homer's The Odyssey
• Film Versions of Homer's The Odyssey
• Full Glossary for The Odyssey
• Essay Questions
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Introduction

After an invocation to the Muse of poetry, the epic begins in medias res ("in the middle of things"). Odysseus has been gone from Ithaca for about 20 years — the first 10 spent fighting the Trojan War, the last 10 trying to get home.

Meanwhile, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, tries to fend off over 100 suitors who have invaded the royal palace, seeking her hand in marriage (and a chance of ruling Ithaca), and indulging in great amounts of food and wine at the hosts' expense. Telemachus, son of Odysseus and Penelope, is just coming of age (he is approximately 21) and is at a loss as to what to do about the suitors. Mother and son yearn for Odysseus' return.

The first four books deal with Telemachus' struggle (in fact, Odysseus does not appear in the epic until Book 5). A secondary plot in The Odyssey is Telemachus' coming of age, his own quest, which scholars sometimes refer to as the "Telemacheia."

The goddess Athena appears to the young prince in disguise and advises him to gather an assembly of the island's leaders to protest the invasion of the suitors. Soon after, he is to visit King Nestor of Pylos and King Menelaus of Sparta, old comrades of his father's, to gather from them any new of Odysseus.

At the assembly, the two leading suitors — the aggressive Antinous and the smooth-talking Eurymachus — confront the prince. They accuse Penelope of delaying too long in her choice of a new husband. Telemachus speaks well but accomplishes little at the assembly because the suitors are from some of the strongest families in the area and are impatient with Penelope's delays.

As Telemachus secretly sets off for Pylos and Sparta, the suitors plot to assassinate him. At Pylos, Telemachus learns little of his father but is encouraged to visit Sparta where King Menelaus reports that Odysseus is alive but held captive by the goddess nymph Calypso.

Homer leaves the story of Telemachus as the suitors are about to ambush his ship on its return to Ithaca. At Athena's urging, the gods have decided to free Odysseus from Calypso. Hermes, the messenger god, delivers the order to Odysseus' captor. Odysseus has spent seven years with the goddess, sleeping with her at night and pining for his home and family during the day. Calypso is a beautiful, lustful nymph who wants to marry Odysseus and grant him immortality, but he longs for Penelope and Ithaca. Reluctantly, Calypso sends Odysseus on his way.

Poseidon, the sea god, spots the wayfarer and, seeking revenge because Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son Cyclops, shipwrecks Odysseus on Phaeacia, which is ruled by King Alcinous. The Phaeacians, civilized and hospitable people, welcome the stranger and encourage him to tell of his adventures. Through Odysseus' narration, the reader goes back 10 years and hears his tale.

Known as "The Wanderings of Odysseus," this section is the most famous of the epic. At the end of the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men sail first to the land of the Cicones. The Greeks succeed in raiding the central city but linger too long and are routed by a reserve force. Hoping to sail directly home, the flotilla instead encounters a severe storm, brought on by Athena, that blows them far off course to the land of the Lotus-eaters. These are not hostile people, but eating the lotus plant removes memory and ambition; Odysseus is barely able to pull his men away and resume the journey.

Curiosity compels Odysseus to explore the land of the Cyclops, a race of uncivilized, cannibalistic, one-eyed giants. One of them, Polyphemus (also known simply as "Cyclops"), traps Odysseus' scouting party in his cave. To escape, Odysseus blinds the one-eyed monster, incurring the wrath of the giant's father, Poseidon.

Aeolus, the wind god, is initially a friendly host. He captures all adverse winds and bags them for Odysseus, who is thus able to sail within sight of Ithaca. Unfortunately, his men suspect that the bag holds treasure and open it while Odysseus sleeps. The troublesome winds blow the party back to Aeolus, who wants no more to do with them, speculating that they must be cursed by the gods.

The next hosts, the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, sink all the ships but Odysseus' in a surprise attack. The remaining Greeks reach Aeaea, home of the beautiful enchantress Circe, who turns several of them into pigs. With advice from Hermes, Odysseus cleverly defeats Circe and becomes her lover. She lifts the spell from his men and aids in the group's eventual departure a year later, advising Odysseus that he must sail to the Land of the Dead. There, he receives various Greek heroes, a visit from his own mother, and an important prophecy from the seer Tiresias. Odysseus resumes his journey.

Barely surviving the temptations of the Sirens' songs and an attack by a six-headed monster named Scylla, Odysseus and his crew arrive at the island of the Sungod Helios. Despite severe warnings not to, the men feast on the cattle of the Sungod during Odysseus' brief absence. Zeus is outraged and destroys the ship as the Greeks depart, killing all but Odysseus, who is washed ashore at Calypso's island, where he stays until released seven years later.

Books 13-24

The story of his adventures finished, Odysseus receives the admiration and gifts of the Phaeacians who follow their tradition of returning wayfaring strangers to their homelands by sailing him to Ithaca. Meanwhile, Athena helps Telemachus avoid the suitors' ambush and arranges for him to meet his father at their pig farm not far from the palace.

Reunited with his son and with the assistance of Athena and his faithful swineherd Eumaeus, Odysseus returns to his home palace disguised as a beggar. For the time, he resists striking back at the suitors who insult and assault him. Penelope seems at least suspicious that he is her husband, but it is Eurycleia, a loyal nurse who cared for Odysseus when he was a child, who has no doubt of his identity as she discovers an old scar on his leg when she bathes him.

Penelope arranges a contest, vowing to wed any man who can string the great bow of Odysseus and shoot an arrow through a dozen axes as he used to do. The suitors all fail; only Odysseus himself can perform the feat. With deft planning and more help from Athena, he and Telemachus and two faithful herdsmen slaughter the suitors. Odysseus and Penelope are reunited, as are Odysseus and his aging father, Laertes. Athena makes peace with the suitors' vengeful friends and families, avoiding civil war. Odysseus is home at last.

Previous The Odyssey at a Glance

Next About The Odyssey

The Odyssey

• The Odyssey Summary

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful -- though weakening -- wife, Penelope , and going through his stock of food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena , Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon his return.

As Telemachus tracks Odysseus' trail through stories from his old comrades-in-arms, Athena arranges for the release of Odysseus from the island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, whose prisoner and lover he has been for the last eight years. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft, but the sea god Poseidon , whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventures by blinding Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, conjures up a storm. With Athena's help, Odysseus reaches the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, who has a crush on the handsome warrior, opens the palace to the stranger. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the Phaeacians' request, he tells the story of his adventures.

Odysseus relates how, following the Trojan War, his men suffered more losses at the hands of the Kikones, then were nearly tempted to stay on the island of the drug-addled Lotus Eaters. Next, the Cyclops Polyphemus devoured many of Odysseus' men before an ingenious plan of Odysseus' allowed the rest to escape -- but not before Odysseus revealed his name to Polyphemus and thus started his personal war with Poseidon. The wind god Ailos then provided Odysseus with a bag of winds to aid his return home, but the crew greedily opened the bag and sent the ship to the land of the giant, man-eating Laistrygonians, where they again barely escaped.

On their next stop, the goddess Circe tricked Odysseus' men and turned them into pigs. With the help of the god Hermes, Odysseus defied her spell and metamorphosed the pigs back into men. They stayed on her island for a year in the lap of luxury, with Odysseus as her lover, before moving on and resisting the temptations of the seductive and dangerous Sirens, navigating between the sea monster Scylla and the whirlpools of Charybdis, and plumbing the depths of Hades to receive a prophecy from the blind seer Tiresias. Resting on the island of Helios, Odysseus' men disobeyed his orders not to touch the oxen. At sea, Zeus punished them and all but Odysseus died in a storm. It was then that Odysseus reached Calypso's island.

Odysseus finishes his story, and the Phaeacians hospitably give him gifts and ferry him home on a ship. Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar and instructs him to seek out his old swineherd, Eumaeus; she will recall Telemachus from his own travels. With Athena's help, Telemachus avoids the suitors' ambush and reunites with his father, who reveals his identity only to his son and swineherd. He devises a plan to overthrow the suitors with their help.

In disguise as a beggar, Odysseus investigates his palace. The suitors and a few of his old servants generally treat him rudely as Odysseus sizes up the loyalty of Penelope and his other servants. Penelope, who notes the resemblance between the beggar and her presumably dead husband, proposes a contest: she will, at last, marry the suitor who can string Odysseus' great bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen axe heads.

Only Odysseus can pull off the feat. Bow in hand, he shoots and kills the suitor Antinous and reveals his identity. With Telemachus, Eumaeus, and his goatherd Philoitios at his side, Odysseus leads the massacre of the suitors, aided only at the end by Athena. Odysseus lovingly reunites with Penelope, his knowledge of their bed that he built the proof that overcomes her skepticism that he is an impostor. Outside of town, Odysseus visits his ailing father, Laertes, but an army of the suitors' relatives quickly finds them. With the encouragement of a disguised Athena, Laertes strikes down the ringleader, Antinous' father. Before the battle can progress any further, Athena, on command from Zeus, orders peace between the two sides.

The Odyssey Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Odyssey is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What universal themes does Homer explore in the Odyssey?

Check out these themes below:

What do you learn about the character of Odysseus through the poet's introduction in Book 1?

In Book I, we learn that Odysseus fought in the Trojan War, that he has been on the island of Ogygia for eight years, that Poseidon is planning to make his journey home extremely difficult because Odysseus blinded his son, and that his Odysseus'...

summarize terisias' prophecy in the odyssey?

In the Odyssey, Circe sends Odysseus to Tiresias to advise him how to get home. The prophet tells him that he will survive the trip, but if his crew touches the cattle of Helios, they will not. His crew ends up eating the cattle and subsequently...

Study Guide for The Odyssey

The Odyssey study guide contains a biography of Homer, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Odyssey
• Character List

Essays for The Odyssey

The Odyssey essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Odyssey by Homer.

• The Underworld in The Aeneid Versus The Odyssey
• A Musing Contrast
• Homeric Formalism
• The Evolution of Civil Justice
• Modus Operandi - The Ways of Greek Literature

Lesson Plan for The Odyssey

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Odyssey
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Odyssey Bibliography

E-Text of The Odyssey

The Odyssey e-text contains the full text of The Odyssey by Homer.

• Books 13-16

Wikipedia Entries for The Odyssey

• Introduction

The Odyssey

111 pages • 3 hours read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Books 13-16

Books 17-20

Books 21-24

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, though “Homer” is now generally believed to refer more to an epic tradition than to a specific or single person. Scholars debate when and how the poem was composed. It seems to have come into existence contemporaneously or shortly after the adaptation of the ancient Greek alphabet, which places it in the late 8th century BC. It was most likely composed orally, and even after it was written down, its earliest audiences would have heard the poem performed. The text as it is now experienced was likely arranged sometime in the 2nd century BC by scholars at the Library of Alexandria and preserved by the scholars of Constantinople in the Eastern Roman Empire.

Often referred to as the beginning of Western literature, the Odyssey draws on conceits and concepts from Near Eastern epics, most notably the Homecoming Husband. The narrative revolves around the restoration of a family after a prolonged separation, exploring themes of home and family as identity, the virtue of reciprocity, and the intersection of fate, gods, and human choices in determining outcomes.

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This study guide refers to the 2018 paperback edition translated by Emily Wilson. Her 2017 translation, released in hardcover, is the first full-length translation by a woman to be published in English. Wilson has stated that her publisher permits her to update her translation with each new edition; the hardcover and paperback translations are not identical. The ancient Greek text was composed in dactylic hexameter, the meter of archaic Greek narrative poetry. Wilson’s translation is in iambic pentameter. Though it features the same number of lines as the original, it is not a line-for-line translation. Chapter divisions exist in the Greek text, but the chapter titles are Wilson’s own.

Plot Summary

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At the start of the poem, Odysseus has been away from Ithaca for 20 years—10 fighting at Troy and 10 attempting to return home—but his fate is to return. At the start of the poem, the goddess Athena prompts Zeus to set Odysseus’s return in motion, but the gods must do so against the wishes of Poseidon. He holds a grudge against Odysseus for having blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus.

The first four books take place in Ithaca, where Odysseus’s wife Penelope is besieged by aggressive young suitors from Ithaca and neighboring islands. Insisting that Odysseus must be dead, they demand that Penelope select one of them as her new husband. They feast on Odysseus’s herds, offering nothing in return, while Penelope stalls for time. Her son with Odysseus, Telemachus , who was an infant when his father left, is too young and inexperienced to assume control. Both Penelope and Telemachus exist in a state of suspended anticipation, longing for Odysseus’s return but unsure whether they can rely on it.

Books 5 through 13 concern Odysseus’s wanderings after leaving Troy. Book 5 finds Odysseus on Calypso’s island. The messenger god Hermes informs her that she must let Odysseus leave. She grudgingly agrees, but Poseidon stirs up the sea to shipwreck Odysseus. Sea nymph Ino helps him reach the Phaeacians’ island, an intermediary space between the human and divine realms. In Books 6 through 8, the Phaeacians accept Odysseus’s request for help, feeding and bathing him and promising to help him return to Ithaca. In return, he tells them his story in Books 9 through 12.

Odysseus narrates the trials he has undergone, including escaping the Lotus Eaters (whose fruit causes men to forget their desire to return home), the Cyclops Polyphemus (who ate six of his men), and the Laestrygonians (human-eating giants). On Circe’s island, she initially turned his men into pigs but eventually helped him devise a plan to return home by consulting with Tiresias, a prophet Odysseus spoke with at the border between earth and the underworld. Odysseus’s men died at sea after failing to follow Tiresias’s order not to eat the Sun God Helius’s sacred cattle. Only Odysseus escaped.

The Phaeacians bring Odysseus to Ithaca, where Books 13 through 24 take place. Athena disguises him so that he can enter the palace by stealth and test his slaves to determine who is loyal. Believing Odysseus is impoverished, Eumaeus provides food and shelter. Odysseus reveals himself only to Telemachus. Athena helps Odysseus plot how to overthrow the suitors despite their numbers. Odysseus and Telemachus put the plan into motion, aided by Eumaeus and another loyal herdsman.

With Athena’s help, Odysseus slaughters the suitors at their feast, then hangs 12 enslaved women who are accused of entertaining the suitors. Penelope and Odysseus reunite after she secretly tests him and he proves his identity. The suitors’ surviving male family members threaten Odysseus, but Athena intervenes to ensure peace and prosperity in Ithaca.

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'The Odyssey' Summary

• M.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan
• M.A., Journalism, New York University.
• B.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan

The Odyssey , Homer's epic poem, is comprised of two distinct narratives. One narrative takes place in Ithaca, an island whose ruler, Odysseus, has been absent for twenty years. The other narrative is Odysseus’ own journey back home, which consists both of present-day narrations and recollections of his past adventures in lands inhabited by monsters and natural wonders.

Books 1-4: Telemacheia

The Odyssey begins with an introduction that presents the theme and the protagonist of the work, Odysseus, emphasizing the wrath of Poseidon towards him. The Gods decide that it’s time for Odysseus, who is being held captive by the nymph Calypso on the island of Ogygia, to come home.

The Gods send Athena to Ithaca in disguise to speak with Odysseus' son, Telemachus. Ithaca's palace is occupied by 108 suitors all seeking to marry Penelope, who is Odysseus' wife and Telemachus' mother. The suitors constantly taunt and belittle Telemachus. The disguised Athena comforts a distressed Telemachus and tells him to go to Pylos and Sparta to learn of his father’s whereabouts from the kings Nestor and Menelaus.

Aided by Athena, Telemachus leaves in secret, without telling his mother. This time, Athena is disguised as Mentor, Odysseus’ old friend. Once Telemachus reaches Pylos, he meets the king Nestor, who explains that he and Odysseus parted ways shortly after the end of the war. Telemachus learns about the disastrous homecoming of Agamemnon, who, upon his return from Troy, was killed by his wife and her lover. In Sparta, Telemachus learns from Menelaus’ wife Helen that Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, managed to get into Troy’s stronghold before it capitulated. Meanwhile in Ithaca, the suitors find out that Telemachus departed and decide to ambush him. 

Books 5-8: At the Phaeacians’ Court

Zeus sends his winged messenger Hermes to the island of Calypso to convince her to release her captive Odysseus, whom she wanted to make immortal. Calypso consents and provides assistance by helping Odysseus build a raft and telling him the way. Yet, as Odysseus approaches Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, Poseidon catches a glimpse of him and destroys his raft with a storm.

After swimming for three days, Odysseus makes it onto dry land, where he falls asleep under an oleander tree. He is found by Nausicaa (the princess of the Phaeacians), who invites him over to the palace and instructs him to ask her mother, queen Arete, for mercy. Odysseus arrives to the palace alone and behaves as he is told, without revealing his name. He is granted a ship to leave for Ithaca and is invited to join the Phaeacian’s feast as an equal.

Odysseus' stay culminates with the appearance of the bard Demodocus, who recounts two episodes of the Trojan War, interposed by the retelling of the love affair between Ares and Aphrodite. (Though not made explicit, Demodocus' storytelling ostensibly moves Odysseus to recount his own journey, as Odysseus' first-person narration begins in Book 9.)

Books 9-12: Odysseus’ Wanderings

Odysseus explains that his goal is to return home and begins to recount his previous voyages. He tells the following story:

After a disastrous first venture in the land of the Cycones (the only population in The Odyssey that is also mentioned in historical sources), Odysseus and his companions found themselves in the land of the Lotus-eaters, who attemped to give them food that would have made them lose the will to get home. Next came the land of the Cyclops, where nature was bountiful and food was plenty. Odysseus and his men became trapped the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus. Odysseus escaped by using his cleverness to trick Polyphemus, then blinding him. With this act, Odysseus inspired Poseidon's wrath, as Polyphemus was a son of Poseidon.

Next, Odysseus and his fellow seafarers met Aeolus, the ruler of the winds. Aeolus gave Odysseus a goatskin containing all the winds except Zephyr, which would blow them towards Ithaca. Some of Odysseus' companions believed the goatskin contained riches, so they opened it, which caused them to drift in the sea yet again.

They reached the land of the cannibal-like Laestrygonians, where they lost some of their fleet when the Laestrygonians destroyed it with rocks. Next, they met the witch Circe on the island Aeaea. Circe turned all the men but Odysseus into pigs and took Odysseus as a lover for a year. She also told them to sail west to communicate with the dead, so Odysseus spoke with the prophet Tiresias, who told him not to let his companions eat the Sun’s cattle. Upon his return to Aeaea, Circe warned Odysseus against the sirens, who lure sailors with their deadly songs, and Scylla and Charybdis, a sea monster and a whirlpool.

Tiresias’ warning went unheeded due to famine, and the sailors ended up eating the Sun’s cattle. As a consequence, Zeus brewed up a storm that caused all men but Odysseus to die. That’s when Odysseus arrived on the island of Ogygia, where Calypso kept him as a lover for seven years. 

Books 13-19: Back to Ithaca

After finishing his account, Odysseus receives even more gifts and riches from the Phaeacians. He is then transported back to Ithaca on a Phaeacian ship overnight. This enrages Poseidon, who turns the ship to stone once it’s almost back to Scheria, which in turn makes Alcinous swear that they will never help any other foreigner again.

On the shore of Ithaca, Odysseus finds the goddess Athena, who is disguised as a young shepherd. Odysseus pretends to be a merchant from Crete. Soon, though, both Athena and Odysseus drop their disguises, and together they hide the riches given to Odysseus by the Phaeacians while plotting Odysseus’ revenge.

Athena turns Odysseus into a beggar and then goes to Sparta to assist Telemachus in his return. Odysseus, in the beggar disguise, pays a visit to Eumaeus, his loyal swineherd who shows kindness and dignity to this apparent stranger. Odysseus tells Eumaeus and the other farmers that he is a former warrior and seafarer from Crete.

Meanwhile, aided by Athena, Telemachus reaches Ithaca and pays his own visit to Eumaeus. Athena encourages Odysseus to reveal himself to his son. What follows is a tearful reunion and the plotting of the suitors’ downfall. Telemachus leaves for the palace, and soon Eumaeus and Odysseus-as-a-beggar follow suit.

Once they arrive, suitor Antinous and goatherd Melanthius ridicule him. Odysseus-as-a-beggar tells Penelope that he met Odysseus during his previous travels. Tasked with washing the beggar’s feet, housekeeper Eurycleia recognizes him as Odysseus by detecting an old scar from his youth. Eurycleia tries to tell Penelope, but Athena prevents it.

Books 18-24: The Slaying of the Suitors

The following day, advised by Athena, Penelope announces an archery competition, cunningly promising that she will wed whoever wins. The weapon of choice is Odysseus’ bow, which means that he alone is strong enough to string it and shoot it through the dozen axe-heads.

Predictably, Odysseus wins the competition. Aided by Telemachus, Eumaeus, the cowherd Philoetius, and Athena, Odysseus kills the suitors. He and Telemachus also hang the twelve maids that Eurycleia identifies as having betrayed Penelope by engaging in sexual relations with the suitors. Then, finally, Odysseus reveals himself to Penelope, which she thinks is a ruse until he reveals that he knows that their marital bed is carved out of a live-in olive tree. The following day, he also reveals himself to his elderly father Laertes, who has been living in seclusion due to grief. Odysseus wins Laertes' trust by describing an orchard that Laertes had previously given him. 

The locals of Ithaca plan to avenge the killing of the suitors and the deaths of all of Odysseus’ sailors, and so follow Odysseus down the road. Once again, Athena comes to his aid, and justice is re-established in Ithaca.

• 'The Odyssey' Characters: Descriptions and Significance
• 'The Odyssey' Overview
• Scenes in Art Based on the Odyssey
• 'The Odyssey' Themes and Literary Devices
• Summary of Odyssey Book IV
• The Odyssey Book IX - Nekuia, in Which Odysseus Speaks to Ghosts
• 'The Odyssey' Quotes Explained
• Major Figures in the Trojan War
• Ulysses (Odysseus)
• The Ancient Myths about Athena
• Famous Ancient Mothers
• Hermes - A Thief, Inventor, and Messenger God
• 'The Odyssey' Vocabulary
• Non-Canonical Retelling of the Tale of Troy
• Top Legendary Greek Mothers

The Odyssey

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November 12

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Homer’s Odyssey: Summary and Analysis

When it comes to classics, the hardest part is knowing where to start .

There are tons of worthwhile books out there waiting to be read, but why not start with “the greatest tale ever told?”

It’s a big claim, but Homer’s Odyssey can stand up to it. That’s why it took the title of the most influential story in the world . 

But unlike what you might expect from a classic epic poem , the Odyssey isn’t exactly the story of a hero in action. 

Instead, it’s the story of what happens after the battle is over and it’s time to head home. 

Homer shows us that the hero’s homeward journey is tougher, more demanding, and more testing of character than the battle was. 

Epic feats of heroism and incredible poetry aside, the Odyssey is a story about the frustrations of life. It’s about the heroism of acting with integrity when no one sees the effort you’re putting in. 

Ultimately, it’s about not giving up in the face of the most heartbreaking setbacks, even when giving up looks so appealing. 

We all know what it’s like to suffer one setback too many. That’s when the timeless lessons of the Odyssey will come to your rescue. 

Whether you need a masterclass in perseverance or a reminder that marriage can withstand any trials, get a taste of this epic story with this summary and analysis of Homer’s Odyssey .

What is Homer’s Odyssey ? 

Like Virgil’s Aeneid , the Odyssey is an epic poem. 

The Greeks and Romans used this form of book-length poetry to glorify the deeds of their ancestors. 

Ancient poets named their epics after their main characters. “Odyssey” means “about Odysseus,” “Aeneid” means “about Aeneas,” and so on. 

The Odyssey is a 24-book epic poem. (That’s even more impressive when you consider that it began its life as an oral tradition - its original composer didn’t write any of it down!)

The incredible feats of composition and memory that epic poets undertook show how important they felt their ancestors’ works to be. 

For them, history wasn’t a linear or static series of facts. Instead, they saw history as part of a living tradition that gave meaning to the lives of everyday people. 

The Odyssey is attributed to the Greek poet Homer, written around the 7th century BC. 

Its protagonist is Odysseus (in Latin, Ulysses), the king of the island of Ithaca. 

Odysseus was one of the headlining heroes in the decade-long battle of Troy . Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey tell the story of the Trojan war, with the Odyssey focusing on Odysseus’s journey home after the battle.

It takes Odysseus ten more years to get home. The poem describes the last six weeks of his journey, when the story’s tensions reach their breaking point.

The Odyssey Summary

The story opens on Ithaca, where king Odysseus has been missing for almost twenty years.

Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, are holding out hope for his return, but in the king’s absence, trouble is brewing on the island. 

Odysseus’s home is overrun by men pressuring Penelope to choose one of them as a new husband. In the meantime, these uncouth suitors are consuming his food and wine and making a mess of his palace. 

In the next four books, the narrative switches to Odysseus, who has spent almost ten years trying to get home from Troy.

We meet Odysseus as he is leaving the island of Calypso, a daughter of a Titan. Calypso had fallen in love with the hero and used her powers to keep him on the island for several years, but Odysseus longed so much for his wife and home that he eventually escaped. 

After fleeing the island, Odysseus suffers a shipwreck in Phaeacia. In books 9-12 of the Odyssey , he tells the Phaeacians the story of his adventures and the trials he has endured. 

In Odysseus’s story to the Phaeacians, we hear that he has encountered a series of dangers, including:

• The Island of the Lotus Eaters, a paradisal land where anyone who eats the lotus flowers forgets their home and why they want to reach it
• Man-eating giants called Laestrygonians
• Circe, a witch who transforms all of Odysseus’s men into swine
• The Sirens, monsters who appear as beautiful women and lure sailors to their deaths
• Polyphemus, a cyclops
• Scylla and Charybdis, two monsters who lurk on either side of a narrow strait between Sicily and Calabria

Surprisingly, Odysseus doesn’t use feats of strength or heroism to overcome these obstacles. 

Instead, he comes up with creative, cunning solutions to outsmart his enemies. At other times, as when Calypso offers him immortality in return for staying with her, Odysseus’s sheer determination and strength of will keeps him moving forward.

Finally, books 13-24 deal with Odysseus’s return.

Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithaca. When he gets there, though, he realizes his struggles are far from over. 

Over 100 of Penelope’s suitors are still occupying his house. Worse, after all this time, almost no one recognizes Odysseus - if he walked into his house and proclaimed himself the king, no one would believe him.

But Odysseus doesn’t panic. With help from Athena, his protector-goddess, Odysseus contacts his wife and son, and together they execute a plan to restore him to the throne. 

The family, along with a few subjects still loyal to Odysseus, takes the suitors by surprise and slay them all. 

Before the families of the murdered suitors can seek revenge against Odysseus, Athena steps in and restores peace on Ithaca. 

Themes in Homer’s Odyssey

Faithful marriage.

As we meet Odysseus, we’re told that he has “his heart set on his wife.” Later, Odysseus says that there is “no greater, no finer gift” than marriage, “when man and woman possess their home, two minds, two hearts that work as one.”

While modern minds tend to dismiss the Odyssey as patriarchal, it’s actually Odysseus’s respect and love for his wife that drive the plot. 

Odysseus isn’t trying to return to Ithaca just to regain his title, his power, or the comforts of home. (In fact, Calypso offered him more power and comfort than he could ever have hoped for.)

Odysseus won’t rest until he has pushed through all his struggles and returned to his “dear and true-hearted” wife. 

Penelope values her marriage to Odysseus just as much as Odysseus does. Instead of taking the easy path of choosing a new husband, she resolutely resists her suitors’ advances, putting her faith in Odysseus to come home.

With fewer marriages and more divorces than ever before, it’s easy to buy into the modern perspective that historical marriage was nothing more than a social contract. 

But Homer gives us a different view. For Greece’s most celebrated hero, marriage is the glue that holds all his heroic efforts together and makes them worthwhile.

If you still think of marriage as “just a piece of paper,” ask yourself: what goals could you accomplish for the sake of someone you loved? What achievements could you push yourself to if you knew that you’d always have someone by your side?

Facing Life’s Frustrations

Odysseus’s name means “son of pain.” It’s a fitting description for all the frustrations he faces.

After accomplishing great deeds, as Odysseus did at the battle of Troy, you might think that a hero could relax and rest on his laurels. 

Instead, the hardest part of Odysseus’s journey was ahead of him. As he struggled to reach home, he encountered trial after trial. 

The monsters and obstacles he encountered symbolize struggles that almost everyone experiences.

Scylla and Charybdis, for example, are two monsters who wait for ships to pass between them, forcing the sailors to decide which monster to encounter. Everyone knows what it’s like to be between a rock and a hard place, having to decide which of two bad options to face. 

Odysseus is renowned for his wise judgment, which he uses to navigate his ship through these dangers. But even good judgment can’t come up with a perfect solution, and Odysseus experiences heartbreaking setbacks, frustrating delays, and the loss of many of his men .

Odysseus may be a hero, but life is just as hard for him as it is for the rest of us.

And, like the rest of us, Odysseus encounters lots of temptations to avoid or circumvent the painful frustrations of life. 

On the Island of the Lotus Eaters, he has the chance to eat the magical flower that will wash away all the memories of his struggles and his home. With Calypso, he could escape from his struggles into an enticing affair with a divinely beautiful lover. 

But Odysseus doesn’t go for any of these temptations. 

Instead, he pushes ahead with the life he has, frustrations and all. 

Odysseus isn’t just heroic - he’s also wise. He knows that running away from his problems isn’t a real solution.

Instead, he accepts life as it is, striving to do the right thing amidst unimaginable opposition. 

The next time you’re tempted to give up on a workout, take the easy way out at work, or veg out with Netflix instead of connecting with your family, remember Odysseus. There will never be a perfect solution to your challenges, but avoiding them is the worst solution of all. 

Wisdom vs. Power

Like most Greek heroes, Odysseus has friends and enemies among the gods.

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, befriends and helps Odysseus, while Poseidon, the powerful sea god, tries to kill him. 

We see Odysseus’s wisdom in how he meets each challenge with thoughtful consideration instead of leaping into action as most hero figures do.

That’s actually what makes the Odyssey so compelling. It’s a story about the triumph of mature wisdom over impulsivity and raw power.

It’s Odysseus’s self-restraint and careful planning that help him overcome the brute power of the Cyclops, the lure of the Sirens, and even the arrogant suitors who have taken over his home. 

In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, “What such a man needs is not courage but nerve control, cool-headedness. This he can only get by practice.”

Maybe Odysseus had his share of impulsivity in his younger days, but now, as a middle-aged man, he’s had practice at keeping a cool head. 

Patience, cool-headedness, and humility are the missing ingredients for many younger men. When you get slapped in the face with an insult or unfair accusation, take a lesson from Odysseus - practice cool-headed self control before you fly off the handle. 

Putting Your House in Order

Odysseus leaves his kingdom for a noble reason: to fight alongside his countrymen.

However, he dilly-dallies on the way home. Some of his delays weren’t his fault, but others - like staying with the enchantress Circe for a year - were completely voluntary.

The longer he stayed away, the worse things got at home. His wife faced constant pressure to be unfaithful to him, while her suitors ate and drank their way through his supplies. 

By the time he finally arrived home, Ithaca was barely holding itself together. 

The Greeks had no doubt that noble adventures were good and praiseworthy. But with this epic, Homer reminds us that the real battle happens when we come home.

The longer you spend chasing exciting adventures, the harder it will be to put things back in order when you get back.

This doesn’t just go for heroes sailing off to attack a legendary city. It goes for spouses, parents, and partners who get caught up in external problems and end up neglecting what’s happening at home. 

Next time you’re neck-deep in a big work project, ask yourself: how long has it been since I’ve checked in with the people who matter to me? What am I neglecting when I’m completely focused on this?

The Iliad and Odyssey are Only the Beginning

The Odyssey is a classic of classics. Not only is it truly one of the greatest and most powerful stories of Western literature, but it also inspired classics like Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem Ulysses and James Joyce’s novel of the same name. 

In reference to Odysseus’s epic journey, the word “odyssey” has come to mean an adventurous quest. 

I want to inspire you to begin your own odyssey into classic art and literature. To get you started, I wrote a book on how Shakespeare can unlock the lessons of classic literature for your life.

Click to get your free copy of The Bard and the Bees: What Shakespeare taught me about sex, evil, and life in our modern world .

Until next time,

epic poems, epic poetry, literature

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