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Table of Contents OGL 360, “Odyssey synopsis” (2018), Page 1 The Odyssey of Homer: An Illustrated synopsis (revised 2018) with excerpts from the text Please read the entire synopsis, along with most of the excerpts. WANT A SHORT VIDEO? This assignment cannot be completed with a video, but a video can help you understand and remember key moments in the story. Plus, some of these videos are just fun. An entertaining and fairly accurate 4-minute cartoon is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PglAFdKSJ_M and another cartoon is at http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-odyssey-greek- epic.html#lesson; they are both recommended, but you’d need to register for a free trial if you want to view the full “education-portal” cartoon. Or, if you are tired of proper vocabulary and polite discourse, you might like the irreverent and wittily foul-mouthed “THUG NOTES” (WITH DECENT ANALYSIS INCLUDED!) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf3XrZW2o4I (Warning: Foul language, snap judgment, and lots of it.) AUDIOBOOK? A reading by Ian McKellan (yes, the actor who plays Gandalf) is worth a bit of your time. Listen to him read the first lines (the invocation) and other excerpts, as if you and a bard are sitting at a fire 4,000 years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IiP74_5Mnc Table of Contents These are “The Wanderings of Odysseus”---the middle part of The Odyssey---arranged in chronological order without the framing narratives and flashbacks of the full story. Thus, please note that we are actually skipping over the first four books, which focus on Odysseus’s family and the “haughty suiters” afflicting their home---these are “the good parts” in terms of adventure, but I highly recommend you read the entire epic sometime; it’s a fascinating read! -The Trojan Horse (a story told in The Iliad, though The Odyssey includes mention of it). -The Journey Home Begins: Detour to Cicones -Land of the Lotus Eaters -Island of the Cyclopes: Polyphemus and Hubris -Aeolian Shores: Keeper of the Winds -Land of the Laestrygonians -Circe -Hades (the Underworld) -The Sirens (Or…A Terrible Beauty?) -Charybdis (the Whirlpool) and Scylla -Cattle of the Sun -Phaeacia (and the king who likes his story; flashbacks) -Calypso’s Island -Return to Ithaca (and…what is this, Game of Thrones?) -Slaughter of the “Haughty Suitors” -Penelope and Odysseus (the aftermath) The Odyssey is sequel to The Iliad of Homer; The Iiad is an epic about the Trojan War (the war between the Greeks and the city of Troy, during which Achilles and many other heroes die). The Odyssey actually has three overlapping stories: (1) that of Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, who seeks his father and tries not to get ambushed by pretenders to the throne; (2) that of Odysseus’s smart and incredibly faithful wife, Penelope, who resists her many uncouth suitors; and (3) “The Wanderings of Odysseus”---his long journey home---from which we have derived the word “odyssey” for OGL 360, “Odyssey synopsis” (2018), Page 2 an adventure or journey that is circuitous or arduous. In this synopsis we focus mainly on the odyssey of Odysseus’s journey home. (Note: We use the name “Odysseus” here, but the name “Ulysses” is used in some translations.) The Trojan Horse (The “horse” brought into Troy---to burn) The Trojan War came to an end after 10 bloody years, when Odysseus conjures the idea of the Trojan Horse: The Greeks build a gigantic horse of wood and fill it with a squad of elite warriors. Leaving the Trojan Horse on the sand, the rest of the massive Greek army pretend to sail away, conceding victory to the Trojans. The defenders, thinking the horse a “free gift” and peace offering, drag the massive shape into the city. After the Trojans have celebrated a bit too much, Odysseus leads the group of Greek warriors out of the belly of the horse. They attack the guards and open the gates to the rest of the Greek invasion force. A slaughter and the sack of Troy ensue. OGL 360, “Odyssey synopsis” (2018), Page 3 The Journey Home (The Odyssey itself) Begins The Odyssey begins with a bard’s invocation of the Muse: Or, if you wish to compare, here is a different translation: Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns, driven time and again off course, once he had plundered, Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven the hallowed heights of Troy. far journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea, But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his strove— companions. the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all, Even so he could not save his companions, hard though the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun, he strove to; they were destroyed by their own wild recklessness, and the Sungod blotted out the day of their return. fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios, the Sun God, Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus, and he took away the day of their homecoming. From some point start from where you will—sing for our time too. here, goddess, daughter of Zeus, speak, and begin our story. With Troy sacked and the spoils of war divided, the Greeks set sail for their respective kingdoms. In an attempt to further appease his men, however, Odysseus decides to do a little more pillaging. Odysseus and his crew land at Ismarus, which is controlled by the Cicones (Kikonians, or Hittites). They destroy the city, kill the men, and capture the women. According to Odysseus’s later account of this event, Odysseus cautions that they should all leave, yet his men get drunk and pass out instead. (Note: Odysseus recounts many of these adventures himself, in his own voice; he seems quick to heap scorn on his supposedly foolish men---and many readers thus join Odysseus in mocking his men but extolling their leader’s virtues and abilities. But can we trust Odysseus’s version of events? And even if he is telling the truth, should he take no responsibility for the foolishness of his men?) While the foolish Greek crews sleep the Cicones then gather reinforcements in chariots, launch an attack, and chase the Greeks to the seashore. Their army kills several of Odysseus’s men. OGL 360, “Odyssey synopsis” (2018), Page 4 As Odysseus and his men flee from the Ciconian shores, Zeus plagues them with a storm which blows for nine or ten days. They are thus swept far westward, past their island home of Ithaca. The Lotus Eaters (Dazed and Confused, or just Addicted to YouTube?) They arrive at the land of the Lotus Eaters. The inhabitants offer them Lotus, which causes the men to lose all thought of home and long for nothing more. (The “eating” of lotus meant, apparently, the taking of opium, a powerfully lethargic drug.) Seeing that his men only want to sit and eat more lotuses, Odysseus is displeased. He rounds up his crew and forces them onto the ships again. He locks them in so they cannot return to their “medicinal” ways. (The “Lotus Eaters” incident has influenced many a cautionary tale since, from Earth to the stars.) Island of the Cyclopes Cyclopes are one-eyed giants. They are not too bright but they are strong. Perhaps even the gods are wary of them. Odysseus and his men have no idea what’s in store for them when they land here. OGL 360, “Odyssey synopsis” (2018), Page 5 They are hunting for food on the island when they see smoke from a fire. Odysseus and some men go to see if someone there can offer them hospitality. They don’t find anyone. They do find a huge cave full of livestock and food. Odysseus relates (Book 9, lines 224-230): “From the start my companions spoke to me and begged me to take some of the cheeses, come back again, and the next time to drive the lambs and kids from their pens, and get back quickly to the ship again, and go sailing off across the salt water; but I would not listen to them---it would have been better their way---not until I could see him, see if he would give me presents. My friends were to find the sight of him in no way lovely.” (It’s interesting, by the way, that they help themselves. Is this unethical behavior for a potential guest?) Soon the cave’s owner returns: a Cyclops named Polyphemus. The Cyclops herds his flock of sheep into the cave and seals its entrance. Trapped, Odysseus calls on Polyphemus to honor Zeus by respecting his “rights” as a houseguest. The amused Cyclops says that he owes no allegiance to the gods. Then he grabs two of the men, smashes their brains (“…like killing puppies…”), cuts them up, and eats them. He sleeps, then kills and eats more men when he wakes. Odysseus fools the Cyclops by telling him his name is 'Nobody' (‘Noman’). He then helps the Cyclops get drunk, and while the monster sleeps his doom is sealed. Odysseus and his men fetch a red-hot pole from the fire and jam it into his one eye.
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