Odyssey Summary

The Odyssey relates the homecoming journey of King Odysseus of Ithaka who sailed away to partake in the Trojan Wars to restore Helen to her husband, Menelaus. After fighting ten years, the Achaeans win and all the heroes sail for home. When the book opens, a decade later, every hero has returned home or died but Odysseus, and no news of him is know in Ithaka. In the meantime, many noblemen of Ithaka and the …

…and the Phaiakian king there aids him in returning to his homeland. Once in Ithaka, Athena cautions Oysseus of the rival noblemen and with the help of the goddess, he craftily overturns and punishes them with death. Reunited with his wife, son, and father, the king of Ithaka is restored. As the Odyssey closes, a civil war threatens, induced by the offending noblemen's mass death, but it is prevented by the gods. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** none