The Odyssey
The ten-year journey of Odysseus from Troy to Ithaca — a voyage through monsters, magic, and the wrath of Poseidon.
The Meaning of The Odyssey
After Troy fell, Odysseus set sail for home with twelve ships. But Poseidon, angered that Odysseus had blinded his son Polyphemus the Cyclops, cursed his voyage.
Odysseus and his men encountered the Lotus-Eaters, whose fruit made men forget their homes. They escaped the Cyclops by hiding beneath sheep after blinding Polyphemus with a sharpened stake. Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag of winds to speed his journey, but his crew opened it within sight of Ithaca, blowing them back across the sea.
Role in Greek Thought
They lost eleven ships to the Laestrygonian giants. Circe turned his remaining crew into pigs, but Odysseus, protected by the herb moly from Hermes, resisted her magic and won her help. She told him he must visit the Underworld to consult the shade of Tiresias.
In the land of the dead, Odysseus learned he would reach home alone. He navigated past the Sirens by filling his crew's ears with wax while he listened tied to the mast. He threaded the strait between Scylla and Charybdis, losing six men to the six-headed monster.
Famous Examples
When his crew slaughtered the sacred cattle of Helios, Zeus destroyed his last ship. Odysseus alone survived, washed ashore on Calypso's island where the nymph kept him for seven years.
Released at last by the gods' command, Odysseus reached Ithaca disguised as a beggar. With the help of his son Telemachus and the swineherd Eumaeus, he slew the suitors who had been devouring his household and courting his wife Penelope for twenty years.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "odyssey" — meaning a long, eventful journey — comes directly from this story.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Return of Odysseus
💭 conceptNarrative
The hero's perilous ten-year journey home from Troy and his reclamation of his kingdom in Ithaca
Wanderings of Odysseus
💭 conceptNarrative
The fantastic adventures Odysseus experienced across the Mediterranean during his decade-long voyage home
Voyage of the Argo
💭 conceptNarrative
The legendary sea journey of the Argonauts through uncharted waters to reach the kingdom of Colchis
Quest for the Golden Fleece
💭 conceptNarrative
Jason's expedition aboard the Argo to retrieve the golden fleece from the distant land of Colchis
The Trojan War
💭 conceptWar, fate, heroism
A ten-year siege of Troy by a coalition of Greek kings, sparked by the abduction of Helen and shaped by the rivalries of the gods.
The Twelve Labours
💭 conceptHeroism, endurance, redemption
Twelve impossible tasks imposed on Heracles by King Eurystheus as penance for killing his own family in a madness sent by Hera.
Argonautica
💭 conceptLiterature
Apollonius of Rhodes' epic poem narrating Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece
Nostos
💭 conceptThe heroic theme of the journey home
The literary and spiritual concept of the hero's return home after war — the Odyssey is the greatest nostos of all.
Seven Against Thebes
💭 conceptNarrative
The doomed military expedition of seven champions against the city of Thebes in the generation before the Trojan War
Theseus and the Minotaur
💭 conceptNarrative
The Athenian hero's descent into the Labyrinth to slay the bull-headed monster and liberate Athens from its blood tribute
Twelve Labours of Heracles
💭 conceptNarrative
The twelve impossible tasks imposed upon Heracles as penance for killing his family in a divine madness
Perseus and Andromeda
💭 conceptNarrative
The rescue of an Ethiopian princess from a sea monster by the Gorgon-slaying hero