Kent McGroarty - Quicklet on Homers Odyssey: Cliffsnotes-like Book Summary

The story of Odysseus in Homers Odyssey is the quintessential story of the hero. The struggles that plague Odysseus are symbols for the sufferings all humans encounter and endure. Odysseus encounters with gods and monsters reinforce the idea that facing challenges is part of the human condition. His psychological and physical battles illuminate the necessity to rise above things such as greed, fear, temptation, and selfishness to focus on what is really important: the love of family.

Like Odysseus, humans are at their best when we are able to stay strong in times of crisis, resisting the urge to give in to darker thoughts or feelings. Even today, the values upheld in the Odyssey serve as a beacon for those struggling to face lifes challenges.

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While much about the life of Greek poet Homer remains unknown, he is credited as the author of two of the most well-known epic poems in history, t he Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, the catalyst for which was the abduction of Helen, wife of Greek king Menelaus, by Trojan prince Paris. After ten years of war the city is infiltrated by the Greeks, who hid inside a wooden horse left as a gift for the Trojans. The horse is brought into the city, which is subsequently set ablaze, and Helen is returned to Menelaus. The Odyssey begins as the embers of Troys remains are cooling, and focuses on Greek solider Odysseuss voyage home.

Homer, who was said to be blind, was celebrated by the Greeks as their greatest poet. He probably lived during the ninth or eighth century, a time when the tradition of oral poetry was giving way to the new idea of writing poems or any works down on paper, though through the centuries many poets and artists made a living reciting epic poems.

References to Homer and quotations from his poems are found in the works of other Greek poets and scholars, including Archilochus and Tyrtaeus in the seventh century, and Sappho in the early sixth century. Despite so little being known about Homer, his epic poems remain essential works of Western literature.

The Odyssey is one of of two epic poems by Greek poet Homer. It concerns the adventures of Odysseus, one of the heroes of the Trojan War, and his quest to return to his kingdom. After being away from home for ten years fighting with the Trojans, Odysseus spends another ten years trying to get home. His efforts are marred in part due to his beef with Poseidon, god of the sea, whose son (a Cyclops who attempted to eat Odysseus) Odysseus blinded.

Odysseus and his men find themselves on various islands fighting monsters and demi-gods. Meanwhile, Odysseuss wife and son are trying to save the kingdom from the many potential suitors who believe Odysseus to be dead and want the kingdom for themselves.

While not much is known about why Homer began telling the Odyssey in the first place, the story contains universal themes that have appeared in literature since time began. Homers works date back to either ninth or eighth century Greece, and his stories were told and re-told until someone had the sense to write them down. The Odyssey along with its prequel, the Iliad, became staples of Greek education during its Classical period, and remained essential educational documents through the dawn of the Roman Empire up until the spread of Christianity. The epic poems saw a resurgence in popularity in the late eighth century during the height of the Byzantine Empire, and eventually found their way into the hands of Italian scholars during the Renaissance.

The Odyssey remains a significant achievement in Western literature. Odysseuss struggles represent the constant move from what is secure into what is unknown, which replicates the process of birth, maturity, knowledge, and understanding. The epic story of Odysseus is not unlike the epic story of the human condition, something no person can escape while on the journey of life.

The Odyssey is the story of Greek king Odysseus and his struggle to return home after ten years of fighting in the Trojan War. He faces numerous obstacles and temptations along the way, but remains steadfast in his determination to see his home again. His wife and son must face the challenges that come with an absent king, including a band of suitors trying to take the kingdom for themselves. After 20 long years, Odysseus returns to his home, is reunited with his family, and destroys the suitors.

The story is structured as books rather than chapters, and is written in a non-linear format. There are 24 books in the story. The first book opens with Odysseus away from his home for 20 years, and the story of what led to this gets told via tales from Greek kings and Odysseus himself. When Odysseus washes up on the shores of the Phoenicians, the reader learns everything that has happened to him since the Trojan War, which includes his time and that of his crew on the island of the Lotus Eaters and their run-in with a nasty Cyclops.

In addition to leaving behind wife Penelope, Odysseus has missed the childhood of his son, Telemachus, who was a baby when his father left for war. In the first book, Odysseuss palace has been overrun by suitors who wish to marry Penelope and subsequently rule his kingdom of Ithaca. The now-grown Telemachus desperately wants to get rid of the suitors who eat Penelopes food, drink her wine, and continually pester her to pick one of them, as they believe Odysseus to be deader than dead.

Luckily for Odysseus, his wife is about as clever as he is, and finds ways to avoid their affections. She remains faithful to Odysseus, though one of the suitors, Antinous, plans to murder Telemachus, whom he views as his only threat to the throne of Ithaca. Greek goddess Athena, disguised as old family friend Mentes, descends upon Ithaca to inform Telemachus that his father is still alive. Odysseus is imprisoned on an island with Calypso, a beautiful nymph in love with the hero. The goddess prepares Telemachus for a quest to find his father, as Odysseus no longer has a ship or crew with which to leave Calypsos island.

Telemachus sets out to look for Odysseus, and through his visits with Greek kings Nestor and Menelaus the reader learns more about Odysseuss journey. Odysseus himself also tells of his adventures after washing up on the shores of Phoenicians after the messenger god Hermes, sent by Zeus, convinces Calypso to free Odysseus. He is found by the beautiful princess of the Phoenicians and partakes of great hospitality from her parents, the king and queen of the Phoenicians.

Odysseus recounts what has happened to him since the Trojan War to the royal family. First, he tells the story of how he and his crew ended up on the island of the the Lotus Eaters, or people who continually drug themselves by consuming the lotus flower. Odysseus abstains from eating the lotus, though he loses some of his crew to the feel-good drug. His next stop is the island of the Cyclops, or one-eyed monsters. One of the monsters traps Odysseus and crew and eats some of them, with the intention of inhaling them all eventually. Odysseus cleverly tells the Cyclops that his name is Nobody and manages to blind the Cyclops. When the Cyclops shouts Nobody blinded me! the other monsters do not come to his aid. Odysseus and his crew escape back to their ship tied to the undersides of the enormous sheep the monsters herd. After boarding his ship, the hero makes the mistake of shouting to the Cyclops his real name, which prompts the Cyclops to ask his father, Poseidon, for vengeance.