Odysseus's Journey

Our First Stop: Troy https://www.inc.com/samuel-bacharach/dont-feed-the-trojan-horse.html

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The adventures of the Odyssey begin in Troy, where the intelligent Odysseus has concocted a scheme to enter the Trojan fortress. Odysseus and his men constructed a hollow horse and hid themselves within it's body, placing their capsule outside of the Trojan gate where the Trojan soldiers accepted it inside their walls as a sign of surrender from the Greek army. The Greeks waited until nightfall, then broke out of the horse and captured all of the Trojan soldiers, winning the war at last.

The Island of the Cicones https://www.delphicoracle.org/home/rape-pillage-and-the-easy-life

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On the journey back to their home city, Ithaca, Odysseus and his men stopped on the island of Cicone, where they found many valuable riches and treasures. The weary soldiers began to raid the city of its valuables and ignored Odysseus when he said to only take the necessities and leave the island in peace. During one of their raids, the Greeks were attacked by the army of the Cicones, and unable to defeat the powerful army, fled to their ships, each carrying less soldiers than before.

The Island of the Cicones

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On the journey back to their home city, Ithaca, Odysseus and his men stopped on the island of Ciccone, where they found many valuable riches and treasures. The soldiers,began to raid the city of its valuables and ignored Odysseus when he said to only take the necessities and leave the island in peace. During one of their raids, the Greeks were attacked by the army of Cicones, and unable to defeat the powerful army, fled to their ships and continued sailing, each ship carrying less soldiers.

Island of the Lotus Eaters http://mythologian.net/lotus-flower-meaning-symbolism/

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After their retreat from Cicone, Odysseus and his men encountered the Island of the Lotus Eaters, where any who eat the mystical flower forget their burdens and are only concerned with continuously eating the Lotus. Odysseus sent two scouts to search the island, but after they did not return, anchored and boarded the island. Upon finding the two men entranced by the Lotus flower, Odysseus tied them up and forced the unwilling soldiers off the island to again pursed the journey home.

Island of the Cyclopes http://www.maicar.com/GML/Polyphemus2.html

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Odysseus’s fleet again encountered an island with untold dangers, but without water and food, the men were again forced to go on land. On the island, Odysseus found a cave filled with cheese and sheep, and ignoring the pleads of his men to leave, awaited for the beast to return to his cave. When the Cyclops Polyphemus found the Greeks in his cave, he attempted to eat them, but the men escaped by blinding the one eyed giant and escaping on the belly of the herding sheep.

Aeolia https://mrpsmythopedia.wikispaces.com/Aeolus?responseToken=0a9667e8a4388560329868976293660c1

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Odysseus and his men make another stop on an island inhabited by the wind god Aeolus, who as a gift gives Odysseus a bag of winds to carry them on their journey home. However, Odysseus had not use for them, and when the ship was in sight of Ithaca his greedy crewman opened the bag and unleashed the winds that carried them back to Aeolus’s island. Aeolus, fearing that the gods have cursed the men, sends them off the island without another bag of winds.

Island of the Laestrygonians https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/486459197219728957/

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After their set back with the god Aeolus, Odysseus and his men were attacked by ferocious cannibals known as the Laestrygonians.Only the ship Odysseus was sailing on was able to make it out of their coves safely.

Aeaea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe

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Shipwrecked after their encounter with the Laestrygonians, the remaining of Odysseus's men land on an island and search the island. The men, without Odysseus, discover the house of the witch Circe who turns them into pigs. Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, becomes immune to Circe’s magic and forces her to return his men back to normal and forces her to give him information on how to return to Ithaca.

The Underworld https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/444916870/meraki-descent-to-the-underworld

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Following Circe’s instructions, Odysseus travels to the underworld to ask the prophet Tiresias how he is to journey back to Ithaca. Tiresias informs Odysseus that in order to go back to Ithaca, he must first travel between Scylla and Charybdis, but force the ship more toward Scylla. This will allow him to pass through safely without losing all of his men.

The Sirens https://mrpsmythopedia.wikispaces.com/Sirens?responseToken=9a5fa25622c12bf201761b4fad57d6c0

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On their journey to the ocean where the monster Scylla inhabited, the men passed by the Sirens, winged beasts that lured men to them with their song. Odysseus ordered his men to stuff wax in their ears, so they would not be drawn by the Siren’s song, and, following the advice of Circe, to tie him to the bow of the ship so he could hear the song. No matter how much Odysseus pleaded, the men would not untie the ropes that bound him to the ship, and they continued their sailing safely.

Scylla https://tsrodriguez.deviantart.com/art/Hex-Scylla-690290032

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Odysseus and his men finally made their way to the cave of Scylla, where Tiresias instructed them to sail. Scylla attacks the men, picking off six of the few remaining soldiers, and allowing Odysseus to continue through the strait.

Thrinacia https://www.pinterest.com/jkquest/i-like-cows/

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Odysseus's ship again stops at a remote island, where they are trapped by a storm and starving, but discover the sun god Helios’s sacred cattle. Disobeying Odysseus order, the men slaughter and cook several of the cattle while Odysseus was sleeping, enraging Helios who pleads to Zeus to wreck Odysseus's ship and kill his remaining men. Zeus does so, but saves Odysseus as he is drifting back toward Scylla and Charybdis because he was not guilty for the offense made toward the gods.

Calypso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_(mythology)

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Continuously drifting after his encounter with Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus is come across by the nymph Calypso, who immediately is attracted by Odysseus. The nymph stays for seven years, and even offers him immortality if he stays with her forever. With the help of Zeus, Odysseus is able to escape Calypso and obtains a new ship to sail to set him back on his course.

Phaeacian https://flowvella.com/s/3k8r/7CD02080-EC74-4A35-9737-1B6EFADC3505

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The ocean god Poseidon was still enraged that Odysseus had evaded his son, Polyphemus, and destroyed the small vessel that Odysseus was traveling in. Odysseus washed ashore the kingdom of Phaecia, where he meet the king Alcinous during a feast while telling the tale of the journey to their land. The king sent Odysseus back n his way with a new ship and supplies.

Ithaca https://www.thedailybeast.com/homers-crowdsourced-genius

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After over 10 years of long hardship, Odysseus was finally able to return to his wife and son, only to find that other suitors had come to claim his wife. With the help of Athena and Zeus, Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar and tasked the suitors with a challenge to wind over the hand of Penelope. However, this task could only be accomplished by Odysseus himself, and after winning at the competition he revealed his true identity and killed all the suitors.