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Period: 1299 BCE to 1100 BCE
The Iliad.
It wouldn't be fair to start this timeline without giving the reader a brief history of the 10-year conflict in Greek mythology known as the Trojan War. It all started when Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world at the time and a daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods, either ran away or was taken from her husband Menelaus of Sparta. Angered by her sudden departure, Menelaus sought the help of his brother Agamemnon to raise an army against Paris of Troy, the man she left with. -
Period: 1299 BCE to 1100 BCE
The Iliad-What was Odysseus doing in Troy?
While everyone who has ever read the Odyssey or the Iliad knows that Odysseus was a Greek hero, there are those who fail to remember that he was the King of Ithaca as well. Odysseus was asked to partake in the war due to his leadership and quick thinking abilities. He did not want to participate at all in the Trojan conflict, but an oath that he swore to protect Helen needed to be fulfilled. Odysseus fought beside the other Greek kings and won the Trojan War, but that isn't the whole story. -
1 CE
Odysseus and his men after the Trojan War.
When the Trojan War finally concluded, many of the kings who fought with Odysseus had already began their journeys home, since their armies had split up a little while before. Odysseus wanted to go home as well, but he and his men needed supplies before they could return to Ithaca. The crew took their 12 ships, set sail for Thrace, and from there they would end up on an island called the Cicones... -
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Odysseus and his men after the Trojan War - continued.
During their time on the island, Odysseus instructed his men to grab supplies conservatively. That they should take supplies only as needed, since they were guests on the island and they were on their way home anyway. The people of the island attacked, because the crew members did not listen to Odysseus and plundered the resources of the island. The attack ended in the deaths of about 70 members of Odysseus's fleet, and it was one of many failures to come on their way home. -
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Odysseus in the land of the lotus eaters and Cyclopes.
Due to a storm caused by Zeus, Odysseus and his men were drifted to the land of the lotus-eaters. These people were kind to the crew, and offered them the lotus plants to eat. As soon as his men tasted the plant, they became forgetful and did not know where they were coming from. Odysseus had to take matters into his own hands when he saw the state of his men, guiding them back to their ships and leaving the island. They were now headed to the home of the Cyclopes. -
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Odysseus in the land of the lotus eaters and Cyclopes- continued.
With one disaster averted so early on his journey home, Odysseus would have to test his luck again in the land of the Cyclopes. These creatures were humongous, and only had one eye in the middle of their thick, fleshy faces. They lived in their own separate caves and normally tended to sheep. When Odysseus and his men finally encountered a Cyclops, the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, they told him that Poseidon broke their ship along the rocks when he asked why they were on his land. -
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Polyphemus, son of Neptune.
Shortly after that conversation, the men found themselves trapped in the cave of Polyphemus, the son of Neptune. He started bashing the skulls of the men against the walls of his cave and eating them like a rabbit eats grass. Odysseus and his crew created a plan to get out of the cave, it included a wooden steak, and a lot of wine. Odysseus offered the wine, that he had brought with him, to Polyphemus. He drank it, thought it was great, became drunk, and went to sleep.... -
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Polyphemus, son of Neptune-continued.
While he was asleep, Polyphemus was stabbed in the eye with the wooden steak the men had carved earlier. He awoke in pain and called for his brothers to help him...when they asked who hurt him, he answered, "nobody." This is because Odysseus had tricked him into thinking his name was nobody when he first drank the wine. Now that he was blind, Polyphemus did not see the men escape, he merely felt them... As sheep, because the men used sheep's wool to fool him. He prayed to Poseidon for revenge. -
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Odysseus in the underworld.
Despite his mission being cursed by Poseidon, Odysseus carried on and sought the help of the master of the winds, Aeolus. When the impatience of his men ruined what should have been an easy path home (they opened the container holding the wind that would have blown them back to Ithaca), Odysseus was lead to the underworld, or the land of the dead by Circe, the goddess of magic. He was told to seek the wisdom of Tiresias, a blind prophet, and make sacrifices in order to summon the dead. -
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Odysseus in the underworld-continued.
Tiresias and Odysseus finally meet, and he informs him of terrible things going on in his home, currently, and in the future. The prophet also speaks of the eventual death of his crew, saying that Odysseus will be the only one alive at the end of the journey. While walking back to his ship, Odysseus sees his mother. He is obviously curious about what she's doing in the underworld, and she tells him that she died because she couldn't wait for him anymore. Odysseus sets sail once again. -
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The Sirens, and other maritime tragedies.
The crew had gone back to the goddess of magic's island to give Elpenor, the youngest out of all the men, a proper burial. Loosing so many companions might have driven his next decision; ordering his men to tie him up so that he could listen to the song of the sirens, but not jump to his death. A little while before they sailed past the sirens, Odysseus put beeswax in everyone's ears with the exception of his in order to protect them. The crew would soon encounter two more monsters at sea. -
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The Sirens, and other maritime tragedies- continued.
The waters of the sea only increased their furry on the last of twelve ships, the rest had been destroyed by cannibals before the journey to the underworld. Now, the men were trapped in rough waves and came across Scylla, a sea creature with multiple heads, and Charybdis, a terrifying whirlpool. Charybdis would swallow what was left of Odysseus's ship, and kill several men. After the near-fatal ordeal, the remaining men sailed to the island of Helios, the sun god. -
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Helios and his cattle.
One of the first things Odysseus and his men noticed when they landed on the island was all of the cattle that roamed freely. Odysseus knew of the sanctity of the cattle, so he told his men not to kill them for food. They of course, did not listen to his warning and tried to hunt them down. The men angered the gods and made Zeus very angry, so he sent a storm their way, destroying their only ship, and killing everyone but Odysseus. He was now stranded in the open sea. -
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Return to Ithaca.
Before he returned to his island, Odysseus was trapped on another island for seven years, the gods neglected him during this time, and he had forgotten how much time had really passed. Eventually, the gods have mercy on him, and he is released from the island and guided back to his home by a Phaeacian nobleman. There goddess Athena revealed herself to him and told him that men were plotting to kill his son, Telemachus, and marry his wife Penelope, while raiding his home of supplies. -
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Return to Ithaca-continued.
After hearing everything Athena told him, Odysseus became hungry for revenge. He finally saw his son after 20 years and was turned into an old man to prevent the suitors of his wife from trying to kill him. It worked, but he was looked down upon and even got a stool thrown at him when he asked for food....not very welcoming if you ask me. The suitors ate all the food in the house, ruined the area they stayed in, and refused to leave. They would be gone soon, but Odysseus had to talk to his wife. -
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Penelope.
When she heard of the treatment the beggar (Odysseus) had received in her home, and how he claimed to have known her husband, Penelope wanted to sit down with him. They met, and Odysseus assured her that her husband was alive. She expressed to him how happy she would be if her husband came back, and how she had tricked her suitors into waiting for three years at one point. Penelope tricked them by weaving a tapestry by day, and unraveling it by night, but it was burned by the suitors. -
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Penelope-continued.
Rowdy suitors put pressure on Penelope to select one of them for marriage and access to Odysseus's riches. So she prepared a challenge for them. Odysseus and Telemachus took all of the other weapons out of the armory, and set up twelve obstacles. Whoever shot Odysseus's arrow through all of them would not only marry Penelope, but enjoy a heightened social status as well. All of the suitors try and become so angry and frustrated, as they had waited several years just to be embarrassed again. -
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Revenge secured- continued!
The suitors felt the wrath of Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, that day. The two of them killed the suitors with bows and arrows, some of the men were so confused by the chaos in the room that they ended up dying rather foolishly. Of course, the first to die was the most selfish out of the group, Antinous, who threw the stool at Odysseus in his beggar form. The other men sort of reported his actions to Odysseus in order to save their own lives. This did not work and they died anyway. -
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Revenge secured!
The beggar-Odysseus, grabs the bow from where it was thrown by one of the suitors on the floor, and adjusts himself to complete the challenge. Penelope and all of her maids are behind the doors of the armory, so they could be safe. The suitors mock the beggar and laugh at him, because they did not think he could complete such a task. Odysseus not only completes the task to perfection, but his disguise falls off, revealing his true form, weathered by the years of war and searching for home. -
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Aftermath.
At the end of the battle, Odysseus changed his clothes, and was beautified once again by Athena. Penelope, understandably distrustful of men at this point, tested Odysseus to see if he was who he said he was. She was called aloof or distant by her husband, but who can blame her after the past couple of years? Anyways- her test proves to be easy for Odysseus, and he goes back to ruling his kingdom. There is peace, as commanded by the gods, and Odysseus sees his father again.