Mapping the Odyssey

Odysseus in The Trojan War

1300 BCE

Summary- In the Trojan War, Odysseus is said to be the most crucial part to the success of the war. Odysseus persuaded the greatest fighter in Greece, Achilles, to be in ally with the Greeks in the war. Achilles then brought soldiers of his to also fight in the war. Odysseus also came up with the idea of the wooden horse. This horse was used in the war as a place for the Greek soldiers to hide.

Lotus Eaters

1300 BCE

Summary- Odysseus and his men are blown to the land of Ismarus. Here, Cicones turn on Odysseus and his men and attack them. After, they escape from the Cicones after losing six men per ship. Zeus sweeps them to the land of Lotus-eaters, where the natives there fed Odysseus and his crew poisonous fruit. As soon as they eat this fruit, they lose all thoughts of home and long for nothing more than to stay there eating more fruit.

Lotus Eaters

1300 BCE

Analysis- Odysseus once again lost lots of men along the way. His determination to get back home shines among all. He also shows his care for his men by going to get them back. Even though he constantly loses men he also always goes back for them showing that he has moral as a leader and he thinks that his men also have meaning in his life.

Cyclopes

1300 BCE

Summary- After traveling from the land of the Lotus- eaters, Odysseus and his men traveled to the land of the Cyclopes. They cross to a mainland where they find a crates of milk and cheese. Odysseus decides to take this food but is caught by Cyclops Polyphemus. He eats some of Odysseus' men and traps the rest of them in a cave for future meals.

Cyclopes

1300 BCE

Analysis- Odysseus loses a lot more men and his crew will endure more trouble, because now his father Posiedon will come for him and his crew. Odysseus does gain the knowledge of Cyclopes. Realizing that they have a love for wine and food and you can use those things to persuade them.

Aelus-Bag of Wind

1300 BCE

Summary- After Odysseus and his crew sailed from the land of the Cyclops, they went to the land of Aelus, the ruler of winds. Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag with all of the winds, and he makes a wind to take Odysseus and his crew home. After ten days , Odysseus’s shipmates think that Aeolus gave Odysseus a fortune in gold and silver so they tear the bag open. The winds escape and make a storm that brings Odysseus and his men back to Aeolia. Aeleolus refuses to give him more wind.

Aeolus- Bag of Wind

1300 BCE

Analysis- Odysseus loses the bag of winds and therefore is blown all the way back. He does gain knowledge on the lack of trust on the ship. It becomes apparent that there is a lack of trust among the ship. There is also a sense of greed especially since they were ruthless enough to open the bag. The crew may also not feel so comfortable talking to Odysseus because why couldn't they just ask? It makes me wonder if Odysseus is a good leader when it comes to listening and understanding.

Circe

1300 BCE

Summary- Odysseus and his men travel to Aeaea to Circe. Circe drugs some of Odysseus’s men and turns them into pigs. Odysseus goes to rescue them and Hermes approaches him. He tells Odysseus to eat moly to protect himself from Circe’s drug .Odysseus follows does this, and forced her to change his men back. Odysseus soon becomes Circe’s lover, and he and his men live with her for a year. His men finally persuade him to continue back to Ithaca, and Odysseus asks Circe for the way.

Circe

1300 BCE

Analysis- On this journey, Odysseus lost another crew member, but gained the trust of a goddess. I wonder though how this will hold for Odysseus in the future. When Odysseus returns home to his wife and son,how will Circe feels when she finds out. Hearing that her lover who she lived with for a year is married with a child will make her very upset. Gods are powerful so I wonder if Circe ever found out. Odysseus did gain knowledge of how to dodge a powerful spell just in case.

Sirens

1300 BCE

Summary- Circe warned Odysseus of the Sirens. She told him that the Sirens are creatures that lure men towards them, causing the the ships to break on the rocks, with their singing. She told him to put beeswax in the the men's ears so they did not hear the singing. He also had to be tied to the mast of the ship if he wanted to listen and even though he begged, his men could not untie him until they were past the island.

Sirens

1300 BCE

Analysis- On this journey I wondered why Odysseus would have the men bind him up so he could purposely listen to the song. I would say it is because Odysseus gained the ability to live to tell what experiencing and hearing the song was like. We also see trust gained in this section because Odysseus had to trust his men not to bind him down.

Scylla/ Charybdis

1300 BCE

Summary- Scylla is a six-headed monster who, when ships pass, swallows sailor's heads. Charybdis is an enormous whirlpool that can pull in and sink the entire ship. Odysseus holds his course tight against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair ,as he and his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the ship. The heads of Scylla eat six of the crew members without any of them knowing.

Scylla/Charybdis

1300 BCE

Analysis- Circe tells Odysseus to choose Scylla over the whirlpool of Charybdis, but Odysseus wants the glory of not having any of his men eaten and fighting the monster off. A plan that risks the lives of the crewmen and shows disrespect to the gods. He loses the trust of many crew member because it makes us wonder why Odysseus wouldn't tell that this would happen. What kind of leader sacrifices his men.

Helios' Cattle

1300 BCE

The final destination is Thrinakia which is the land of Helios' cattle. Odysseus wants to sail past because Circe warned him plenty of times, but his crew wanted to stay. They stayed but got stuck by a storm that lasted a month. Eventually, food ran out so the man ate the cattle. So they cook the biggest cattle they could find. Helios' gets super angry and wants revenge so he calls on Zeus to get revenge. On the journey home, Zeus hits Odysseus and his crew with a thunder bolt.

Helios' Cattle Analysis

1300 BCE

In this section, Odysseus was in great fear and shock. He knew that all his crew members and him were in great danger with the gods. He prayed and begged , but saw no mercy. He lost all his crew members and the moment he saw his crew members eating the cattle he lost all loyalty and respect. This location shows us how Odysseus journey came to an end and all his crew were lost.

Suitors/Home Analysis

1300 BCE

This section shows us how Odysseus gains his throne back. His strength is greatly shown because he is the only one able to string the bow. Odysseus lost respect and humanity because of killing so many people. He knew that he'd hurt so many families. This final part of Odysseus' journey shows how hateful and mean he can really be.

Odysseus in The Trojan War

1300 BCE

Analysis- During this period, Odysseus lost one of his men Sinon. Also, because of Odysseus unfair tactics, the gods punished him and his crew by insuring that their journey home would be deadly. Despite this, Odysseus did gain lots of respect for his creative invention, ideas, and recruiting all the fighters that led the Greeks to victory. He is now known as a hero for his role in the war.

Suitors/ Home

1300 BCE

Odysseus is returning home and finds that his home is full of suitors looking to take his home and marry his wife. He disguises himself as a beggar and plans to kill all the suitors. The winner of his wife's hand is the one who can properly string a bow. Odysseus is the only who can properly string the bow. He strings another bow through of the suitors and announces that he will kill all of them. I full battle breaks out and Athena joins in helping Odysseus. This ends the battle.