“Sing to me of the man Muse, the man of twists and turns
Driven time and again off course, once he had plundered
The hallowed heights of Troy.
Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds,
Many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea,
Fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home.
But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove—
The recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,
The blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun
And the Sungod wiped from sight the day of their return.
Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus,
Start from where you will—sing for our time too.”
So continues the story of the Trojan War, in Homer’s second installment in the epic.The Achaeans are victorious from their war with Troy. From the inside they attack, in the now infamous strategy of The Trojan Horse, in which the Achaean armies, led by Odysseus, burst out from inside a monolithic wooden horse taken inside the city by the Trojans, believed to be a gift from the Greeks, destroying Troy from the inside. Achilles is killed with an arrow from Paris before the end of the war, gaining immortality in legends and folklore. Helen returns to her rightful husband, Menelaus, and they both return to Sparta. All the Achaean armies return home, all however, except for Odysseus. Twenty years he was away; ten fighting the war and ten lost at sea, leaving behind in his beloved home Ithaca, his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus, a baby when he left for war.
The Odyssey is mainly the story of Odysseus returning home from wandering in the sea. It is also partly the story of his son Telemachus making a name for himself in search of his father, guided by the goddess Athena, who comes to love him the same way she loves his father. It is in this poem that we get some of the most well-known stories in all of Greek mythology: The Lotus-Eaters, the giant cyclops Polyphemus, Aeolus’ bag of wind, the man-eating Laestrygonians, the sirens, Circe, Calypso, Charybdis and Scylla, and even some parts of the Trojan Horse. But why is Odysseus cursed to suffer all of those tribulations? In short, Poseidon is mad at him for blinding his son Polyphemus, who cursed him to wander for ten years without returning home. This is later worsened by Odysseus’ crew eating the sacred cattle of the sun god Helios (as mentioned in the opening lines), which results in their ship being destroyed in a storm caused by Zeus, killing the entire crew except for Odysseus, stranding him in Ogygia, Calypso’s island.
But Odysseus endures, and after too many years returns to his native home of Ithaca, where he has more problems to deal with. In his absence, a group of suitors have made home of King Odysseus’ palace, using up all his halls, food, and resources, hoping to receive Penelope’s hand in marriage. After his arrival, however, Athena guides both him and his son Telemachus to reclaim their house and reestablish Odysseus’ rule as king. In essence, those are the contents of the Odyssey.
Like The Iliad, The Odyssey is made up of 24 books, or chapters. Though shorter than its predecessor, it tells many short stories rather than a small portion of one big war.
The Odyssey is, frankly, great. The best parts for me were when Odysseus was retelling his adventures to the many kings and lords he encountered, most notably his journey to the underworld, where he meets some of his dead friends and relatives; like Achilles, who asks about the well-being of his own son, Neoptolemus; and his mother, who passed away distraught over her son’s absence. The way Odysseus’ trials are recounted makes for some of the best examples of storytelling, and makes it clear why these stories have influenced so much of Western culture and storytelling for thousands of years after they were first recited.
Completing Homer’s works of the Trojan War, The Odyssey, and The Iliad gives us a glimpse of the culture of Ancient Greece; traditions, rituals, and beliefs. While these works entertain readers, they also serve as a look into antiquity and how ancient civilizations lived. A big part of this epic is that of the Greek custom known as Xenia. Whenever a stranger, Odysseus, or someone else arrives as a guest in a foreign land, they are presented with glamorous gifts and praises, given a bed, food, and a bounty of wine. They are encouraged to tell their hosts where they come from and how they ended up on their island. This happens at least once in every chapter (Or so it feels like it) and is the way the characters know if their hosts are god-fearing people, or “uncivilized.”
Besides all of the cultural and historical aspects, The Odyssey IS, in fact, worth the read. Though in my humble opinion, the last couple of chapters with Odysseus overcoming the suitors went on a little too long, and were not that interesting . They are, however, still good.
While Homer’s works have been adapted many times by directors all around the world, a brand-new adaptation is in the works. It was announced on the 23rd of December that Oscar-winning Christopher Nolan, acclaimed director of films such as Interstellar, The Dark Knight Trilogy and most recently, Oppenheimer, would be making The Odyssey his next feature film. Set to release on July 17th of 2026, the film will star actors including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and Charlize Theron. The film is set to use “…brand new IMAX film technology,” bringing Homer’s monolithic epic to the biggest screens available.
Similarly to The Iliad, The Odyssey was originally written in Ancient Greek (surprise). And unless you can understand Ancient Greek, you will need a translation, to which I once again recommend Robert Fagles’ version, with the introduction by Bernard Knox. This edition includes notes (which I always love), and is written in a good in-between old and modern-sounding English. It has my full endorsement. I give Odysseus’ long journey home 8 out of 10 stars. Thanks for reading.
