The Odyssey – Summary of the Books
Book 1
Homer invokes the Muse and introduces the saga of Odysseus. The action begins while Odysseus has already had
many adventures, and is now being held captive with the nymph Calypso, where he has been for the last 7 years. In a
council of the gods, in the absence of Poseidon who hates Odysseus for blinding his son, Athene protests to Zeus who
agrees to send Hermes to order Calypso to let Odysseus go home. Athene herself will visit Odysseus' son Telemachus
in disguise and prompt him to call an assembly to denounce the behaviour of the suitors of Penelope, who is Odysseus'
wife. When she arrives, Athene meets the rude suitors and then tells Telemchus that he should then make a journey to
Pylos and Sparta to find out what certain news there is of his father.
Thus begins Books 1-4, often known as Telemachy, Telemachid or Telemacheia
Book 2
Telemachus holds an assembly and denounces the suitors, but Antinous, the leading suitor blames Penelope for
delaying and not choosing one of them to marry. He thinks Penelope should be sent to her father's so there can be a
new marriage. An omen is interpereted that Odysseus will return and fight the suitors, but another lead suitor,
Eurymachus dismisses this angrily. Telemachus requests a ship and, encouraged by Athene, sets out at night.
Book 3
Telemachis arrives at Pylos where he finds Nestor, an important Greek veteran from the Trojan war, sacraficing to
Poseidon on the shore. Nestor welcomes him, reminisces about Odysseus, tells of the fate of the returning Greeks and
offers him advice. He stays there overnight before setting off for Sparta to see Menelaus, but Telemachus is now
accompanied by Nestor's son, Peisistratus.
Book 4
Arriving at Sparta, Telmachus is welcomed by Melelaus and Helen who grieve over the past and tell of their memories
of Odysseus, including the story of the Wooden Horse. The following day,Telemachus asks for news of his father.
menelaus tells of his own homecoming and how he met Proteus (the 'Old man of the Sea') in egypt who told him of
the fate of other Greek leaders, including Odysseus. Telemachus is asked to stay in Sparta for some time, but
Telemachus is keen to get to Pylos and then return to Ithaca.
Back in Ithaca, the suitors plot to ambush him on his return and stop his meddling. Penelope hears about this, which
causes her great anxiety, but she is comforted by Athene in a dream.
This is the end of the 'Telemachy'
Book 5
Athene reminds Zeus that Calypso is still holding Odysseus captive on the island of Ogygia and the suitors are
planning to ambush Telemachus. Zeus tells Hermes to go and tell Calypso that she must allow Odysseus to leave.
Although Calypso is annoyed about this, she eventually agrees. She helps Odysseus to build a raft and sends a
favourable breeze. After seventeen days Poseidon sends a terrible storm, which almost kills Odysseus: he is eventually
washed up on an island where he falls asleep exhausted.
Book 6
Nausicaa, daughter of king Alcinous, goes to the river to wash her clothes after Athene tells her to do this in a dream.
Odysseus asks her for help and she agrees to take him back to her father's palace- he must follow at a distance to avoid
unpleasant gossip. Odysseus does this, pausing to offer a prayer to Athene in a grove sacred to her. He asks that the
Phaeacians will welcome him and treat him with kindness.
Book 7
The palace and gardens of Alcinous are described. Odysseus asks for help from Alcinous and his queen, Arete. He
tells them a shortened version of his story (from Ogygia to Scherie) but conceals his identity. He evades Alcinous' hint
that he might marry his daughter Nausicaa. He is promised a safe passage home.
Book 8
After an assembly where it is agreed to send Odysseus home by ship, Odysseus is entertained by the Phaeacians. Te
blind bard, Demodocus, sings of the Trojan war and Odysseus' part in it- the hero weeps at the memory. The young
men show off their prowess at athletics; Odysseus is relectant to join in bt when rudely challenged, shows off his great
skill. Demodocus sings the tale of the love of Ares (god of war) and Aphrodite (goddess of love), and sings again of
Troy. Odysseus weeps again and when Alcinous notices this, he again asks this stranger his true identity.
Book 9
The beginning of Odysseus' tale to the Phaeacians.
Odysseus reveals his identity and begins to tell Alcinous of his adventures since Troy/ He relates how he sacked the
city of Ismarus, where the Cicones lived , and lost many men there. Then they were blown to the land of the lotus-
eaters in North Africa where some of his men were fed the drug of the lotus fruit, making them forget everything. The
Cyclops adventure is much longer, The cyclops eats some of his men and traps the rest, so Odysseus makes
Polyphemus drunk and then blinds him with a sharpened spear made of olivewood. They escape tied under his sheep ,
which are let out of the cave in the morning. AAs they sail away Odysseus reveals his name so that Polyphemus can
curse him, resulting in him arriving home alone, late and in a foreign ship with trouble in his home.
Book 10
They sail to Aeolia where Aeolus (ruler of the winds) gives him a bag of winds to return home. His comrades open the
bag thinking hold is inside and are blown back to Aeolia where Aeolus refuses to help them further. They then come
to the land of the Laestrygonians, which contains cannibalistic giant-like men who eat most of Odysseus' men. Only
Odysseus' ship escapes to Aeaea, where Circe turns half of Odysseus' men into pigs. With the help of Hermes(gives
him moly to eat) he overcomes Circe and she changes his men back. She entertains them for a year. His men remind
Odysseus of Ithaca, but Circe tells him he must consult the seer Tiresias in Hades before he can return.
Book 11
Odysseus and his men call up the dead following Circe's instructions. Tiresias warns him to avoid harming the oxen of
the Sun god and tells him of trouble in his home and of the adventures he will still encounter. Odysseus unexpectedly
meets the ghost of his mother, Anticleia. After a catalogue of famous women, Odysseus pauses his tale, where Arete
recommends he be given more gifts and Alcinous asks if he saw any heroes of the Trojan was in Hades. Odyesseus
tells of seeing Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax and others.
Book 12
He returns to Circe who tells him how to go on. In order to hear the Sirens' song he orders his men to tie him to the
ships mast and put wax in their won ears. They pass the monster Scylla, who snatches six men and the whirlpool
CHarybdis. On the island of the Sun god they are marooned for a month and begin to starve. Despite warnings, his
men slaughter the oxen of the SUn while Odysseus sleeps. When the Sun complains to zeus, he destroys the ship by
sending a storm and Odysseus floats to Calypso's island, Ogygia.
The end of Odysseus' tale to the Phaeacians.
Book 13
While in a deep sleep, the Phaeacians land Odysseus on Ithaca withh rich gifts. In the morning he wakes, ignorant of
his whereabouts. Athene appears disguised as a shepherd and Odysseus asks where he is. When she tells him and asks
who he is, he tells his first story to conceal his idenity, saying he is on the run after killing a man. Athene is amused
and expresses her affection for him and then they plan their campaign against the suitors. After hiding the treasure, she
disguises him as an old beggar.
Book 14
Odysseus goes to the hut of his loyal swineherd, Eumaeus, who epitomises good practice of Xenia (guest-friendship).
Odysseus entertains Eumaeus with invented stories and says he has heard news of Odysseus. Alhtough Eumeus does
not believe hhim, he continues to treat him well and provides a cloak and tunis for him.
Book 15
Back to Telemachus in PSarta. After farewells from menelaus and Helen, Telemachus sails for home, picking up a
phrophet on the run from murder, called Theoclymenus. On Ithaca, Eumaeus tells his own life story to Odysseus.
Telemachus avoids ambus of the suitors.
Book 16
Telemachus goes to Eumaeus' hut and asks the swineherd to tell Penelope of his return. Odysseus now reveals his
identity to his son then impresses on him the need for self control in the struggle with the suitors/ The ambush ship
return and the suitors hold an inconclusive debate on what to do next. Penelope overheas them and rebukes them.
Eumaeus returns and reports to Telemachus.
Book 17
Telemachus returns to the Palace. Eumaeus sets out for the palace with Odyesseus. They meet the wicked goatherd,
Melanthius, who serves and supports the suitors, and then inssults Odysseus. Odysseus' old dog Argos, recognises his
master and promptly dies. Odysseus begs for food from the suitor. Antinous, one of the leaders therms a footstall at
him. Eumaeus tells Penelope the stranger claims to have seen Odysseus, so Penelope asks to see him.
Book 18
A professional and boastful beggar, Irus, insults Odysseus, who then knocks him out in a boxing match. Penelope
comes in to extract expensive gifts from the suitors, and Odysseus is delighted. The disloyal maidservant Melantho
insults him and Eurymachus throws another footstool at him. Telemachus intervenes and brings peace.
Book 19
Odysseus and Telemachus remove the weapons from the hall. Melantho insults Odysseus who in turn rebukes her.
Odysseus and Penelope begin a lengthy conversation. she tells him of her device using the shroud of Laertes; he
convinces her that he entertained Odysseus years ago, and tells her he is not far away, but this she cannot believe.
Eurycleia washes him and recognises the scar from a boar hunt in his youth, but she is sworn to secrecy. Penelope
announces her decision of the contest of the bow.
Book 20
Odysseus, lying awake, finds self-mastery difficult and hears Penelope's distress. Omens foretell sucess for him. The
loyal cowherd Philoetius appears. A third suitor, Ctessipus, throws an ox hoof at Odysseus. The suitors laugh at this
and Theoclymenus sees them marked out for death, but the continue to feast ignorantly.
Book 21
Penelope promises to marry the first man who can string Odysseus' bow and shoot an arrow through a row of 12 axes.
Telemachus sets up the axes. Odysseus reveals himself to Eumaeus and Philoetius. Telemachus almost manages to
string the bow, but is deterred by his father. When Eurymachus fails to string the bow, Antinous suggests they wait
until the next day. Odysseus asks to have a try, and eventually Eumaeus hands him the bow. He sucessfully strings the
bow and shoots through all 12 axes. Telemachus arms himself and stands beside his father.
Book 22
Odysseus kills Antinous and reveals himself to the dumbstruck suitors. Eurymachus begs for mercy, but is also killed.
Father, son and the two faithful servants eventually kill all the suitors but not before Melanthius helps arm some of
them. Phemius the bard, Medon and the herald are [Link] points out the 12 disloyal maidservants who are
made to help clear the bloodshed and then hanged. Melanthius is mutilated and killed. The hall is then purified.
Eurycleia is sent to tell Penelope what had happened.
Book 23
Eurycleia tells Penelope but she does not at first believe her. She does not fully recognise or believe Odysseus and
tests him by asking their marriage bed be brought out of their room, as only Odysseus knew that this was impossible.
Odysseus is careful that the outside world should not know what has happened. After their reunion, Odysseus tells her
of his wanderings. Next morning, he sets off to his father's farm.
Book 24
Hermes shepherds the souls of the dead to Hades. They meet Agamemnon ad Achilles: Agamamnon asks for an
account of their death and extols bravery of Odysseus and the virtue of Penelope. Odysseus meets his father, Laertes,
who is living rough, and eventually reveals himself after first providing one last false story. The kinsmen of the suitors
meet and plan vengance but Athene and Zeus plan lasting peace. There is a skirmish in which a few kinsmen are killed
by Telemachus, Odysseus and Laertes. Athene then makes peace.
The Odyssey – List of Characters
Odysseus - The protagonist of the Odyssey. Odysseus fought among the other Greek heroes at Troy and now
struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. Odysseus is the husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince
Telemachus. Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is most renowned for his cunning. He is a favorite of the
goddess Athena, who often sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who frustrates his journey at every
turn.
Telemachus - Odysseus’s son. An infant when Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is about twenty at the beginning
of the story. He is a natural obstacle to the suitors desperately courting his mother, but despite his courage and good
heart, he initially lacks the poise and confidence to oppose them. His maturation, especially during his trip to Pylos
and Sparta in Books 3 and 4, provides a subplot to the epic. Athena often assists him.
Read an in-depth analysis of Telemachus.
Penelope - Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Penelope spends her days in the palace pining for the
husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier and never returned. Homer portrays her as sometimes flighty and
excitable but also clever and steadfastly true to her husband.
Read an in-depth analysis of Penelope.
Athena - Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Athena assists
Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers throughout the epic, and she speaks up for them in the councils of the
gods on Mount Olympus. She often appears in disguise as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.
Read an in-depth analysis of Athena.
Poseidon - God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus’s mortal antagonists, Poseidon is his divine antagonist. He
despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home.
Ironically, Poseidon is the patron of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return Odysseus to Ithaca.
Zeus - King of gods and men, who mediates the disputes of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is occasionally
depicted as weighing men’s fates in his scales. He sometimes helps Odysseus or permits Athena to do the same.
Antinous - The most arrogant of Penelope’s suitors. Antinous leads the campaign to have Telemachus killed.
Unlike the other suitors, he is never portrayed sympathetically, and he is the first to die when Odysseus returns.
Eurymachus - A manipulative, deceitful suitor. Eurymachus’s charisma and duplicity allow him to exert some
influence over the other suitors.
Amphinomus - Among the dozens of suitors, the only decent man seeking Penelope’s hand in marriage. Amphinomus
sometimes speaks up for Odysseus and Telemachus, but he is killed like the rest of the suitors in the final fight.
Eumaeus - The loyal shepherd who, along with the cowherd Philoetius, helps Odysseus reclaim his throne after
his return to Ithaca. Even though he does not know that the vagabond who appears at his hut is Odysseus, Eumaeus
gives the man food and shelter.
Eurycleia - The aged and loyal servant who nursed Odysseus and Telemachus when they were babies. Eurycleia
is well informed about palace intrigues and serves as confidante to her masters. She keeps Telemachus’s journey
secret from Penelope, and she later keeps Odysseus’s identity a secret after she recognizes a scar on his leg.
Melanthius - The brother of Melantho. Melanthius is a treacherous and opportunistic goatherd who supports the
suitors, especially Eurymachus, and abuses the beggar who appears in Odysseus’s palace, not realizing that the man is
Odysseus himself.
Melantho - Sister of Melanthius and maidservant in Odysseus’s palace. Like her brother, Melantho abuses the
beggar in the palace, not knowing that the man is Odysseus. She is having an affair with Eurymachus.
Calypso - The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia.
Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
Polyphemus - One of the Cyclopes (uncivilized one-eyed giants) whose island Odysseus comes to soon after leaving
Troy. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his crew and tries to eat them, but Odysseus blinds him through a clever
ruse and manages to escape. In doing so, however, Odysseus angers Polyphemus’s father, Poseidon.
Circe - The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus’s crew into swine when he lands on her island. With
Hermes’ help, Odysseus resists Circe’s powers and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.
Laertes - Odysseus’s aging father, who resides on a farm in Ithaca. In despair and physical decline, Laertes
regains his spirit when Odysseus returns and eventually kills Antinous’s father.
Tiresias - A Theban prophet who inhabits the underworld. Tiresias meets Odysseus when Odysseus journeys to
the underworld in Book 11. He shows Odysseus how to get back to Ithaca and allows Odysseus to communicate with
the other souls in Hades.
Nestor - King of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan War. Like Odysseus, Nestor is known as a clever
speaker. Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his father, but Nestor knows little of Odysseus’s whereabouts.
Menelaus - King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, and husband of Helen, he helped lead the Greeks in the
Trojan War. He offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find Odysseus when Telemachus visits him in Book 4.
Helen - Wife of Menelaus and queen of Sparta. Helen’s abduction from Sparta by the Trojans sparked the Trojan War.
Her beauty is without parallel, but she is criticized for giving in to her Trojan captors and thereby costing many Greek
men their lives. She offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find his father.
Agamemnon - Former king of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, and commander of the Achaean forces at Troy.
Odysseus encounters Agamemnon’s spirit in Hades. Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her
lover, Aegisthus, upon his return from the war. He was later avenged by his son Orestes. Their story is constantly
repeated in the Odyssey to offer an inverted image of the fortunes of Odysseus and Telemachus.
Nausicaa - The beautiful daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa discovers
Odysseus on the beach at Scheria and, out of budding affection for him, ensures his warm reception at her parents’
palace.
Alcinous - King of the Phaeacians, who offers Odysseus hospitality in his island kingdom of Scheria. Alcinous
hears the story of Odysseus’s wanderings and provides him with safe passage back to Ithaca.
Arete - Queen of the Phaeacians, wife of Alcinous, and mother of Nausicaa. Arete is intelligent and influential.
Nausicaa tells Odysseus to make his appeal for assistance to Arete.
