Odysseus - Odyssey and Return

A.    The Odyssey

 

1. Odysseus

2. The Cyclops  Polyphemus

3. The Sorceress Circe

4. Setting out for the Uncertainty

5. In the Underworld

6. The Sirens

7. Scylla and Charybdis

8. Odysseus falls deeply asleep

9. Dreams

10. Odysseus foresees the impending desaster

11. The revenge of the Gods

12. Odysseus drifts helpless on the waves

 

Odysseus appears as a man of power and confidence after having survived several wars, who sometimes smart sometimes brave heads toward home. But numerous adventures turn the return into an odyssey.

So he encounters the maneating cyclops Polyphemus and only by resorting to a ruse manages to escape. Shady Circe gets him into her clutches, trying to cast a spell over him by being either bewitching or impetuous. But Odysseus resists her power and continues his journey unwavering. He lands in the underworld. A world full of frightening and eerie darkness, where horribly screaming shadows - the souls of the dead - suddenly appear out of nowhere and disappear equally quickly. Having just escaped from this awful place, Odysseus has to resist the alluring songs of the Sirens, which enchant the travellers passing by, so that they forgot everything and stay forever with them.

All of the sudden Odysseus has to pass through a strait. On one side Scylla a horrible monster living deep down in a cave, which can suddenly snap and crushes everything that gets into it is jaws. On the other side the monster Charybdis sucking in water and spitting it out again, thereby creating lifethreatening whirls and swirls. Only with great effort manages Odysseus to escape the dangers. But immediately the Gods put him deeply asleep, so that he gets immersed in the bizarre unreal world of dreams.

As he wakes up he notices even from far away the sacrilege his men committed. They provoked the wrath of the Gods by slaughtering holy cattle belonging to the Sungod Helios. Soon dark clouds come up with roaring wind, waves piling up and blazing lightening crushing Odysseus ship. Only Odysseus can escape on a floating piece of wood. Everything is enveloped in sulfurous smoke.

So Odysseus drifts around for several days in terrible despair, hopelessly at the mercy of the Gods.

 

B.            The Return

 

1. Odysseus

2. The Nymph Calypso

3. The Olympus - Seat of the Gods

4. Ithaca enveloped in fog

5. Odysseus reaches home

6. Odysseus' transformation into a beggar

7. Telemachus'  desperate longing for Odysseus

8. Odysseus and the Suitors

9. Penelope

10. His dog Argus

11. The Recognition

12. Home

 

Odysseus, stranded on an island in the mean time, is totally desperate, has lost his courage and is tormented by gnawing  homesickness. The beautiful Nymph Calypso tries to ensnare him with flattery continually to make him stay. But Odysseus remains steadfast.

After a while the Gods have some understanding for Odysseus and decide to let him return home. His home town Ithaca is enveloped in fog as Odysseus arrives. Excited and overjoyed, but also suspicious and cautious he finally steps onto the native soil. The helping Goddess Athene turns him into a beggar, so that he can go to his home unrecognized.

There he discovers Telemachus, who wishes nothing more than for his father to return and throw out the carousing suitors. And Odysseus disguised as a beggar can see the suitors having completely taken over his house. He meets his wife Penelope, who is in total despair. The longing for Odysseus causes her heartbreaking grief. Only his dog Argus, close to death, recognizes Odysseus by his voice. He is overjoyed to see his master again, to then die in peace.

After Odysseus has now assessed the situation, he gives up his disguise and convinces the doubtful Penelope of his true identity.

In this way finally after many years of odyssey Odysseus returns happily.