The Adventures Of Odysseus - King Of Ithaca | Greek Mythology Explained

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Ithaca, a prince was born. Odysseus, the son of King Laertes, a former Argonaut, and Anticlea, the daughter of Aetolochus. Being the grandson of Aetolochus, the most renowned king of thieves, and son of Hermes, Odysseus learned some of his grandfather's crafts and tricks. He learned well enough, that he became cunning as well, known far and near for his intellectual brilliance, craftiness, and persuasive speaking skills. As a teenage boy, Odysseus, during one of his visits to his grandfather, decided to take part in a boar hunting expedition, organized by his uncles. That was his very first hunting expedition, and the lad wanted to know what the adventure felt like. When the hunting began, it happened that the path Odysseus had taken, was the path the wild boar was running towards. With no experience and prior hunting skills, young Odysseus was able to kill the wild boar. However, in their fight, the boar gave him a deep wound on his leg, which left a large recognizable scar, after the wound had healed. That scar became Odysseus' trademark. Anyone who saw it, immediately knew who he was. Years later, when he had grown into a man, Odysseus was selected as one of the many suitors of Helen, the beautiful step-daughter of King Tyndareus of Sparta. Although Helen was the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen, Odysseus was not so interested in winning her, because he had fallen in love with Helen's cousin, Penelope, the daughter of Icarius, brother to Tyndareus. In addition, the princess had way too many suitors, that he, with no extraordinarily fine features, was less likely to be chosen. It was clear to him that Menelaus, the suitor with the most appealing looks, would win the hand of Helen. Odysseus thought of a way to make Penelope his wife, and came up with a brilliant idea. Helen's suitors were so many, that even King Tyndareus feared a possible outbreak of conflict, if he chose any one of them. So the crafty Odysseus used this situation to his advantage. He offered Tyndareus a solution, in exchange for Penelope's hand in marriage, to which Tyndareus agreed. Odysseus made all the suitors swear an oath, that they would respect the king's final choice, that they would respect whoever the king picked to be his daughter's husband, and that they would support the couple in any ill fate the two may face in the future. In the end, Menelaus was chosen to be the husband of Helen, just as Odysseus suspected. And all the other suitors, peacefully left the city of Sparta to their various homes, except Odysseus. His plan worked perfectly well. Fulfilling his own end of the bargain, King Tyndareus gave Odysseus the hand of Penelope in marriage. Odysseus took his wife to his kingdom, Ithaca, where he assumed the throne as the new king. The couple had a son named Telemachus, and lived a very happy life, till came the events, and his lovely wife Penelope, had a son, whom they named Telemachus. Their lives seemed to be in perfect bliss, until news reached Ithaca, that Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, had been abducted by Prince Paris of Troy. Acting upon the oath sworn by Helen's suitors, Menelaus summoned all of them to help him bring back his wife. Surprisingly, Odysseus who had proposed the oath, was reluctant to answer the call to aid. He refused to join the quest, not because of cowardice, but because he had been warned by the seer of Ithaca, Halic Therses, that if he journeyed to Sparta to join the quest, it would take him a long and arduous time to return home. So in order to escape this, Odysseus pretended to be mad. Every day, he harnessed a donkey and an ox to a plow, and then started sowing salt on a field. When Palamedes, the man sent to recruit Odysseus, saw this hilarious act, he was not convinced in the slightest, that the king of Ithaca had gone mad, for he was aware of his cunning nature. Odysseus had quite a reputation. Palamedes put baby Telemachus in front of the plow, in order to test his sanity, and just as he expected, Odysseus immediately changed course, thereby exposing his plan. Odysseus was left with no choice, but to join the expedition. He bade farewell to his wife and son, and set out to Sparta. He never forgave Palamedes for making him leave his family, and would later carry out his revenge in the future. When the Greeks had assembled an army against Troy, Odysseus learned a prophecy from the prophet Calchas, that the Greeks would win the war, if only a warrior named Achilles joined their forces. Achilles was the demigod son of the goddess Thetis and king Peleus. Fearing a prophecy that Achilles would either live a long peaceful life, or die a glorious death as a mighty warrior, Thetis had dipped him in the river Styx as a baby. The river made Achilles invulnerable, except his heels, where his mother had held him. Thetis then sent him, disguised as a woman, to the court of king Lycomedes of Scyros. Knowing this, the crafty Odysseus visited the court of Lycomedes, disguised as a peddler, selling women's clothes. He hid a spear among his goods, and Achilles was the only one who showed interest in the spear when he saw it. In a different story, Odysseus blew a battle horn in a fake attack on Scyros, and everyone fled at the sound, except Achilles. Having been revealed, Achilles joined the Greeks in the war against the Trojans. During the war, Odysseus devised a plan to penetrate the walls and gates of Troy. He ordered the construction of a huge wooden horse, popularly called the Trojan horse, leaving it near the gates of Troy. Then, he and all of the greatest Greek warriors, quietly hid inside the belly of the Trojan horse, while the rest of the Greeks pretended to sail away. The Trojans, thinking the war was over, opened their gates, and celebrated their victory around the wooden horse. However, when night came, the Greek warriors came out of their hiding place, and led the rest of the Greeks through the gates into the city. Odysseus and Diomedes killed the Trojan spy, Dolon, and the Thracian king Rhesus, and captured their famed seer, Helenus. The Greeks slew the rest of the Trojans, and sacked the entire city, thus winning the ten-year long war. Odysseus then had Hector's little son, Asyntax, thrown down from the walls of Troy, which was rather very cruel of him. In the end, it was Odysseus' cleverness, and battle strategy, that gave the Greeks their victory. He played the role of a wise and crafty strategist, and a fierce warrior. Perhaps, without him, the Greeks could never have defeated Troy. Now do you remember Palamedes? Yes, Odysseus had his revenge. He and Diomedes, fooled Palamedes into entering a well, convincing him that treasures laid hidden inside. The moment Palamedes was inside the well, Odysseus and Diomedes, started throwing rocks at him, till he was dead and buried at the bottom of the well. After the Greeks' victory in the Trojan war, it was time for Odysseus to return to his kingdom of Ithaca. With twelve ships, and a whole lot of crew, he sailed away from Troy. Shortly through their journey, they were blown off course by a strong wind, and landed on the south coast of Thrace, in the territory of the Sycones, who were allies of the Trojans. When the Sycones attacked, Odysseus and his crew, killed all the attackers, sparing only a priest of Apollo, whose name was Maron. Maron offered them twelve jars of strong wine, for sparing his life, and the Greeks, perhaps forgetting they were in the land of their enemies, drank too much wine, and stayed too long. When they had all become drunk, the Sycones attacked again, killing a few of them. Odysseus and his men, hurried away from Thrace, to continue their journey, and after a while, they reached the land of the lotus eaters. When Odysseus sent some of his men to survey the area, none of them returned. He went to see for himself, what had happened to his men, only to find them eating lotus, with the lotus eaters, not caring about going home. The lotus was so tasty, that anyone who ate them, forgot about going home. Odysseus had to drag the reluctant crew, back to the ships, by force. They reached the island of the Cyclops, landing on the shore, in search of cheese, and meat, and other valuables they could find. In the course of their search, they unwittingly entered the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, son of Poseidon. When Polyphemus returned, he shut the entrance of the cave, with a giant boulder, and started eating Odysseus' men. When the giant had eaten six of the men, Odysseus came up with a plan. He introduced himself to Polyphemus, and gave him some of As the drunk Polyphemus slept, Odysseus and his men sharpened a huge stake, and pierced the Cyclops eye with the stake. Roaring in agony, Polyphemus rolled away the boulder, crying for help. With the cave open once again, Odysseus and his men escaped, cautiously avoiding the searching hands of the blind Cyclops. However, when they had gotten to the safety of their ships, Odysseus made the grave mistake of revealing his true identity to Polyphemus, a mistake that would cost him ten years away from his home. Polyphemus prayed to his father Poseidon to avenge him, to curse Odysseus to wander the sea for a long time. Odysseus' ships got to the island of Aeolus, a king gifted by the gods with the power of the winds, who warmly welcomed and harbored them for a month. By the time they were ready to leave, Aeolus gave Odysseus a gift to ensure his safe return to Ithaca. The god put all the winds inside a leather bag, except the west wind, then gave the bag to Odysseus, warning him not to open it till he reached his destination. On the tenth day however, just as Ithaca came into sight, Odysseus' men gently stole the heavy bag while he was sleeping. Thinking there was gold inside, the foolish men opened the bag, immediately releasing all the other winds, which violently blew their ships back to the island of Aeolus. Realizing Odysseus was cursed by Poseidon, Aeolus refused to help him again, and sent them away. Seven days later, they reached the island of the Laestrygonians, a tribe of giants who ate human flesh. Hurling giant boulders at them, the giants destroyed all eleven of Odysseus' ships, except his own, and ate the sailors on those ships. Next, with his only surviving crew and ship, Odysseus reached Aeia, the island of the sorceress Circe, daughter of the sun god Helios. There, Circe turned his men into pigs, after feeding them with enchanted cheese and wine. Hermes, the ever-helpful messenger god, appeared to Odysseus, giving him a herb called moly, in order to resist Circe's magic. Now immune to her powers, Odysseus overpowered Circe, forcing her to change the pigs back to men. Circe agreed to Odysseus' commands, and asked him to stay with her on the island, the time during which he became her consort. After a year on the island, Circe advised Odysseus that in order to return to Ithaca, he must travel to the dark realm of the Cimmerians. There, he must pour libations and make sacrifices to attract the souls of the dead. Once the soul of the blind prophet, Tiresias, appears, he must ask him for a way to appease Poseidon, and a way back to Ithaca. Odysseus journeyed to the land of the Cimmerians, and did as he was told. He saw the spirits of many known men, including Agamemnon, who died few years back, and Achilles. Tiresias came forth, revealing to Odysseus that he was being punished by Poseidon for blinding his son, Polyphemus, and warned him not to touch the cattle of Helios when they reached Thrinacia. After Tiresias' spirit had gone, Odysseus saw his mother, Anticlea, who passed away while grieving his long absence. Anticlea warned her son to hurry back to Ithaca, for his wife, Penelope, was surrounded by many suitors who sought to take his place as king. Upon his return to Aeaea, Circe bade Odysseus farewell, warning him of the dangers that lay ahead. He would pass the island of the Sirens, who enchant all who come near them, through their song, and then go through a pass between the whirlpool, Charybdis, and the six-headed monster, Scylla. When they got to the island of the Sirens, Odysseus ordered his men to stuff their ears with bee wax, and tightly bound himself to the mast of the ship, so that he would escape unharmed, while also able to hear the Sirens' beautiful song. They also managed to get past the Charybdis. But when they reached the territory of Scylla, the monster devoured six of Odysseus' crew before they got past. Next, they reached the island of Thrinacia. Remembering Tiresias' warnings, Odysseus commanded his crew not to eat the sacred cattle of Helios. But in his absence, they went ahead and ate the cattle, thus enraging Helios. Helios asked Zeus to punish the insolent men, or he would take the sun with him to the underworld. Zeus sent a violent storm, which killed all of Odysseus' crew, sparing only him. The sea carried Odysseus to the island of Ogygia, where the witch, Calypso, fell in love with him, and kept him captive for seven years. She tried to make him stay with her forever, by promising him immortality, but Odysseus wanted nothing more than to return to his beloved home of Ithaca. Finally, Hermes interceded on behalf of Odysseus, asking Zeus to have mercy on the hero. Zeus then ordered Calypso to immediately release the weary captive, which she obeyed. The king of Ithaca soon reached Scyria, the island of the Phaeacians. When he told them his story, they were pleased and honored to have such a guest. They gave Odysseus a new ship, and some sailors, who sailed him safely to his home. The tired hero was sound asleep when they reached Ithaca, and not wanting to disturb him, the sailors gently laid him on the shore and sailed off. After twenty long years of wandering, he was finally back home. Odysseus awoke to see the shining armor-clad goddess, Athena, standing before him. After revealing to him what had happened during his absence, Athena transformed him into an old beggar to keep him safe, till he was able to reclaim his throne. The disguised king went to the hut of one of his faithful servants, Eumaeus, who welcomed him warmly, entertaining him with stories of how great his past master was. When the now grown Telemachus returned from Sparta, after escaping an ambush set by Penelope's suitors to get rid of him, he headed straight to the hut of Eumaeus. There, Odysseus revealed himself to his son. Reunited with his beloved father, Telemachus joined in on his plan of revenge against the suitors. Accompanied by Eumaeus, Odysseus, still in disguise, got to his palace, where the suitors laughed at him, taunted, and mistreated him, until queen Penelope came to his aid. Penelope led the beggar away from her wicked suitors, not knowing he was actually her long lost husband. She had been faithful to Odysseus all those twenty years. Penelope called her nurse, Eurycleia, to wash the old beggar's feet. And while doing this, Eurycleia saw the scar on his leg, immediately realizing who the beggar really was. She tried to tell Penelope, but Odysseus and Athena persuaded her to keep it a secret. As part of their plan, Athena encouraged Penelope to announce that she was finally ready to remarry. Penelope decreed that any man who was able to string her husband's bow, and then shoot an arrow through twelve axe shafts, would be her husband. The contest began, and none of the suitors could accomplish the feat. Then the beggar came forth. To the surprise of everyone, the frail man completed the challenge effortlessly, then revealed himself as Odysseus, king of Ithaca, his beggar disguise vanishing into thin air. With the help of Athena and his son, Odysseus killed all of the suitors, and hanged twelve of the household maidens who had been traitors. When Penelope learned of what happened, she was too shocked to believe the stranger was truly her husband, even after she saw him in his true form, bathed and regally clothed. To test if it was him, Penelope asked Odysseus to move her marriage bed to another room. Odysseus replied that such was impossible, because he had made the bed himself, and knew that one of its legs was a living olive tree deeply rooted in the ground. Needing no further proof, Penelope ran into her husband's embrace, both weeping tears of joy. Happy at the outcome of events, Athena ordered Eos, goddess of the dawn, to postpone the coming of dawn for a few hours, so that the reunited husband and wife could enjoy a long night of loving embraces, tears of profound joy, and stories of love. Once again, Ithaca became a land of peace and order.