Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. Chapter summary for homers the odyssey, book 11 summary. It was probably composed near the end of the 8th century bce and is, in part, a sequel to the iliad. Odysseus follows circes instructions, digging a trench at the site prescribed and. Summary and analysis book 1 athena inspires the prince. Odysseus and his men were sailing along when they heard the most beautiful sound.
Poseidons son is one of the suitors trying to marry penelope c. Odysseuss tale begins with the gods having a meeting, talking about the death of aegisthus, when athena says that aegisthus earned his punishment, but odysseus did not. The odyssey tells the story of the ancient greek hero odysseus, who faces many adventures on his journey home from the trojan war. Odysseus explains to his men the course that they must take, which they are displeased to learn is rather meandering. The odyssey by homer book 11 summary and analysis youtube. Odysseus and his men got safely away by pretending to be sheep. Setting odysseus took his sword and dug a trench between the river of tears and the river of fire. Odysseus here breaks from his story, stating to the phaeacians that he sees no reason to repeat to them his account of his experience on ogygia.
It is widely recognized as one of the great stories of all time, and. Ten years have passed since the fall of troy, and the greek hero odysseus still has not returned to. The odyssey begins after the end of the tenyear trojan war the subject of the iliad, from which odysseus, king of ithaca, has still not returned due to angering the poseidon, god of the sea. He complains that the suitors eat all the best hogs without fearing the. When he finishes his story, the phaeacians return odysseus to ithaca, where he seeks out the hut.
The next morning, zeus rains blood upon the achaean lines, filling them with panic. In it, odysseus tells his king alcinous all about his fantastic and unusual trip to the underworld in which he did just that. Summary and analysis book 11 the visit to the dead. Readers hear of the captive and long absent odysseus, observe the council of the gods, and learn of the trouble that. Odysseus languishes on the remote island ogygia with the goddess calypso, who has fallen in love with him and. Odysseus then saw his mother, whom he did not know had died. After the queens spirits departed, odysseus was greeted by the spirit of agamemnon himself. Odysseus listens to the tales of achilles and other heroes, while ajax continues to ignore the hero. Odysseus tells the phaeacians the sorry tale of his wanderings. Follow very closely the story of odysseus baptism by his grandfather autolycus and of the boar hunt on the. A translation of homers odyssey into plain english. Ulysses is a modernist novel by irish writer james joyce. The odyssey book 1 summary book one, athena inspires the prince, starts out with someone asking a muse to tell the story of odysseus. In book seven odysseus is welcomed by king alcinous into his palace and is asked to tell the story of how he arrived on the island of the phaecians.
He then meets the spirits of various famous men and heroes and hears the stories of their lives and deaths. From troy, the winds sweep him and his men to ismarus, city of the cicones. Odysseus is mad that penelope never went to look for him. Odysseia is the second of the two epic poems attributed to the ancient greek poet homer the first being the iliad, and usually considered the second extant work of western literature.
Homer opens the odyssey with an invocation to the muse of epic poetry and asks for her guidance in telling the story of a man who has experienced many twists and turns of fate and has suffered many hardships. Blogging the odyssey book 11 first, the sparknotes summary. The fact that the reason he wants to return to ithaca is to. Odysseus lists his conversations with achilles, and his observations of. The king of sparta, menelaus, was hosting a double wedding and enjoying a feast in the palace. We are reminded again of the story of agamemnon and his death when odysseus speaks with. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the phaeacians request, he tells the story of his adventures. Book 1 introduces some of the multitudes of characters, many interwoven plots, and significant themes encountered during odysseuss return home. Just as odysseus taunts the blinded polyphemus in book 9 by boasting about his. A translation of homers odyssey into plain english w. When he and his men reached the entrance to the world of the dead. Odysseus grabbed the sharpened stick and blinded the cyclops.
Odysseus makes up an elaborate story about being a commoner from crete, who coincidentally has suffered many of the same trials that odysseus did. Book 11 by god, id rather slave on earth for another man. Odysseus thanks the swineherd for his hospitality, and eumaeus answers that zeus decrees that everyone be kind to beggars and strangers. Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war, and his adventures at sea during his travel home. He did this to gain access to the kingdom of the dead. Agamemnon tells the story of his murder by his wife, clytemnestra, and her. Odysseus cuts the story short, but alcinous asks him of the heroes that he met in the underworld. Odysseus relates how, following the trojan war, his men suffered more losses at the hands of the kikones, then were nearly tempted to stay on the island of the drugaddled lotus eaters. Usually, when mythic heroes undertake the dangerous voyage to the underworld, its for the. Nestor tells what he knows of the greeks return from troy. In his madeup story, he that hes heard odysseus had just left an island when the beggar arrived. Book ix of the odyssey is called nekuia, which is an ancient greek rite used to summon and question ghosts.
Homers the odyssey is the story of odysseus journey home after the trojan war. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the odyssey. Odysseus, the reader is told, is the only greek survivor of the trojan war who. Odysseus describes the conversation he had with agamemnon. He angers several of the gods who decide he must suffer before he is allowed to return to his family. See important quotations explained odysseus travels to the river of ocean in the land of the cimmerians. The odyssey books 16 summary and analysis gradesaver.
The men plunder the land and, carried away by greed, stay until the reinforced ranks of the cicones turn on them and attack. There he encountered elpenor, who demanded a proper burial, which odysseus promised to carry out. A cyclops, maneating giants, the intoxicating lotus drug, sirens, storms, the ghosts of the underworld, and vengeful gods. The next day, alcinous loads his gifts on board the ship that will carry odysseus to ithaca. His wife, penelope, proposes a contest with odysseus bow to determine which of the suitors she will marry, and, after all fail, the disguised odysseus strings the bow, shoots his mark, reveals himself, and attacks the suitors. The story of odysseus in the odyssey tells about his adventures with an underlying love connection. Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events. But, by afternoon, they have begun to make progress. Homers audience would already have been familiar with the stories of such. After leaving the cyclops, the men travel to the islands of aeolus, the god of winds, who gives odysseus a bag containing all of the bad winds so that his journey will send him directly to ithaca. The land of the dead is near the homes of the cimmerians, who live shrouded in mist and cloud 11. Then he freed the dead by pouring milk and honey, mellow wine, and water into the trench. Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, walks to the swineherds house. Agamemnon, splendidly armed, cuts down man after man and beats the trojans back to the citys gates.
The story begins ten years after the end of the trojan war, the subject of the iliad. Odysseus follows circes instructions, digging a trench at the site prescribed and pouring libations of milk, honey, mellow wine, and pure water. Eumaeus invites odysseus in to eat and drink and tell his story. It takes him 10 years to return home to his kingdom of ithaca. Odysseus is going to head home just as soon as he consults an oracle. Odysseus stops telling his story, and the next day alcinous and others give him gifts. In book 11 of homers the odyssey, odysseus continues to share the story of his difficult journey with alkinoos and the phaiakians. Why does odysseus become angry when he reveals his true identity to penelope. Book three dawn finds the travelers in the kingdom of pylos, who fought with odysseus in the trojan war. Odysseus sailed forth to the river ocean, which encircles the earth, and offered the proper sacrifice on the shore. Then teiresias, who predicted the homeward voyage, the battle with the suitors, and a strange journey to men who know no sea. Book 11 pay close attention to the encounters of odysseus with his mother antikleia, with the prophet teiresias, and. Characters character list odysseus telemachus penelope athena calypso circe. The odyssey quizzes about important details and events in every section of the.
Homers odyssey, odysseus, cyclops cave, the sirens. First elpenor spoke, requesting cremation and burial. The narrator of the odyssey invokes the muse, asking for inspiration as he prepares to tell the story of odysseus. Odysseus explains that he is the son of laertes, king of ithaca, who is attempting to travel home after battling in the trojan war. Odysseus continues telling his tale to alcinous and the phaeacians. Ulysses, ulixes, is a legendary greek king of ithaca and the hero of homers epic poem the odyssey. They made bahbah sounds until they had crawled to safety. He advised odysseus to keep some things hidden from his wife, and to arrive home in secret. He married her after having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the world. Odysseus own mother, who died of grief and longing for him, is allowed to approach only after his audience with the seer. The account of his wanderings now finished, odysseus looks forward to leaving scheria. In books 1723, odysseus returns to his palace, disguised as a beggar, and he is abused by the suitors. His wifes behavior, he said, stained all women everywhere. When he identifies himself as odysseus, his hosts, who have heard of his exploits at troy, are stunned.
The odyssey book 4 summary the next morning, one of nestors sons and telemachus arrive in sparta. Atlas daughter it is wh o holds odysseus captive, luckless mandespite his tears, forever trying to spellbind his heart with suave, seductive words and wipe all thought of ithaca from his mind. Odysseus also plays a key role in homers iliad and other works in that same. It is hard to determine whether the odyssey is an adventure story or a love story. Odysseus travels to the river of ocean in the land of the cimmerians. It is considered one of the most important works of modernist literature and has been called a demonstration and summation of. Odysseus and his crew finally escape, having lost six men per ship. Read a character analysis of odysseus, plot summary, and important quotes. The story of odysseus begins in homers epic poem the iliad, but his second poem, the odyssey, relates the tale of odysseus wandering the seas for ten years as he struggled to return from the. This 45page guide for circe by madeline miller includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 27 chapters, as well as several more in.
The phaeacians arrive at ithaca the next day, unload odysseus and his gear, and return home. In book ten odysseus is still recounting past adventures to the phaecians. Odysseus spends the night describing the fantastic chain of events leading up to his arrival on calypsos island. Nestor knows that odysseus started out from troy with 12 ships and 720 men. The journey inland, however, takes place after the events told of in the odyssey.