THE ODYSSEY By: Homer Retold By: Diana Stewart In the beginning Odysseus king of Ithaca and his kingdom were at war with the Trojans. The king and his wife Penelope had just bore a son, his name was Telemachus. The king didn't want to go but Odysseus was forced to leave his home and his family to fight in the Trojan War. Odysseus set out to war with his army and soon after the war began Odysseus had a wonderful idea., Odysseus had all his men work hard to build a huge wooden horse. The team put the huge wooden horse at the walls of the Trojan city. The Trojans took the horse into the city thinking it was a gift from their enemies. Little did the Trojans know that the horse was filled with a quarter of Ithaca's solders. When the Trojans brought the horse into the city the army came out and made the Trojans surrender to the Ithaca army.
Trojan
Odysseus and Nausicaä by Charles Gleyre (19th cen...
ODYSSEUS karnavires 51On their journey home Odysseus and his crew encountered many challenges. Just some of them were being stranded on a Calypso's island for seven years, almost being eaten by a Cyclops, and being turned into a pig by Circe! When he finally returned home he met his son Telemachus and talked with him for a few hours. His son told him that suitors were trying to marry his beloved wife Penelope. Odysseus prayed to the goddess Athena that night. The next morning Athena appeared to Odysseus and decides him as an old man and had Telemachus bring "the old man" to the city. Back at the palace the queen was making death linen for the death of her husband. She agreed that when she was finished the linen she would choose one of the suitors. But every night she would undo the weaving and knitting she had done that day so it kept taking longer and longer to finish the linen. Her maids knew about the queens deceiving actions and were bribed to confess the truth to some suitors; they used some gifts that the maids were never accustom to convince them to talk. When the suitor that was most aggressive found out about her trickery he was very furious. She said that the next day there would be a contest "the suitor who could string Odysseus' bow and shoot one of his arrows through 12 axes in a row will be my new husband" All the suitors tried but not even one of them were strong enough to string the bow let alone trying to shot them through 12 axes. "The old man" was watching and after the final failure he got up took the bow strung it and fired it cleanly through all 12 axes. All of the suitors were amazed and than Odysseus turned back into his original self and he and his son took revenge and killed al of the suitors. The family proudly reunited and they all lived happily ever after.
Mnêstêrophonía: slaughter of the suitors by Ody...
c. 1563
Ulysses at the court of Alcinous
Trojan