Odyssey

The Odyssey (Greek ????????) is the second of the two great Greek epic poems ascribed to Homer, the first of which is the Iliad. The book follows the events of the voyage of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, returning from the Trojan War, and the story of Odysseus son Telemachus who sets out to find his father. During two nights in the company of the Phaeacians Odysseus describes his adventures during the ten year-long voyage home, before returning to Ithaca. Once in Ithaca, Odysseus, after a twenty-year absence, reasserts himself as king of Ithaca, father of Telemachus, and husband of Penelope. In contrast to the Iliad, with its extended sequences of battle and violence, Odysseus is able to complete his journey using his cleverness, under the support of the goddess Athena. This cleverness is most often manifested by Odysseus use of disguise and, later, recognition. This disguise takes both physical forms (altering his appearance) and verbal forms (Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his name is No One (Outis) and later escapes after injuring the Cyclops because no one comes to help him when he yells that he has been attacked by "no one").

Related Topics:
Greek - Epic poems - Homer - Iliad - Odysseus - Ithaca - Trojan War - Telemachus - Phaeacians - Penelope - Cleverness - Athena - Disguise - Recognition - Cyclops

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In the English language as well as in many other languages, the word odyssey has come to refer to an epic voyage.

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The poem is considered one of the foundational texts of the Western canon and continues to be read, in the original and in translation, around the world. Despite the fact that most people read a printed text, the original poem was an oral composition performed by a trained bard speaking in an amalgamated dialect (Homeric Greek is different than all other forms of Ancient Greek) and using a regular metrical pattern called dactylic hexameter. Each line of the original Greek was composed of six feet; each foot was composed of either a dactyl or a spondee.

Related Topics:
Western canon - Homeric Greek - Ancient Greek - Metrical - Dactylic hexameter - Feet - Dactyl - Spondee

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The Odyssey as known today consists of twenty-four books or chapters. The first four books give the background to the epic and are known as the Telemachy.

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