Escaping the wreckage, Odysseus swims ashore exhausted and falls asleep. He is released only to incur the wrath of Poseidon, the sea-god who was not present on Mount Olympus when Athena and Zeus interacted. Odysseus, meanwhile, spends seven years in captivity. They inform Telemachus that his father has been captured by Calypso, a nymph. He chances upon Helen and Menelaus bear witness of a meeting with sea-god Proteus. Welcomed by the Nestor family, Telemachus then embarks on a land journey alongside Sparta, Nestor’s son. The unruly Proci make their lives miserable.Īthena finds Telemachus a ship and crew and helps him to depart for the mainland.

Penelope, his wife and his son Telemachus deal with suitors, who line up for Penelope’s hand. His absence is misunderstood for his death. The ballad revolves around Odysseus, who takes ten long years after the Trojan War to reach Ithaca. Homeric Greek, in the Odyssey, is a rhapsode style that was probably meant to be sung. The lack of racial antipathy and political events etch the poem permanently in the mind of the reader. The Odyssey is indigenous and easily distinguishable from a Dante or Milton. Homer’s powerful style of verse defines the popular epic as a ballad, set against Greek culture. Odyssey may lack the expression and distinguishing qualities of Iliad, but the subtle version of the epico-lyrical attempt remains a ballad. Homer’s poetic skill defies age and time by surpassing degree. The poem spotlights grammatical form led by verse structure to attribute rhythm through uniform pauses. Homer was recognized around the Western world for simple syntax in hexameter verse. The focus on a unified theme within an epic cycle via rapid, but direct, evolution of thought and expression makes the Odyssey a classic. The Odyssey is unique among poems of the time.

The Odyssey by Homer