Retold by Kelcie Annas
It is late afternoon, and Odysseus sees many ships coming toward Ithaca. The boats are the armies of Kings that are friends of Odysseus. It seems that Troy, a neighboring country, wants to go to war with them. Earlier in the day, Odysseus's wife, Penelope, has a baby boy. He loves them both very much. Odysseus does not want to go to war, but it is his duty as King to go.
It takes a while to get to Troy, but soon they are there and fighting. The war takes ten years, but finally they defeat the Trojans by the use of a huge, wooden horse.
After the battle, Odysseus yells to the gods of his triumph. Poseidon gets mad because Odysseus is not giving any credit to them. Poseidon says he will make his trip back to Ithaca treacherous. Odysseus pays no attention to the god and starts to return home. But it is unwise not to listen, because as soon as their ship starts to sail, there are problems.
First, there is fog so they cannot see where they are going. It does not matter to Odysseus. He thinks he is good enough to be a god, so he can get through anything. But they arrive on an island where the cyclops, Polyphemus, lives. They discover a cave with food, but no cyclops. They help themselves to the food and eat until they hear footsteps in the distance. They ignore the sound until Polyphemus returns to his cave. All of the men run into the back of the cave except Odysseus. He calmly introduces himself with a fake name, and asks him to sit and have some wine. The cyclops doesn't get too angry, and gets drunk on the wine. It gives Odysseus and his men a chance to escape.
Before they leave, Odysseus wants to get revenge to Poseidon, for Polyphemus is Poseidon"s son. They find a long log pole and sharpen it. Then they climb the rock wall behind Polyphemus' head. Once they are directly over his eye, they drop the log into his eye. The cyclops screams in agony as the men run to the back of the cave. But Odysseus and his men get back out of the cave, and run for the ship.
Next, they come to the island of the wind god, Aeolus. They tell him of their troubles with Poseidon, and discover that Aeolus is the cousin of Poseidon. Aeolus would like to get even with him. Odysseus secretly gets a bag of wind from Aeolus, and they are on their way again.
It has taken weeks, but they see sign of land. A very familiar looking land, too. It is Ithaca! Knowing home is nearby, Odysseus finally sleeps. He has not slept in a while, so he sleeps soundly. He does not hear his men discussing what is in the bag. They wonder if it is gold. With these last words, everyone gets greedy except one man. He tries to warn Odysseus, but he cannot overpower the ten other men. The men open the bag, and a great gust of wind blows out of the bag. It keeps blowing and blowing until Ithaca is thousands of miles out of sight.
Odysseus is angry with his men, but there is still hope to return home so he does not hurt them. Soon they come to another island. It is the island of Circe. If you drink potions disguised in a drink, you will turn into a pig. Everyone knows that Odysseus is favored by the gods, and this is one time it will help. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, gives him an herb that will stop the poison in the drink. The herb protects Odysseus from the drink,and he and his men remain safe. Circe likes that Odysseus is protected by the gods so she decides to help Odysseus with his future, so he makes his way to the underworld to ask a blind prophet what his future will be. When he learns of future trials, he returns to the island to get his men. Circe tells him he has been gone five years. He is furious with himself, but they set off again.
The next problem is a channel with a rude monster. They get past that and a ferocious whirlpool. Odysseus loses all of his men and also his boat. He gets to safety on a nearby island. This island belongs to Calypso. He is kept captive for nine years. Hermes comes again, and Calypso sets him free.
It has now been 19 years since Odysseus has last seen his wife or son, and hie has missed them dearly. During his captivity on Calypso, he has learned that he has been very blessed by the gods. He tells Poseidon he understands why he is being punished. Since he understands, his punishment is over. Odysseus travels in his small boat to the Phaeacian Island where the people honor him greatly. After a night of resting and feasting, he sets off for Ithaca. His new ship and new companions will take him home.
It takes no longer than a day to return home, and Odysseus is overjoyed. He learns suitors have been asking his wife to marry. Athena, the daughter of Zeus, gives a disguise to Odysseus so he can check out his home, and hopefully chase away the suitors. After about 20 years, Penelope has almost given up hope of his return. She decides to marry and choose one of the suitors. She will marry the man that can string the bow of Odysseus and shoot an arrow with it. The arrow must shoot through he tips of small rings on axes. Many of men try to string the bow, but no one can. Finally Odysseus arrives in his disguise, and strings the bow. He shoots the arrow through the rings. Odysseus kills all the suitors with the help of his son, and reclaims his wife.