History of creation
The image of Odysseus became a reflection of the era of the Greeks' exploration of the sea. Situations when warriors set sail on their ships and their connection with their families was severed for a long time found their mythological embodiment in the story of Odysseus’s wanderings. Homer (“Iliad”, “Odyssey”), Euripides (“Hecuba”, “Cyclops”), Sophocles (“Ajax”, “Philoctetes”) and other authors wrote about the hero’s adventures and his journey home to his wife Penelope.
Homer, Euripides, Sophocles
Various episodes from the hero's life are captured in the form of drawings on Greek vases. Using them, you can restore the expected appearance of the hero. Odysseus is a mature, bearded man, often depicted wearing an oval cap worn by Greek sailors.
Origin of the hero
Odysseus belonged to a family that traced its origins back to Zeus himself. His parents were Laertes and Anticlea, king and queen of the island of Ithaca. By the way, Odysseus’s father took part in the campaign of the Argonauts with Jason. But the mother of the future hero, Anticlea, had a slightly different origin.
She was the daughter of a famous robber, famous for her cunning and resourcefulness. This family originated from the clever Hermes, the messenger of the gods and the famous cunning man. It seems to me that Odysseus fully inherited the qualities of his ancestors in each of the lines. He was both brave and cunning.
Francois Xavier Fabre “Odysseus and Neoptolemus take away the bow and arrows of Hercules from Philocettos”, 1800 Location: Fabre Museum, Montpellier, France
Odysseus was born in his native Ithaca. Having learned about the happy event, his grandfather Autolycus hurried to visit the local king. It was he who decided to give this name to the boy. There is an assumption that “Odysseus” means “anger,” “Angry,” or, on the contrary, “one who suffered from anger.” The latter, I believe, is more correct, but in the context of the story of the hero’s adventures.
Odysseus grew up as a smart and developed boy. Ancient authors note that the mentor of the future warrior was the wise centaur Chiron, who raised many ancient Greek heroes (for example, Achilles). Already in his youth, Odysseus showed his restless and active disposition.
He successfully established relationships with his father and grandfather, for which he received generous gifts. On his first hunt he was wounded. Since then, a scar has remained above the knee, and the place where the hero was first wounded has become sacred to his admirers. It is known that pilgrims came there even in the 2nd century BC.
Batoni Pompeo "Chiron the Centaur Teaching Achilles", 1770s Location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Biography
Odysseus was born from the marriage of Argonaut Laertes, king of Ithaca, and the granddaughter of the god Hermes, Anticlea. The hero’s grandfather, Autolycus, bore the proud nickname “the most thieving of men,” was a clever swindler, and personally from Hermes, his father, received permission to swear in the name of this god and break oaths. Odysseus himself is married to Penelope, who gave birth to the hero’s son Telemachus.
Odysseus on an amphora
Odysseus met his future wife Penelope in Sparta, where he arrived to woo Helen the Beautiful, among other suitors. There were many people who wanted to get married, but Elena’s father was afraid to make a choice in favor of one, so as not to incur the wrath of the others. The cunning Odysseus came up with a fresh idea - to give the girl the right to vote, so that she could choose the groom herself, and to bind the suitors with an oath that, if necessary, they would all help Elena’s future husband.
Helen chose Menelaus, the son of the Mycenaean king. Odysseus had his eye on Penelope. Penelope's father promised that he would marry his daughter to the one who wins the running competition. When Odysseus became the winner, his father tried to dissuade Penelope from this marriage and stay at home. Odysseus repeated his trick and allowed the bride to choose for herself - to stay with her father or go with him, and she, despite the persuasion of her parent, chose the hero. After the wedding, Odysseus and his young wife returned to Ithaca.
Odysseus and his wife Penelope
When Paris kidnapped Helen, the former suitors got ready for the Trojan War. The oracle predicted to Odysseus that if he went to Troy, he would return home 20 years later, beggars and without companions. The hero tried to avoid this event. Odysseus tried to pretend to be crazy, but was exposed.
The man began to sow the field with salt, harnessing an ox and a horse to the plow, but when his newborn son was thrown under the plow, he was forced to stop. So it became clear that Odysseus was fully aware of his actions, and the hero had to go to war. According to Homer's version, the hero was persuaded to go to Troy by King Agamemnon, who came to Ithaca for this purpose.
Odysseus and his ship
Odysseus comes to Troy with 12 ships. When the ships land on the shore, no one wants to get off. Another prediction promises that the first one to set foot on the land of Troy will certainly die. Nobody wants to be the first, so Odysseus jumps off the ship, and people follow him. The cunning hero makes a deceptive maneuver and throws a shield at his feet, so it turns out that it was not he who first stepped on Trojan soil, but the one who jumped after him.
During the war, Odysseus manages to settle personal scores by framing the man who threw his son under the plow as a traitor, thereby forcing the hero to go to war. A number of conditions are necessary for victory, and Odysseus fulfills them one after another. He gets the bow of Hercules, which was left with Philoctetes, who was abandoned on the island at the beginning of the war and was embittered towards the others. Together with Diomedes, he steals a statue of the goddess Athena from Troy. Finally, Odysseus comes up with the idea of the famous Trojan horse, thanks to which he, along with other warriors, ends up outside the walls of the city.
Trojan horse
After the victory at Troy, the ships turn back and Odysseus’s wanderings across the sea begin. The hero experiences many misadventures, during which he loses his ships and crew, and returns to Ithaca 10 years after sailing from the shores of Troy. In Ithaca, meanwhile, the suitors besiege Penelope, claiming that Odysseus died long ago and she should remarry, choosing one of them. The hero, turned into an old man by Athena, comes to his own palace, where no one recognizes him except the old nanny and the dog.
Penelope invites the suitors to compete for her hand - to string Odysseus's bow and shoot an arrow through 12 rings. The suitors insult Odysseus in the guise of an old man, but none of them can handle the bow. Then Odysseus himself shoots an arrow, thus revealing himself, and then, together with his grown-up son Telemachus, organizes a bloody massacre and kills the suitors.
The Wanderings of Odysseus
The hero's journey, however, does not end there. The relatives of the suitors he killed are demanding trial. Odysseus, by decision of the arbitrator, is expelled from Ithaca for 10 years, where the son of the hero Telemachus remains king. In addition, the god Poseidon is angry with the hero, whom the hero insulted by blinding the son of the god Polyphemus, the giant Cyclops.
To appease the god, Odysseus must walk with an oar on his shoulders through the mountains to find a land where people have never heard of the sea. Odysseus finds land where his oar is mistaken for a shovel and stops there. Poseidon forgives the hero after he makes sacrifices, and Odysseus himself marries the local queen.
Odysseus
The further fate of the hero is described differently in different sources. Odysseus either died in foreign lands (in different versions - in Aetolia, Etruria, Arcadia, etc.) without returning home, or returned after the expiration of his exile to Ithaca, where he was mistakenly killed by his own son, born of the sorceress Circe. There is even a version according to which Odysseus was turned into a horse and died in this form from old age.
Help from the wind god Aeolus
After another storm broke out at sea, Odysseus' ships were again thrown off course. Now they found themselves on the island of the lord of the winds, the god Aeolus. He turned out to be a hospitable host and, after listening to the complaints of the Greeks, gave Odysseus a bag in which all the winds were hidden, except for one - the warm western Zephyr.
Aeolus strictly ordered: do not untie the bag before arriving at Ithaca, and Zephyr will quickly deliver the ships to the desired shores. But when Odysseus was sleeping, his comrades decided to open the treasured bag, which their captain did not part with. The Greeks thought that their captain was hiding wealth and offerings from the old man Aeolus in it. However, instead of jewelry, violent winds burst out of the bag and swirled over the sea.
Due to their stupidity, Odysseus's team themselves found themselves in the center of the angry winds that created a storm. Ironically, the ships were again thrown back to the shores of the lands of Aeolus, but he refused to help Odysseus a second time. Arriving in the country of the Laestrygonians, the Ithacans found themselves in the hands of cannibal giants. They threw stones at the flotilla, and only one ship was able to survive - the one on which Odysseus was.
Manuel de Samaniego "Juno commands Aeolus to release the winds" circa 1800
Legends
The hero’s most famous adventures happened on his way home from Troy and are described in Homer’s poem “The Odyssey.” Returning, Odysseus' ships land first at one island, then at another, inhabited by mythological creatures, and each time the hero loses some of the people. On the island of lotophages, lotuses grow, granting oblivion to those who eat them. On the island of the Cyclops lives the one-eyed cannibal giant Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. The heroes try to find shelter for the night in Polyphemus' cave, and he eats some of Odysseus's men.
Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus
The hero and his surviving companions blind Polyphemus by gouging out the giant's only eye with a sharpened stake, and then escape with the help of sheep. The blind giant examines the sheep by touch before releasing them from the cave, but does not find the heroes clinging to the wool of the animals from below, and so they get out of the cave. However, Odysseus tells the giant his real name, and he screams for help to his father Poseidon. Since then, Poseidon has been angry with Odysseus, which does not make the hero’s journey home by sea any easier.
Odysseus and Circe
Having escaped from Polyphemus, the heroes find themselves on the island of the wind god Aeolus. He presents Odysseus with a fur, inside of which the winds are hidden. The hero must not untie this fur until he sees the shores of his native Ithaca. Odysseus and his crew almost reach home, but his people, thinking that there is a treasure hidden inside the fur, untie it while the hero is sleeping, release the winds, and the ship is carried far out to sea.
Odysseus and the Sirens
On the island of the sorceress Circe, Odysseus's companions turn into animals after tasting the treats, and the hero himself conceives a son with the sorceress, who, according to one version, will cause his death. The hero spends a year with Circe, and then goes further and passes the island of the sirens, who enchant and destroy sailors with their singing, and then swims between the huge whirlpool Charybdis and the six-headed monster Scylla, which devours six more crew members.
Odysseus and Calypso
Gradually, Odysseus loses all his companions and finds himself alone on the island of the nymph Calypso. The nymph falls in love with Odysseus, and the hero spends 7 years with her, because there is not a single ship on the island to sail away. In the end, Hermes appears to the nymph and orders her to release the hero. Odysseus is finally able to build a raft and sail away.
Island of Sirens
Circe warned Odysseus in advance that he would have to sail past the island of the Sirens, bloodthirsty women with the body and legs of birds. With beautiful, enchanting singing, they lured sailors to their island and put them to a cruel death, tearing them into pieces. Circe advised Odysseus to cover the ears of his men with wax so that they would not hear the sirens singing. If Odysseus himself wants to enjoy their beautiful singing, then let him order his companions to tie themselves tightly to the mast and not untie them, despite any requests.
Sirens and Odysseus. Source: wikipedia.org
Odysseus did as Circe ordered. With the sweet songs of the sirens, Odysseus beckoned to steer the ship towards their island. He struggled against the ropes and asked his comrades to untie him. But they tied him even tighter. The ship safely passed the sirens, who took their own lives out of anger.
A new danger awaited the travelers: they had to pass a narrow strait between two monsters - the six-headed insatiable Scylla and the ferocious Charybdis. Three times a day, Charybdis drew water into her womb and spewed it out three times, so that a terrible whirlpool constantly swirled near her mouth. Wanting to avoid Charybdis, Odysseus's ship passed too close to Scylla, and the six-headed monster managed to devour 6 oarsmen.
Soon, Trinacria, the island of the sun god Helios, appeared before the eyes of the sailors, who grazed there seven herds of beautiful bulls and numerous flocks of sheep. Remembering the prophecies of Tiresias of Thebes, Odysseus took an oath from his comrades not to kidnap either a bull or a ram. But the stay of the Greeks in Trinacria was prolonged. A nasty wind blew for 30 days, food supplies were running out, and hunting and fishing yielded almost nothing. Once, when Odysseus fell asleep, Eurylochus, tormented by hunger, persuaded his companions to slaughter several selected bulls, saying that in gratitude they would erect a temple to Helios in Ithaca.
Waking up and learning about this, Odysseus was horrified. Helios complained to Zeus about the arbitrariness of the travelers. When Odysseus' ship left Trinacria for the sea, Zeus sent a strong wind and struck the deck with lightning. The ship sank, and everyone who sailed on it, with the exception of Odysseus himself, drowned, as Tiresias of Thebes predicted in the kingdom of Hades. Odysseus somehow tied the mast and keel floating on the water with a belt and held on to them. He soon realized that the waves were carrying him to the Charybdis rock. Clinging to the roots of a fig tree growing on a cliff, he hung on them until Charybdis first swallowed the mast and keel with water, and then released them back. Grabbing the mast again and starting to row with his hands, Odysseus sailed away from the whirlpool.
9 days later, Odysseus found himself at the island of Ogygia, the residence of the nymph Calypso, covered with meadows with flowers and cereals. Calypso lived there in a huge cave overgrown with poplars, cypresses and wild grapes. The beautiful nymph greeted Odysseus, fed him and put him to bed.
“Odysseus and Calypso”, 1833 Arnold Böcklin. Source: Basel Kunstmuseum
Calypso fell in love with Odysseus and, wanting to keep him by her side forever, promised to grant him immortality. For 7 years Odysseus lived with Calypso on Ogygia. But he never stopped yearning for his native Ithaca and often spent time on the shore, looking out to sea. As a result, Zeus ordered Calypso to free Odysseus. Having learned about this, Odysseus tied the raft, said goodbye to the hospitable nymph and sailed to his homeland.
But the hero’s light ship was accidentally seen by the god Poseidon. Sending a huge wave onto the raft, Poseidon washed Odysseus overboard. The sailor barely swam to the surface and somehow climbed onto the raft again. Next to him, the merciful goddess Leukotea (Ino) descended from the sky in the form of a diving bird. In her beak she held a wonderful blanket, which had the property of saving those who wrapped themselves in it from death in the depths of the sea. Poseidon shook Odysseus's raft with a second wave of terrible height. Thinking that this time the hero could no longer escape, Poseidon went to his underwater palace. However, Leucothea's blanket prevented Odysseus from drowning.
After 2 days, the weakened Odysseus reached the island of Drepana, where the Phaeacian tribe lived. On the shore he fell into a deep sleep. In the morning, Nausicaa, the daughter of the king and queen of the Phaeacians, came with her maids to the stream to wash clothes. After work, the girls began to play with the ball and screamed loudly when it fell into the water. This cry woke up Odysseus. He went out to the girls and with skillful speech aroused Nausicaä's sympathy. The royal daughter took him to the palace, to her father and mother. King Alcinous listened to the story of Odysseus's travels, gave him gifts and ordered him to take the hero by sea to Ithaca.
Interesting Facts
- The hero's name has become a household name. The word "odyssey" means a long journey with many obstacles and adventures and is often found in contexts far removed from ancient Greek realities. For example, in the title of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, based on the Arthur C. Clarke story, or in the title of Rafael Sabatini's adventure novel Captain Blood's Odyssey.
- In the literature of modern times you can often find the image of Odysseus - processed or taken “as is”. Terry Pratchett's book Eric introduces a character named Vindrisseus, an ironic reimagining of Odysseus. In 2000, Henry Lyon Oldie’s two-volume novel “Odysseus, Son of Laertes” was published, where the narrative is told from the hero’s point of view.
Arnold Vosloo as Odysseus
- The image of Odysseus also penetrated into cinema. In 2013, the French-Italian series “Odyssey” was released, where it is not about the hero’s wanderings, but about the family that awaits his return, about the intrigues and conspiracies of the suitors who want to seize the throne, and about the events that occur after the king returns to the island. In 2008, Terry Ingram's adventure film Odysseus: Journey into the Underworld was released, where the hero was played by actor Arnold Vosloo.
- Odysseus is one of the characters in the strategy computer game Age of Mythology, released in 2002.
On the islands of the Kikons and lotophages
At the end of the war, Odysseus' ships set off on their return journey. It would seem that now they should have seen the long-awaited coast of Ithaca on the horizon, but not everything was so simple. The gods, who were on the side of the Trojans, were angry with the Greeks and, in particular, with Odysseus.
The flotilla did not have time to move away from the Trojan shores when a terrible storm broke out in the sea. The harsh wind Borey did not want to subside, throwing ships to the sides and plunging them into the depths of the sea. Then the first losses occurred among Odysseus’s detachment. Realizing that the crew was exhausted, and the people needed rest and replenishment of food and water, Odysseus stopped at the island of the Cycones. There the Greeks stormed the city of Ismar, but were soon attacked by the Thracians.
The Greeks had to continue their journey, and a new stop occurred on the island of lot eaters. A magical flower grew in these lands - a wonderful lotus, after tasting its petals, a person forever forgot his homeland. Luckily, Odysseus stopped in time to avoid eating the fragrant offering of the locals.
Part of an 18th century French engraving depicting Odysseus (Ulysses) on the island of lotus eaters, 18th century
Odysseus and the nymph Calypso
These were the lands called Ogygia. This is where the nymph Calypso lived. Seeing Odysseus, she lost her mind from love. The hero lived on her island for at least seven years. Calypso persuaded him to become her husband, and in return promised the hero immortality.
But Odysseus desperately missed home. He tirelessly prayed to Zeus to allow him to continue his journey to Ithaca. When a messenger from the Thunderer arrived to Calypso, she was forced to let Odysseus go.
Arnold Böcklin “Odysseus and Calypso”, 1882 Location: Basel Art Museum, Basel, Switzerland
How did Odysseus prove himself before the start of the Trojan War?
Odysseus managed to prove himself even before the start of the Trojan War. He was among the many suitors of the beautiful Queen Helen, but he preferred Penelope, her cousin, Tyndareus’s niece, who became his wife.
After Paris kidnapped Helen, this hero must participate in the campaign against Troy. Odysseus, not wanting to leave his wife and newborn son Telemachus, pretends to be insane. However, Palamedes exposes him in pretense (Odysseus subsequently killed him for this), testing the hero on his fatherly love. Odysseus sets off for Troy with 12 ships. He helps the Greeks locate Achilles, whom Thetis hid on the island. Skyros, and also find him among the maids of the daughter of King Lycomedes (Deidamia). After this, Odysseus volunteers to deliver Iphigenia to Aulis. She was doomed to be slaughtered by Artemis. The Greeks, on his advice, leave the wounded Philoctetes on the island. Lemnos. Subsequently, he will bring it in the 10th year of the war near Troy.
Before the start of the war, Odysseus goes with Menelaus to Troy, trying in vain to settle the matter peacefully. During the siege, he takes revenge on Palamedes, whom he considers an enemy. In the last year of the war, Odysseus captures Dolon, a Trojan scout, and makes a sortie with Diomedes against King Res, who has just arrived to help the Trojans. After the death of Achilles, the hero of interest to us was given his armor, which was also claimed by Ajax Telamonides. Odysseus, having captured Helen (the Trojan soothsayer), learns from him that in order to win it is necessary to take possession of the statue of Pallas Athena, which is located in Troy in the temple of this goddess. The king of Ithaca, disguised as a beggar, makes his way into the besieged city. He steals the statue. In addition, according to one version, Odysseus came up with the idea of creating a wooden horse.
Murder of Suitors
Odysseus is not recognized because Athena transforms him. He watches the outrages of the suitors, who force Penelope to take a new husband. The king of Ithaca enters into a fight with Ir. He experiences all kinds of bullying from potential suitors. Odysseus, in a conversation with Penelope, pretends to be a Cretan who once met her husband. He tries to instill in the woman confidence that her husband will return. Meanwhile, the nurse Eurycleia, whom Odysseus’s wife instructs to wash his feet, recognizes him by his scar, but keeps the secret under pain of punishment. At the suggestion of Athena, Penelope arranges a competition in archery, which belongs to Odysseus. None of the contenders can even pull the bow. Then Odysseus takes the bow and, with the help of Athena, together with Telemachus, kills his offenders. To Laertes and Penelope, who had lost hope of his return, he makes himself known by signs known only to them. Athena, with the consent of Zeus, establishes peace between the king of Ithaca and the relatives of the murdered suitors. After this, Odysseus reigns peacefully.
Monsters and the Wrath of the Gods
Odysseus almost forgot about his homeland, basking in the arms of a beautiful sorceress. But, fortunately, friends and the spirit of his mother who appeared to him persuaded him to continue his journey. As the ships approached the island of the Sirens, the captain, knowing the destructive power of the singing of these half-women, half-birds, again used his resourcefulness.
He ordered his comrades to fill their ears with wax, and ordered himself to be tied to the mast. Odysseus wanted to enjoy the beautiful singing of the sirens. The winged maidens sang so sweetly that Odysseus began to sign to his comrades to untie him. However, his faithful friends only tied him more tightly to the mast, thereby saving Odysseus’ life. Otherwise, the insidious sirens would simply tear apart the person who rushed after their calling voices.
John William Waterhouse "Odysseus and the Sirens", 1891. Location National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
With great losses, Odysseus's team managed to pass through the terrible strait, guarded by two monsters - Scylla and Charybdis. Trying to take the ship further from Charybdis, the hero approached Scylla, who grabbed six of his comrades and plunged into the abyss. When Scylla's heads were again on the surface, Odysseus's ship was already far from the monster.
Finding himself on the island of the sun god Helios, where his wonderful herds grazed, Odysseus ordered his comrades not to approach the sacred animals. However, long days of hunger exhausted the Greeks and they, neglecting the captain’s instructions, killed several bulls and sheep.
Seeing his crew eating the meat of Helios' animals, Odysseus was horrified. And there were reasons for this - God was angry with people, dooming them to death. Having barely left the island, the ship was caught in a severe storm. The ship sank, the entire crew died, and Odysseus managed to escape by grabbing onto a piece of the mast. It was in this way, tormented and exhausted, that he was washed ashore.
