Ma. Kristelle Joyce S. Arellano IV-St. PaulISLANDS WHERE
ODYSSEUS TRAVELED
1. The Land of the Cicones:After leaving Troy, they stop to
invadethe people of Cicones in the city of Ismarusfor supplies. His
men raided the island and pillaged its luxuries. Odysseus's men
were fighting a losing battle, but they fought on bravely. Six
benches of men on each ship were lost. The Cicones attack on
horseback, and Odysseus loses 72 of his men. 2. The Island of the
Lotus Eaters:Driven off course by a furious storm, Odysseus ship
reaches the Land of the Lotus-eaters. The Lotus is a plant that
forces the eater to lose all grip on reality. Once it is eaten, the
person knows nothing nor cares for anything other than eating the
lotus plant. Some of his men sample the delicious but highly
addictive lotus flowers and forget all thoughts of continuing their
journey. Odysseus has to recover them and bring them back to the
ships by force.3. The Island of the Cyclopes:Here, Odysseus and his
men find a Cyclops' cave, tempted by his cheese and wine. The
cyclops, Polyphemus, traps them inside the cave and eats six of the
men.Odysseus and the remaining six men favor the Cyclops with
liquor and then gouge out his eye. He tellsthe Cyclops his name is
Nohbdy, poisoned the Cyclops, then blinds him while Polyphemus is
sleeping. Polyphemus shouts, "Nobody blinded me!" so no one comes
to his aid. They escape the cave by clinging to the bellies of the
Cyclops sheep.4. The Island of Aeolus:Aeolus, the god of the winds,
gives Odysseus a sack containing all of the winds needed to send
him on his way home. Odysseus then sets the west wind free and it
blows the ships swiftly towards Ithaca.His men, who suspected that
he was hiding all kinds of treasure in Aeolus mysterious sack, then
open the sack, with very bad consequences. The winds burst out and
swell into a heavy storm, driving the ships all the way back to
Aeolus island.5. The Island of the Laestrygonians:The fleet
continued to the land of the Laestrygonians, The Laestrygonians, a
race of cannibals, eat the Greeks. Only the men on Odysseus' ship
and himself survive.6. Circe's Island:With one ship, Odysseus
reached Circes island home of the enchantress, Circe.Circe turns
Odysseus' men into pigs, but Odysseus is protected from her magic
with the help of Hermes, who gives him a magical herb called Moly.
Odysseus ends up staying there for what seems like a short time,
but ended up being a couple of years. Before Odysseus leaves, Circe
finally tells him that he needs to find the blind prophet Teiresias
in the Underworld.7. The Underworld:Odysseus consults the prophet
Teiresias to ask how he can get home, and finds his mother
there,who in her depression had killed Herself.Shegives him news
ofwhat has been happening in Ithaca during his absence. Teiresias
warns Odysseus of the problems he will face in the future. Only six
men will be lost as opposed to all of them.8. The Island of the
Sirens:Odysseus and his men pass here, an island with women singing
their appealing songs, trying to wind on in sailors. The Sirens are
bird-like creatures with girls faces and delicate singing voices.
Their singing is so enticing that anyone who hears it experiences
an irresistible compulsion to sail up to their island, wherethey
would then runtheir ships onto the rocks. To stop them from
hearing, Odysseus fills his mens ears with beeswax, and he has them
tie him to the mast so they can pass the dangerous island safely.9.
Scylla and Charybdis:Odysseus chooses to sail for Scylla, a
six-headed sea serpent, rather than Charybdis, a giant whirlpool.
He does this because he knows that if he went to Charybdis, the
whole ship would be destroyed. However, if he went towards Scylla,
six men would die. A sacrifice the brave Odysseus decides to
make.10. The Isle of Thrinacia (Helios):They stop here, and
Odysseus falls asleep praying to Athena. While sleeping, his men
once again go against his orders and eat Helios' cattle. This
enrages the god, and he threatens never to rise again. As a
punishment, Zeus throws a bolt of lightning at the ship, and turns
it to splinters. Only Odysseus survives.11. Ogygia (Calypso's
Island):Odysseus finds this island after drifting in the sea. It is
an island of women. Odysseus has a seven-year affair with a nymph
named Calypso. After the seven years, Hermes convinces Calypso to
let Odysseus build a new ship so he could sail home.12. The Island
of the Phaeacians:The Phaeacians accept Odysseus, and he explains
his ten-year journey to them during a feast. They happily give him
a ride home on one of their magical ships.
Ithaca:Odysseus finally arrives home, and sees his son,
Telemachus, for the first time in 15 years. He and Telemachus kill
all of the suitors that want to marry his wife Penelope. Odysseus
takes his place as king, once again, alongside his wife.
