ODYSSEY

SU M M A R Y A N D A N A L Y SIS
Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story
of that man skilled in all ways of contending,
the wanderer, harried for years on end, 本段是《奧德赛》的開頭，在此
after he plundered the stronghold 詩人向女神謬思乞求靈感，並點
on the proud height of Troy. 出道部史詩的重點 --- 曲折流離
He saw the townlands 的返鄉之旅。在道裡所提到「搶
and learned the minds of many distant men, 奪特洛伊城財寶、見多識廣、卻
and weathered many bitter nights and days 也受盡苦難」的人，就是主角奧
in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only 德赛。接下來提到故事的道德寓
to save his life, to bring his shipmates home. 意：奧德赛斯的手下因為魯莽而
But not by will nor valor could he save them, 喪失性命，但奧德赛斯卻能運用
for their own recklessness destroyed them all 智慧，因此能平安返鄉。
—
—Book I
So then,
royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, man of exploits, 奧德赛斯在旅程中，曾被一
still eager to leave at once and hurry back 名仙子困在島上長遠七年，
to your own home, your beloved native land? 仙子深愛蕃奧德赛斯，但奧
Good luck to you, even so. Farewell! 德赛斯仍然想念家鄉。仙子
But if you only knew, down deep, what pains 稅返鄉途中仍有重重險阻，
are fated to fill your cup before you reach that 但如果他願意留下來，便能
shore, 永生不死，兩人可以長相廝
you’d stay right here, preside in our house with me 守；儘管如此，他仍不為所
and be immortal. Much as you long to see your 動。奥德赛斯在現實誘感與
wife, 理想目標中掙扎，是故事反
the one you pine for all your days …” 覆出現的情節，也是主角必
—Book 5 須克服的最大難題。
Ten years have passed since the fall of Troy, and the
Greek hero Odysseus still has not returned to his
kingdom in Ithaca. A large and rowdy mob of suitors
who have overrun Odysseus’s palace and pillaged his
land continue to court his wife, Penelope. She has
remained faithful to Odysseus. Prince Telemachus,
Odysseus’s son, wants desperately to throw them out
but does not have the confidence or experience to
fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to
assassinate the young prince, eliminating the only
opposition to their dominion over the palace.
Unknown to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive. The
beautiful nymph Calypso, possessed by love for him,
has imprisoned him on her island, Ogygia. He longs
to return to his wife and son, but he has no ship or
crew to help him escape. While the gods and
goddesses of Mount Olympus debate Odysseus’s
future, Athena, Odysseus’s strongest supporter
among the gods, resolves to help Telemachus.
Disguised as a friend of the prince’s grandfather,
Laertes, she convinces the prince to call a meeting
of the assembly at which he reproaches the suitors.
Athena also prepares him for a great
journey to Pylos and Sparta, where the
kings Nestor and Menelaus, Odysseus’s
companions during the war, inform him
that Odysseus is alive and trapped on
Calypso’s island. Telemachus makes plans to
return home, while, back in Ithaca,
Antinous and the other suitors prepare an
ambush to kill him when he reaches port.
On Mount Olympus, Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from
Calypso. Hermes persuades Calypso to let Odysseus build a ship and
leave. The homesick hero sets sail, but when Poseidon, god of the sea,
finds him sailing home, he sends a storm to wreck Odysseus’s ship.

Poseidon has harbored a bitter

grudge against Odysseus since the
hero blinded his son, the Cyclops
Polyphemus, earlier in his travels.
Athena intervenes to save Odysseus
from Poseidon’s wrath, and the
beleaguered king lands at Scheria, Beleaguered: be surrounded by an army
被圍攻的… having a lot of problems or
home of the Phaeacians. Difficulties 處於困境的
Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess, shows him to
the royal palace, and Odysseus receives a warm
welcome from the king and queen. When he
identifies himself as Odysseus, his hosts, who
have heard of his exploits at Troy, are stunned.
They promise to give him safe passage to
Ithaca, but first they beg to hear the story
of his adventures.
Odysseus spends the night
describing the fantastic chain of
events leading up to his arrival on
Calypso’s island. He recounts his
trip to the Land of the Lotus
Eaters, his battle with Polyphemus
the Cyclops, his love affair with the
witch-goddess Circe, his
temptation by the deadly Sirens,
his journey into Hades to consult
the prophet Tiresias, and his fight
with the sea monster Scylla.
Odysseus' men in an unconscious state

In the Odyssey Book IX, Odysseus tells

how adverse north winds blew him and
his men off course as they were
rounding Cape Malea, the southernmost
tip of the Peloponnesus, headed
westwards for Ithaca:
I was driven thence by foul winds for a space of 9 days upon the sea, but on the
tenth day we reached the land of the Lotus-eaters, who live on a food that comes
from a kind of flower. Here we landed to take in fresh water, and our crews got their
mid-day meal on the shore near the ships. When they had eaten and drunk I sent two
of my company to see what manner of men the people of the place might be, and
they had a third man under them. They started at once, and went about among the
Lotus-eaters, who did them no hurt, but gave them to eat of the lotus, which was so
delicious that those who ate of it left off caring about home, and did not even want to
go back and say what had happened to them, but were for staying and munching
lotus with the Lotus-eaters without thinking further of their return; nevertheless,
though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships and made them fast under
the benches. Then I told the rest to go on board at once, lest any of them should taste
of the lotus and leave off wanting to get home, so they took their places and smote
the grey sea with their oars.
 Cyclopes [saiklopiz]
Upon his return, Odysseus offered him some
strong wine he had with him, intoxicating
him. Polyphemus, drunk, asked what the kind
man's name was, and Odysseus replied "No
one". Polyphemus said that he would eat "No
one" last for gratitude, and fell into a deep
sleep. Odysseus, having planned this, took a
wooden stake and blinded Polyphemus' single
eye. The giant started screaming for help, but
when the other giants arrived, they told them
"No one" had blinded him; his friends thought
that a god had attacked him and told him to pray. Polyphemus [pɑlɪˋfɛməs]
In the Odyssey Aeolus [-ialas]

Aeolus gave Odysseus a favourable

wind and a bag in which the
unfavourable winds were
confined. Odysseus' companions
opened the bag; the winds escaped
and drove them back to the island.
Although he appears as a human in
Homer, Aeolus later was described
as a minor god.
 Circe [ˋsɝsɪ]
She was able by means of drugs and
incantations to change humans into
wolves, lions, and swine. The Greek
hero Odysseus visited her island, Aeaea,
with his companions, whom she changed
into swine. But Odysseus, protected by
the herb moly (a gift from Hermes),
compelled her to restore them to their
original shape. He stayed with her for
one year before resuming his journey.
 Sirens [ˋsaɪrən]
Sirens were creatures from
Greek mythology which
enticed sailors to their
destruction with their
irresistibly beautiful singing.

In Homer's Odyssey, Book XII, the Greek hero Odysseus, advised by the
sorceress Circe, escaped the danger of their song by stopping the ears of
his crew with wax so that they were deaf to the Sirens.
 Helios [ˋhilɪ͵ɑs]
God of the sun and master of
some really awesome cattle that
no one was allowed to touch,
much less kill and eat. When
Odysseus' men do just that,
Helios demands revenge,
basically by holding his breath
until Zeus agrees.
 Calypso
In Homer's Odyssey, Calypso attempts
to keep the fabled Greek
hero Odysseus on her island to make
him her immortal husband. According to
Homer, Calypso kept Odysseus prisone
r at Ogygia for seven years. ... He can no
longer bear being separated from his
wife, Penelope, and wants to go
to Calypso to tell her.
Homer gives a literary account of love never
expressed (possibly one of the earliest examples
of unrequited love in literature). Nausicaä is Nausicaa in Phi Akins
presented as a potential love interest for
Odysseus: she tells her friend that she would
like her husband to be like him, and her father
tells Odysseus that he would let him marry her.
But the two do not have a romantic relationship.
Nausicaä is also a mother figure for Odysseus;
she ensures his return home, and says "Never
forget me, for I gave you life". Odysseus never
tells Penelope about his encounter with
Nausicaä, out of all the women he met on his
long journey home. Some suggest this indicates
a deeper level of feeling for the young woman.
After ten years at war and ten
years wandering the
world, Odysseus has
finally returned home. But he
cannot reveal his identity to his
faithful wife Penelope. A gang
of would-be lovers are pestering
her to marry one of them - and
are prepared to kill anyone who
claims to be her husband.