Odyssey

Odyssey is a Greek epic poem about Odysseus' return from Troy to his home on Ithaca. Unlike the Iliad, it is not centred on a single anger on the battlefield, but on travel, memory, recognition and the restoration of the household.

Journey and trials

Cicones, Lotus-eaters, Polyphemus, Aeolus, Laestrygonians, Circe, the realm of the dead, Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the island of Helios, Calypso and the Phaeacians form a chain of trials where strength almost always yields to cunning and endurance.

Additional sources and visual checks

The Odyssey works in the cycle as a source for plots, seascapes, hospitality, cunning and return. The article now links Homer's text with visual episodes more clearly without replacing the epic with later retellings.

For source checks: - Perseus Digital Library - Beazley Archive - LIMC online

Related topics

• Cyclopes
• Sirens
• Scylla and Charybdis
• Iliad

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