*Ithaca

*Ithaca. Odysseus’s home, a mountainous island to the west of mainland Greece, and the primary setting of the first two and last twelve books of the twenty-four-book poem. The two key locations on Ithaca are the palace of Odysseus and the hut of the swineherd Eumaeus. Odysseus’s twenty-year absence has finally resulted in the palace being overrun by 108 suitors for the hand of his wife and supposed widow, Penelope. Ironically, while the greedy and disrespectful suitors have turned the formerly noble palace into a place of lawlessness and disorder, the humble hut of the apparently lowly Eumaeus exemplifies the courtesy and hospitality that the suitors fail to observe.

*Troy

*Troy. City on the west coast of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey) and the site of the Trojan War, where Odysseus and the Greek armies spend ten years fighting the Trojans to recover Helen, the wife of the Greek leader Menelaus. The final year of that war serves as the focus of The Iliad (c. 800 b.c.e.; English translation, 1616), the narrative of life during wartime that serves as a companion piece to The Odyssey.

*Pylos

*Pylos and *Sparta. Greek kingdoms visited by Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, in books 3, 4, and 15 of the poem, which constitute a sort of miniature, parallel version of Odysseus’s much longer journey. These kingdoms also offer a contrast to Ithaca in that they are models of the proper observance of social decorum and order. Pylos is ruled by Nestor, the wisest of the Greeks, and Sparta is ruled by Menelaus, the husband of Helen, whose abduction by Paris had begun the war. His introduction to these men, both great heroes of the Trojan War, and his ability to win their approval, serve as symbolic markers of the young man’s psychological and social “voyage” from adolescence to maturity. While the “Telemachia,” as it is sometimes called, has a relatively minor plot function, it does allow for considerable exposition, as the rulers inform Telemachus about key sections of the story of Troy and Odysseus’s wanderings.

*Argos

*Argos (AR-gohs). Greek home of Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus and leader of the Greek armies in the Trojan War. Agamemnon’s own homecoming from the war, which results in his murder by Aigisthos, lover of his unfaithful wife, Clytemnestra, is frequently mentioned in the poem as a contrast to the homecoming of Odysseus to his own faithful wife, Penelope. A further parallel is developed between Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, who revenges him by killing Aigisthos and Clytemnestra, and Telemachus, who will assist his own father in the massacre of the suitors.

Skheria

Skheria (skeh-REE-ah). Land of the Phaeacians, where Odysseus arrives after having been freed from Ogygia. There, Odysseus relates the full story of his ten-year journey to the Phaeacians, who then provide him with gifts and transportation to Ithaca. The Phaeacians, identified as kin of the gods, are distinguished by their respect for established custom, hospitality, and generosity, and Odysseus pointedly contrasts their civilized behavior with the barbaric treatment he receives at several places he visits on his journey.

Cave of the Cyclops

Cave of the Cyclops. Island dwelling of Polyphemos, a member of the race of Cyclopes—giant cannibals who exemplify the dystopian world of savagery and barbarism that the poem frequently juxtaposes with examples of civilized societies. The Cyclopes dwell in caves rather than crafted structures and do not farm their land or build ships. Odysseus and ten companions find themselves trapped within the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemos, who eats his guests rather than providing them with aid and gifts as is the custom at such exemplars of civilized behavior as Pylos, Sparta, and Skheria. Odysseus and some of his men escape after blinding Polyphemos. Polyphemos’s request that his father, the sea god Poseidon, revenge him against Odysseus, results in Odysseus’s ten years of forced wandering.

Aiaia

Aiaia (ay-EE-ah). Home of the enchantress Circe, a place of seductive beauty and ease, in which Odysseus is detained for more than a year on his journey home. Circe’s custom is to turn visitors into wolves, lions, and swine, in a symbolic reversal of proper hospitality, which makes the proper treatment of guests one of the highest attributes of true humanity. Even though he is not literally transformed into an animal, Odysseus is seduced by Circe’s hospitality into forgetting his mission to return home. As always, however, Odysseus chooses the hardships of the return home over the temptations of an easy life away from society and his duty.

Nekuia

Nekuia (neh-kew-ee-ah). Underworld home of the dead. It is presented somewhat inconsistently as a remote northern location on the earth’s surface and as an underground realm. Odysseus journeys there in book 11 to get instructions from the prophet Tiresias and meets the shades, or ghosts, of several figures from his past and from Greek mythology. The shades of the dead suitors appear there at the end of the poem as well.

Island of the Sirens

Island of the Sirens. Home of the Sirens, whose irresistible songs enchant sailors into running their ships ashore, with usually disastrous results.

Scylla

Scylla and Charybdis. Mythical monsters that guard a strait through which Olysseus’s ship must pass. Scylla, a monster with twelve legs and six heads, and Charybdis, a gigantic whirlpool, flank a narrow strait between headlands. Their significance lies in the idea that Odysseus cannot possibly get home without passing between them and losing some of his crew. In modern parlance, their names have come to signify any dilemma in which a person is forced to choose between two unavoidable yet thoroughly unpleasant alternatives.

Thrinakia

Thrinakia (THREE-nah-kee-ah). Island of the cattle of Helios, lord of the sun. Odysseus’s men unwisely slaughter some of the sacred cattle, for which transgression Zeus hits their ship with a thunderbolt. Odysseus is the only survivor.

Ogygia

Ogygia (OH-gee-jee-uh). Edenic island of the nymph Calypso, on which Odysseus is shipwrecked after the destruction of his ship by Zeus. This episode constitutes Odysseus’s most powerful temptation to abandon his journey home, as Calypso offers him not only worldly pleasure and luxury, but immortality: He will neither die nor grow old if he stays.

Olympus

Olympus. Mountain in northern Greece traditionally believed to be the home of the gods. The poem narrates several meetings the gods have to discuss and direct Odysseus’s fate. The civilized societies and customs depicted in the poem are always in some sense versions of this Olympian society.

As one of the earliest works in its genre to have survived, the Odyssey not only showcases the mechanics of epic poetry but also helps define them. For at least 500 years after its creation, the epic form as presented in the Odyssey underwent only minor modifications.

General Technique

Overall, the Odyssey is more technically sophisticated than the Iliad. For instance, the flashbacks that appeared awkward in the earlier poem are handled with much more finesse. The narrative transitions smoothly from one scene to another, even within the same book, making the action more dynamic compared to the formalized battle scenes in the Iliad.

Meter

In English meter, patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables are used. Greek meter, however, employs patterns of long and short syllables, generally with two short syllables equating to one long syllable. Greek poetry does not rhyme but frequently uses alliteration and assonance (repeated use of similar consonant and vowel patterns, respectively).

The Odyssey is composed in dactylic hexameters, the "standard" form for epic poetry. This specific meter is sometimes referred to as "epic meter" or "epic hexameter." Hexameter indicates that each line has six elements, or "feet," while dactylic describes the metrical pattern of each foot: typically, one long syllable followed by two short syllables, though variations are permitted. For example, the final foot in each line is often a spondee (two long syllables instead of one long and two short). The meter can be adjusted to match the action described, using more dactyls for fast-paced scenes (like horses galloping) and more spondees for slower or somber moments.

Similes

Similes, which were a hallmark of the Iliad, are used more sparingly in the Odyssey, making them more impactful when they do appear. This often highlights the significance of a particular passage. For example, at the beginning of Book 20, two similes describe Odysseus plotting the downfall of the scheming maids and the suitors within 15 lines:

The heart inside him growled low with rage, as a bitch mounting over her weak, defenseless puppies growls, facing a stranger, bristling for a showdown—so he growled from his depths, hackles rising at their outrage. (XX.13-16, Fagles)
. . . But he himself kept tossing, turning, intent as a cook before some white-hot blazing fire who rolls his sizzling sausage back and forth, packed with fat and blood—keen to broil it quickly, tossing, turning it, this way, that way—so he cast about. . . . (XX.24-26, Fagles)

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing, the technique of "hinting" at future plot events either overtly (through prophecies, etc.) or subtly, is quite prevalent in the Odyssey. This is often seen through the frequent "wishes" or prayers that the gods will punish the suitors for their arrogance (which they eventually do). It is especially prominent in Book 11, where Odysseus describes his journey to the underworld to seek the counsel of Tiresias's shade.

Another instance is the eventual downfall of the suitors in Books 21 and 22. Their fate is explicitly predicted by at least one prophet (Theoclymenus, at XX.350-57). It is also suggested by various omens and signs. For instance, the suitors meet their end on a feast day of Apollo, who is, among other things, the god of archery. Additionally, when Odysseus finally strings his bow, it emits a "sound like the voice of a swallow" (XXI.411), a bird known to Homer’s audience for migrating and returning to its previous nest.

Symbolism

Homer extensively employs symbolism throughout the Odyssey. For example, the olive trees under which Odysseus falls asleep in Book 5, and where he and Athena devise their plan in Book 13, symbolize Athena, the goddess of wisdom, craft, weaving (hence the phrase at XIII.386, "weave a scheme"), and war. Many names in Books 6-12 are also symbolic: "Alcinous" means "sharp-witted" or "brave-witted," while his queen, Arete, has a name meaning "virtue." The names of the Phaeacians are almost universally connected to the sea or sailing, and the nymph Calypso’s name is closely linked to the Greek verb meaning "to hide" or "conceal." There is speculation that the name "Odysseus" may be related to a Greek verb meaning "to cause pain" or, in the middle or passive voice, "to suffer pain."

There are also two brilliant symbolic wordplays in the original Greek that are difficult to translate into English. The first occurs in Book 9 when Odysseus and his men blind Polyphemus. Odysseus has told the Cyclops that his name is "Nobody," Outis in Greek, from the words for "no" and "someone." When Polyphemus’s neighbors respond to his cries, the Greek negative changes from ou to me, making ou tis become me tis. Though it still means "no one," it sounds exactly like the Greek word for "scheme" or "plot," part of the epithet polumetis, "of many schemes," often used for Odysseus.

The second wordplay occurs each time Penelope mentions Troy (XIX.260, 597, and XXIII.19). Since she says the city's name is "unmentionable," whenever she has to refer to it, she combines its alternative name, "Ilion," with the word for "evil," creating in Greek the word Kakoilion, "Eviltroy" or, as Fagles translates it, "Destroy."

The epic poem stands as the oldest form of literature, and Homer is recognized as the father of the Western epic. He established many of the epic conventions that later epic writers would follow. Throughout history, numerous poets have emulated Homer, with the Roman poet Virgil being particularly notable. Virgil's Aeneid tells the story of Aeneas, one of the few survivors of Troy, who goes on to found Rome. Virgil’s work is considered a Secondary Epic because it is a direct, written imitation of Homer’s oral tradition. In contrast, the Iliad and the Odyssey, being products of oral tradition and not imitations of an existing genre, are classified as Primary Epics. Virgil’s brilliance lies not only in his imitation of Homer but also in his adaptation of the epic genre to address his contemporary context.

Virgil’s influence on literature is profound, particularly evident in Dante’s medieval epic, the Commedia, where Virgil serves as the protagonist’s guide through the underworld. During the Renaissance and the rise of Neoclassicism, works such as Tasso’s Gerusalemme Liberata and Milton’s Paradise Lost were heavily inspired by Homer. This influence extends to countless lesser-known epics written over the centuries in Greece, Rome, and Medieval and Renaissance Europe, all based on Homeric style.

Homer established numerous conventions that evolved over the centuries. Below is a list of these epic conventions, illustrating their appearance in Homer’s works and their development through centuries of Homeric imitation:

(1) Epic Hero—The main character in an epic poem represents his nation, culture, or race. He is typically a figure of noble appearance, significant military skill, and unwavering virtue.

(2) Lengthy Narrative—An epic poem is a substantial work, often spanning several books, cantos, or chapters.

(3) Lofty Tone and Style—The poem should maintain a serious and grave tone. While lighter moments may be present, they are secondary to the overall solemn mood. The writing style should be grand and elevated, setting it apart from lesser works.

(4) Epic Similes—An epic simile is an extended comparison between a poem’s element or character and an external entity. These similes are highly visual and either offer a new perspective on the subject or reveal intricate details that would be too complex to explain directly.

(5) Catalogs/Genealogies—Epic poems often include extensive lists and catalogs of characters, equipment, or other important plot elements. They also provide detailed genealogies for significant characters or artifacts, lending an air of antiquity and authority to the narrative.

(6) Supernatural Involvement—An epic invariably includes some form of divine intervention in the central action of the poem. These supernatural entities either aid or oppose the epic hero, but their influence is always somewhat restricted (i.e., they cannot control the entire narrative).

(7) Invocation—Epic poems typically begin with an invocation to a higher power, seeking guidance for the poet's grand task. The poet often calls upon the Muses, especially Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry. Sometimes, the poet may invoke a specific deity or powerful entity for inspiration. Regardless of who is invoked, this serves as an introduction to the forthcoming action.

(8) In Medias Res—Many epics start in medias res, or “in the middle of things.” This means the story begins after many significant events have already occurred. A character will later recount these earlier events, allowing the reader to understand the poem's background.

(9) Voyage Across the Sea—Epic heroes and other characters frequently embark on sea voyages to discover new lands or explore distant regions. These journeys expand the narrative's setting, enhancing the epic's overall significance.

(10) Trip to the Underworld—A journey to the underworld is a recurring theme in epic poetry. The hero often gains valuable knowledge from the spirits he encounters. This perilous journey to and from the netherworld adds to the epic's dramatic tension.

(11) Epic Battles—Epic poems commonly feature vivid descriptions of grand battles, whether one-on-one duels between legendary champions or massive clashes between powerful armies. These battles may seem to glorify war but also symbolize the struggles of the nation, culture, or race represented by the epic hero.