The Odyssey, traditionally credited to Homer, is the story of the adventures undergone by Odysseus as he returns home to Ithaca from his participation in the Trojan War. On his long journey home, Odysseus encounters many dangers and has to devise ways to avoid them (or to get out of them when he hasn't been able to avoid them).
At the outset of the poem, Odysseus is Calypso's island. She is the daughter of Atlas and is in love with Odysseus. She has offered him immortality but he has refused. She has helped him build a raft to leave the island, and it is from that point that The Odyssey begins.
In The Odyssey, where is Odysseus at the poem's start?
The Odyssey is a continuation of the story the Iliad. At the end of the previous story, Odysseus was stuck on the nymph Calypso's Island. At the beginning of the Odyssey, he is still there. It has been 10 years since the end of the war and 20 years since Odysseus left home, but he hasn't been able to return home yet. The Odyssey begins with Athena asking Zeus why Odysseus has been unable to leave Calypso's Island. Odysseus has angered Poseidon and has, therefore, not been able to cross the seas surrounding Calypso's Island. Athena wishes to set him free, and with Zeus's permission, she begins to work toward that end.Get Ahead with eNotes
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