Complete Book Summary of The Odyssey
Complete Book Summary of The Odyssey
Book I : A Goddess Intervenes -
The first book tells the reader of the imprisonment of Odysseus on Calypso's island, Ogygia, in the tenth year after the Trojan War. It also describes the activities of the young suitors in Ithaka, who in the absence of Odysseus, live off his wealth and try to court his wife, Penelope. After the Muse begins his tale, a council of the gods is summoned, during which Zeus decides that Odysseus will return home safely from the urgings of this daughter, Athena, the goddess of war. Athena then visits Telémakhos, who is Odysseus' son, in disguise and gives him the courage to stand up to the suitors, and also persuades him to go look for news of his father by sailing to the mainland.
Book II : A Hero's Son Awakens -
On the next day, which takes up Book 2, Telémakhos calls the first assembly of the Ithacans since his father left for Troy. Telemachus formally stands up to the suitors, demanding that they leave his home and his mother alone. Antinoos replys that the suitors will remain until Penelope marries one of them and is angered that she has held out for so long. A pair of eagles is then interpreted as a favorable omen by Halitherses, a seer, and Telémakhos requests a ship for his voyage. After Telémakhos adjourns the assembly, the goddess Athena, disguised as Mentor, promises to get a ship and crew ready for his trip. At the palace, after talking with Telémakhos, the suitors grow worried about his plans. Telémakhos tells Eurycleia, Odysseus' nurse, to prepare for his journey in complete secrecy; he then departs at night and sails until dawn.
Book III : The Lord of the Western Approaches-
On the morning of the third day, Telemakhos arrives in Pylos, kingdom of Nestor, who had fought in the Trojan War. Telémakhos and his guide Mentor, are welcomed by the Pylians, who are sacrificing a bull to Poseidon, god of the sea. Telémakhos identifies himself and tells them his mission. Nestor's reply is rather lengthy: he reports the homecoming of the heroes of Troy, talking about the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Clytemnestra, and his cousin, Aegisthus. Nestor tells Telémakhos to visit Menelaus. Telémakhos spends the night at Nestor's palace and, after a sacrifice, travels throughout the fourth day and part of the fifth to Sparta.
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