Homer's epic poem, the Odyssey, is Greek mythology's greatest road trip, journey of redemption, and homecoming voyage all rolled into one. Our hero is Odysseus, veteran of the Trojan War, and he must make his way back home to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope after ten years away. In his way stand all manner of challenges, such as the meddling gods, manic monsters, raging storms, and one particularly persistent nymph.
First written in the 8th century BCE but with a much longer oral history, the Odyssey, which is quite literally a voyage into hell and back, continues to fascinate in literature and film, its myriad of daring deeds, misadventures, and much-longed-for happy ending all combining to remind us of a long-lost golden era when persistence, loyalty, and heroism overcame all obstacles.
Odysseus returns to Circe, who warns him of the Sirens, creatures which are half-bird and half-woman who prey on sailors. She advises the men to plug their ears with wax and for Odysseus to lash himself to the mast. He must then negotiate passage past the six-headed monster Scylla and deadly whirlpool Charybdis. He also receives his second warning of the folly of interfering with the herds of Helios. The heroes set sail across the wine-dark sea once more to negotiate the perils described by Circe...
