The Legendary Myth of Odysseus
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Ulysses and the Sirens
by Herbert James Draper [Public domain]
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Odysseus (also known with his Latin name ‘Ulysses’) was a great hero of Homer’s epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. The Odyssey recounts his adventures since he left Troy, in his effort to return home. His wandering lasted for no less than ten years! His adventures were many: he fought against the Cicones, broke free from the Lotus-Eaters, escaped with cunning the Cyclop Polyphemus
and son of Poseidon by blinding him, making the sea god his enemy. He then visited the island of Aelous, the Wind God, receiving a sack as a gift, which contained all the winds inside, to help him arrive home. As they were arriving in Ithaca, two of his men opened the sack our of curiosity while Odysseus was sleeping and their ship was once again away from Ithaca because of the storm that followed. He then survived the Laestrygonians, a tribe of man-eating giants and landed on the island of the sorceress Circe. With the help of Hermes, Odysseus left the island and journeyed to the Underworld, to get help from the blind prophet Tiresias who had died. He then passed through the Sirens and their seductive song by blocking the ears of his men with wax and ordering them to tie him up to the mast, so that he could not jump and join the Sirens. His next challenge was to cross the strait between Scylla, a six-headed monster, and Charybdis, a violent whirlpool, which he managed to do by sacrificing six of his men. He lost the remaining of his men and his ship at the island of Thrinacia, after Zeus threw a thunderbolt to appease the sun god Helios. Odysseus found himself next to the island of Ogygia, where he spent seven years with the goddess Calypso who had fallen in love with him. With the help of Hermes, he left the island with a raft he made. A storm washed him this time at the island of the Phaeacians. This time he was lucky since the island was protected by King Alcinous and his Queen Arete, who helped him return to Ithaca. When he finally arrived, twenty years after setting sail for Troy, he found that his palace was inhabited by young people from noble families in the surrounding islands and Ithaca. Each of them wanted to marry Penelope, his wife, because they believed Odysseus did not survive. Penelope patiently waited all these years for the return of her husband, devising a trick to delay her suitors. Odysseus killed them all with his bow, with the help of his son Telemachus and his faithful dog. But as soon as he killed the suitors, their fathers got angry and demanded revenge. Finally, goddess Athena, his everlasting protector, brought peace to the island and Odysseus and his wife Penelope were reunited and happy at last.
