Other editions of book The Odyssey

Greek poet Homer established the standard for tales of epic quests and heroic journeys with the Odyssey. Crowded with characters, both human and nonhuman, and bursting with action, the Odyssey details the adventures of Ulysses, king of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War, as he struggles to return to his home and his waiting, ever-faithful wife, Penelope. Along the way Ulysses encounters the seductive Circe, who changes men into swine; the gorgeous water-nymph Calypso, who keeps him a "prisoner of love" for seven years; the terrible, one-eyed, man-eating giant Cyclops; and a host of other ogres, wizards, sirens, and gods. But when he finally reaches Ithaca after ten years of travel, his trials have only begun. There he must battle the scheming noblemen who, thinking him dead, have demanded that Penelope choose one of them to be her new husband—and Ithaca's new king. Often called the "second work of Western literature" (the Iliad, also by Homer, being the first), the Odyssey is not only a rousing adventure drama but also a profound meditation on courage, loyalty, family, fate, and undying love. More than 3,000 years old, it was the first story to delineate carefully and exhaustively a single character arc—a narrative structure that serves as the foundation and heart of the modern novel.

Greek poet Homer established the standard for tales of epic quests and heroic journeys with the Odyssey. Crowded with characters, both human and nonhuman, and bursting with action, the Odyssey details the adventures of Ulysses, king of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War, as he struggles to return to his home and his waiting, ever-faithful wife, Penelope. Along the way Ulysses encounters the seductive Circe, who changes men into swine; the gorgeous water-nymph Calypso, who keeps him a "prisoner of love" for seven years; the terrible, one-eyed, man-eating giant Cyclops; and a host of other ogres, wizards, sirens, and gods. But when he finally reaches Ithaca after ten years of travel, his trials have only begun. There he must battle the scheming noblemen who, thinking him dead, have demanded that Penelope choose one of them to be her new husband—and Ithaca's new king. Often called the "second work of Western literature" (the Iliad, also by Homer, being the first), the Odyssey is not only a rousing adventure drama but also a profound meditation on courage, loyalty, family, fate, and undying love. More than 3,000 years old, it was the first story to delineate carefully and exhaustively a single character arc—a narrative structure that serves as the foundation and heart of the modern novel.

Readable Classics gently edits the great works of literature, retaining the original authors' voices, to provide study aids for students and make the classics more accessible to modern readers. Written by the blind poet Homer over 2,800 years ago, The Odyssey was one of the first and greatest works of literature. This epic tells the story of the Greek king Odysseus who, after fighting in the Trojan War for ten years, spends the next ten years trying to return home. During his journey, he must confront monsters, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and the wrath of Poseidon, god of the sea. When he finally returns home, he must ally with the goddess Athena and use his courage and cunning to regain his kingdom and his family from the evil men who would destroy him.