book 1
everyone returned home 10 years after troy but odysseus
kept on ogygia by calypso
penelope waiting for him in ithaca, coping with suitors
telemachus in despair, thinking his father may be dead.
council of gods; athene asks zeus to allow odysseus home, he agrees.
she talks to telemachus in disguise and tries to get him to look for news of odysseus.
telemachus rebukes penelope and tells suitors he will order them to leave.
book 2
telemachus calls assembly to criticise suitors.
antinous criticises penelope
zeus sends omen.
telemachus secretly leaves.
athene accomapnies telemachus in disguise as mentor
book 3
telemachus visits nestor in pylos.
gets news of others returning home but no odysseus
book 4
telemachus visits helen and menelaus.
they tell him odysseus exploits in troy and that he is still alive
he leaves for ithaca
suitors plan to ambush him.
book 5
zeus sends hermes to order calypso to release odysseus
she agrees, he build raft
poseidon destroys his raft
with help of ido, he reaches land and fall asleep
book 6
odysseus reaches land of phaecians
athene sends dream to nausicaa to go and wash clothes
when she reaches river she meets naked odysseus
she look after and directs him to the palace but asks to not be accompanied by him to avoid scandal
book 7
odysseus is directed by disguised athene
he begs for help from arete
he is well recieved by antinous
he is promised transport home
arete recognises his clothes and asks who he is but gets avoided and they all go to bed
book 8
phaeacians agree to take him home
go to palace for banquet
demodocus (bard) entertains them
odysseus gets upset
alcinous suggests athletics contest
odysseus wins as he hurls the farthest
the dance
demodocus sings pf affair of ares and aphrodite
odysseus weeps to song about troy, alcinous asks who he is
book 9
reveals his identity
he tells storys of adventures with the cicones, lotus eaters, and polyphemus the cyclopse
as he flees from polyphemus, he shouts his name, allowing polyphemus to call upon poseidon to punish odysseus
book 10
he arrives at aeolus and stays for months
kings gift is a bag of hostile winds
in sight of land they open the bag and are blown back ot aeolus who sends them away
they arrive at telpylus where laestrygonians destroy eleven ships
odysseus ship escapes and comes to aeaea, the home of circe, who transforms his men into pigs
odysseus resists circes magic, men return to human form, the whole crew is entertained for a year
circe tells odysseus that he must visit land of the dead
elpenor falls off roof and dies.
book 11
odysseus goes to the land of the dead and carries out rituals described by circe
he meets elpenor who asked to be buried; teiresias who tells him of his future, and his mother answering questions about his family
he tells arete and alcinous about encounters with agamemnon, achilles, ajax, and various heroes and villains
book 12
odysseus and his men return to circes palace and bury elpenor
circe warns him of the dangers of going home
they reach thrinacie, where the men eat the cattle of the sun god
he demands vengeance and zeus destroys the ship. odysseus is the sole survivor
he then gets to calypsos island ( book 5 )
book 13
odysseus tale ends and he sets home with gifts
he is asleep when the phaeacians leave him on Ithaca
poseidon wants to punish phaeacians for transporting him though zeus tries to disuade him
odysseus wakes up not knwoing where he is
athene arrives, he hides his identity
she reveals herself and helps him plan his return to the palace.
she then goes to sparta to fetch telemachus back.
book 14
odysseus goes to see eumaeus, a loyal swineherd
eumaeus laments the absence of his master and tells of his disgust behaviour
