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From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes The Odyssey Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays.
A short summary of Homer's The Odyssey. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of The Odyssey.
A summary of Books 1 & 2 in Homer's The Odyssey. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of The Odyssey and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Get all the key plot points of Homer's The Odyssey on one page. From the creators of SparkNotes.
Odyssey, epic poem in 24 books traditionally attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer. The poem is the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who wanders for 10 years (although the action of the poem covers only the final six weeks) trying to get home after the Trojan War.
The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, though “Homer” is now generally believed to refer more to an epic tradition than to a specific or single person. Scholars debate when and how the poem was composed.
The point of view shifts entirely to Odysseus during books 9-12, when he tells about his adventures at sea before landing on Calypso’s island, making the poem feel like a first-person account for a lengthy stretch of narrative.
Here no wind beats roughly, and neither rain nor snow can fall; but it abides in everlasting sunshine and in a great peacefulness of light, wherein the blessed gods are illumined for ever and ever. This was the place to which the goddess went when she had given instructions to the girl.
The Iliad tells the story of the Greek struggle to rescue Helen, a Greek queen, from her Trojan captors. The Odyssey takes the fall of the city of Troy as its starting point and crafts a new epic around the struggle of one of those Greek warriors, the hero Odysseus.
Active Themes. After Telemachus has given Athena a proper welcome, she tells Telemachus that Odysseus is still alive, and that he is held captive on a faraway island. She prophesies that Odysseus will soon return to his home. Telemachus describes the shame the suitors have brought upon the estate.
