Simmons Odyssey

Trojan War

Nov 8, 1200

Odysseus tricked the Trojans by bringing a wooden horse full of his men into Troy. With the horse inside the walls the rest the army pretended to sail home. They waited hours for the Trojans to receive the horse. The right time came and all the men jumped out of the horse and killed the Trojans. Odysseus won the Trojan War. From this we learn that Odysseus and his crew were clever and daring. This develops the theme of The Odyssey by showing how clever Odysseus can be in times of trouble.

Lotus Eaters

Nov 12, 1200

Zeus swept Odysseus and his men to the land of the Lotus Eaters. They gave his men intoxicating fruit which caused them to lose all thought of home and want to stay and eat more fruit, He drug them on the ships and sailed them to the land of the cyclops. They came across a cave with sheep and food; his men told him to take the food and leave but he wandered off. The cyclops returned and ate 2 of his men and trapped Odysseus. Odysseus gets the cyclops drunk enough to kill him and escape.

Lotus Eaters: Analysis

Nov 13, 1200

From this event we learn that Odysseus is brave and clever in bad situation. His men on the other hand don’t respect his command and are very gullible. They always seem to make Odysseus risk his life to save them. This develops the theme for the Odyssey by showing us how Odysseus’s may react in event to come.

The Cyclops

Nov 15, 1200

Odysseus and his men found the Cyclops’s cave and ate the food and drinks they found. They fell asleep and a Cyclops, whose name was Polyphemus returned to the cave. Once he got in the cave he closed off the entrance and saw Odysseus and his men and became angry. He ate two of Odysseus’s men and fell asleep. The next day when the Cyclops came back Odysseus offered his some wine; he got drunk and fell asleep. Odysseus stabbed a stake into his eyes and quickly escaped.

The Cyclops: Analysis

Nov 15, 1200

This event shows that Odysseus is very resourceful and that his men are careless. Odysseus lost 4 of his men to the Cyclops and acted fast so that he wouldn’t lose more. This develops the theme of the Odysseus because it shows sacrifice and bravery in crazy predicaments.

Aeolus- Bag of Winds

Nov 18, 1200

Aeolus gave Odysseus a bag of both favorable and unfavorable winds that were closed. Odysseus’s men opened the bags thinking it was silver or gold, which allowed the winds to escape and pushed them back to the island. Back on the island, Aeolus refused to help them because he thought that the gods were mad at Odysseus and wanted to harm him. They go to the land of Laestrygonians where their are giants. The king and queen turned Odysseus’s men into food so they escaped in a Odysseus’s boat,

Aeolus Bag of Wind: Analysis

Nov 18, 1200

In Bag of Winds Odysseus’s men opened the bag of winds thinking that it was silver and gold proving that if it were they may have taken it without Odysseus knowing. His men aren’t trustworthy causing them to come in contact with the giants and costing their men to become dinner to them. Odysseus and a few men were able to escape but this shows that they cause many of the problems and bad situations on their way back home. Odysseus once again looses men and gains nothing from this.

Circe: Pt.2

Nov 20, 1200

She tells him to sail to Hades, to speak with the spirit of Tiresias, a blind prophet who will tell him how to get home. The next morning Odysseus finds out that one of his men got drunk and slept on the roof. He broke his neck, but Odysseus proceeds to explain to his ,en the journey that they have to take. They were not pleased to hear where they had to go.

Circe: Analysis

Nov 20, 1200

Odysseus gained nothing from this event because he wasted a whole year in Circe’s hands. His men had to convince him to continue their journey home. They were very humiliated being turned into pigs and having to further be in Circe’s presence. Odysseus’s men are very cowardly when they were told where they had to go to find their way back home.

Circe

Nov 20, 1200

Odysseus and his men travel to Aeaea the home of Circe. She drugs Odysseus’s men and turns them to pigs. When Odysseus goes to rescue them, Hermes tells him to eat an herb to protect himself from Circe’s drug. Odysseus forces her to change his men back to humans. Odysseus becomes Circe’s lover, and he and his men live with her for a year. Then his men convince him to continue the travel home so Odysseus asks Circe for the way to Ithaca.

Sirens

Nov 23, 1200

Odyssesus sets sail and comes across the island of the Sirens. He does as Circe tells him and plugs his men's ears and ties them to the mast of the ship. He hears their song flowing from the island saying to reveal the future. The Sirens’ song is so tempting that Odysseus begs to be released from his his restraints, but his men only tie him tighter.

Sirens: Analysis

Nov 23, 1200

In this event temptation was a theme presented. His men were faithful to him and helped him stay strong and not give in to the Sirens song. Odysseus proves to be confident and brave because he had his men tie him up but he did not plug his ears because he wanted to hear the Sirens song.

Scylla and Charybdis

Nov 23, 1200

Once they passed the Sirens’ island Odysseus and his men must navigate the way between Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla is a six-headed monster who eats sailors heads. Charybdis is a big whirlpool that swallows entire ships. As told by Circe, Odysseus sails his boat against the cliffs of Scylla’s lair. He and his men stare at Charybdis on the other side of the narrow passageway, Scylla's head comes down and eats six of the sailors. Odysseus escape to Thrinacia, the island of the Sun.

Scylla and Charybdis: Analysis

Nov 23, 1200

Circe tells Odysseus to choose Scylla's violence over Charybdis, but Odysseus wants the glory and achievement of fighting them off. This plan risks the lives of the men and disrespects the gods. Scylla is not a goddess but she is immortal so he wouldn't be able to kill her if he tried.

Helios’ cattle

Nov 24, 1200

Eurylochus tells him to let his men rest on the island. A storm kept them there for a month, and they ended up running out of food. Eurylochus tells the other crew members to disobey Odysseus and kill the cattle of the Sun. They did it while Odysseus was sleeping; when the Sun finds out, he asked Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men. The Achaeans sailed away from Thrinacia, Zeus sent another storm that destroyed the ship and kills the whole crew, but only Odysseus survives and reaches Ogygia.

Suitors/ Home

Nov 24, 1200

Penelope gets Odysseus’s bow and announces that she'll marry the suitor who can string and shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes. Telemachus sets up the axes and tries but fails to string it. The suitors try the bow one by one and all fail. Odysseus follows Eumaeus and Philoetius outside and reveals his identity to them by showing the scar on his foot. Odysseus, still disguised, asks for the bow. The suitors complain and Antinous says that he's a drunk and the wine has gotten to his head.

Helios’ cattle: Analysis

Nov 24, 1200

In this event Odysseus lost all of his men due to a shipwreck caused by a storm that Zeus sent. His men were disloyal and decided to go behind this back and kill Helios' cattle because Eurylochus told them to. This proves that they are gullible, disrespectful, disloyal, and cannot think for themselves. This could have been prevented if they would have been obedient and listened to Odysseus when he told them no to do it. In the end Odysseus survives and is on his way home.

Suitors/ Home: Analysis

Nov 24, 1200

In this event it shows that Odysseus values trust and loyalty and will not not tolerate disrespect. He will give respect if resect is given. This event also show cases the amount of time it took for him to get home. Along with the bond he has with Penelope for example, the bed that she knew couldn't be moved. Throughout the story many themes were shown such as loyalty and temptation.