Books 17-20

Book 17 - Book 17 starts with Telemachus going to the palace and receiving a warm embrace from Penelope and the nurse. Telemachus meets Theoclymenus and Piraeus in the hall and tells them not to bring in the gifts from the ships because he doesn't want the suitors stealing them. When Telemachus eats with Penelope, he tells her very little about Odysseus but not that he's back; but Theoclymenus starts to talk and says he thinks Odysseus is currently in Ithaca. While that's going down, the swineherd and Odysseus head toward town, and they meet Melanthius, who is a suitor, and he heaps scorn on Eumaeus and kicks his friend. Odysseus receives the same as a welcome at the palace. The suitors reluctantly give him food and anintous goes out of his way to insult him. When Odysseus insults him back, Antinous hits with a chair; and when news of this reaches Penelope she asks the stranger be brought to her for she can ask about Odysseus.

Book 18  - Book 18 starts with another beggar, Arneaus, walking into the palace, and challenging Odysseus to a fist fight. Athena gives Odysseus more strength and it quickly ends with Arneaus on the floor, with Odysseus stopping just before he killed him. The suitors congratulate Odysseus, and Amphinous toasts him and throws him food. Out of pity, Odysseus tells him that to leave the palace now because Odysseus will be home soon. Athena then gives Penelope more beauty and urges her to go out and talk to the suitors, and when she does, she is showered in presents by them. She said Odysseus said to remarry if he wasn't back by the time Telemachus started to grow facial hair. Odysseus and Eurymachos then get into an insult war, ending with Eurymachos throwing a stool at Odysseus, missing and hitting a nurse.

Book 19 - Book 19 starts with Telemachos and Odysseys moving all the weapons in the house to a single room for the suitors can't fight back, and Telemachos says to Eurycleia that they're moving the weapons for they don't get damaged. Afterwards, Telemachos goes to bed, and Penelope questions Odysseus. Odysseus brings her tears by describing Odysseus and how they met, saying that he's still alive and on his way back. Penelope offers him a bed, and he refuses, but he does allow the maid Eurycleia to wash his feet. When she does she sees his scar from boar hunting and recognizes him as Odysseus. Penelope describes a dream she doesn't understand to Odysseus before she goes to bed; a dream where an eagle kills her 20 pet geese and tells her Odysseus killed her lovers. He explains it, but she said she's going to marry the first person to shoot throw 12 axe heads.

Book 20 -  Book 20 starts with Odysseus worrying about not being able to fight all the suitors. Athena reassures that he'll be able to with the gods on his side. Penelope is then afraid that Odysseus not coming back and having to remarry, so she asks Artremis to kill her. Odysseus prays to Zeus for a good omen, he responds with a clap of thunder and sends a maid to go check on Penelope and curse the suitors. The next day Odysseus and Telemachos meet with the swineherd, Melenthius, and Phileotious. Meanwhile, the suitors plan another way to kill Telemachos. Amphinomus convinces them to call it off, but then they see an eagle carrying a dove. Athena keeps then prodding Odysseus for he doesn't lose his anger, and when Ctesippus throws a hoof at Odysseys, Telemachos threatens to run him through with his sword.

Books 13-16

Book 13- Book 13 starts with Alcinous loading Odysseus's ship back to Ithaca with his gifts. They set sail when the sun goes down, and Odysseus falls asleep for a long time; while the Phaeacian crew commands the ship and also sleeps when they get to shore, and carry him and his gifts off the boat and set sail back home. When Poseidon spots Odysseus in Ithaca, he becomes mad at the Phaeacians for assisting his enemy. Because of this, the prophecy becomes true and he turns the ship to stone as it's arriving at the dock back in Phaeacia. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus doesn't remember the town looking like this because Athena shrouded it in a mist, so he thinks the Phaeacians took him to the wrong town and took some of gifts too. But then, Athena disguised as a sheepherder, approaches him and assures him he's in Ithaca. Odysseus tries to keep his identity hidden, but reveals it when he learns he sheepherder is actually Athena. She tells him that he needs to get rid of the suitors in his home and gives him the look of a hobo so no one will question him.

Book 14 - Book 14 starts with Odysseus talking to the swineherd, Eumaeus, outside of his hut. He invites Odysseus inside even though he doesn't recognize him. As Odysseus enjoys a feast of pork, Eumaeus talks about he misses Odysseus and hates the suitors, fearing Odysseus will never return. When Odysseus says that he will return, Eumaeus doesn't want to hear it as he's had a lot of hobos come looking for a handout in exchange for information on Odysseus. The swineherd lets Odysseus stay the night and gives him a blanker for he won't be cold. When asked about his origins, Odysseus lies and says he is from Crete and went poor after a battle in Egypt when wrong, and thats how he heard Odysseus is still alive.

Book 15- Book 15 starts with Athena traveling to Sparta to find Telemachos and Pisistratus; and she tells Telemachos that he has to get home before the suitors win over his mom. She also tells him of the suitors' planned ambush and to go the swineherd Eumaeus's hut. The next day as Telemachos leaves Sparta, he accepts gifts from Menelaus and Helen. An eagle then flies overhead with a golden goose and Helen thinks it means that Odysseus is about to kill the suitors. At Pylos, Telemachos has Pisistratus drop him off since there's no time to visit, when the descendent of a prophet accused of manslaughter approaches them and is accepted aboard. Back at the Swineherd's hut Odysseus and Eumaeus swap stories and we learn how Eumaeus came to Ithaca.

Book 16 - Book 16 starts with Telemachos approaches the swineherd's hut and sees him talking to Odysseus (currently disguised as a stranger to Telemachos), and approaches them. The swineherd tells him Odysseus's story, and suggest Talamachos take the stranger to the palace with him. The swineherd then goes to the palace alone to tell Penelope Telemachos returned. Back at the hut, Athena turns Odysseus back to normal, and him and his embrace and cry. Odysseus tells his story then they come up with a plan for the suitors. Before the swineherd can deliver the message, a messenger from the ship arrives and tells everyone that he has arrived. The suitors then group up to make a new plan for Telemachos, one being to just kill him. But Amphinomus talks him into waiting for a sign from the gods. Penelope then comes and denounces Antinous for plotting against Telemachos, but Eurymachus calms her down.

Books 9-12

Books 9-12 are Told as a Flashback

Book 9 -  Book 9 starts with Odysseus telling the story of him and his men in the city of the Cicones, plundering for gold. Eventually, the people who live there attack Odysseus, and he loses 6 men per ship. After that, Zeus sends a storm after them, getting them lost for 9 days until they show up at the island of the lotus eaters. As soon as Odysseus's men eat the fruit, they forget all about home and don't want to leave. After the island of the lotus eaters, they sail until they come up to the Island of the Cyclops. They dock their boat and have a feast of goats before exploring the island. They come across the cave of Polythemos, and Odysseus's men encourage him to take the crates of milk and cheese and let them leave, but he decided they would all wait here. When Polythemos arrives, he's nice at first, but turns hostile instantly eating two of Odysseus's men and trapping the rest for future meals. Odysseus wants to kill him then and there, but only he is strong enough to move the boulder door, so he comes up with a plan for revenge. The next day, when Polythemos is outside with his sheep, Odysseus finds a wooden staff in the cave and hardens it in a fire. When the cyclops comes back, Odysseus gets him drunk on wine, tells him his name is Noman, and he soon passes out. Once that happens, Odysseus and his men take the staff and stab it through Polythemos's eye, blinding him. He calls out that no man is killing him, so the other cyclops don't come and help. Before leaving, Odysseus tells the cyclops his real name and accomplishments, and Polythemos says a prayer to poseidon to avenge his eye.

Book 10 - Book 10 starts with Odysseus and crew sailing from the land of the Cyclops to the home of Aelous. At this Island, Aelous gifts Odysseus with a bag of winds so he can get home faster. When they are within sight of Ithaca, Odysseus's men open the bag out of greed, thinking its a bag of silver, which sends them back to the home of Aelous. He refuses to help them this time, thinking the gods must hate him. From there, Odysseus's men row to an island inhabited by giants who eat Odysseus's scouts and sink his ships with boulders; only Odysseus's ship survives. The one ship then makes its way to Aeaea, the island where Circe lives. She drugs a few of Odysseus's men and turns them into pigs. When Odysseus goes to rescue them, he is confronted by Hermes and given a herb called Moly that will make him immune to the witch's spells. At her house, when her magic fails, Odysseus leaps at her, pretending he's going to kill her, and forces her to turn his men back into humans. He then becomes her lover, and is tricked into staying on the island for a year, before his men snap him out of it. When asked for a way back to Ithaca, Circe says that he will have to go to Hades and ask the spirit of Tiresias

Book 11 - Book 11 starts with Odysseus's ship sailing into Hades where Odysseus pours blood and allows the spirits to drink it for they will give him answers. The first spirit he talks to is of one of his crewmen who fell of a roof while drunk and broke his neck on Circe's Island. He begs Odysseus to go back to the Isle to bury him. He then speaks to Tiresias who says that Posiedon is after them because they blinded his son, and he reveals Odysseus's fate; He will get home, slay the suitors, and then travel again to please Posiedon. After Tiresias Odysseus talks to other spirits; his mother, who updates him on the events of Ithaca, and various heroes including Ajax and Achilles. He then stops talking and asks Alcinoos if he can go to bed now, but he urges Odysseus to say if he met any Troy heroes in Hades. Odysseus says he met: Agamemnom, Achilles, Ajax, Herceles, King Minos, and many more. He also sees Sisyphus and Tantalus before being scared back to his ship by all the spirits wanting to know about their families.

Book 12 - Book 12 begins with Odysseus returning to Aeaea to bury Elpenor and spend a final night with Circe. She tells him of the obstacles he's going to face on his way home and how to avoid them. The first obstacle was the sirens, which lure you with your song to drown you; Odysseus had his men plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast for he could safely hear the songs. The next threat is Scylla and Charybdis; Scylla is a six headed monster who eats one person per head from passing ships, while Charybdis is a giant whirlpool that threatens to eat the whole ship. They go along the cliff wall looking at the whirlpool, when Scylla comes down and eats 6 men. Odyesseus's next stop is the island of the Sun, He wants to avoid it but Eurylochus persuades him to let his men rest here. A storm keeps them beached for a month, where they use their ship provisions to stay alive until they run out. Eurylochus persuades them to kill and eat one of the Sun's cattle while Odysseus sleeps, and when they do, the Sun asks Zeus to punish Odysseus and his men, and he sends another storm that kills everyone but Odysseus. He barely survives the storm and is then swept back to the whirlpool, only to end up on Calypso's Island where he ends his story.

Books 5-8

Book 5 - Book 5 starts with all of the gods except Poseidon on Mount Olympus discussing Odysseus's fate. Athena's speech gets Zeus to help Odysseus out, and he sends Hermes to Calypso's Island to tell her to let Odysseus go. Reluctantly, she agrees to let him go and helps Odysseus build a boat and stocks it with supplies for his journey home. After 18 days at sea, Odysseus sees Scheria. On his way to shore, Poseidon realized he's not trapped on the island anymore and makes a storm that almost kills him. The goddess Ino protects him veil, and Athena helps too. In all of the flailing, he makes his way to a river on the coast, and Ino allows him to swim up it to safety.

Book 6 - Book 6 starts with Athena appearing in the dream of the Phaecian princess Nausicaa telling her to go the stream in the morning to wash her clothes so she's more attractive. Sure enough, she goes  to the river and while her and her maidens are waiting for their clothes to dry, they see Odysseus. She leaves him to wash the dirt off, and while she's gone, Athena makes him more attractive for the princess falls in love with him. Nausicaa doesn't want to cause a scene by heading into the city with a stranger next to her, so she gives him directions to the palace and tells him to find her mom.

Book 7 - Book 7 starts with Odysseus being stopped by Athena in disguise on his way to the palace. She hides him in a mist to keep the Phaecians from talking to him, and leads the way. He finds everyone in the palace in the banquet room honoring Poseidon, when he sees the queen. He grabs the legs of the queen and pleas for her to help him. At first, the king thinks he's a god but he confirms that he is a mortal. He tells them his story and they agree to send him off the next day. That night Arete grows suspicious of him because he's wearing their type of clothing, and asks more questions. He tells the story of that morning and all is fine.

Book 8 - Book 8 starts with Alcinous calling a Phaecian assembly, and Athena spreading the word that the discussion will be about the new mysterious stranger, getting more people to show up. Alcinous says that they should give Odysseus a ship so he can go back home. The idea is approved and everyone goes to have a feast and a sporting event. At the feast, Demodocus's songs cause Odysseus to cry, which the king notices and ends the feast to start the sports. They include boxing, wrestling, racing, and throwing. He declines the offer to join, and Broadsea insults him. This causes Odysseus to beat him at the throwing game and then challenge the other Phaecians. Alcinoos calms him down by inviting him to another feast. At this feast, the bard tells of a story of Ares and Aphrodite being caught in a net. Odysseus requests a tale about the Trojan horse and he breaks down, making Alcinoos question who is and wheres he from.

Books 3 and 4

Book 3 - Book 3 begins in Pylos, with Telemachus and Athena witness a religious sacrifice where dozens of bulls are sacrificed for Poseidon. Telemachus is scared to speak in front of everyone, but Athena makes it for he's not so nervous anymore; and he asks the king, Nestor, if he's seen his father at all. The king says he has not and that after there a fight between the two Greek brothers who lead the expedition after Troy, Agamemnom and Menelaus. Menelaus left for Greece, while Agamemnom and Odysseus stayed to sacrifice, and the king hasn't seen him since. We then hear about when Agamemnom returned to Greece, he found that his wife had married someone else, and that her new husband killed him. Afterward, Agamemnom's son, Orestes, killed both of them.

Book 4 - Book 4 starts with Menelaus and Helen, the king and queen and Sparta, celebrating their children's weddings. They greet Pisistratus and Telemachus, who they recognize as Odysseus's son due to his family resemblance. As they eat, the king recounts the story of Odysseus's accomplishments; the Trojan Horse and dressing as a beggar. Afterwards, he tells of his own accomplishes and even a little about Ajax. Afterward, it's revealed that Odysseus is still alive and stuck on Calypso Island. Telemachus and Pisistratus head back to Ithica right away to start heading the island. Meanwhile, the suitors hear of his plan and hatch an idea to ambush when he returns; which Medon reports to Penelope. Athena sends a phantom of Penelope's sister to assure her the gods will keep her son safe.

Vocab

Prudence - regard for one's own interests - noun
Baleful - obsolete - adj
Libation - a pouring out of wine or other liquid in honor of something - noun
Precedence - the right to precede in rank - noun
Glutton - a person who eats and drinks excessively - noun
Harangue - intense verbal attack - noun
Rapine - plunder - noun
Scion - a descendant - noun
Insidious - stealthily treacherous - adj
Chastise - to criticize severely - verb
Succumb - yield - verb
Auspicious - promising success - adj
Lucid - easily understood - adj
Audacity - boldness or daring - noun

George's prudence lead him to trigger the booby trap for the sack of coins, dooming his friends by activating the spike trap behind him.
The musket is obsolete in terms of fire rate when compared to an assault rifle.
As Bob sat on top of the shrine clueless, he watched the libation of blood in his honor from the 60 tribesmen below
Joe earned his precedence when he single handedly liberated all of North Korea.
Micah, who is a glutton, snuck into the cheese factory and ate all of the cheese overnight.
The harangue that Jack received for knocking over his grandmother's urn was one that made him re-think all of his life choices.
The 56th anniversary of the Rapine of City Wok celebrates the dreadful day the Mongols plundered the restaurant.
The scion of Godzilla took it upon himself to take up his grandfather's legacy by destroying Tokyo.

Characters and All That Fun Stuff

Characters: 
Odysseus, Telemachos, Penelope, Athena, Poseidon, Mentes,Calypso, Mentor, Nestor, Menelaus, Helen, Agamemnon, Orestes, Aegisthus, Clytemnestra, Ajax, Zeus, Antinous, Eurymachus, Aegypitus,
Laertes, Icarius, Hailtherses, Eurycleia, Pisistratus

Literary Elements:
Allusions -Trojan Horse, Helen

Symbols - Birds, Food

Motifs - Story-telling, Disguises, Seducing

Major Theme - Hospitality