Previously on The Odyssey: Odysseus, finally freed from the bondage of his temptation, leaves the sea-nymph Calypso on a raft she gave him, not knowing where it will take him.
All Odysseus could see for miles was an empty stretch of blue. Calypso had given him food and water for the journey--as well as the assurance that the magic raft would take him to the nearest dry land--but days had gone by without a glimpse of life. Still, he had endured much worse than this, and despite his doubts betrayed not a hint of fear.
Odysseus was a handsome middle-aged man, remarkably clever and resourceful, with a shrewd face and powerfully built. His survival he attributed mainly to his cunning and craft, which had gotten him out of countless hopeless situations--a trait that had caught the attention of the goddess of wisdom, Athena. He had been trapped for seven years on Ogygia--could perhaps his current freedom be Athena's doing?
Just then, Odysseus glimpsed something on the horizon. A blurry, faraway patch of green: land!
As he approached it, Odysseus could see that it was an island--he could even make out some man-made stone structures. Thank the gods, civilization at last! And yet... He had learned not to trust seemingly simple situations. There was no way that he could just land his raft without the slightest difficulty--surely, some sort of complication would arise.
A rumbling sound behind him confirmed his pessimistic prediction. Turning around, he saw a figure rising from the sea--a terrible bearded man the size of the Colossus, his face fierce and vengeful, carrying a three-pronged spear in one hand.
Oh, gods--Poseidon's caught up with me! Odysseus thought, paddling the raft furiously, trying to think fast.
The god of the sea slapped the water with the Trident and created a massive tidal wave--headed straight for Odysseus. There was nothing he could do--his raft was crushed like a twig and he himself was swept away by the tempest. His last thought before the wall of water crashed over him was a desperate plea to Athena and Zeus--they had protected him this far, hadn't they?
The next thing Odysseus knew, he was waking up on a beach, calmer waves lapping over him. Every inch of him was sore, but he was still alive. At first, he was sure his journey had all been a dream, and that he was waking up back on Ogygia, because a pretty young woman was standing over him, trying to rouse him.
But his eyes focused, and he saw that it was a completely different girl.
"My name is Nausicaa," she said. "The goddess Athena told me in a dream that I should come to the shore today--and I found you here. Are you alright, sir? Can you hear me?"
Relieved, he assured her that, though he was a bit worse for wear, he was alright.
"Where did you come from? There is no ship in sight."
"I had a ship...a long time ago...the whole crew is lost but me. I took a raft here."
"You poor man," the girl said kindly. "Let me take you home with me. My mother and father will show you hospitality, I am sure."
And so Nausicaa brought Odysseus to her father's house, gave him fresh clothes and a place to rest, and invited him to the banquet that night. Her parents received him graciously, without once asking for his name. It was a relief to Odysseus to forget about his troubles and his past for a time.
At dinner, however, a minstrel began to perform some narratives about the Trojan War, and all of painful memories began to resurface. He tried to listen indifferently, but it was difficult. Demodocus, the blind singer, told a tale of a brave hero from Greece, the brilliant man who had come up with the Trojan Horse. The Trojans had been winning the war, and the Greeks had needed something to tip the balance in their favor, so this clever hero had decided to use the Trojans' arrogance against them.
They would construct an enormous wooden horse and wheel it to the gates of the city. The Trojans would think it was a gift from the gods to show their favoritism, or else a peace offering from the terrified Greeks. They would bring it inside the city gates, and throw a lavish party in celebration. When everyone slept soundly after their drunken carousing, the horse--which was, in fact, hollow and filled with Greek soldiers--would open, and the Greeks would take the city of Troy. The plan worked, and Troy fell.
That hero's name was Odysseus.
Eventually, Odysseus could bear it no longer. He could not listen to the story while pretending to be unaffected by it. He admitted to his company that he was, in fact, Odysseus himself. The party was astonished--for most had presumed him dead after all these years missing in action--and asked him how in Hades he could have found himself all the way here on the isle of Scherie.
"My raft was wrecked by Poseidon," Odysseus explained. "He has a bit of a grudge against me, you see."
This, of course, only piqued their interest further. What could a mortal man have done to earn the ire of Poseidon? And why hadn't he made it home, nearly ten years after the Trojan War had ended?
"Well...that's a bit of a long story."
How DID Odysseus come to be so far away from home and in such a mess, anyway? Tune in next time for the third installment of The Odyssey (Abridged and Severely Paraphrased) to hear Odysseus tell his tale of adventure and woe from the very beginning.
All Odysseus could see for miles was an empty stretch of blue. Calypso had given him food and water for the journey--as well as the assurance that the magic raft would take him to the nearest dry land--but days had gone by without a glimpse of life. Still, he had endured much worse than this, and despite his doubts betrayed not a hint of fear.
Odysseus was a handsome middle-aged man, remarkably clever and resourceful, with a shrewd face and powerfully built. His survival he attributed mainly to his cunning and craft, which had gotten him out of countless hopeless situations--a trait that had caught the attention of the goddess of wisdom, Athena. He had been trapped for seven years on Ogygia--could perhaps his current freedom be Athena's doing?
Just then, Odysseus glimpsed something on the horizon. A blurry, faraway patch of green: land!
As he approached it, Odysseus could see that it was an island--he could even make out some man-made stone structures. Thank the gods, civilization at last! And yet... He had learned not to trust seemingly simple situations. There was no way that he could just land his raft without the slightest difficulty--surely, some sort of complication would arise.
A rumbling sound behind him confirmed his pessimistic prediction. Turning around, he saw a figure rising from the sea--a terrible bearded man the size of the Colossus, his face fierce and vengeful, carrying a three-pronged spear in one hand.
Oh, gods--Poseidon's caught up with me! Odysseus thought, paddling the raft furiously, trying to think fast.
The god of the sea slapped the water with the Trident and created a massive tidal wave--headed straight for Odysseus. There was nothing he could do--his raft was crushed like a twig and he himself was swept away by the tempest. His last thought before the wall of water crashed over him was a desperate plea to Athena and Zeus--they had protected him this far, hadn't they?
The next thing Odysseus knew, he was waking up on a beach, calmer waves lapping over him. Every inch of him was sore, but he was still alive. At first, he was sure his journey had all been a dream, and that he was waking up back on Ogygia, because a pretty young woman was standing over him, trying to rouse him.
But his eyes focused, and he saw that it was a completely different girl.
"My name is Nausicaa," she said. "The goddess Athena told me in a dream that I should come to the shore today--and I found you here. Are you alright, sir? Can you hear me?"
Relieved, he assured her that, though he was a bit worse for wear, he was alright.
"Where did you come from? There is no ship in sight."
"I had a ship...a long time ago...the whole crew is lost but me. I took a raft here."
"You poor man," the girl said kindly. "Let me take you home with me. My mother and father will show you hospitality, I am sure."
And so Nausicaa brought Odysseus to her father's house, gave him fresh clothes and a place to rest, and invited him to the banquet that night. Her parents received him graciously, without once asking for his name. It was a relief to Odysseus to forget about his troubles and his past for a time.
At dinner, however, a minstrel began to perform some narratives about the Trojan War, and all of painful memories began to resurface. He tried to listen indifferently, but it was difficult. Demodocus, the blind singer, told a tale of a brave hero from Greece, the brilliant man who had come up with the Trojan Horse. The Trojans had been winning the war, and the Greeks had needed something to tip the balance in their favor, so this clever hero had decided to use the Trojans' arrogance against them.
They would construct an enormous wooden horse and wheel it to the gates of the city. The Trojans would think it was a gift from the gods to show their favoritism, or else a peace offering from the terrified Greeks. They would bring it inside the city gates, and throw a lavish party in celebration. When everyone slept soundly after their drunken carousing, the horse--which was, in fact, hollow and filled with Greek soldiers--would open, and the Greeks would take the city of Troy. The plan worked, and Troy fell.
That hero's name was Odysseus.
Eventually, Odysseus could bear it no longer. He could not listen to the story while pretending to be unaffected by it. He admitted to his company that he was, in fact, Odysseus himself. The party was astonished--for most had presumed him dead after all these years missing in action--and asked him how in Hades he could have found himself all the way here on the isle of Scherie.
"My raft was wrecked by Poseidon," Odysseus explained. "He has a bit of a grudge against me, you see."
This, of course, only piqued their interest further. What could a mortal man have done to earn the ire of Poseidon? And why hadn't he made it home, nearly ten years after the Trojan War had ended?
"Well...that's a bit of a long story."
How DID Odysseus come to be so far away from home and in such a mess, anyway? Tune in next time for the third installment of The Odyssey (Abridged and Severely Paraphrased) to hear Odysseus tell his tale of adventure and woe from the very beginning.
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