Odyssey

The Odyssey was the name given to the Greek hero Odysseus' perilous return voyage from Troy in Anatolia to his home on the Greek island of Ithaca which occurred from 1183 to 1173 BC, as well as the title of an epic poem (the sequel of the equally-famous Iliad) composed by Homer during the 8th century BC. Following the end of the ten-year-long Trojan War, Odysseus was cursed by Poseidon to suffer as the result of his hubristic claims to have single-handedly taken Troy, and he and his Ithacan contingent faced many challenges on their return trip. In order, they raided the Cicones in Thrace, were seduced by the Lotus-eaters before escaping their temptations, blinded the Sicilian Cyclops Polyphemus before he could eat them, stopped at Aeolus' island and received a bag of winds, were blown off course from Ithaca after Odysseus' mischeivous and curious men opened the forbidden bag, lost 11 ships to the Laistrygones, several crew members were turned into swine by the enchantress Circe on Corsica (where Odysseus was detained for a year (1182-1181 BC), Odysseus met the prophet Tiresias in the Underworld, the Ithacans resisted the Sirens' allures, the ship passed between the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis in the Straits of Messina, the crew slaughtered Helios' cattle, Zeus killed everyone but Odysseus, Odysseus was shipwrecked on Calypso's island and detained for another seven years (1181-1174 BC), Athena persuaded Zeus to send Hermes to liberate Odysseus from Calypso, Odysseus' raft was destroyed by Poseidon, Odysseus landed on Scheria and was rescued by Nausicaa, Odysseus narrated his adventures to the Phaeacians, King Alcinous of Phaeacea provided Odysseus with the ships to return to Ithaca, Odysseus (disguised as a beggar) was recognized by his son Telemachus and returned to his palace, Odysseus proved his identity to his wife Penelope by winning a bow competition, Odysseus (now out of disguise) and his son and servants massacred his wife's 108 suitors to free the palace of their occupation, Odysseus reassumed his throne and reunited with his family, and Athena prevented the suitors' families from retaliating. The Odyssey was ranked as the "world's most enduring narrative" by the BBC in 2018.