Odysseus was one of, if not the most, clever heroes in Greek mythology. Unlike other Greek heroes, such as, Heracles, Perseus, Theseus, Jason and Bellerophon, Odysseus relied on brains more than brawn. While still a mighty warrior, he is able to use his intelligence to accomplish things that many other heroes couldn’t, like inventing the Trojan horse. Naturally, due to Odysseus’s wisdom and intelligence, his patron god is Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle. Odysseus is most famous for a Greek poem by Homer, called The Odyssey which is about the ten years after the Trojan War, when he is trying to get back to his home, Ithaca. However, Odysseus’s story starts long before he leaves Troy. Odysseus was married to Penelope, and he had a
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The Trojan War was just beginning, but there was a prophecy that said if Odysseus left to go to the Trojan War, he would not see his home for many years. So when the Greek general Agamemnon sent the Nauplian prince Palomedes to enlist him for the war, Odysseus pretended to be insane. He wore tattered clothes, and plowed his fields with salt. Palomedes guessed what was happening, and put the baby Telemachus in front of the plow, forcing Odysseus to reveal himself, and go to the war. When the Greeks arrived at Troy, no one would leave the ships, because of a prophecy the first person to touch Trojan soil would die. Odysseus circumvented that by leaping onto his shield, and he sure enough, the next person to jump, Protesilaus, was the first one to die. There are numerous other stories about Odysseus’s exploits in the Trojan war, such as inventing the Trojan Horse, winning the armor of Achilles, and orchestrating the death of Palomedes. However, his most famous exploits are the ones found in Homer’s Odyssey, after the ten year war at Troy. When the Greeks won the Trojan war and Odysseus was heading home, he drifted to the island of the Cicones, where he and his men …show more content…
Next, Odysseus arrived on the island of the wind god, Aeolus, where Odysseus begs for a way home. Aeolus pities him and gives him a bag of winds, which Odysseus uses to speed his journey. But then, just as Ithaca was coming into sight, the sailors, thinking the bag was full of treasure, tore it open and the winds sent them right back the way they had come. This time Aeolus refused to help them, and they sent them away. Now the Odysseus came upon an island of giant cannibals called Laestrygonians. The giants threw rocks, sinking all the ships except for the one with Odysseus on it. Then they came upon the island of the Witch Circe, who turned men into pigs. The party that was sent out got turned into pigs, but the god Hermes gave Odysseus a special her called moly which protected him from Circe’s power. Circe then told Odysseus that to continue his quest, he would have to go to the underworld to speak with the blind prophet Tiresias. So Odysseus went and spoke to Tiresias, who explained to him what his future challenges would be, and how to face them. After he returned, the he and the
The Trojan War was just beginning, but there was a prophecy that said if Odysseus left to go to the Trojan War, he would not see his home for many years. So when the Greek general Agamemnon sent the Nauplian prince Palomedes to enlist him for the war, Odysseus pretended to be insane. He wore tattered clothes, and plowed his fields with salt. Palomedes guessed what was happening, and put the baby Telemachus in front of the plow, forcing Odysseus to reveal himself, and go to the war. When the Greeks arrived at Troy, no one would leave the ships, because of a prophecy the first person to touch Trojan soil would die. Odysseus circumvented that by leaping onto his shield, and he sure enough, the next person to jump, Protesilaus, was the first one to die. There are numerous other stories about Odysseus’s exploits in the Trojan war, such as inventing the Trojan Horse, winning the armor of Achilles, and orchestrating the death of Palomedes. However, his most famous exploits are the ones found in Homer’s Odyssey, after the ten year war at Troy. When the Greeks won the Trojan war and Odysseus was heading home, he drifted to the island of the Cicones, where he and his men …show more content…
Next, Odysseus arrived on the island of the wind god, Aeolus, where Odysseus begs for a way home. Aeolus pities him and gives him a bag of winds, which Odysseus uses to speed his journey. But then, just as Ithaca was coming into sight, the sailors, thinking the bag was full of treasure, tore it open and the winds sent them right back the way they had come. This time Aeolus refused to help them, and they sent them away. Now the Odysseus came upon an island of giant cannibals called Laestrygonians. The giants threw rocks, sinking all the ships except for the one with Odysseus on it. Then they came upon the island of the Witch Circe, who turned men into pigs. The party that was sent out got turned into pigs, but the god Hermes gave Odysseus a special her called moly which protected him from Circe’s power. Circe then told Odysseus that to continue his quest, he would have to go to the underworld to speak with the blind prophet Tiresias. So Odysseus went and spoke to Tiresias, who explained to him what his future challenges would be, and how to face them. After he returned, the he and the