Story summary
Краткое содержание: The Odyssey
- Чтение: 8 мин.
- 10 parts
- Аудио скоро
A king in rags sits unrecognized in his own hall, plotting his next move with his son.
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The Odyssey — кратко о книге
Краткое содержание: 8 min на чтение
- Время чтения
- Около 8 h6 h 20 min fast, 9 h 35 min slow
- Длительность
- Слов: 114 500
- Страницы
- Страниц: 356538 in large print
- Уровень в библиотеке
- Средний longer sentences, everyday words
- Первая публикация
- около 750 г. до н. э.by Homer
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Сколько времени нужно на чтение классики · Обновлено
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The Odyssey in short
The Odyssey tells of a man trying to get home. Ulysses leaves Troy with twelve ships and arrives, many years later, alone. In between come the Cyclops, a witch, the dead, the Sirens, and a goddess's island.
What The Odyssey is about
What would you do if strangers filled your house, ate your herds, and courted your mother, while no one could tell you whether your father was alive? That is the position of Telemachus at the start of the Odyssey.
The Odyssey is an epic poem of ancient Greece, handed down under the name of Homer. It follows Ulysses, the cunning king of Ithaca, as he struggles to get home after the fall of Troy, and it follows his son, who sets out to find him.
Для кого. This is for anyone who loves adventure at sea, clever heroes, monsters and gods, and stories of families kept apart and brought together.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A house full of suitors waits on a missing king
On Ithaca, twenty years after Ulysses sailed for Troy, his house is crowded with young nobles. They say they are courting his wife Penelope, but they spend their days eating his sheep and oxen and draining his wine. The people do nothing to stop them.
The goddess Minerva sees the trouble and visits the house disguised as a stranger. Telemachus, the king's young son, seats her away from the noise and admits he cannot even be sure who his father is. She tells him to order the suitors out and sail to Pylos and Sparta for news. Then she flies off like a bird, and he knows he has spoken with a god.
His first test comes that evening. He tells Penelope to go back to her loom, because speaking is a man's business. For the first time, the boy sounds like the master of the house. The assembly next morning breaks up without helping him, so he must go to sea.
A son must grow into his father's place before he can save the house.
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Telemachus sails to Pylos and Sparta for news
Minerva takes the shape of Mentor, an old family friend, and arranges the voyage.
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Calypso lets go and the sea tests Ulysses
On the island of Ogygia, Ulysses has spent seven years as the guest and prisoner of the goddess Calypso.
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Ulysses names himself and outwits the Cyclops
At last the hero speaks.
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Winds, a witch, the dead, and the sun's cattle
Aeolus, king of the winds, ties all the storms into an ox hide bag.
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Home at last, but hidden in rags
Alcinous's sailors carry Ulysses to Ithaca while he sleeps.
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A beggar in his own hall
Telemachus goes ahead to the house, and Eumaeus brings the beggar behind him.
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Hospitality is a law that gods enforce
One theme runs through the whole poem.
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Cunning, endurance, and the pull of home
Ulysses is not the strongest Greek, and he is not always wise.
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How the story is told, and why it still holds
The poem begins by calling on the Muse and starts in the middle.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Ulysses The cunning king of Ithaca, held back for twenty years from returning to his wife and son, who wants only to reach home.
- Telemachus Ulysses's young son, who must learn to act like a man, search for news of his father, and defend his house.
- Penelope Ulysses's wife, who holds off a houseful of suitors with clever tricks while she waits and grieves.
- Minerva The goddess of wisdom, who guides father and son in many disguises because she admires Ulysses's cleverness.
- Eumaeus The loyal swineherd who shelters a ragged stranger and keeps faith with his absent master.
- Antinous The loudest and most arrogant of the suitors, who wants Penelope and the household's wealth.
- Calypso A goddess who keeps Ulysses on her island for years and offers him immortality.
- Nausicaa The young Phaeacian princess who gives the shipwrecked stranger clothes and tells him how to approach her mother in the palace.
How it ends (spoiler)
Ulysses kills the suitors with the help of Telemachus, Eumaeus, Philoetius, and Minerva. Penelope tests him with a question about their bed, and he answers, so they are reunited. He then finds his old father Laertes. Angry relatives of the dead suitors march against him, but Laertes kills their leader Eupeithes. Minerva stops the fighting, and Jove's plan holds. Peace is sworn, and Ulysses remains king of Ithaca.
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Вопросы о книге The Odyssey
What is the Odyssey about?
It follows Ulysses, king of Ithaca, on his long and dangerous journey home after the Trojan War, while his son Telemachus searches for him and his wife Penelope holds off the suitors who crowd the house.
Is Ulysses the same person as Odysseus?
Yes. Odysseus is the Greek form of the name, and Ulysses is the Latin form. This version uses Ulysses, and likewise Minerva for Athena, Jove for Zeus, and Neptune for Poseidon, but the characters are the same.
Is the Odyssey a true story?
It is a poem of myth and legend, not history. It was composed in ancient Greece and passed down by singers, and it mixes places that can be found on a map with gods, monsters, and magic.
Who are the suitors in the Odyssey?
They are young nobles from Ithaca and nearby islands who live in Ulysses's house, claim to be courting Penelope, and feast on his flocks and wine, believing he will never return.
What is the main message of the Odyssey?
The poem shows the value of home, loyalty, patience, and clever planning, and it treats kindness to strangers as a sacred duty, with hospitality rewarded and its abuse punished.
Как сослаться на это издание
Homer. The Odyssey. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-odyssey.
Homer. (2026). The Odyssey. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-odyssey (Original work published ca. 750 B.C.E.)
Homer. The Odyssey. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-odyssey.
@book{homer2026odyssey,
author = {Homer},
title = {The Odyssey},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-odyssey},
note = {First published ca. 750 BCE}
}
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