Butler seems to have believed that much of the geographical information in the poem was simply artistic license, which allows him to ignore some details while relying on others as definitive evidence, a useful tactic in case-building that has appealed to argumentative humans throughout history.
Gibraltar is certainly west of Corcyra. Van Der Heyden and H. The geographical descriptions in the Odyssey are never as detailed or as specific as a cartographer might like. So Ithaca is one of a group of four islands, with smaller islands nearby, but it faces west while the others face east.
What does it mean for an island to face a direction? It has forests and at least one mountain, and it is a good place for raising children. But it is enough for some. Others wanted to find proof to support this long-held supposition.
In , Frank Brewster insisted that the passages describing Ithaca place the Homeric islands off the west coast of Greece. Brewster therefore identifies these with the Ionian Islands, and places Ithaca on the island of Ithaca, because it is, as Homer describes it, the least suitable of the four islands for chariot racing.
The latter objection developed in part because one of the so-called islands, Leucas, may actually be a peninsula instead. On one side only a shallow marsh or lagoon separates Leucas from the mainland, not the deep water required for naval navigation. What is an island, anyway? How deep was the water around Leucas in the time of Homer? Is it even possible to rely on topography and geographic descriptions to find locations subject to thousands of years of coastal erosion and human tampering?
What is it about this story that makes people so eager to locate the exploits of gods, nymphs, and sea monsters in the real world? We can demand that Cyclopes and sirens coexist with the geographic specificity of Sicily and Corcyra. Attempts to map the Odyssey seem different from other attempts to locate the sites of famous myths and legends.
Atlantis was the site of a wondrous civilization, Troy the landscape for an epic battle; finding them in the real world would mean discovering rich sources of evidence about past cultures. But what do we gain by knowing where Helios kept his cows? The other Cyclops ran to his cave, "What happened, Polyphemus?
The next morning, blind Polyphemus opened the door of the cave and stood at the exit with his arms outstretched waiting to catch Odysseus and his men. But Odysseus, ingenious as he was, had tied his men under the bellies of the largest rams and he himself hung from the hair of the largest animal.
The Cyclop was stroking the rams' backs as they came out of the cave, and did not realize that there were people underneath. Then they arrived to the island of Aeolus , the God of the winds. Aeolus welcomed them and hosted them for about a month.
When it was time for them to leave, the God Aeolus blessed Odysseus' journey with a favorable wind and handed him a sac where all the unfavorable ones were confined, so he could return immediately to Ithaca.
However, as they were approaching Ithaca , Odysseus' men opened the bag, causing a storm that destroyed 11 ships and swept away Odysseus to the island of Laestrygones. Modern-day Greeks use the expression "opening the sac of Aeolus" to describe adverse situations with uncontrollable consequences similar to the expression "opening a can of worms". As our hero and his comrades were approaching the harbor, the Laestrygonians , these wild and tall giants ran up against them, screaming and throwing boulders on the ships.
The rocks broke and sank the ships and the wild Laestrygonians ate all the men who were close. Only Odysseus' ship survived. He and his men quickly left the land of the wild Laestrygones. Odysseus then asked some of his men to go and ask where they were. Upon their arrival, the immortal sorceress offered them to feast and drink, unbeknownst to them that her goods would magically turn them into pigs , punishing them for their greedy appetite.
Only one of them managed to escape and went back to inform Odysseus. Without hesitation, he grabbed his sword and entered Circe 's palace, being immune to her magic with the help of god Hermes. Amazed, Circe quickly became fond of Odysseus who eventually forced her to turn his comrades back to humans again. They stayed in the island of Circe for a long time.
When they decided to leave, Circe advised Odysseus to go to underworld and meet prophet Tiresias who would tell him how to get to Ithaca safely. After a while the prophet Tiresias came to meet Odysseus and he asked the prophet what he has to do in order to get back home. However, take care not to disturb the oxen of the Sun god, when you go to his island, and you will arrive at Ithaca one day".
Fortunately, Circe had advised Odysseus to wax his men's ears so as to drown out the sirens' songs , and the men managed to escape the Sirens' call.
They then approached the Strait of Scylla and Charybdis , the mythological sea monsters who made sailing through the strait almost impossible. From one side of the narrow waterway, Charybdis would create whirlpools that would sink the ships, while on the other side, Skylla , curled up in her cave, would stretch out her six terrible heads, and eat the sailors. After many nights at sea, Odysseus and his remaining comrades arrived to the island of the Sun god.
Remembering prophet Tiresias ' advice to stay clear of the oxen of the Sun god , Odysseus begged his men to leave the island. But they were very tired and did not accept. When they ran out of food, they fasted for a few days. One day, however, when Odysseus was asleep, they slaughtered some oxen and roasted them.
When Odysseus woke up it was too late. Odysseus had to leave his home to fight the war in Troy. They had been fighting the war for years and then Odysseus came up with a plan.
He built a wooden horse. He had some of his men take their ships away from shore so the Trojans could not see them. She later helps him on his journey.
Helios God of the sun who becomes angry at Odysseus when his crew eats Helios' sacred cattle. Lotus Eaters A people who eat the narcotic plant. The Island of the Lotus Eaters: Odysseus sends his men out to search for food, and has to recover them when they eat the Lotus Flower. Odysseus' Journey in Homer's The Odyssey. Modern Day Turkey. Ismaros Land of the Cicones x. Odysseus went to the The Land of Cicones for food and water. The Island of the Lotus Eaters.
The Island of the Cyclopes. Aeolia The Island of Aeolus x. Telepylos Land of the Laestrygonians x. Aeaea Circe's Island x. The Underworld Land of the Dead x.
Who all did Odysseus sleep with? However, in the Odyssey, we know of a few women he did sleep with. When she feeds the men, all but Odysseus change into swine. Odysseus had been warned about Circe by Hermes, and given an herb that protected him from her spell. What is the first place Odysseus visits?
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