Homer’s Odyssey – Summary, Themes, and Bucket List Book Adventure Review
Homer’s Odyssey – Summary, Themes, and Bucket List Book Adventure Review
By a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
Dear Henry,
Book Two of the Bucket List Book Adventure, Homer’s Odyssey, is complete! Let me tell you all about it.
As I mentioned when writing about The Iliad, Homer’s Odyssey is one of two surviving works traditionally attributed to the poet, written around 800 BC and describing events believed to have occurred near 1250 BC.
The story begins ten years after the Trojan War. Odysseus still hasn’t made it home to Ithaca and is stranded on the island of Ogygia with the goddess Calypso. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus are trapped in limbo, Odysseus has not returned, but neither has he been declared dead. Suitors from all over Greece have filled their home, consuming Telemachus’s inheritance while attempting to pressure Penelope into remarriage.
Eventually, the gods, everyone except Poseidon, take pity on both Odysseus and Telemachus. Athena encourages Telemachus to seek news of his father from Nestor of Pylos and Menelaus of Sparta, while the remaining gods convince Calypso to release Odysseus.
Odysseus manages to reach the island of Scheria, home of the Phaeacians. There, he meets King Alcinous and Queen Arete and finally recounts his long and winding journey.
“See now, how men lay blame upon us gods for what is, after all, nothing but their own folly.” —Homer
Next comes the infamous encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus. After Odysseus blinds him in order to escape, he foolishly shouts his name back at Polyphemus—revealing himself to be the attacker of Poseidon’s son and earning the sea god’s lasting wrath.
The crew briefly finds help from King Aeolus, who gives Odysseus a bag of winds. But when the sailors open it—thinking it contains treasure—they are blown all the way back to the beginning of their journey, angering the gods and losing Aeolus’s support.
The trials continue: cannibals destroy every ship but Odysseus’s; Circe turns the men into pigs until Hermes intervenes; Odysseus must visit the underworld for guidance before he can continue his route home.
“Dinner is not a bad thing, at dinnertime.” —Homer
From there, he sails past the Sirens, navigates the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, and arrives at Thrinacia—home of Helios’s sacred cattle. Despite warnings, the crew eats the cows, and Helios destroys the ship in retaliation. Odysseus alone survives, washing up on Calypso’s island—bringing us full circle.
When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, he disguises himself as a beggar. After hearing Agamemnon’s grim homecoming story in the underworld, he fears betrayal. Penelope, however, has remained loyal, and Telemachus is a dutiful son. Together, they reclaim their home in a dramatic confrontation with the suitors.
“But I ought not to sit weeping and wailing in another person’s house, nor is it well to be thus grieving continually.” —Homer
I genuinely enjoyed this book more than The Iliad. Perhaps it’s because the war felt distant and brutal, while the journey—full of monsters, gods, mistakes, and moments of cleverness- felt more human. Perhaps it is the journey, rather than the battle, that makes the best story.
And for another perspective, I recommend the beautifully written novel Circe by Madeline Miller.
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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.
In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com
Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com
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