Finsbury Park

Ancient Greek Mythology

Homer's Odyssey

8th century BC, Ancient Greek.

Before spending many years on the island of the goddess Calypso, Odysseus travels by ship to the land of the dead, where he meets with the ghosts of the men he fought alongside at Troy.

'Three of the places that Odysseus visits during his long voyage around an enchanted ocean are particularly revealing,' said Miranda.

'The land of the Laestrygonians, for example, is a land of giants. This is where Odysseus looses almost his entire fleet of ships. The place of his single greatest losses. And this is after he visits the island of the Cyclops.

'Then in his remaining ship he has to make a voyage to the land of the dead, where he meets with the ghosts of men he fought alongside at Troy. It is given to few people – he is told afterwards – to return from the realm of Hades and to be able to speak about it.

'And then, after having braved the call of the sirens and the loss of a further six men by a six-headed monster, he sails to an island where sheep and cattle graze; they belong to Hyperion, the sun god, tended by his daughters, and they never die.

'After this he spends many years on the island of the goddess Calypso, who offers to make him immortal.'

'Then he returns to Ithaca and pretends to be someone else,' said Quintin.

Story recounted from: Shewring, Walter, with an introduction by Kirk, G. S., 1980, reprinted 2008. Homer: The Odyssey. Translated from ancient Greek with an introduction. Oxford University Press.