Finally, on the seventh day, the storm abruptly ceased.
At Odysseus’ command, the Greeks pulled their ship from its shelter and pushed off into the water. A gentle west wind caught their sail, and they headed once again for the distant shores of Ithaca.
For a time, it seemed possible that the sun god’s rage had been forgotten. But once the black ship had sailed onto the open sea, Odysseus’ worst fears were realized. Helios had indeed turned all the other gods against the Greeks. And together, the gods took their revenge.
First, mighty Zeus sent a black storm cloud across the sky, darkening the waters and turning the day into night.
Then Poseidon, god of the seas, sent tumultuous waves crashing over the sides of the ship.
Then Aeolus, the wind god, sent a howling wind that blew with such fury that it cracked the ship’s mast. The mast and rigging fell on top of the helmsman, crushing his skull.
Zeus shook the sky with thunder and hurled down a blazing bolt of lightning. The lightning struck the ship’s hull, spinning it around and around on the water. All of Odysseus’ men were thrown from the deck into the dark, angry sea.
Watching helplessly from the ship, Odysseus saw his men tossed on the waves like sea birds. He watched as, one by one, they sank beneath the water and drowned.
Finally all of Odysseus’ men had disappeared under the waves. And Odysseus was completely and terribly alone.
NINE
ONLY ODYSSEUS
Odysseus clung to the lurching ship until the storm began to rip it apart. Then, as the rest of the ship was torn to splinters, he lashed the mast and keel together, making a raft.
For hours, Odysseus clung to the raft for dear life as wild winds tossed him over the waves.
Darkness soon covered the ocean. As the sea grew calmer, Odysseus feared his raft might be drifting back toward the cave of Scylla and the whirlpool of Charybdis. All through the night he prayed to the gods to spare him from the monsters.
But as dawn broke, Odysseus saw Scylla’s cliff rising from the sea—and he heard the awful roar of Charybdis. He could feel the black waters of Charybdis’ whirlpool begin to pull at his raft.
Odysseus’ prayers had been in vain. His raft was being sucked into the black, swirling mouth of Charybdis. His body would soon join those of all the other sailors who had drowned in the terrible whirlpool.
But just as he was about to be sucked into the monster’s mouth, a mighty wave swept Odysseus from his raft. The wave carried him away from the whirlpool—over the sea—onto the shores of Scylla’s cliff.
Odysseus flung himself from the water and grabbed the trunk of a huge fig tree. He clung to the tree like a bat. Holding on with all his strength, he waited for the whirlpool monster to vomit up his raft.
Finally the raft was hurled from the black abyss and sent swirling over the waves. When it was within reach, Odysseus let go of the tree and plunged into the sea.
He grabbed the edge of the raft and heaved himself aboard. Then he began rowing madly with his hands. He rowed and rowed. He rowed away from Charybdis. He rowed past the cliff of Scylla. He rowed until he was safe from both dreaded sea monsters.
For nine days and nine nights, Odysseus drifted on his raft. He had no food and no water. He had no idea where he was going—or how he would ever get home.
As he drifted over the open sea, he mourned the loss of all his comrades. He grieved for the family he feared he would never see again.
Finally, on the tenth day, the waves tossed Odysseus and his raft onto the shore of a mysterious island.
TEN
CALYPSO
Odysseus lay on the sandy beach, tired to the bone and filled with despair. He had not slept in ten days. Now that he was safe on shore, he was tortured by visions of his men dangling from the mouths of the monstrous Scylla. Over and over he saw his comrades devoured by monsters or drowned in the waves, bobbing like sea birds, then vanishing, one by one. Friends and warriors, men he had journeyed with for twelve long years—they were now gone. He had lost them all.
Only the last words of Tiresias, the blind prophet, were yet to come to pass: “You alone might escape. But if you do, you will be a broken man. You will find great trouble in your house.”
Odysseus could not bear the thought that Penelope, his wife, and Telemachus, his son, might be suffering in Ithaca. He desperately wanted to protect them. In spite of his despair, he still felt a fierce determination to return home.
Nearly blind with exhaustion and grief, Odysseus pulled himself up from the sand and began walking in search of help.
He had not gone far before he came upon four streams. The bubbling waters wound through lush green meadows filled with violets, parsley, and wild celery.
Just beyond the streams was a rocky hillside. Set deep in the rocks was a huge cave. Long vines trailed around the mouth of the cave. Clusters of ripe grapes hung from the vines.
Beautiful trees grew along the path that led to the cave—alder, aspen, and sweet-smelling cypress. Owls, falcons, and sea ravens had built their nests in the boughs of the trees.
Odysseus smelled the sweet scent of burning cedar and sandalwood.
Like someone lost in a dream, Odysseus stumbled slowly toward the cave’s entrance. When he peered inside, he saw a great fire blazing in the hearth.
Beside the hearth sat a beautiful woman at a loom. She shone with the light of a goddess. She was weaving and singing in a lovely voice.
As her song ended, the goddess turned and smiled at Odysseus.
“Hello, Odysseus,” she said. “I am Calypso, daughter of Atlas. Hermes told me that you might come.”
Odysseus was surprised that the goddess knew his name. But he was too weary even to speak.
Calypso looked at Odysseus for a long time. Then she continued in her calm, lovely voice: “I know what has happened to you,” she said. “Your men killed the cattle of the sun god. In a rage, Helios threatened to take away his light forever, from men and from the gods. Zeus and the other gods of Mount Olympus were forced to take revenge against you. Zeus smashed your ship with a thunderbolt and hurled your warriors into the sea. They drowned before your eyes.”
Odysseus nodded.
“You must be very tired, Odysseus,” Calypso said kindly. “Come inside. Rest here in my home.”
Without a word, Odysseus stepped into the cave of the beautiful goddess.
He stumbled to the hearth and lay down close to the fire. After his terrible journey, he was indeed a broken man. His heart and body ached almost more than he could bear.
As Odysseus stared at the fire in the hearth, the goddess began to sing her song again. Odysseus was reminded of the singing of the Sirens. But Calypso’s song did not make him go mad or lure him to a watery death.
Instead, as Odysseus listened, all the pain and horror of his journey slowly dissolved around him. He felt peaceful and calm for the first time in many weeks.
Odysseus closed his eyes. And in the peaceful warmth of Calypso’s cave, he finally fell asleep.
ABOUT HOMER AND THE ODYSSEY
Long ago, the ancient Greeks believed that the world was ruled by a number of powerful gods and goddesses. Stories about the gods and goddesses are called the Greek myths. The myths were probably first told as a way to explain things in nature—such as weather, volcanoes, and constellations. They were also recited as entertainment.
The first written record of the Greek myths comes from a blind poet named Homer. Homer lived almost three thousand years ago. Many believe that Homer was the author of the world’s two most famous epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad is the story of the Trojan War. The Odyssey tells about the long journey of Odysseus, king of an island called Ithaca. The tale concerns Odysseus’ adventures on his way home from the Trojan War.
To tell his tales, Homer seems to have drawn upon a combination of his own imagination and Greek myths that had been passed down by word of mouth. A bit of actual history may have also gone into Homer
’s stories; there is archaeological evidence to suggest that the story of the Trojan War was based on a war fought about five hundred years before Homer’s time.
Over the centuries, Homer’s Odyssey has greatly influenced the literature of the Western world.
GODS AND GODDESSES OF ANCIENT GREECE
The most powerful of all the Greek gods and goddesses was Zeus, the thunder god. Zeus ruled the heavens and the mortal world from a misty mountaintop known as Mount Olympus. The main Greek gods and goddesses were all relatives of Zeus. His brother Poseidon was ruler of the seas, and his brother Hades was ruler of the underworld. His wife Hera was queen of the gods and goddesses. Among his many children were the gods Apollo, Mars, and Hermes, and the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis.
The gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus not only inhabited their mountaintop but also visited the earth, involving themselves in the daily activities of mortals such as Odysseus.
THE MAIN GODS AND GODDESSES
AND PRONUNCIATION OF THEIR NAMES
Zeus (zyoos), king of the gods, god of thunder
Poseidon (poh-SY-don), brother of Zeus, god of seas and rivers
Hades (HAY-deez), brother of Zeus, king of the Land of the Dead
Hera (HEE-ra), wife of Zeus, queen of the gods and goddesses
Hestia (HES-tee-ah), sister of Zeus, goddess of the hearth
Athena (ah-THEE-nah), daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and war, arts and crafts
Demeter (dee-MEE-tur), goddess of crops and the harvest, mother of Persephone
Aphrodite (ah-froh-DY-tee), daughter of Zeus, goddess of love and beauty
Artemis (AR-tem-is), daughter of Zeus, goddess of the hunt
Ares (AIR-eez), son of Zeus, god of war
Apollo (ah-POL-oh), god of the sun, music, and poetry
Hermes (HUR-meez), son of Zeus, messenger god, a trickster
Hephaestus (heh-FEES-tus), son of Hera, god of the forge
Persephone (pur-SEF-oh-nee), daughter of Zeus, wife of Hades and queen of the Land of the Dead
Dionysus (dy-oh-NY-sus), god of wine and madness
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE TO OTHER PROPER NAMES
Achilles (ah-KIL-eez)
Aeolus (EE-oh-lus)
Agamemnon (ag-ah-MEM-non)
Calypso (Kah-LIP-soh)
Charybdis (Kah-RIB-dis)
Circe (SIR-see)
Cyclops (SY-klops)
Eurylochus (yoo-RIH-loh-kus)
Helios (HE-lee-ohs)
Heracles (HER-ah-kleez)
Ithaca (ITH-ah-kah)
Odysseus (oh-DIS-yoos)
Penelope (pen-EL-oh-pee)
Polyphemus (pah-lih-FEE-mus)
Scylla (SIL-ah)
Sisyphus (SIS-ih-fus)
Tantalus (TAN-tah-lus)
Telemachus (tel-EM-ah-kus)
Tiresias (ty-REE-sih-us)
Trojans (TROH-junz)
A NOTE ON THE SOURCES
The story of the Odyssey was originally written down in the ancient Greek language. Since that time there have been countless translations of Homer’s story into other languages. I consulted a number of English translations, including those written by Alexander Pope, Samuel Butler, Andrew Lang, W.H.D. Rouse, Edith Hamilton, Robert Fitzgerald, Allen Mandelbaum, and Robert Fagles.
Homer’s Odyssey is divided into twenty-four books. Book One, The One-Eyed Giant, was derived from books nine and ten of Homer’s Odyssey.
The story concerning Odysseus’ recruitment for the Trojan War originated with the second-century A.D. writer Hyginus. The account of the Trojan horse was derived from Virgil’s Aeneid. Apollodorus’ account of the fall of Troy mentions that the name of Athena was inscribed on the wooden horse. Book Two, The Land of the Dead, is derived from books ten and eleven of Homer’s Odyssey. The third volume, Sirens and Sea Monsters, was derived from book twelve of Homer’s Odyssey, with details concerning Odysseus’ arrival on Calypso’s island coming from book five.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MARY POPE OSBORNE is the author of the best-selling Magic Tree House series. She has also written many acclaimed historical novels and retellings of myths and folktales, including Kate and the Beanstalk and New York’s Bravest. She lives with her husband in New York City and Connecticut.
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