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The Odyssey Summary 97079 Views
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Description:
Odysseus should have checked out How to Return Home from War for Dummies . Step One: Do not mess with the son of a god. Actually, no need to read on—this act will come back to haunt you for...oh, say, 10 years.
Transcript
- 00:01
The Odyssey, a la Shmoop. My name is Odysseus, and this is the story
- 00:11
of a decade-long journey that would never have happened had I kept my big, fat mouth
- 00:17
shut.
- 00:18
It all started when I was sailing back to Ithaca after the Trojan War ended. Ten years
- 00:23
I spent fighting the Trojans, and all I wanted to do was get back to my wife, Penelope.
Full Transcript
- 00:27
However, my men and I were captured by a Cyclops.
- 00:30
Dude only had one eye so, once we put that out, it was pretty easy to get away from him.
- 00:36
But then I did something really, really stupid. I told him my name. Yelled it at him, actually,
- 00:42
in kind of a taunting way, as I sailed away on my ship. Did I mention that this was not
- 00:48
a smart thing to do?
- 00:49
Turns out that the Cyclops’ dad was Poseidon. He complained about my blinding him to his
- 00:55
pops, and Poseidon promptly cursed me to wander about on my ship for ten years. Oops.
- 01:00
A decade sailing around the ocean is a long time, but boy, did we meet some interesting
- 01:05
people on our trip. First, there was Aeolus<<ay-oh-liss>>, who was kind enough to give me a giant whoopee
- 01:10
cushion that could have blown me back to Ithaca.
- 01:13
Unfortunately, my idiot crew members sat on the thing while I slept.
- 01:18
Then we met some cannibals. That didn't end well.
- 01:22
Then, we met Circe<<sir-sea>>. Nice girl, but we got off on the wrong foot when she
- 01:26
turned half of my men into pigs.
- 01:28
Hermes, the god, not the luxury brand, gave me a drug that helped me resist Circe's wiles.
- 01:37
She ultimately agreed to turn my crew members back into men, if I would love her. Sounded
- 01:42
like a deal to me, but please don't tell Penelope. After a year spent chillin' with Circe, my
- 01:48
men and I sailed to the edge of the world...
- 01:50
...where I talked to lots of dead people...
- 01:52
...and what did my dead mom tell me but that my house at Ithaca had been overrun by men
- 01:57
who were eating my food, spending my money, and trying to marry my wife. Time to get home,
- 02:03
you say? I couldn't have agreed more. Problem was, I couldn't get home. First there
- 02:10
were the Sirens...
- 02:11
...and then Scylla<<sill-uh>> took a bite out of my crew...
- 02:14
...and then there was a shipwreck, and everyone died but me...
- 02:17
...and then I washed up on Calypso's island and she compelled me to be her boyfriend.
- 02:22
Again… please don't tell Penelope. After seven years with Calypso, the gods finally
- 02:27
orchestrated my escape. Of course, Poseidon, the big jerk, was still mad at me for what
- 02:31
I did to his one-eyed son, so he wrecked my raft.
- 02:33
A little help from a sea nymph got me to the island of the Phaeacians<<fay-she-ins>>, where
- 02:37
I revealed that I was the Trojan Horse guy. The Phaeacians then took me home to Ithaca.
- 02:44
Thanks to my dead mom, I knew I had dozens of sleazy suitors camped out in my house.
- 02:49
The goddess Athena disguised me as a beggar so I could get the lay of the land.
- 02:53
Then, while staying in my swineherd's hut, who should I meet but my son, Telemachus<<tell-uh-ma-kiss>>.
- 03:00
We shared a manly hug, then decided that the suitors had to go.
- 03:03
The next day, my wife had the suitors compete for her hand in an archery competition with
- 03:07
my old bow.
- 03:09
The man who could string the bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen ax heads would win
- 03:13
the competition and my wife. Of course, I took home the gold.
- 03:17
Then, my son and I...
- 03:18
...with an able assist from the household staff...
- 03:21
...killed all the suitors, and a few other people besides. It was like a Die Hard movie.
- 03:27
I revealed myself to my wife, but she didn't believe I was me until I told her that our
- 03:31
bed was made out of an olive tree with its roots still in the ground.
- 03:35
That's how my odyssey came to an end. Thanks for making me jump through all those hoops,
- 03:39
Homer. It was epic.
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